Thread: Mites
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Old 08-22-2017, 02:04 PM  
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Mites

I had to psyche myself up, write a list and just get organised and get it over with.

1) Find somewhere cosy to put Quigley for a day (I put Charlie in his pet carrier in the morning and let him sleep in it all day). Or a spare cage or play cage maybe.

2) Stick all the washable things in a bowl of hot washing up water, bin bendy bridges, bag up anything else wood in plastic bags.

3) Empty bedding etc out of cage base, bag it up in a bin bag and take it outside.

4) Take bars of cage base and stick them in the bath. Spray them with the disinfectant, wipe them down then shower them with a shower to rinse them and leave the bars somewhere to dry.

5) Clean the inside of the cage base with the disinfectant spray, then take cage base up to the bath and spray the outside and underneath and wipe it down then shower the base to rinse it, inside and out and leave it somewhere to dry and air.

6) Meanwhile deal with the bagged up wood items. Either stick them in the freezer or bake them (you'll need instructions from someone else for baking!). If they're smooth wood and plastikoted then just wipe them down with the spray disinfectant and wipe it off well with a wet cloth. Same for all smooth wood items if plastikoted. If not plastikoted then bake or freeze them. Personally I wouldn't keep any bark wood items but some people bake or freeze them. Don't use any disinfectant on bare wood as it will soak in.

7) Set up the dry cage, put the shelves back in and new bedding and any cleaned plastic or ceramic toys, food bowl, water bottle and a new house or cardboard house (assuming the regular house is wood and needs dealing with).

Scatter some food around and add a couple of treat sticks and hide some treats. Put the cleaned wheel back in (you can just pour boiling water over it in the sink and wash and dry it).

If you can get all that done by 6pm you can then pop Quigley back in the cage with a huge pile of new nesting material. If it's a bit sparse on toys then maybe add a new improvised item (eg ceramic mug on its side).

Things like kabobs, dangling things, coconut shells I would put in the freezer. Bin any hemp mat.

As you've just got back from the vet today I would leave it until tomorrow and start in the morning so you have a full day and can do it while he's sleeping, plus he'll need to get over the vet visit tonight.
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