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View Poll Results: Is this bald spot severe, moderate, mild, or nothing to worry about?
Is this bald spot mild? 0 0%
Is it severe? 0 0%
Is it moderate maybe? 2 20.00%
Is there nothing to worry about? 1 10.00%
Does she have to see a vet? 7 70.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 12-06-2015, 12:47 AM   #21
Scargirl
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Is it okay to wait until Christmas to give her her new, bigger hideout?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy's Hamsters View Post
In stead of wasting precious time with a photo that nobody on this form can diagnose accurately. Take her to a Vet as we can not give any medications to help her nor can we tell what is going on via a photo. Each day you waste with taking photos and just getting suggestions mean one more day you won't know for sure what is going on.

Like her lack of wanting to wheel could be nothing or it could mean she is ill and in need of immediate Vet care to get well. If it ends up mange mites the longer you delay the harder it is to cure her.

How can mites make her loose fur and just in one section of the body??
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Last edited by souffle; 12-06-2015 at 11:32 AM. Reason: consecutive posts
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Old 12-06-2015, 12:54 AM   #22
cypher
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Scargirl View Post
Is it okay to wait until Christmas to give her her new, bigger hideout?
Why wait if it could help by giving it to her now? Christmas can just come early!
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Old 12-06-2015, 02:41 AM   #23
Pebbles82
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

Hi again. I wouldn't do the cage clean right now. As you said, she's had a few changes recently, with the bedding and the new sand bath, plus you have a cold. I would just spot clean it with gloves on. So just take out the odd handful of wee'd on substrate and put a new handful in to replace it and mix it up again. You can leave her in the cage to do this, and do it in a kind of slow relaxed way rather than a vigorous quick way so it isn't so much of a whirlwind for her. This will probably do as a partial clean for now. If one area is particularly wet you could just take handfuls out as far down until you reach dry bedding, or if all the way down to the base, just wipe that one area with a damp cloth and put some new substrate in in that area. Don't bother cleaning toys right now. If her house is wee'd in then you might need to take it out and give it a rinse and dry it well (I think it's plastic isn't it, so that should be fine). If her nest is dry, leave it, if it is wet, try and just remove the wet part and leave a bit of dry behind, then add some new nesting material.

In other words - do the minimum for now. Not just for your cold, but to minimise the disruption and stress. Also you must be feeling unwell so maybe you need to just rest up a bit for a few days. I know I get stressed if I'm feeling unwell and trying to keep going! Just do the minimum, rest up and observe her for a few days.

All these things to think about with hammies can be worrying, but she is pootling around doing her own thing meanwhile. When you are feeling better you can do a bigger cage clean if necessary.

Has she been using the sandbath either as a sandbath or a toilet? If she's been using it as a toilet then the rest of the cage shouldn't be too bad. If the rest of the cage is dry, just scoop out the soiled bits of sand and add new. Sand does a good job of soaking up the wee so you can see the wet bits.

I know you are worried about costs and so on. Worries always seem worse when you're not feeling well, so see how she goes in the next day or two and not worry about what is causing it right now. You will get practical advice for specific issues on here, but we don't know your circumstances. However stress is bad for hammies, and she may pick up on your stress. It might be mites, it might be the new sand bath it might be something else, we don't know. A vet would know and that will cost some money, so maybe just give it a day or so, see how she goes and you will be feeling a bit better by then. If you are feeling ok today then a visit to the vet is a good idea. If you haven't got a travel cage, then maybe just take her cage along. Do you know of a small animal vet in your area? Check them out. If there is more than one, ring them and see how much they will charge for an initial consultation. Sometimes a one-off consultation isn't too expensive, and if you are having financial difficulties, tell them and they might do you a deal.

Your little ham has had a new cage, new substrate and so on, all quite recently, so she may be feeling a bit stressed. I would also be panicking if I found a bald patch like that and would probably observe for a day and then decide to go to the vets to see what's what. I wouldn't put the new house in yet.

Hope this helps. We've been through the possible things she could have rubbed her fur on and ruled most of them out I think. An allergy to something could cause fur loss, or some other reason for scratching. But if she seems well enough in herself, then just do the spot clean, talk gently to her while you're doing it and give her a healthy treat afterwards. A small piece of veg (thumbnail sized) or a piece of apple maybe (same size).

Definitely don't get her wet though! And make sure she has lots and lots of paper nesting material in the cage after spot cleaning. Not sure how cold it is where you are but it is blooming cold here at the moment. So she can have a big cosy nest to keep warm in. Is the room warm enough? Just asking as you seemed worried she might have gone into Torpor. If it's a cold room she will need some heating in there. And maybe a heat pad, heat lamp or similar near the cage at night after the heating goes off. I don't know what your climate is in your part of the world!

Anyway, try not to worry. I find taking action relieves worry. But if you are worried about the cost of a vet visit, I can understand that, but needs must. Even if it means asking someone to help.

As for the igloo - I think a lot of people use that smaller igloo for Syrians and find it fine. The only issue would be if it's cold and there isn't room in it to build a big nest, but if she is cold she would probably abandon it and build a nest in a corner of the cage somewhere. Plus she can dig down a bit underneath it if necessary. Charlie's first house was a small plastic pod even smaller than the igloo! He had a nice wood house in his cage, but no he decided to build his nest in the little plastic pod house that came with the shelf and he packed it so full of bedding and food that the top kept popping off lol. But he really loved it because it was round and he could curl up inside it. You could always add a cardboard box in the cage with a door cut out and if she wanted to move her nest she would. If she didn't she would just use the box as a hidey place.

