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My little guy lost a lot of weight since June from 175 grams in June to 135 grams in August. I didn't weigh him in July.
The fur on the top of his nose has been slowly falling off from the tip backwards. Last night, I also noticed that the fur on his lower back is thinning.
He's been running less and eating less, but he's still doing both those things.
Nothing else is different. No discharge. No diarrhea. No pain noises. He is about a year and a half old. He had thinning fur problems a year ago before I adopted him. They thought it was stress or malnutrition because his fur started to grew back after a couple weeks of good care.
Two weeks ago, the exotic vet said to give him an antibiotic and also small amounts of some oils (flax, corn, and red palm oil) and an anti-parasitic. He sees the vet again next week as a follow-up. I've been leaving out a lot more food for him now and he has been eating. His appetite fell about a month and a half ago, so he's not as interested in treats (still likes them sometimes) or broccoli (he tends to eat a little of it but then just stashes the remainder). The only difference I've noticed in the past 2 weeks of treatment is that he is a little less shaky and old-seeming than he was a month ago. He seems healthier but his fur loss is still happening and his weight hasn't gone up.
I've seen hamsters turn colour in their old age but not lose fur.
balding-nose.jpg
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hamsworth wrote: ↑Sat Aug 24, 2024 12:19 am
My little guy lost a lot of weight since June from 175 grams in June to 135 grams in August. I didn't weigh him in July.
The fur on the top of his nose has been slowly falling off from the tip backwards. Last night, I also noticed that the fur on his lower back is thinning.
He's been running less and eating less, but he's still doing both those things.
Nothing else is different. No discharge. No diarrhea. No pain noises. He is about a year and a half old. He had thinning fur problems a year ago before I adopted him. They thought it was stress or malnutrition because his fur started to grew back after a couple weeks of good care.
Two weeks ago, the exotic vet said to give him an antibiotic and also small amounts of some oils (flax, corn, and red palm oil) and an anti-parasitic. He sees the vet again next week as a follow-up. I've been leaving out a lot more food for him now and he has been eating. His appetite fell about a month and a half ago, so he's not as interested in treats (still likes them sometimes) or broccoli (he tends to eat a little of it but then just stashes the remainder). The only difference I've noticed in the past 2 weeks of treatment is that he is a little less shaky and old-seeming than he was a month ago. He seems healthier but his fur loss is still happening and his weight hasn't gone up.
I've seen hamsters turn colour in their old age but not lose fur.
balding-nose.jpg
I'm so sorry that your little guy isn't feeling well. I would try some critical care omnivore or Emeraid from your vet, if your country has it. It can be helpful in gaining weight when a hamster doesn't feel like eating. It's possible that he's got some kind of underlying health issue. There are a lot possibilities without some kind of testing it may be difficult to figure out.
What kind of seed mix is/was he on? Diet isn't always the cause but it may help give some hints.
Sorry. I'm so tired. I just wanted to post that my little guy is alive and seems to be slowly gaining weight while slowly losing fur.
His main seed mix was vitakraft or sunseed vitasmart. Something like that. I offered him other store seed mixes as well. But he's been on that sort of food for over a year now. The only food I can think of that would have done anything bad was a mix I bought off of estsy that I fed him for 1 month before seeing a tiny bug crawl out (like a little beetle about 1-2 mm by 2-3 mm). I realized that I hadn't put that mix in the freezer for 2 days as I normally do. I stopped giving that mix to him. I think if I had put it in the freezer for a few days, it would have been fine. But I don't know if that caused his weight loss or fur loss.
He did have a problem with thinning fur previously before I got him, so I'm thinking it could be old age plus being predisposed to losing fur.
The vet isn't sure. He sees the vet in another couple weeks. If he continues to slowly gain weight again, I'll be less worried.
hamsworth wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2024 12:38 pm
Sorry. I'm so tired. I just wanted to post that my little guy is alive and seems to be slowly gaining weight while slowly losing fur.
His main seed mix was vitakraft or sunseed vitasmart. Something like that. I offered him other store seed mixes as well. But he's been on that sort of food for over a year now. The only food I can think of that would have done anything bad was a mix I bought off of estsy that I fed him for 1 month before seeing a tiny bug crawl out (like a little beetle about 1-2 mm by 2-3 mm). I realized that I hadn't put that mix in the freezer for 2 days as I normally do. I stopped giving that mix to him. I think if I had put it in the freezer for a few days, it would have been fine. But I don't know if that caused his weight loss or fur loss.
He did have a problem with thinning fur previously before I got him, so I'm thinking it could be old age plus being predisposed to losing fur.
The vet isn't sure. He sees the vet in another couple weeks. If he continues to slowly gain weight again, I'll be less worried.
I don't think using that mix from etsy for such a short time would have anything to do with his current condition. You can just freeze it if you saw a bug, let it thaw and then freezer again after 24 hours. That usually takes care of any pests. If you have any natural foods not sprayed with pesticides, bugs can get in and lay their eggs. The foods we eat can sometimes contain bugs as well.
If he's responding to the medication, then it's probably something else going on. If he was having trouble eating, he could lose weight and fur. Hamsters hair can thin out with out age. They can also lose fur when they have a tumor or something else affecting their endocrine system. Were you able to make a mush or get some critical care?
You have to freeze dry food, thaw it, and then freeze it again?! Ack, I've only been freezing it.
