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Old 12-11-2021, 02:33 PM   #1
Sara H
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Join Date: Dec 2018
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Default Bald patch

Hi everyone

Layla is a Winter white and approximately 1.5 years old. About 5 months ago she got a tiny bald patch and then it went, one has appears a few times but not in the same place and it hasn’t looked sore. Today when i parted her fur I also noticed a small scab which I’ve never seen before. She is eating, drinking and exercising normally. I haven’t seen her scratching and don’t think it’s from her house. I did use Kaytee bedding but it got very dusty so I stared using fitch which when got really hard so I’ve now started buying small pet select. I feed her a bit of a mix of rodipet and bunny dream expert she also has flax seed sprays. Her coat looks in great condition apart from that area.

Any suggestion would be great, please.
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Old 12-12-2021, 03:26 AM   #2
Ria P
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Default Re: Bald patch

All i can suggest is to get her checked out by a vet. That's what i woul do anyway.
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Old 12-12-2021, 03:58 AM   #3
Sara H
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Default Re: Bald patch

I’m definitely going to get an appointment as I’ve just been watching her scratching which I haven’t seen her do before.
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Old 12-12-2021, 04:31 AM   #4
Sara H
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Default Re: Bald patch

Do you guys think it would be worth doing a full cage clean first and seeing how she is before taking her to the vets?
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Old 12-12-2021, 06:27 AM   #5
Ria P
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Default Re: Bald patch

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sara H View Post
Do you guys think it would be worth doing a full cage clean first and seeing how she is before taking her to the vets?
Can't see what good that would do. A visit to the vet would be less stressful for Layla than a full cage clean and you would still have to take her. Once you know the cause and Layla gets treatment you may or may not have to do a full clean.
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Old 12-13-2021, 01:19 PM   #6
Sara H
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Default Re: Bald patch

I did take her to an exotic vet today. He said as she’s small and wiggles a lot they would have to sedate her to do a skin scrap which I obviously didn’t want to do. He said she seems healthy and her coat is in good condition apart from the bald patch which doesn’t look sore. He has given me mite treatment to use and told me to do a full cage clean.
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Old 12-13-2021, 04:32 PM   #7
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Bald patch

That was unfortunately not a very good result. You never want to give mite treatment without a very thorough diagnosis which must include a skin scrape. Those can actually be really bad for hamster systems and should only be used when you have the proper diagnosis!

I would try to look into a vet who isn't so put off by the idea of properly testing a squirmy hamster. The right diagnosis is very important to getting the right treatment, and using a treatment without proper thorough diagnosis is really unsafe. Unfortunately this approach to supposed mites is incredibly common on the forum - many vets just seem to throw the assumption at hamsters without even properly testing.

I would go over every single thing in the cage extremely closely for even the slightest bit of a sharp piece or rough edge or anything similar that could cause fur loss.
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