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My hamster has scabs on ears, spots, and a swollen nose. What to do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Hamster | Female | 5 months and 1 day old

My hamster has had a scab in her ear for a couple of days, she now has two red spor/scabs in one ear and one in the other, she has small spots on the back of her ears and developed a scabby, swollen nose. Please help

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Todd Cecil

Veterinarian

Published on October 25th, 2019

Thanks for reaching out about Polly. A first though would be skin mites causing her to itch a lot, creating wounds. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. If it turns out to be mites, all animals need to be treated and the environment cleaned thoroughly.
Good luck.

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on April 12th, 2020
It may be an allergy to the bedding you are using. It is hard to tell from the photos but it looks like you are using wood shavings. It is best to use a low dust product made for hamsters and other small animals called CareFresh as it is 99.9% dust free. I would start with this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=carefresh+hamster&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on February 14th, 2017
You need to treat her for mites first, you will be able to find mite treatment for hamster in pet shops over the counter. you may also want to switch to a different bedding, they can be allergic to sawdust.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on March 5th, 2018
This is probably due to a mite infestation, i would recommend going to the pet shop and buy special topical drops against mites for small mammals, apply the recommended amount once a week for 3 weeks, if this is mites this should solve the problem.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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