Itchy Ham, worried about bedding or previous mite infestation

[ljapaneseguml]

Hi! I'm so glad to be here! I adopted my first hamster, Calliope, last Wednesday and even after a week, I feel like she's getting used to being with me (mostly because she knows I'm the food master). The only downside is she's having this bad itchiness problem. She has a vet appt on Friday for any treatment, but I'm really needing some help with prevention.

I noticed when I adopted her, she had a tiny little spot where she was losing some hair and it's only gotten worse. The woman I adopted her from used Grreat Choice Aspen Wood Shavings Pet Bedding and suggested I do the same. I've changed out the bedding once in her main cage and twice in her upper hideaway, but she still itches like crazy! I catch her cleaning herself quite a bit. Since I'm so new, I don't know if this is normal or not (I feel like it isn't). A few questions:
Could it be the aspen wood shavings that I'm using?
How do I kill mites in bedding?
Should I change away from the wood shavings and use a different brand/bedding?

On the other hand...
I adopted her from a Guinea Pig Rescue and both hamsters + guinea pigs were kept in a garage pretty close to each other with a random bunny running around. There were about six or seven hamster cages next to each other (some glass, some crittertrail) with barely a couple of inches in between. Could it also be possible that another cage had mites and it just spread around and she caught it? Any maybe there's nothing wrong with the bedding I bought, but she just came with mites from the rescue and now it's all over her home?

Or maybe it IS just the aspen wood shavings. And now my mind is talking in circles and I'm panicking because I feel clueless and helpless. Any help is appreciated

[velma]

Hi! While they do spend a lot of time cleaning if she's losing hair that could be a worry. I've never had to deals with mites but hopefully your vet can confirm if it's that or not. Does she have any stuff that came home with her from the rescue? If it is mites that will need to go, I think. I'm glad you have a vet appointment tomorrow and I'm sure a member on here with experience can give you a better answer

[Pebbles82]

Apart from the little bald patch, I would say she is grooming a lot - they can do this more if they're a bit anxious - eg after the cage clean. Try not to panic and wait to see what the vet says - he can confirm whether or not she has mites - but it could be a bedding allergy. Hamsters can be allergic to any kind of wood. If that's the case then Carefresh, Kaytee Clean and Cozy, Boxo, or Oxbow paper bedding would be a better option. But wait and see what the vet says. Try not to get too paranoid about the idea of mites as that might not be the case. If it is, the Vet will give you something to treat it and advice on how to remove them from the cage. But I think it sounds more like just anxiously grooming a lot or possibly an allergy.

I would avoid changing the bedding just now, before seeing the Vet as she's just had a change once and usually it's best not to change anything for the first two weeks as this does stress them out