Oh Hamsterita, I'm so sorry. Try not to let it stress you too much - although easy to say I know. It gets your imagination going. They are just a few little bugs. They're not Hamster mites. And yes it sounds like they've come in something from the place you bought your things from and hatched out. It is hard when it upsets your hammy as well.
So - losing fur behind the ears - this is normal - I had that with Charlie too and I worried about it. I think it's one of the first places they start to lose fur as they grow up, behind the ears.
You've done a good job of cleaning the tank and sterilising bedding. The tank isn't the problem it was something in it that had bugs and they've just been exploring a bit. I can quite understand you wanting to knock it on the head by fumigating the room (after my moth experience!).
So you're doing all the right things. No harm will come from the few bugs and please don't worry about Blacky having eggs on him. These kind of things are interested in food and bedding, not hamsters. It's probably from the food. The moth eggs can be in anything (even flour we eat) and don't know and hatch out if conditions are right sometimes (warmth I think). And the bugs look like the grain mites. Even though they come from food they can get into bedding and other places. A bit of mould doesn't do much harm either but best to remove the offending item. I've had some bedding in the cage go a bit mouldy before where a water bottle leaked and just removed it and the rest of the cage was fine.
When Charlie's cage was absolutely crawling with moths (urgh!) I popped him right back into his cleaned out cage with new bedding and never had another one in the cage. So don't worry about them being on Blacky.
Apologies for one of my earlier posts about skin scraping at the vets - I think I saw the post earlier and thought it was a different topic about mites
- these are bugs not mites. Anyway still wouldn't use anything on Blacky. You will find he is ok and he's in the Ovo unit now so it will give you time to have that reassurance that there is nothing in there.
I think natural wood items can be affected by humidity. When I had to do my cage clean after the moth incident I did decide to throw natural wood items because of the grain - you can't wash them to get any possible eggs out. Although baking them might do it, but I didn't have many (just a bendy bridge really) and decided to get rid and used smooth wood items or ceramic or plastic after that.
It does freak you out and drive you a bit mental and creepy! But try not to worry. You have removed the source of the bugs from feeding and breeding (whatever the source was) by doing the cage clean and even without the fumigating it would naturally subside now.
Blacky will get over it, even if he's a bit upset at the moment. Just tell him it's a bit of a holiday and tell him not to worry. Pretend you're not stressed
Call the bugs names and tell them to go to hell! Blacky could pick up on your stress so just tell him it's all fine.
Very bad timing if you have exams coming up, but you are dealing with it.
We are surrounded by bugs and all sorts really (microscopic usually) and they're not all bad - we just don't want too many living with us! We found a huge beetle crawling on the carpet the other day and I freaked out wondering if we were going to be infested with cockroaches but it wasn't a cockroach it was just a beetle. Probably came in from outside.
Doing the cage clean and sterilising the bedding will have 99% knocked it on the head and spraying your room will sort it. The odd lone bug won't do any harm. And you've removed the source of their hiding places.
It sounds like they were only just starting to go out from the tank.
So try and stop looking for them everywhere (easy to say I know). Crack on with dealing with it. And then ignore it
So sorry you are having this. I can send you some Fitch if you like
Although it wouldn't arrive quickly.
There is nothing wrong with your tank - you maybe just had one rogue item or some food or bedding that hadn't been stored well.
After my moth issue I did find out that things needed to be frozen for a week and 48 hours wasn't long enough. It was definitely from food in my case. They just then got into the bedding.
Enough creepy crawly talk. These grain mites or mould mites or whatever, won't do any harm they are just a pain and you are dealing with it.
These things can happen even without having a pet! I once had an outbreak of flying ants in a house I lived in. They were nesting in cavity insulation in the walls! And came out through cracks. It drove me mental! I'd come down every morning and the walls and windows were black and crawling with the xxxxers! I just had to open the windows every day and keep hoovering until they were gone. I have asthma so didn't want to use insect spray. They did go. And so will your bugs