fur

Question
Hi!!
My dwarf hamster has started to lose small patches of fur around her eyes!
can you help?
Thanks
x

Answer
Hi Katie

I've got a few questions for you!

Hold old is your hamster?  As they get old (around 2 years) their fur does often thin out a bit.  

Is she scratching herself?  Is the area around her eyes sore, dry, scabby, etc?  They can get mites and these often affect the head area - you can normally tell if it is this - as the skin becomes a bit dry and flaky, a bit like dandruff.  This is easily treatable by a vet.

Are her eyes OK? Are they sticking together, weeping, sore, does she want to open them?  If she has an eye problem - such as conjunctivitis - she might be rubbing/scratching the eye area as this is a painful/sore condition, hence the reason for fur loss.  This again, needs to be treated by a vet.

If everything looks OK - it is just that the fur is missing, and she is behaving perfectly normally, then it could be a hormonal problem. Hamsters can suffer from hormonal hair loss and this is difficult to treat.  You could try giving her Evening Primrose Oil on her food - you can buy this in capsule form and gently squeeze out a drop onto her vegetables each evening - a more cost effective way of doing this is if you can buy it in a dropper bottle. You might need to do this daily for a few weeks before seeing if there is any improvement. I had a hamster once who went almost completely bald - he was fine in himself, but did look a bit odd and needed extra bedding to keep warm!

I don't know if this helps you identify what is wrong.  If you have any doubts and think that it could be something that needs veterinary treatment (especially if you think it could be her eyes or mites), then I advise you get her to a vet so that they can examine her and get her the appropriate medicine.

Regards