My hamster has a black patch on his testicle. What is it and is it painful?

Hello there! These do to be unusual spots on Percy's genitalia. There is no hamster-specific condition that would cause this that I can think of, but they do look a bit like folliculitis - an infection of the hair follicle. Hamsters do have tiny little hairs all over their testicles and prepuce (the prepuce is the skin that covers the penis), and sometimes they can get clogged with bacteria and cause a blackhead-like lesion. The only way to know if this is the cause for sure is to visit your vet - preferably, a vet that is comfortable with hamsters, or an exotics specialist. At the vet's office, they will give Percy a full physical exam, and they will likely collect a small scraped skin sample from Percy's skin lesions to look at under the microscope. This will help them determine if Percy needs a topical treatment, like antibiotics or antiseptics. I suggest giving a call to a local vet to see if they will examine a hamster, and if not, they can likely suggest someone who will. For now, you can continue keeping Percy's genitals clean with a mild soap and water solution that is rinsed and dried well. Best of luck to you and Percy!

Thanks for reaching out about Biddy. Is Biddy new? Could it have been a fight with another animal? Hair loss, swollen and scabbed sounds like a wound. This could be parasitic, bacterial, fungal, endocrine and more. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. Do not apply anything topical such as Neosporin as some of these medications can be ingested and cause problems. Good luck.

I am sorry to hear about your hamster. Unfortunately we can see testicular tumors or cancer in male hamsters, so if one testicle is larger thant he other I would be concerned. If the testical is painful or turning color another possibility would be a testicular torsion, where the testical twists inside the skin cutting off the blood supply. I would recommend having a vet examine him to help determine the cause and they can recommend treatment if available. Best of luck to you!

That looks like a wound of some type. Maybe from another hamster or a toy or bar in the cage? There could also be a small mass or cyst that's open. Keep that area clean and have a vet check that out in case he needs antibiotics.

That area could be inflamed because of diarrhoea for example or because of a skin infection (commonly bacterial infection or due to mites infestation). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately.

Stormz needs to see a veterinarian immediately. This appears to potentially be a problem with his cheek pouch and I'm concerned that it's turning black because the tissue is dead. Please have him seen quickly.

It is difficult to suggest what this might be without a visual. However, crusty scabs can either be due to infection (bacterial, fungal or viral) or due to a parasitic infection (mites, fleas etc). Benign sebaceous cysts can also sometime form crusty scabs as can malignant masses. Your veterinarian will be able to perform testing (skin scrape and cytology or fine needle aspirate) to determine what the scab is and prescribe appropriate treatment.