Hamster's coat?

Question

My male syrian hamster used to have a nice, clean coat. After a while, his head started looking kinda...frizzy, like it was wet and he started brushing it with his paws or something. Soon his whole body looked like that. Whenever he's finished drinking from his water bottle, he goes under it, and climbs up the tube....maybe that's why...but it looks like that all the time now! Is something wrong?

Answer 1

Not necessarily, all you have to do is give him a bath. A small one. Big ones give them Dara. And then dry him immediately afterward.

Answer 2

There are three possibilites for greasy fur in your hamster -

A hamster with greasy fur, could be a sign that the hamster's bedding is not being changed frequently. The hamster's bedding should be supplied generously to prevent odours. Sometimes when one forgets to clean the cage, the hamster will look greasy so it's best to clean the cage more frequently. The hamster's bedding should be changed at least once a week.

Hamster greasy fur, could also be a sign of ilness; the hamster is too lethargic to clean its fur. If your hamster is lethargic, you should take it to the vet, since lethargy is a sign of a number of illnesses.

Also sometimes greasy hair could be from the hamster's genes ie: the hamster's coat type is genetically greasy, in such a case it is completely normal and nothing to worry about.

Please do not give your hamster a bath or wipe him with moist cloth or water. Hamsters are naturally well groomed and bathing / wiping with water can strip their fur off its natural oils and cause skin infections. The dampness in the skin can also cause colds.

If you feel that the hamster's fur is wet because of standing under the water bottle, just wipe him clean with a dry tissue. Also make sure that the hamster water bottle is not leaking.

Chinchilla sand (not chinchilla dust) should only be used for hamsters for cleaning their fur. Leave a one-inch deep ceramic dish filled with chinchilla sand in the hamster cage so that the hamster can roll on it whenever he feels like. This would also help remove some of the greasy feeling from the fur.

Answer 3

my hamster's fur was like that. there's nothing wrong with your hammie, it's just frizzy and cute!

Ta ta,

C.R.