Hamster Hair Loss

Please note that the author is not a veterinarian. Pleaseconsult your vet for any medical advice about your pet. Growing up, a sense of wonder at nature and a love for animalswas instilled in us. A normal weekend was spent at ElacheeNature Center in Oakwood, GA learning about the climate thatcontrolled Georgia's agriculture and natural resources. Thisnormally went into detail about animals as well as the plantsthat naturally supported such wildlife. This inbred fascinationwith nature was also reflected in our home. My brother, sister,and I all had numerous books on wild animals and we loved towatch The Discovery Channel. My mom brought it on herself thatwe tended to bring home and love animals. By the time I hadmoved out, my family had two birds, two turtles, numerous whitemice and hamsters, and one very rowdy little dog. After I movedout, I collected a couple of cats and a couple of very rowdylarge dogs. The most recent addition to the family is Hannah, the dwarfhamster. My brother, Bob, brought her home in late 2003 and mymom quickly became enamored with her. Mom has been known to getHannah out of her cage in the middle of the night to play andfeed her almonds in the kitchen while she gets ready for work. Early in 2005, Hannah began to develop bald spots under her chinand across her body. My mom would often talk about how itworried her during our weekly conversations, but I hadn'trealized how far spread it was until I woke Hannah up one Sundayafternoon. She climbed up against the walls of her plexiglasshamster-haven and I realized that she had lost most of the hairon her stomach in a patch that stretched from her right arm toher right leg. Her little pink skin showed through clear as day,and I got her out for a closer look. She didn't exhibit anybumps or discomfort as I probed her, although she was a littleirritated that I was bringing her out without the offer of atasty treat. I gave her a hamster treat and set her back down inher little home.Then, I decided it was time for an internet search. LittleHannah needed some help, and I didn't want to pay a vet to tellme she was just getting old. I researched 'hamster hair loss'and found that it is a fairly common problem, especially inolder hamsters. The search told me that the most common reasonswere age, protein deficiency, vitamin deficiency, hair gettingcaught in the hamster-wheel, mites, and allergic reactions tothe bedding. It also let me know how to check her for mites.Mites cause a red or black pattern of bumps on the skin and theynormally nest in the hamster's hair and bedding. I checked herand realized that her skin was clear, smooth, and free fromlittle insects.I knew Hannah was aging and getting to where this was a naturalinstance for her species; however, I couldn't just tell my momto prepare for a little hamster funeral. I focused on thedeficiencies and found that most pet stores sell a water-solublevitamin supplement for hamsters. You simply dissolve a pill inthe hamster's water supply, and the hamster ingests it withouteven knowing. I called my mom and let her know what my research had concludedand she said that she had found basically the same thing in herown search. She said she was going to get a supplement and seehow Hannah responded. After a couple of weeks, Mom reported that Hannah had regained anew love for life and was even making her wheel "go squeaky,squeaky in the middle of the night." She mentioned that the hairhad not started to grow back but had stopped falling out. Shealso noted that Hannah seemed to really like her newsupplemented water and she had to refill her little dispensermore often.Before, whenever I had browsed the pet store the animalmultivitamins struck me as silliness for profit: a plan to playoff our love for our pets to line the company's pockets. Nowthat I have seen it in action, I realize how close we are to ourlittle animal neighbors in how our bodies need the substance ofhealthiness. In animals and in humans, our food comespre-processed and our exercise is limited by our lifestyle. Aspeople, our doctors, magazines, TV programs on healthy livingand even our mothers tell us to take our daily multivitamin tokeep us young, fit, and healthy because our food simply does notsatisfy the nutritional needs of our bodies. As hamsters, theyonly have the attention of their owners to see to it that theyget what their little bodies need to survive - and there aren'tany TV commercials on the benefits of hamster vitamins. Now thevictim of a successful experiment, it seems that Hannah now hasa greater appreciation for her nutritional supplement as well.For more advice from real professionals, the following websiteshelped me in my search for the cure:http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/hamsters.htmhttp://www.petinfo4u.com/advanced_small_animals.htmhttp://www.britishhamsterassociation.org.uk/get_article.php?fname=journal/dermatitis.htm