Red mites killed by hamster

DearTiquito · 02-07-2018, 02:32 PM

Tonight a vet had to euthanize our beautiful, charming winter white dwarf hamster Tiquito.

This morning we saw that she was sleeping in the corner of her cage. We thought it was strange as she's never done that before. She usually sleeps in her plastic house on the second floor of her cage.

We needed to go to work so my husband and I left. She seemed okay and was dozing.

This evening when we came back from work she was not okay. I mean NOT OKAY.

She was lying on her back and her eyes were in slits and she was breathing shallow. When she tried to walk she fell over. It was extremely traumatic to see her this way.

We immediately rushed her to a 24hour vet.
On the way to the vet I noticed small red bugs crawling on her fur. We had seen these bugs before and had immediately cleaned out her entire cage and washed all her plastic house, wheel, and everything in the cage.

I was shocked to see the red bugs were back.

At the vet, the vet put her on the steel table and she just flopped down, unable to walk.

He told her she had nerve damage. The reason? These red mites had burrowed into her ears and were affecting her balance.

We were shocked, saddened and in extreme pain for Tiquito. She is like a child to us.

Apparently these red mites come from hamster sawdust. The sawdust we were buying for her and changed so diligently was the source of the problem!

The vet told us that either he could hold Tiquito for six month and put hydroxide droplets into her ears to kills the mites (an extremely expensive process with a low chance that she would survive) or euthanize her.

We chose to euthanize. We didn't want her to go trough 6 months more pain.

Tonight we are brokenhearted. My husband cried and I've only seen him three times in my whole life.

I just want everyone to be EXTREMELY VIGILANT with red mites. Alot of forums say not to worry too much about mites, that they're not that dangerous.

They are.

Please don't let your hamster go through the pain that Tiquito had to go through. If you spot even one red mite on your hamster get them treatment immediately. I have now read that there are shampoos or sprays that you can use.

We live in South Africa and I am curious to know whether this problem is unique to our country. The fact that we are being sold sawdust that is contaminated is very worrying. Please let me know if you have any experiences in this...

souffle · 02-08-2018, 03:51 AM

I am sorry for your loss.
Mites do tend to home in on animals who are ill in other ways so it's possible this has happened. Mites are around in every country and could be brought in in food, bedding or by wild animals. You do need to treat all animals in the household with a spot on as well as the environment. I'd ensure that you ditch all the food and bedding you have in stock and treat the areas where animals go with a mite spray. Perhaps don't keep small animals for a good while so that any issues can be addressed. It may be best to use something like carefresh as bedding in future.

dreamtree1234 · 02-08-2018, 05:59 AM

I am terribly sorry for your loss of Tiquito. My heart breaks for you and your husband. I am sure that you both did what you thought was best for you little ham so please don't blame yourselves. You gave Tiquito a wonderful life filled with so much love and care; I do hope that this as well as all the precious memories you have created with Tiquito help to give you peace. Hugs to you both.

RIP, dear Tiquito. May you be fully restored to good health and find much happiness and adventures at the Rainbow Bridge. Please send a lovely rainbow to you human parents who love and miss you so.

Fortunately, I have never had any issues with mites. I live in the U.S. and am always very vigilant about checking all bedding, food, toys, etc. prior to introducing them to my darlings. Thanks for your caring warning about these red mites - what a nightmare. It is very kind and thoughtful of you to post this thread while you are still grieving the loss of your beloved Tiquito. Take care of yourselves and please know that we are here for you.

Pebbles82 · 02-08-2018, 06:17 AM

I am so sorry this has happened. Some people freeze all the bedding before use so as to kill anything that may be in it. Any softwood shavings from outside the Uk may not be kiln dried also - so any wood shavings shouldn't be used unless they say kiln dried and dust extracted on the packet. Some people even freeze Carefresh.

You have done nothing wrong - you had a bad batch of bedding and it is very sad.