Any VETS out there? I think my hamster is sick

[Anonymous]

So my DD has a hamster that is a couple years old, and it looks like it is going bald in some patches. Is it sick, malnourished (give it regular hamster food, and veggies from time to time). Any advice on how I can help it?

[Anonymous]

seems like poisoning... how old is your daughter? do you think she fed the animal some sort of chemical?

[Anonymous]

I do not think so, she does not have access to anything... and adores the hamster. We do use DC tap water

[Anonymous]

Take it to Friendship. They ought to be able to figure out what is wrong with it.

[Anonymous]

That can be a normal part of a hamster aging, or it could be due to a vitamin or mineral deficiency, or mites or allergy. You could try supplementing her water by adding vitamins to the water (sold in pet stores) and if the hair loss is nutrition-related, that should help.

[Anonymous]

Take it to a veterinarian to have it checked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take it to Friendship. They ought to be able to figure out what is wrong with it.

We tried that with a hamster - Friendship doesn't take rodents. We went to Adams Morgan. Our particular type of hamster was very short lived - 2 years may be old for your hamster. As we learned there really isn't much they can do with a hamster.

[Anonymous]

Vet. tech for several year here...

There could be a variety of reasons for the alopecia.

Commonly these bald spots are probably from barbering - excessive licking. This licking could be because of nervousness, stress (yes, hamsters do get stressed if there is a lot of change), but mostly from boardem. It is not uncommon to see cagemates groom each other excessively either to cause these bald spots.

Barbering is usually around the nose area, on the back of the neck, and on the limbs.

Keep in mind though it could truly be an irritant - demodectic mites. Or even a reaction to the bedding (is it different bedding, has it been cleaned lately, is it soiled?).

I would recommend a new toy in the cage to gnaw on - even something like an empty toilet paper tube (although be careful of any glue on there). And a daily treat doesn't hurt either.

I wish I could be more help. It's hard to say without seeing the hamster and observing it's behavior.