Finding and vanishing fleas

[gracieiscrazy]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to document my journey of what works and doesn’t for me when it comes to fleas on hamsters. We’re not done yet but I will update when I know the final result.

Day one:
I was handling Honey in her cage getting her used to my hands and a flea jumps off her onto my wrist and then onto the floor and disappears into the carpet. I had noticed her grooming slightly more than usual but since she is fairly new I wasn’t sure if this was normal, now I’m sure it’s not! I feel so bad for her it must feel horribly itchy I moved Honey to a different room and vacuumed the carpet thoroughly. I then sprayed Bob Martin Clear Flea & Tick Spray all over the carpet and on my bedsheets. I ordered a Beaphar Anti Parasite Spot On for Golden Hamsters and Gerbils on Amazon which I am told will arrive Monday.

Day two:
Got home from work and spread salt all over the carpet, apparently this dries flea out as well as the eggs. Got sick of waiting for the drops to arrive in the mail so I just went to the pet store and bought the same thing to apply today instead. Got home and vacuumed the salt off the floor. My mum helped me clean out Honey’s cage while I applied the drops to her neck (and a bit in her ear accidentally oops). I thought the drops would really freak her out but she didn’t even seem to notice, though she does look a bit like a drowned rat now, and the back of one ear is quite red - though I think that might be from the previous over-grooming. I also bought some sand for a bath but will give the drops time to sink in and work.

I only saw one flea on her in the beginning and she didn’t have loads jumping off her when I applied the drops like I’ve heard some people talk about, so hopefully it was a one off but I wanted to be sure. I will update with what happens tomorrow.

Does anyone have a similar experience? What did you do and what happened?

[gracieiscrazy]

I think I should clear up that I only gave Honey one pipette of the flea medicine since she is still so small.

Day three:
My flea trap (soapy water in a shallow bowl with a light on next to it) caught 3 fleas overnight. I was shocked since I’d cleaned the carpet so much! Honey looks much less like a drowned rat today and not scratching at all.

Day four: caught one more flea last night so hopefully the cleaning and trap is almost got rid of them. No scratching from Honey.

Day five: no more fleas in the trap! Have I got them all? Honey is scratching more today, hopefully it’s just some old flea bites? I will keep watching since I don’t want to give her another pipette of the flea stuff since you can only give them one dose every four weeks.

Updates to follow!