My hamster is balding on his back! and he has brown lumps too! hes about 1 year old maybe a little older. Any ideas of why he is balding?? PLEASE HELP!!
2007-07-20 04:21:13 · 7 answers · asked by Ashley N 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
Ps.. He's a male teddy bear hamster.
2007-07-20 04:24:28 · update #1
It sounds like your hamster may either have Mange, Hair loss, or Ringworm.
If your hamster has mange, you will be able to tell by the following other symtoms : scratching, scabs around the nose, ears, and genitials, and little black dots on your hamster's fur (these are the mites). Mange is a skin infection caused by mites, which is a very serious and also contagious. If you think that your hamster has this, keep it away from your family and all other pets. Bring your hamster to the vet AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you do not see any of these other symtoms, though, he probably doesn't have it.
Or your hamster might have mites. If you get rid of this in the early stages, you can help prevent mange. Symtoms of having mites are scratching. You will be able to see the mites, which appear as little black dots on the fur. The hamster and cage need to be dusted with pyrethrin powder, which can be found at a pet store. Pyrethrin is also avaliable in a spray, I believe, but if you use a spray make sure to dry off the hamster before putting it back in its cage. If no pyrethrin powder or spray is availiable, ask a pet store employee about any other hamster safe parasite treatments.
Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection. If your hamster has circular patches of dry, scaly skin, then he probably has ringworm. Always handle your hamster with gloves, because this infection is contagious to humans too. You will need to take your hamster to the vetrinarian to get a povidone-iodine shampoo to help cure this.
Or, the problem could be just regular hair loss. Less than sixteen percent of protien in the diet could have caused this, or perhaps rubbing against the wheel or bedding. If it is an old hamster, it could be chronic failure causing it.
Here are some ways to solve the problem of hair loss:
1) Increase the amount of fruits and veggies in the diet and feed half the dry seed mix
2)Feed half a plain crushed yeast pill (availiable at pet stores in the cat or dog section) or a pinch of nutritional yeast (availiable at most healthfood stores) for the first three days, then decrease it to once a week. An alternitive is one or two drops of cod liver oil.
3) Feed boiled rice or puffed rice cereal.
Good luck and I hope that your hammy gets better!
Feel free to email me at katrina_649@yahoo.ca any time if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help
2007-07-20 04:36:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Thats normal male or female pattern balding. Common in most mammals. Not sure about the lumps though.
2007-07-20 04:26:54 · answer #2 · answered by Martin K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Huni calm first! i had this problem with my beloved hamster a year ago... there is a strong oppurtunity of mites... you need to get her to the vets IMMEDIATLEY.... once the mites become strong enough they will over power your hamster and she wont live.... that is if it is mites... but you dont want to hang about to find out.... when a hamster is balding and itchy its always going to boil down to a parasite... I'm afraid to say my hamster didnt make it... i didnt take her to the vets quick enough TAKE HER TO THE VETS NOW!
Sorry for being so patronising.... i just really dont want you to go through what i had too.... i had to decide to let her live or die.... i asked for her to be put down... as she was beyond beyond.... PLEASE take her to the vets :'(
2007-07-20 04:29:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
his old ,and going bald,there is nothing you can do forthe lumps ,as hamsters cant be operated on
2007-07-20 04:29:43 · answer #4 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would take that hamster to the vet immediately!!! it could be a infestation of mites in her fur, if these reach high numbers it can kill your hamster so its best to take him to the vet before he gets hurt even more!
2007-07-20 09:06:17 · answer #5 · answered by (: 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
see a vet your ham ham may have cancer its very common in older hammys or a contagious skin infection ether way send it to a vet and clean its cage every 3 days
2007-07-20 06:35:20 · answer #6 · answered by dot 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
change his name to al al-pecia
2007-07-20 04:58:11 · answer #7 · answered by paulsarian 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