Hammie losing fur and dry skin

[Abbielouxoxo]

My hamster has began losing his fur and it is worsening, I also noticed today he has very dry skin on his stomach/sides, he is also scratching a lot. He is just over 1 and a half years old and i understand we may be losing him but I was wondering is there anything I can do for him to stop him itching or to make him more comfortable? Trying to avoid vets as my financial situation isn't great at the moment, but obviously if I need to take him as a last resort I will. Any creams/lotions/solutions I can give him?? Thanks

[cypher]

Can you give us a bit more info, how long since your ham began to show signs of itching & fur loss?
Has anything in his cage changed recently, anything he could be allergic to or change in diet?
It could be a few things causing the problem, mites is one possibility although that normally begins to show around the ears & eyes it's still worth considering, mites an come into the cage from some natural materials or stress can sometimes cause the natural under skin mites to get out of control & cause a problem, if you think this might be the case then he would need to be treated by your vet.
It's also possible he has a nutritional deficiency which is causing his skin to be dry & itchy, what do you feed your ham?
You could try giving a drop of evening primrose oil on food daily along with some extra flax (linseed) seeds, a little wheatgerm or nutritional yeast may also help.
I wouldn't recommend putting anything on the skin as it would likely be ingested when your hamster grooms so it probably wouldn't be safe.