My Hamster (caution, he’s hairless)

sounds like it's healing....best wishes for full healing... you need to get him healed so you can enter him in July's Pet of the Month contest!!

Fishmanic said:

sounds like it's healing....best wishes for full healing... you need to get him healed so you can enter him in July's Pet of the Month contest!!

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Yes!

So it was blood that scabbed over? Can I see pics? I mean of the scab and under it. There are multiple things. Mites came to mind. But plenty of other skin conditions can happen. Feel for any obvious lumps on him. Just in case he does have some tumor. Shampoos that have Selinium Sulfide will kill off mites. Websites will say scabbing is not a symptom of mites, but in severe cases, it definitely is.

Other causes could be behavioral. How old is he? Does he have long nails? Are they sharp? He could have cut himself and it could have gotten infected.

The type of mite would be Tropical Rat Mite. They will cause excessive itching and grooming.

Is there any way she could have cut herself on something? Have you seen her grooming herself abnormally for a hampster?

I Like Rare Fish said:

So it was blood that scabbed over? Can I see pics? I mean of the scab and under it. There are multiple things. Mites came to mind. But plenty of other skin conditions can happen. Feel for any obvious lumps on him. Just in case he does have some tumor. Shampoos that have Selinium Sulfide will kill off mites. Websites will say scabbing is not a symptom of mites, but in severe cases, it definitely is.

Other causes could be behavioral. How old is he? Does he have long nails? Are they sharp? He could have cut himself and it could have gotten infected.

The type of mite would be Tropical Rat Mite. They will cause excessive itching and grooming.

Is there any way she could have cut herself on something? Have you seen her grooming herself abnormally for a hampster?

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I won’t be able to look at him for a few days, my mom is watching him for me until next Monday (so over a week) but I do know he has some long teeth, longer than I would guess he should! I am guessing that’s how it started, he caught himself with his tooth and it got infected. I gave him chew sticks but he won’t touch them!

Don't worry about mites at this stage. His hair was growing back and the scab on his belly is not from mites. Let him recover from the wound and see how he goes over the next week or so.

one thing, i would recommend checking out Victoria Raechel (yes its spelt 'Raechel") on youtube if you haven't already also, you said he was long-haired? if so, his hair may not grow back to the long langth

Unicornblast5000 said:

one thing, i would recommend checking out Victoria Raechel (yes its spelt 'Raechel") on youtube if you haven't already also, you said he was long-haired? if so, his hair may not grow back to the long langth

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Ooooo yes I have found her videos to be helpful and easy to understand. His fur has almost fully grown back by now, bit I agree with you it may not be as long as before

Wanted to update about how the hamster is doing! I was out of town at a summer camp all last week, and my grandparents were visiting a few days before that. My grandpa looked at the scabs and suggested an anti fungal applied to the area daily, so I asked my mom and sisters to do that while I was away. I came home and his fur is almost completely grown back, and every scab has fallen off! The skin is healing and there is one small area that is still not fully healed. I am so happy with how its doing!



I have a new cage in planning, glass front, back, and bottom, glass halfway up the sides and the other half wire mesh (my grandparents have an old but brand new screen door in their garage) 30 inches long, 18 tall (so I get a good 10 inches of bedding for him) and 18 inches front to back! Over 500 inches of floor space. Thoughts? I was gonna just do an aquarium but heard there isn’t good air flow. Also the dimensions of the cage are specific to the size of my dresser

There are some photos of him today. He got some carrot as a treat and enjoyed the chance to run around for a good 20 minutes. Below is A picture the day before I left, and Then one showing it now (I know its not good to hold them like that, but if I can’t monitor how the injury is healing he has hardly any chance of getting better)

OliveFish05 said:

Wanted to update about how the hamster is doing! I was out of town at a summer camp all last week, and my grandparents were visiting a few days before that. My grandpa looked at the scabs and suggested an anti fungal applied to the area daily, so I asked my mom and sisters to do that while I was away. I came home and his fur is almost completely grown back, and every scab has fallen off! The skin is healing and there is one small area that is still not fully healed. I am so happy with how its doing!



