Why does a hamster scratch and bite itself, what should I do?

Hamsters are clean animals, they often wash themselves and tidy their fur. But if routine grooming turns into a painful problem, you need to understand why the hamster itches as soon as possible. There are many causes of itching in rodents, and the treatment will be completely different.

Stress

Hamsters are stressed. If the hamster itches, and the skin and coat of the pet look healthy, scratching is a sign of psychological discomfort. When a hamster rubs its back against cage bars and other objects, it marks the territory with its scent. If it seems to you that the jungarik itches often, watch him. A couple of times an hour is not a pathology, but the natural behavior of the animal.

Possible causes of stress:

• moving to a new place;
• neighborhood with other animals, including relatives;
• frequent change of bedding and washing of the cage, new items in the home;
• disturbed daytime sleep, loud noises (TV).

If the pet has settled in the house recently, he should be given a couple of weeks to adapt. You can not stick your hands into the cage at a time when the animal is inside. It is not recommended to take it by hand from the cage. The contact of a cautious rodent with the owner must be voluntary.

Knowing why hamsters itch in nature, it is easier to distinguish between pathological itching and the instinctive behavior of a healthy animal. Smell glands in Syrian hamsters are located on the sides, and in dwarf hamsters – on the stomach. If the Djungarian hamster scratches its stomach on the floor of the cage, it marks the territory.

Allergy

Allergies can be food and contact. Food occurs with improper feeding, when the hamster gets food “from the table” – sweet food, nuts, strawberries and other exotic delicacies. Contact – for household chemicals, filler (sawdust of coniferous trees). If the animal is sitting in the owner’s arms, he may be allergic to perfume.

With allergies, not only the skin of the animal is affected – the ears turn red, transparent outflows from the eyes, nose appear, the animal can sneeze.

Treatment does not require the use of antihistamines, it is enough to identify and remove the cause. The litter is replaced with white paper napkins, all excesses are removed from the diet.

Lichen

With fungal skin diseases, itching is moderate, but the damage to the coat is characteristic – areas of baldness are rounded, with crusts and dandruff. The hair looks like it’s broken. The disease is chronic and treatment should be long-term. External treatments are prescribed: Nizoral cream, Triderm 2 times a day for 10-14 days, Fungin spray. The trouble is that the rodent licks off the medicine.

Ectoparasites

If the hamster is attacked by fleas, lice or withers, the itching will be severe. The hamster itches and bites itself, can show aggression, jump from painful bites. These parasites can be seen under a magnifying glass. Vlasoyed pet can become infected in a pet store from other animals, or through bedding and hay.

Ear scabies (otodectosis)

In the case of ear mite damage, the hamster scratches selectively, tearing the ears with its hind legs. A dark coating is visible in the ear, the rodent can shake its head, tilt it to one side.

Scabies (mites)

The most common cause of itching in hamsters is infection with various types of parasitic mites: sarcoptic mange, notoedrosis, demodicosis. If left untreated, the disease takes over the entire body. The hamster constantly itches, injuring the skin. The skin is inflamed, the hair falls out. Areas of baldness are extensive, there are scratches on the skin, scabs, dandruff. If the hamster combed himself to the blood, the wounds become infected, may fester. The disease causes severe suffering to the animal and, if left untreated, leads to death due to exhaustion. Eating is disturbed, sleep is impossible.

Most often, hamsters register demodicosis. A pet is not always infected from other animals, but may be a carrier of parasites from birth. The asymptomatic, “sleeping” form of the disease is activated due to stress or for no apparent reason. Any hamster can get sick because of this, even in “sterile” conditions.

Treating scabies in an adult rodent is not easy. In the generalized form, the hamster’s skin looks like a continuous wound, covered with crusts, there is no hair. A course of injections of ivermectin (ivomek, otodectin) is carried out. For small animals, otodectin is more convenient, it is a 0,1% (and not 1%) solution of ivermectin. Minimum – 2 injections with an interval of 10 days (dose 0,2 ml per 1 kg), sometimes up to 6 injections. You can carry out external treatments with fipronil (spray for rodents “Bars”).

Diagnostics

Not every veterinarian knows what to do if a hamster itches. It is better to find out in advance if there is a rodent specialist in the clinic – a ratologist. If the hamster scratches the skin all the time or just itches a lot, a visit to the clinic cannot be avoided. The doctor will follow the following algorithm to make a diagnosis:

• collection of anamnesis: analysis of the diet and conditions of detention;
• examination in a dark room with a Woods lamp. In the blue light of an ultraviolet lamp, some fungi glow green, white areas indicate inflammation of the skin. Wood’s lamp can reveal lichen (mycosis), show the general condition of the skin;
• scrapings and sowing on a nutrient medium are carried out if lichen is suspected;
• deep skin scraping.

In the affected area and always at the border of a healthy and diseased skin area, material is taken for microscopy. Crusts, hairs and deep skin scrapings. The procedure is often terrifying for the owner: the skin is scraped off until drops of blood appear. However, this allows you to get a lot of information: if ticks are visible under a microscope, you can even determine the genus of the parasite.

RџSЂRё sarcoptosis и demodicosis it can be difficult to see ticks in a scraping – they live so deep in the dermis. Therefore, a negative diagnostic result does not exclude the diagnosis of acariasis.

Treatment

Diet and conditions of detention

Regardless of the diagnosis, careful dietary instruction is given. All possible allergens are excluded, flaxseed is given for quick healing of the skin.

The cage and accessories are disinfected, the bedding is changed to paper towels. Requires solitary content and peace.

Fight the cause

With ectoparasites (fleas, withers, lice), ear and common scabies, ivermectin or other insecticides are prescribed. With lichen – antifungal drugs. It is important to observe the duration and frequency of the prescribed treatments.

What you can’t do: wet and bathe the animal, self-medicate. Even if you are sure that the animal has parasites, it is better to check the dosage of drugs with a doctor. Many drugs are toxic to tiny rodents such as the Syrian or Djungarian hamster.

Conclusion

Diagnoses such as scabies, lichen, pediculosis can be confirmed by laboratory. Allergy or stress – only assume, excluding all other possible causes of itching. Therefore, do not rush to put an allergy on a pet who suddenly began to comb his sides. More than 80% of skin lesions in small rodents are acariases, parasitic in the skin of microscopic mites.