Hamster Central - View Single Post - I think my hamster has some health issues? I want to confirm

Pebbles82 · 09-20-2021, 05:03 AM

Do you mean you found one after the cage clean or before? I don’t think he has fleas- it’s normal to scratch and groom fairly regularly and you’d know about it if he had fleas. I am sure these bugs have hatched out from the food. Unless, possibly, you have plants nearby that have bugs on them.

Don’t worry. Yes it may set things back after another cage clean but he’ll come round again. Explain to him. The more you talk to him, the more they bond with you and I swear they listen sometimes! He’ll pick up from your tone of voice. So just tell him you’re really sorry for more upheaval again but the nasty bugs haven’t gone and this time it’ll get sorted snd he’ll soon get back to normal. Then give him a couple of days alone for a day or two after the clean - unless he shows signs of wanting to chat or come out.

The playpen behaviour is fairly normal when he’s not tame yet. He’s do the same in the bath tub (try snd climb the sides). Their instinct is to get out! It can help if you have a couple of hidey places and a tunnel in the playpen - and I also scatter some treats or food around - that can distract them. And a chew stick.

The climbing at the sides is also a bit of anxiety about his cage probably - if it’s been cleaned out recently and he can head cage noises. So just keep talking to him. He’ll soon settle again.

No don’t wait till xth October. While the bugs won’t harm your hamster, they will keep proliferating and it could then be harder to get rid - they may have lays eggs etc.

So do a full cage clean now. Make sure you get the cleaning stuff into all the crevices in the base and give the bars a good clean too (to wash off any possible eggs which won’t be visible). Using white vinegar is probably fine as that will kill any bugs or eggs (or cause then to die off). But do rinse really well afterwards so it doesn’t smell too strong of vinegar.

Once this is done then by the time the new cage comes he will be settled snd have familiar smells in the cage so don’t clean anything again until the new cage comes (except maybe a tiny bit of spot cleaning wee if it’s smelly and you actually know where he’s wee’d.). But don’t do anything for two weeks now - even if it gets a bit whiffs. If you have enough substrate in (at least 4” deep) it’ll be fine.

When he comes to moving to the new cage you can just move everything over without cleaning anything so he settles quickly.

Which cage did you go for?

The only kind of bugs that could be harmful to him are red spider mites and they don’t look like that (they do come from plants I believe). I am sure it’s from the food though as it’s the only thing that wasn’t eliminated last time and a usual source of bugs hatching out).

09-20-2021, 05:03 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: I think my hamster has some health issues? I want to confirm Do you mean you found one after the cage clean or before? I don’t think he has fleas- it’s normal to scratch and groom fairly regularly and you’d know about it if he had fleas. I am sure these bugs have hatched out from the food. Unless, possibly, you have plants nearby that have bugs on them. Don’t worry. Yes it may set things back after another cage clean but he’ll come round again. Explain to him. The more you talk to him, the more they bond with you and I swear they listen sometimes! He’ll pick up from your tone of voice. So just tell him you’re really sorry for more upheaval again but the nasty bugs haven’t gone and this time it’ll get sorted snd he’ll soon get back to normal. Then give him a couple of days alone for a day or two after the clean - unless he shows signs of wanting to chat or come out. The playpen behaviour is fairly normal when he’s not tame yet. He’s do the same in the bath tub (try snd climb the sides). Their instinct is to get out! It can help if you have a couple of hidey places and a tunnel in the playpen - and I also scatter some treats or food around - that can distract them. And a chew stick. The climbing at the sides is also a bit of anxiety about his cage probably - if it’s been cleaned out recently and he can head cage noises. So just keep talking to him. He’ll soon settle again. No don’t wait till xth October. While the bugs won’t harm your hamster, they will keep proliferating and it could then be harder to get rid - they may have lays eggs etc. So do a full cage clean now. Make sure you get the cleaning stuff into all the crevices in the base and give the bars a good clean too (to wash off any possible eggs which won’t be visible). Using white vinegar is probably fine as that will kill any bugs or eggs (or cause then to die off). But do rinse really well afterwards so it doesn’t smell too strong of vinegar. Once this is done then by the time the new cage comes he will be settled snd have familiar smells in the cage so don’t clean anything again until the new cage comes (except maybe a tiny bit of spot cleaning wee if it’s smelly and you actually know where he’s wee’d.). But don’t do anything for two weeks now - even if it gets a bit whiffs. If you have enough substrate in (at least 4” deep) it’ll be fine. When he comes to moving to the new cage you can just move everything over without cleaning anything so he settles quickly. Which cage did you go for? The only kind of bugs that could be harmful to him are red spider mites and they don’t look like that (they do come from plants I believe). I am sure it’s from the food though as it’s the only thing that wasn’t eliminated last time and a usual source of bugs hatching out).