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

Pebbles82 · 10-11-2021, 05:49 PM

I wouldn't wash the food. Freezing it should be fine and you've already done that. Completely understand you don't want to do another full cage clean.

How about seeing the vet first and getting your hamster checked. The usual type of mites are demodex mites and they're too small to see - like a tiny black dot. They wouldn't be as big as the ones you have crawling around. The only way to check for those is if the vet does a skin scraping and looks under the microscope. I think that's unlikely. I don't know much about ear mites but a vet could tell.

So rule out anything coming from your hamster before doing another cage clean maybe. Although you will need to do one at some point now if there are bugs there again.

Obviously they're not coming from the wood house if it's fine in the playpen. The other wood toys could have eggs on that hatch out.

I think one step at a time at the moment as your hamster has had quite a bit of upheaval so far. So if the vet gives the hamster the all clear then you know it's something in the cage. If the vet finds it's something on the hamster then you'll be given treatment for that and can do the cage clean after treatment.

10-11-2021, 05:49 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: I think my hamster has some health issues? I want to confirm I wouldn't wash the food. Freezing it should be fine and you've already done that. Completely understand you don't want to do another full cage clean. How about seeing the vet first and getting your hamster checked. The usual type of mites are demodex mites and they're too small to see - like a tiny black dot. They wouldn't be as big as the ones you have crawling around. The only way to check for those is if the vet does a skin scraping and looks under the microscope. I think that's unlikely. I don't know much about ear mites but a vet could tell. So rule out anything coming from your hamster before doing another cage clean maybe. Although you will need to do one at some point now if there are bugs there again. Obviously they're not coming from the wood house if it's fine in the playpen. The other wood toys could have eggs on that hatch out. I think one step at a time at the moment as your hamster has had quite a bit of upheaval so far. So if the vet gives the hamster the all clear then you know it's something in the cage. If the vet finds it's something on the hamster then you'll be given treatment for that and can do the cage clean after treatment.