No, but I have EmerAid and Oxbow Critical Care bookmarked. I did buy some safe baby food (broccoli, peas, water, cooked rice, green beans, carrots), but I haven't fed him much. I have been putting out a lot of extra dry food out and he has gained more weight. He sees the vet tomorrow.
He seems steadier and in addition to gaining weight (around 155 grams), the fur on his nose has started to re-grow, although he's still lost fur on his back.
hamsworth wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 4:18 pm
You have to freeze dry food, thaw it, and then freeze it again?! Ack, I've only been freezing it.
No, but I have EmerAid and Oxbow Critical Care bookmarked. I did buy some safe baby food (broccoli, peas, water, cooked rice, green beans, carrots), but I haven't fed him much. I have been putting out a lot of extra dry food out and he has gained more weight. He sees the vet tomorrow.
He seems steadier and in addition to gaining weight (around 155 grams), the fur on his nose has started to re-grow, although he's still lost fur on his back.
Do you have a picture of his back? I'm just curious. I'm really glad to hear that he's gaining weight and eating.
I only freeze once when I get the food but if I find any buggies, I freeze, then thaw, and freeze again.
Timeline.
June. Good weight and good fur.
July. ??? weight and good fur.
August. Low weight and losing fur.
September. Okay weight and grown a lot of fur back.
What changed in August?
1. I started putting out a lot more dry food for him. Like, I cover his roof with extra food.
2. Antibiotics for 3? weeks.
3. Antiparasitic (once every 2 weeks for 6 weeks)
4. Red palm oil. (A very small amount. Like, a 1/2 a drop to 1 drop.)
5. Flax oil mixed with corn oil. (A very small amount. Like, a 1/2 a drop to 1 drop.)
1. If putting out more food helped, maybe he's a picky eater?
2. He could have had an infection or something. The vet wasn't sure but felt antibiotics might help.
3. Same as 2.
4 and 5. When he started gaining weight, the vet said that the oil wouldn't have helped that fast. The oil helps general health over a longer period of consuming it.
In September, I'm giving him an anti-fungal medication for 2 weeks because in August the vet found yeast in his skin. But by the time I started the anti-fungal for him, he had regained most of his weight and regrown a lot of his fur. I'm still giving it to him because yeast was found.
Another factor is that he already had fur loss early in life so I feel he may be predisposed to it. I wouldn't be surprised if he loses fur again in old age.
hamsworth wrote: ↑Thu Sep 19, 2024 4:43 pm
I'll try to put up pictures when I can.
Timeline.
June. Good weight and good fur.
July. ??? weight and good fur.
August. Low weight and losing fur.
September. Okay weight and grown a lot of fur back.
What changed in August?
1. I started putting out a lot more dry food for him. Like, I cover his roof with extra food.
2. Antibiotics for 3? weeks.
3. Antiparasitic (once every 2 weeks for 6 weeks)
4. Red palm oil. (A very small amount. Like, a 1/2 a drop to 1 drop.)
5. Flax oil mixed with corn oil. (A very small amount. Like, a 1/2 a drop to 1 drop.)
1. If putting out more food helped, maybe he's a picky eater?
2. He could have had an infection or something. The vet wasn't sure but felt antibiotics might help.
3. Same as 2.
4 and 5. When he started gaining weight, the vet said that the oil wouldn't have helped that fast. The oil helps general health over a longer period of consuming it.
In September, I'm giving him an anti-fungal medication for 2 weeks because in August the vet found yeast in his skin. But by the time I started the anti-fungal for him, he had regained most of his weight and regrown a lot of his fur. I'm still giving it to him because yeast was found.
Another factor is that he already had fur loss early in life so I feel he may be predisposed to it. I wouldn't be surprised if he loses fur again in old age.
The yeast thing makes me think of Cushing's disease as well as the fact that he was eating but losing weight... Are you noticing anything about his skin, any dryness or small cuts? How old is he?
That's what the vet said it could possibly be! Cushing's disease.
He is at least a year and a half old. On his back, there was white dandruff almost (soft white pieces) when he lost fur on his back. On his nose, there was never that. Just thinning. His back and nose both look better, but his nose and face is still thin. I think age and being predisposed to fur loss are going to see this return in the coming months.
I've got to upload pictures then crop them.
His weight is around 150 grams. He seems to be going between 150 and 160 lately.
His appetite I don't know if it's changed. He hasn't been drinking any more or less. No swelling.
He has been running very little since I started the anti-fungal. I don't know if it's the anti-fungal or not. I'll know by the end of next week because I'll stop giving him that medication in a few days.
Okay, I went through his photos and put some together. I wish the lighting was all the same for comparison.
The dates are really correct. Note that August 30th was ~2 weeks after starting twice daily antibiotics and one antiparasitic treatment. He actually kept losing fur for 2 weeks after the initial vet visit, which scared me. Most of his fur seemed to grow back a week later. But from different angles, I can tell that his fur is still thin there. That doesn't show through as easily in the photos. Because he re-grew fur so fast, I just feel he could lose it just as fast.
face-patches.jpg
EDIT. Here is a photo that sort of shows off the thin pattern on his face.
face-patch_thin-areas.jpg
On his back, the area above his bottom lost fur. You can't tell that as easily from the photo. There was a bare sort of triangle area.
back-patches.jpg
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