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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
Which country are you in? Sorry I was assuming you were in the Uk. In terms of diet they just need one good hamster muesli mix that contains the right levels of protein and fats. You can usually get Tiny friends Harry Hamster in most countries and that is fine for a dwarf hamster as well. It contains everything needed and whole sunflower seeds and peanuts. I wouldn’t give vitakraft drops. They don’t need added vitamins if they are on a good mix with the right contents (Harry Hamster also contains all vitamins and minerals needed). They can actually have too many vitamins. If he was ever sick or needed extra vitamins the best way to achieve that is to give a pinch of hemp seeds daily - they also contain all vitamins and minerals.
No they don’t need hay. That’s more rabbits and Guinea pigs. All they need is plenty of substrate (paper based better than wood shavings. If you do use wood shavings they need to be kiln dried pine and dust extracted (never cedar or unspecified wood). If it doesn’t say kiln dried pine on the pack it’s not safe.
So plenty of substrate - at least 4” deep. And plenty of toilet paper strips for nesting - and that’s all you need - apart from a house, wheel, some tunnels and other toys/hideouts and a shelf ideally. Plus food and water.
If you do get Harry hanster then freeze that too! Never had an issue with that but after an outbreak of moths from food (which infested my home!) I now freeze all hamster food for a week.
Won’t suggest any more pet disinfectant till know which country you’re in! Amazon sell it too but it’s more expensive there. In the Uk most pet shops stock it.
The taming sounds to be coming on really well - pleased for you  . Don’t worry if you have a set back after the cage clean - he just needs some time. |
I'm currently living in Poland. I got him new food, new bedding, new house, new cage, new toys, threw away all the wooden stuff and there are still bugs. The bugs are very small and I have to zoom in a lot to take a picture. When I squash them there's a lot of blood. The bugs just walk, they don't jump nor fly. Just walk I also got rid of the hay and I also cleaned my apartment the best I could. I don't know what to do anymore, but I will clean my apartment today again. I also got him a bathroom and I have noticed that there are a lot of bugs near his bathroom (he doesn't use it, but I put his faces there and I'm hoping he'd learn to use it, so it'd make easier for me to clean. Someone said my apartment might be infested, but I haven't seen the bugs before nor I see them anywhere else but the hamster's cage. At this point I am not sure if my hamster has the bugs and I think if those were fleas then I'd have fleas as well. The thing is there are different bugs and they're not all the same. Some are red and very little ones and then tiny black ones. I no longer want to take him to a vet, because it's cold outside and I am afraid he'd get sick when I take him to the vet. I also have difficulties with spot cleaning, because my hamster comes always out when I'm near the cage and he tries to climb on my hand all the time (he doesn't attack me nor bite. He seems to be very friendly) and I guess he's thinking about food whenever he sees or sniffs my hand.
I haven't noticed any bugs in his playpen, but then again the bugs are usually in his nests or near his toilets or on the house.
The only bedding that I have is in the freezer and it has been there for about a week. I don't know what to do anymore, really. I am just hoping that the bugs aren't harmful for my hamster, but I guess he's fine? He looks fine. I don't know how to check, but his hairs seem to be fine and the skin seemed to be fine. I have no idea how to check his stomach. I can't turn him around on his back and I don't want to do it by force. His cage is on the white table and I've never seen bugs there.
An apartment is generally a bad place to live, because the bugs might be coming from anywhere. I remember when I was little we lived in an apartment and my neighbour had a dog and the dog got fleas and then we and also other neighbours got fleas as well. It's the same thing with cockroaches and everything. When my sister lived in an apartment her neighbour had cockroaches and then she got cockroaches and then they decided to buy a house.
I deep clean the cage and apartment again and change the cage's location, I guess. I simply just don't know what to do anymore.
What I've noticed is me killing the bugs in his cage helps a lot, because once I didn't kill them for 4 days and there were a lot of them.
I still use the same brand of bedding, because I can't find anything else and I can't find sand bath for him from the stores, so I guess I have to order it online as well. Not really sure if I'm unhygienic / is it my fault that my hamster has bugs?
When I google a lot of people have had the same problem:
Tiny bugs on hamster. Help! - Ailments & Injuries - Hamster Hideout Forum I guess I have to change the bedding as well?