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Old 06-07-2018, 11:17 AM   #1
ssilva1
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Exclamation Please help! Skin scrape worries and questions

My Einstein is 32 months old and was diagnosed yesterday by vet with demodex mites. It took the vet 3 different skin scrapings, which was awful bc not only was it in 3 different spots, but the vet was squeezing the blood out of the scraped skin(My poor Hammy)
He was given the 1st of 3 ivermectin injections for the next 3 weeks. However, when I asked the vet about extra steps in sanitizing cage he response was, "No. The bedding doesn't need to come out bc these mites are not contagious. Especially since you just cleaned his cage." Does anyone know if this is 100% accurate?
Also, he told me to start giving Einstein one drop, out of an eye dropper, of children's multivitamin a day. Has anyone heard of this? He saw his food dish in addition to the fresh veggie, fruit, and nut he's given every night. (I alternate the veggies and fruits so that he is getting variety each evening). He said Einstein's diet was pretty perfect.
Please also see the photos of his two of his skin scrapes. It's seems deep to me but this is my first time having this done and this is our first hamster!
Also, his fur looks oily because I was advised to put Olive Oil on the dry, flaky skin with a q-tip and massage it in.
Please let me know if you're able to see the photos of his skin scrapings
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Old 06-07-2018, 10:35 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Please help! Skin scrape worries and questions

Really sorry to hear Einstein has this problem.
I am a bit surprised that the vet said not to clean the cage tbh, maybe if it's just the mites under the skin it isn't necessary, I haven't had experience with that myself but people do seem to do cage cleans & sanitise toys etc when there is a mite problem, maybe someone with experience of this will be able to help more.
The skin scrape does look quite raw but I would think that would heal quickly enough.
I haven't heard of hams being given children's vitamins before either, I'm sure it's safe enough but it might be better to use a vitamin supplement made for small animals, I use Dr Squiggles tiny friends essentials, a probiotic when their under stress is a good idea too & can help give the immune system a boost which helps with the mite problem. You can get ProC in most pet shops, I use Potent Brew for mine. If you use ProC put it on food not in the water bottle.
For dry skin or other skin problems I've found a combination of flax seeds & a drop of Evening primrose oil daily (on food or just from a spoon) helps a lot.
Good luck, I hope Einstein is better soon.
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Last edited by cypher; 06-07-2018 at 11:12 PM.
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Old 06-15-2018, 09:37 AM   #3
VanessaC
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Default Re: Please help! Skin scrape worries and questions

Oh, my 18 month old Syrian Chester, was diagnosed with demodex today, I have had Syrians for years but none have ever had this condition so I am trying to research it myself. I read that stress can cause this, but he's never ever stressed, he's such a happy boy and I let him run free on a daily basis around the sitting room, he always puts himself back into his cage.
Cypher, I read that you recommend flax seed on the food, is it just a sprinkle I would give?
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Old 06-23-2018, 09:13 AM   #4
herbi7
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Default Re: Please help! Skin scrape worries and questions

Hi, it's true that there is no need to disinfect the cage when it's mites in the skin. They never leave the hammy so he can't get reinfected from bedding or anything. The other sort of mites which are rodent mites you do have to disinfect really thoroughly. The ones that live in the skin are easy enough to get rid of but what makes the biggest difference is the immunity of the hamster. As yours is quite old it would be good as cypher says to boost his immunity and give fresh veg and things like parsley (a very little though) as that will help too
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