Hamster Central - View Single Post

astrid · 07-16-2019, 03:25 AM

Hello everyone, I haven't posted in so long. I'm not entirely sure if I am putting this into the right section. Sorry, if not. Long post ahead, sorry about that too.

I've got two Syrian hamsters. Both are over 1.5 years old now. One of them (Timmy) lives in the barney cage, while the more energetic one of the two (Pippin) is in the hamster homes wooden cage with a perspex front (size 120 x 60 cm).

Recently, Timmy has had an abscess operation (thankfully, he is fully recovered from that now). Then, it was followed by the fur loss. The vet has suspected mites, and Timmy seemed to recover after 3 doses of treatment (that was spread out over the 6 weeks). Of course, after the diagnosis, I've thoroughly cleaned and disinfected everything in Timmy's cage. I've thrown away and replaced all the wooden and natural hideaways and tunnels. During this time, Pippin kept on looking and acting healthy. Both cages are in the opposite ends of the same room (as I live in a shared house and can only keep them in my bedroom). My hamsters don't share any toys. I always wash my hands between handling them.

Now, some time has passed and Pippin has also lost some fur. The vet once again suspected mites and put the treatment on him for that. Now, I've cleaned Pippin's cage but am still concerned, as it is wooden and seems more difficult to properly disinfect.

To add to it all, after looking like he has recovered for more than a week (all the lost fur has grown back, Timmy seemed happy and relaxed), I've noticed that Timmy yesterday had a bit of a 'bed head' look on him, so, it is possible that it's mites again/ still. I'll have a better look at him tonight, and most likely will have to book another vet appointment. But even with the spot-on treatment on my boys, how do I ensure that that they don't keep reinfecting one another (even though they are kept separately at all times currently). And what do I do about their environments? Should I throw away all wooden and similar toys/ houses again? What I should do about Pippin's wooden cage to ensure it's throughly disinfected?

07-16-2019, 03:25 AM
astrid Hamster Pup Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Loughborough, UK Posts: 129	Mites infestation Hello everyone, I haven't posted in so long. I'm not entirely sure if I am putting this into the right section. Sorry, if not. Long post ahead, sorry about that too. I've got two Syrian hamsters. Both are over 1.5 years old now. One of them (Timmy) lives in the barney cage, while the more energetic one of the two (Pippin) is in the hamster homes wooden cage with a perspex front (size 120 x 60 cm). Recently, Timmy has had an abscess operation (thankfully, he is fully recovered from that now). Then, it was followed by the fur loss. The vet has suspected mites, and Timmy seemed to recover after 3 doses of treatment (that was spread out over the 6 weeks). Of course, after the diagnosis, I've thoroughly cleaned and disinfected everything in Timmy's cage. I've thrown away and replaced all the wooden and natural hideaways and tunnels. During this time, Pippin kept on looking and acting healthy. Both cages are in the opposite ends of the same room (as I live in a shared house and can only keep them in my bedroom). My hamsters don't share any toys. I always wash my hands between handling them. Now, some time has passed and Pippin has also lost some fur. The vet once again suspected mites and put the treatment on him for that. Now, I've cleaned Pippin's cage but am still concerned, as it is wooden and seems more difficult to properly disinfect. To add to it all, after looking like he has recovered for more than a week (all the lost fur has grown back, Timmy seemed happy and relaxed), I've noticed that Timmy yesterday had a bit of a 'bed head' look on him, so, it is possible that it's mites again/ still. I'll have a better look at him tonight, and most likely will have to book another vet appointment. But even with the spot-on treatment on my boys, how do I ensure that that they don't keep reinfecting one another (even though they are kept separately at all times currently). And what do I do about their environments? Should I throw away all wooden and similar toys/ houses again? What I should do about Pippin's wooden cage to ensure it's throughly disinfected?