Is the underside of my Syrian normal?

[buandbeans]

Hi all,

I'm a long time hamster owner, but relatively new to Syrians (I had two as a child but that was a WHILE ago so outside the basics I'm learning all over again!)

I got my little man Teddie back in October, he was 5 months old when I got him after being attacked by his cage mates as a baby and developing some wariness of pretty much everything as a result. He's a very sweet little man, but he has his habits and routines, and those do not include being picked up (he tollerates small 'flights' out of his cage for cleaning and playtime, but he's not in it for cuddles) so it is hard to get a good look at him a lot of the time.

On his underside near his bum, he has a patch of what almost looks like dry skin - picture attached - but due to the attack and stress he suffered as a result, he does have patchy fur anyway. He is missing fur on his back leg and bum, his scent glands are visible all year round, and he has tufts of fur here and there that are patchy or missing entirely. I got the all clear on him when I first had him, and he's behaving entirely normally; sleeping, eating, drinking and toileting - I just wanted to know if his underside bum area looks normal or if there is cause for concern?

He will be having a trip to the vets in the week, but where I live the exotic vets are only available one day a week so his appointment is a few days away yet - I'm hoping that someone can either tell me he looks fine and I'm being a paranoid parent, or if there is a cause for concern and can give me tips on how to make sure he is ok while we wait for his appointment.

Thank you all so much for your help! Sorry for rambling!

Em (mum), Teddie (7 months) & Twinkie (4 months).

[souffle]

You are doing the right thing in having it checked out at the vets.
The testicles are a prime target for fight bites and he may have some scar tissue there from an old wound. It doesn't look red or swollen so unlikely to be an infection.
I hope the vet can reassure you.

[buandbeans]

Hi Souffle!

Thank you so much for your reply, I thought I'd jump on and give an update on Ted just in case anyone was curious! He's just come back from his appointment and has had the all clear on his old war wounds once again and the patch on his underside is nothing to worry about!

The only thing of note was that Ted seems to have diabetes, but this isn't my first rodeo with that so not a lot of adjustments to make to hopefully get him back on track (not sure how to tell him he can't have the last 6 days of his advent calendar though)!

[souffle]

Good to hear the would was just an old scar.
Diabetes is not common in Syrians. How did they diagnose it?
Hope he does well with a few changes to his diet.