One last thought - I can't quite see what the new bedding is. Is it wood? Some hamsters can have allergies to wood bedding, regardless of what kind of wood it is, and that can cause scratching and hair loss. They can have an allergy to any kind of bedding really, although paper or cardboard is usually hypoallergenic.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 12-06-2015 at 03:22 AM.
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Old 12-06-2015, 11:26 AM   #24
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

Actually, I don't have to clean her cage. My mother volunteered to do it while I'm sick. And she has a particularly strict schedule and she can't wait or it won't get done at all. So a full cage clean is going to happen today weather I like it or not, I guess. I think I am going to be sick for at least and extra 1-3 days and it's actually been 3 weeks since I have clean her cage so now it really needs a full cleaning. Don't mean to dismiss your suggestion, serendipity, but it really needs to be done with a full cage cleaning. Even if she doesn't seem to use her wheel is it okay to put her in her ball while it is being cleaned?

And yes. Your right. Worried about the cost of a vet bill about taking her in. And I don't know if she isn't feeling good but I don't want to add stress to her as she has never been to a vet before unless they took her to a vet while she was in the pet shop. Yes. We have plenty of vets around town. I still live with my mom and dad and my dad doesn't care about her at all. He said yes to get her when we first asked (my dad is pretty particular with pets) and now that she has needs he wants to just get rid of her. If you have a pet of course they are going to need to see a vet at least once in their life.
And now my mother says the same. "Your spending too much money in that mouse. Just leave it. She probably just lost her fur on something. She doesn't need to see and vet." And now she says that these people (you and the whole HC) don't know anything about hamsters! This is my first hamster and I'm sure everyone on HC has had plenty of hamsters to know what they need and everything.

I think I will do that since how we are doing a full cage cleaning today. She has a 2-story hideout that I made for her. It will fit okay in her cage but I was wondering if it is okay to give it to her. I will wear gloves and a mask, just before my mother cleans her cage, and will search her nest and whole cage and maybe can find out how the fur came off.

She has had her new cage for about 3 cage cleanings (which is about 6 weeks) and we just changed the bedding and added the sandbath about 2 cage cleanings ago (1 month). So would that be a big change to also add the bigger hideout?

Here is the picture of her hideout. Is it too big or anything?
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Last edited by Scargirl; 12-06-2015 at 11:46 AM.
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Old 12-06-2015, 11:31 AM   #25
Pebbles82
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

You could put her in the ball for a while, but not too long maybe. Didn't you say it kept falling apart though?! Or a large cardboard box with high sides some substrate in, as a playcage maybe. I put Charlie in his pet carrier and he tends to go to sleep.

I saw a cage clean video where the owner took the cage top off and popped it over the top of the hammy with the hammy on the floor. So basically the hammy was still in the cage but without the base - to stop him escaping - while she cleaned out the base part. That might be an idea too.
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Old 12-06-2015, 11:50 AM   #26
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

Yeah. I guess. But the ware cage has big squares in the bottom sides of the cage to attach it the the base of the cage. I know for sure that she can get out of the holes. See, part of the wire actually sets in the base and the big hole is that part so the hammy can't get out. But without the base, she will get out. That would be a really good idea if the cage wasn't like that.
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Last edited by Scargirl; 12-06-2015 at 04:26 PM.
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Old 12-06-2015, 04:26 PM   #27
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

Sounds like a big box or bin would be best then! You could keep an eye on her while your Mum does the cage. Or the bathtub if you have a bathtub, but it does need to be dry. I also put the plug in so little paws don't get stuck down the plug hole. Again you'd need to keep an eye on her while she's in the bathtub, but you don't need to be too close so no worries about passing on germs.
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Old 12-06-2015, 04:30 PM   #28
Scargirl
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Hi guys. She seems to be acting fine even though the fur on her leg is gone. I will wait for her fur to grow back and see how she does. But if she starts acting bad or something like that then will think about calling a vet or telling u and seeing what u suggest. Thanks for being such a help.
BTW, how long do you think it will take that little section of fur (about 1 centimeter in diameter, maybe less) to grow back?

Also, here is her new setup (I added the new hideout). I am glad I made her popsicle stick toys and got her a seed stick for Christmas or else I would have had to come up with something else for X-mas! Lol.

Sorry it is soooo messy. She just got in and is crazy about losing her hideout and getting a bigger one! Lol

I had to remove the top story (AKA the food store) because it was too tall. Lol. Should have though about the height before I built it. I got a hot glue gun now and nontoxic glue refills so I can always make the top story shorter and glue it on again.

I will wait for her fur to grow back but if she shows signs of illness I will contact a vet. Will give updates too just to let you know how she is doing. But one question:
How long do you think it will take that patch of fur to grow back?
Note: The patch of fur missing is about 1 centimeter or less in diameter.


She is acting normal despite the bald patch.
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Last edited by souffle; 12-07-2015 at 01:08 PM.
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Old 12-07-2015, 12:38 PM   #29
Pebbles82
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Default Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

That's good news. Has she rebuilt her nest in the new house?
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Old 12-07-2015, 01:18 PM   #30
mylittlefluffyhamster
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Wink Re: IMPORTANT!!! Bald spot on Hammy's leg!!!!!

hi please don't panic, may just be a rub mark like what other people have been say. or it could be a skin allergy to the bedding, has she had any new bedding materials or anything that has changed that you know of?
it may be a fungal infection have you noticed her scratching at all?
I am not a vet this is just coming from what I have knowledge of or what I have found on the internet through research
hope she is okay and let me know how she gets on I hope it's nohing serious but if your really worried I would find an exotic vet then deals with these kind of things
thanks
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