new dwarf hamster

Question
we bought a dwarf hamster yesterday. our first one. (s)he seems to spend an awful lot of time scratching, is this normal behaviour?

Answer
Hi Andrew

Hamsters do sometimes scratch and groom a lot, but they shouldn't keep scratching.  Does her skin look dry or sore?  If she is just over-grooming, then it might be worth getting her a 'dust bath'.  You need to buy the special Chinchilla Dust.  You put a small amount of this into a low dish and your hamster should 'bathe' in it.  Most hamsters love this once they get the hang of it and they roll around in them.  This might help.  Alternatively, if it looks as though she really is scratching rather than grooming, then it might be worth giving her a dose of an anti parasite drug - you can buy this in pet shops (or on-line), or get the vet to apply (but this will be quite costly).  The anti parasite drug needs to contain a drug called Ivermectin and must be designed for hamsters.  It is placed on the back of the neck of the hamster, and usually repeated a month later (check the instruction leaflet). It might be worth doing this anyway.  Here is a link to a site that sells this http://www.petstuffonline.co.uk/product/2997/ANTI_PARASITE_SPOT_ON_HAMSTER
Most hamsters have mites and as they get older they can get a bit over-run with them and start scratching a lot to the point of their skin going dry and flaky, and they therefore need to be treated.  However, younger hamsters can also pick up mites from bedding etc.

Hamsters can also suffer from allergies (these can cause skin irritations, sneezing etc) and her behaviour could just be down to the fact that perhaps you are using different bedding etc. than she has been used to.  If it is down to this, then it really is a case of doing some detective work to ascertain what is causing the reaction.  You could do this by removing all woodchippings/bedding and replacing them with shredded paper only for a week - it will mean more cleaning out as the bedding will get soiled easily, but it might sort out the problem. If this is the case, then try a different bedding and see if she reacts the same.  (Avoid the fluffy type of bedding - whilst this looks cosy a lot of hamsters are known to have got legs caught up in this with horrendous consequences).  Also check that nothing is being sprayed near her cage, or any disinfectant you use on the cage is especially designed for small animals.

Apart from this how is she?  Is she settling in OK?

If none of the above work and she is still scratching or there is any change in her behaviour etc. that is worrying you then it would be worth getting a vet to have a look at her, but hopefully you'll be able to pinpoint the cause easily.

I hope this helps you.

Regards