Sudden fur loss and possible bleeding - help!

[Jude]

My Hamuel who is 2 and a quarter has developed a big bald patch, literally in the last few days. It starts under his left cheek pouch and goes on until about his front left leg. There is no fur missing from the right hand side, just the left, and it doesn't look red or scratched, just pink with no fur. Also, when I was cleaning out his litter I noticed a bit of red, although he has no visible injuries. He is very well cared for in a huge cage that is regularly cleaned, has porridge for breakfast, and gets lots of love and attention. Does anyone know what could be the matter? I'm REALLY worried.

[SnuggleHam]

What kind of hamster is Hamuel? Hamsters with age.. especially syrian hamsters it seems, will start to silver and ever lose their fur. I suggest you read this article about elderly hamsters
http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=20 It will tell you what sorts of things to expect from your aging ham.

My last hamster started losing his fur from old age. I found that giving him a few pieces of cat food every few days helped. It had a high oil content because the kibble was a bit greasy to the touch, so I figured it would help his skin. Eventually his fur came back! However you want to rule out that its not mites or perhaps some sort of skin irritation.

I'm not sure what to suggest about the red in his litter. Keep a close eye on him and look for traces of any more. Is it possible the red came from a red dyed chew toy? or certain kibble in his hamster feed?

[babyboos]

Cod liver oil on his porridge would possibly help with hair loss

[pophammy]

A sudden hair loss like this is quite uncommon. Usually with age they gradually lose fur and become thin-furred and 'tatty'. Hair loss can be caused by a number of things, including skin infections, parasites and other diseases such as hormonal diseases and kidney diseases. Also, lack of protein in the diet can cause hair loss. You could try giving him little pieces of chicken, tofu or scrambled egg for extra protein. As you are very worried perhaps it would be best to take him for a check-up at the vets. Have you changed his bedding/sawdust to a different type recently which could have caused an allergy? Hope he feels better soon.

[souffle]

Your hammie is a good age now so you must have cared for him well. At his age you will see signs of ageing as Snuggleham said. Does the red look like blood loss? If he shows no other signs of illness is it possible he has been knawing his bars and rubbed it bald? Keep a close eye on him and if he seems to be showing behavioral changes that mught indicate illness bess have him checked by your vet. Hamsters are moulting at the moment so he may be going through a patchy phase! As pophammy said there are many causes of hair loss some of which cannot be treated and are just down to getting old really.

[Jude]

Hamuel (he's a Syrian, Snuggleham) went to the vets' this morning, and was very good. The vet says his sudden hair loss (he's going thin in a few other places too) does not appear to be mites or an allergy as he is not red or itchy, but is most likely due to a change in temperature. Apparently hammies moult their summer coat and grow a winter one when it starts to get cold, and the vet thinks this is what Hamuel started to do, but our heating just came on in the last few days so the house is now nice and warm, and he hasn't had the necessary cold to spark off the growth of his winter fur. So... I've turned down the radiator in the bedroom (he has plenty of cosy bedding) and I'm going to give some more protein food and a bit of catfood and cod liver oil too, so that should help.

As for the possible blood, Hamuel had a good check up and the vet said there's really nothing obviously wrong with him, he's very healthy and probably just excreted something red that he ate, but to keep an eye on that just incase.

He had his nails trimmed too, and was rewarded with a milk drop and a couple of pine nuts for being so good

Thanks everyone for your help and advice, I'll keep you posted. Hopefully won't have to knit him a little jumper or anything! x

[SnuggleHam]

Oh yay Jude! I'm glad that your hammie got a clean bill of health. Hopefully the fur will grow back soon!

[souffle]

So glad he has been proclamed fit and well Some of ours have gone throught their moult now and are looking particularly plush and lovely The younger ones also seem to have put on weight so I think they may store a bit of fat to see them over the winter too.