Skin appears dry and flaking like dandruff

Hammy21 · 01-26-2010, 04:12 PM

Is there any one explanation that can be why skin appears to be dry and flaky like dandruff?

The 3-legged hamster (Harry) that my Mam took in from where I volunteer - he seems to have this issue. Some of you may recall me posting about him on here not long ago, he has the scent gland that needs cleaning regularly. He will be going to the vets, but just wondering if anything immediately springs to mind that it is likely to be?

Fidgetthefirst · 01-27-2010, 12:18 AM

How old is Harry? My old hamster had the same thing, although he died just days after going to the vet. We took him, because looking up on here we thought it could be mites, and the vet said because he was old, it was mostlikely mites, she gave him a like 'spot on' thing for hamster and it cleaned the mites up pretty well

Flissy · 01-27-2010, 03:58 AM

Sausage's skin has always been like that and I have never figured out why... I don't think its mites as he hasn't had any fur loss and he doesn't seem to be scratching! Its strange but doesn't seem to bother him

Hammy21 · 01-27-2010, 07:55 AM

Not sure how old he is, but he's at least 17 months old as that's the first time I saw him in November 2008. He does appear to scratch quite a bit. If he does need any treatment, it would probably be a lot less in price to buy beaphar Spot On from elsewhere as I've heard vets sometimes charge silly prices for it! I've treated my rats with it in the past, but obviously he'd need the hamster version. His weight could be asked at the vets to make sure he received the correct dosage.

Fidgetthefirst · 01-27-2010, 11:37 AM

As my hamster was old, 2 1/2 years old, he had no fur loss, but his fur was just ridiculosly* greasy and 'dandruffy' so i took him, and it cost £15.

Hammy21 · 02-02-2010, 09:35 AM

Meant to update this earlier. He was given an injection of Panomec, which as far as I'm aware is a brand of Ivermectin, so the right treatment. When my parents mentioned in his old home he did at one point have bugs in his bedding that were brown/reddy/orange that jumped... she then said that's likely to be the cause. I'm not too sure if she's only agreeing with that or if she really does think that lol. He may need another 2 injections weekly.