Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
Hi Tiffany. How old is your hamster? It's normal for them to start losing some fur as they get older, but the best remedy for healthy fur and regrowth is a pinch of linseeds (flax seeds) daily. It really does work wonders. They end up with a lovely thick glossy coat and fur does regrow. It's also safe, healthy and hamsters like the seeds and lick them up. A bag isn't expensive and lasts a very long time. I put a pinch on a separate little dish - separate from the food.
I'm a bit concerned that your vet is giving medication for mites. That can be quite toxic to hamsters and should only be given if mites are definitely confirmed via a skin scraping (which is looked at under a microscope). Did your vet do a skin scraping?
Also linseeds are cheaper  .
Sorry I just saw he is 18 months old - which is classed as elderly. I would suspect this is part of the ageing process although also check to see if there's anything he could be rubbing his face and neck against regularly. If they try and dig under a house for example and it's a small gap underneath or if a house door is not quite big enough. Also does he bar chew?
There are a number of reasons for fur loss, not just mites. I think it sounds like an unusual part of the body for mites. Causes can be ageing, some kind of disease, or even malnutrition if the food balance isn't right. That is where Linseeds would help. One way they can get malnutrition as they get older is if they have toothache in their back teeth and aren't chewing their hard food properly. Or if the front bottom teeth have got too long or got broken. Have you checked his teeth recently at the front?
If it's some kind of medical condition then there isn't much you can do at his age and as long as he seems healthy and enjoying life I wouldn't worry. |
Hi - the vet didn't do a skin scrape, she checked in his mouth to make sure everything was okay and couldn't see anything. She did say that all hamsters carry mites so I think that's why she gave him the drops to see how he got on. Like I say it did grow back but surely it happening again so soon I feel like it can't be mites.
I haven't seem him bar chew, he's in a ritz cage and he usually burrows under the shelf to sleep which is quite low so he could be rubbing his face and neck alot on the bedding when going under there. I'll try and make it a bit higher to see if it helps. I did change his bedding from carefresh to Kaytee clean & cozy as I felt the carefresh wasn't as soft as it used to be.
I haven't checked his mouth myself, it's quite hard to get him to open his mouth even the vet had trouble because he's not a biter and wouldn't even bite on the instrument she was trying to use to open his mouth lol.
Thank you for the recommendation on linseeds, I'll get them ordered.
Do you think I should wait to see the vet?
As bad as I feel that he's losing hair it's quite expensive to keep going (especially if she is wanting to give more drops or a tablet used for a cat) and the exotic vet is quite far away so it's also expensive to go back a forth at the moment, I'm pretty sure he's not in pain as he's still eating and playing on a night.