I have a new cage in planning, glass front, back, and bottom, glass halfway up the sides and the other half wire mesh (my grandparents have an old but brand new screen door in their garage) 30 inches long, 18 tall (so I get a good 10 inches of bedding for him) and 18 inches front to back! Over 500 inches of floor space. Thoughts? I was gonna just do an aquarium but heard there isn’t good air flow. Also the dimensions of the cage are specific to the size of my dresserView attachment 139410View attachment 139411

There are some photos of him today. He got some carrot as a treat and enjoyed the chance to run around for a good 20 minutes. Below is A picture the day before I left, and Then one showing it now (I know its not good to hold them like that, but if I can’t monitor how the injury is healing he has hardly any chance of getting better)View attachment 139412View attachment 139413

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Omg he’s so cuuuttteee!!!
I would recommend the ikea pax wardrobe frame, there is five sizes, there each 22” tall, the smallest is 1534 sq inches, and the largest is 30528 ( I think) sq inches. I would recommend adding 12+ inches of bedding and a 10-12 inch wheel, and a 12” by 13” sand bath (don’t add that in intill the scab is fully healed)
Also, remember to never wake him up ( unless your going somewhere you have to take him)

Unicornblast5000 said:

Omg he’s so cuuuttteee!!!
I would recommend the ikea pax wardrobe frame, there is five sizes, there each 22” tall, the smallest is 1534 sq inches, and the largest is 30528 ( I think) sq inches. I would recommend adding 12+ inches of bedding and a 10-12 inch wheel, and a 12” by 13” sand bath (don’t add that in intill the scab is fully healed)
Also, remember to never wake him up ( unless your going somewhere you have to take him)

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Ohhhhh ok, thanks! I had looked into the ikea detolf, but I will look into that as well! I plan to have 12 inches of bedding In the deepest part, and the minimum amount of bedding in the least deep part would be 8 inches, I know how they love to burrow! I was looking into an 11” wheel, either one of the Silent Spinner or Wodent Wheel brand, I’ve heard they are good (And quiet lol) I have had to wake him up some mornings to do his medicine and such, but I do it very gently. I talk to him quietly until he sits up, then I offer him a fruit or veggie and get him to come to me, then I pick him up gently, apply the medicine, and let him back into his cage. Do you know of a better way to do it when I need to wake him up?

OliveFish05 said:

Ohhhhh ok, thanks! I had looked into the ikea detolf, but I will look into that as well! I plan to have 12 inches of bedding In the deepest part, and the minimum amount of bedding in the least deep part would be 8 inches, I know how they love to burrow! I was looking into an 11” wheel, either one of the Silent Spinner or Wodent Wheel brand, I’ve heard they are good (And quiet lol) I have had to wake him up some mornings to do his medicine and such, but I do it very gently. I talk to him quietly until he sits up, then I offer him a fruit or veggie and get him to come to me, then I pick him up gently, apply the medicine, and let him back into his cage. Do you know of a better way to do it when I need to wake him up?

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IMO the IKEA detoft is good for dwarfs, but not Syrians (you can’t put as much bedding)
There’s a shop on Etsy that sells the silent spinner for 15 usd, and HenrysHeghogeHaven on Etsy sells a 10” wheel for 20 usd

When does he wake up? You could do it then, other than that you seem to be doing it right, just don’t take him out for any longer than you have to during the day

Glad to hear he's doing much better. Hopefully he will be fully healed very soon. Did you give him a name yet?
Our Pet of the Month contest starts around mid July. Your hampster would make an awesome entry!

Fishmanic said:

Glad to hear he's doing much better. Hopefully he will be fully healed very soon. Did you give him a name yet?
Our Pet of the Month contest starts around mid July. Your hampster would make an awesome entry!

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No name yet, I was considering Scabbers (the rat from Harry Potter) I will definitely keep an eye out for the POTM contest!

Unicornblast5000 said:

IMO the IKEA detoft is good for dwarfs, but not Syrians (you can’t put as much bedding)
There’s a shop on Etsy that sells the silent spinner for 15 usd, and HenrysHeghogeHaven on Etsy sells a 10” wheel for 20 usd

When does he wake up? You could do it then, other than that you seem to be doing it right, just don’t take him out for any longer than you have to during the day

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Oooooo ok! I am definitely going to be looking for a good deal On the wheel, the one at my LPS is almost $40

That was one of the main problems I saw with the Detolf, it is only 15 inches tall, leaving barely any room for hides and such above the 10-12 inches of bedding. Not to mention it’s 60 ish inches long, I don’t even have a place to put that!

He doesn’t really get up during the day at all much. We hear him running on his wheel at night, and while we brush our teeth he is out and about his cage, but during the day he really just burrows down into his bedding and sleeps. I’m thinking that once I get him into a bigger cage with more toys and mental stimulation he will be more active

Now if you could just attach a generator to the wheel, you could make enough electricity to light the cage.

Hows he doin'?