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Old 08-07-2022, 07:52 PM   #1
lovehamsters01
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Exclamation worm infestation????

Hi everyone, so I'm very shaken up over what happened last night.
I was checking on Daisy, my Syrian hamster when I noticed a thin, pale-yellow worm on her bedding which headed straight into her food bowl. I immediately dumped out almost everything in her cage, cleaned it thoroughly, and checked Daisy out. she seemed fine, completely her normal self.
I've seen this type of worm before a few years ago when my guinea pig hutch was infested but that was a completely different situation. the hutch was being kept outside and when I went away for a month in the summer, my family hadn't realized how important it was to keep the hutch super clean. I came back to a huge mess in the hutch and a slight worm infestation in some dirtier areas (I immediately cleaned it out well, made sure there was no way it would happen again, and the guinea pigs thankfully were completely fine)
but Daisy's Nite angel cage was very clean, it had actually been completely cleaned out only 2 weeks ago and the cage itself had no infested, wet or dirty areas. in fact, other than that one worm, I didn't notice any other ones, although admittedly I was trying my hardest not to notice them. I have this fear of worms ever since the guinea pig situation and I don't even feed mealworms to my hamsters. Daisy's cage is also kept in a cool, air-conditioned location, certainly not one that would attract any flies or worms.
so, my question is, where did that worm come from?? could it have been the food? also, is Daisy at any risk? she's being her completely normal and social self and I did look her over quickly and didn't notice any worms on her, but could I have missed them? I'm still very shaken up over the whole thing and not sure what to do to prevent something like this from happening again. any advice would be extremely appreciated. thank you!
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Old 08-08-2022, 02:08 PM   #2
Ria P
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Default Re: worm infestation????

Sorry i can't be of any help but i've only come across worms outdoors.
Did you have a look online to identify the worm?
By identifying the worm you may get an idea of where it came from.
My guess would be food.
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Old 08-11-2022, 02:33 AM   #3
souffle
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Default Re: worm infestation????

They sound like maggots / larvae of some insect and they are likely feeding on the food. Grain weevils / pantry moths can all come in with food and bedding. They are hard to get rid of!
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Old 08-11-2022, 04:46 AM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: worm infestation????

At least they are not harmful to hamsters or humans.

When i saw pantry moths i cleaned the cage but still see some small moths in the house now and again. I squash them to keep them under control and spot check the cages.

It is advisable to freeze hamster food for a week but you may already know that.

Does your hamster hide fresh food? I had fruit flies in a dwarf's cage once from a hoarded piece of cucumber.
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Old 08-11-2022, 10:43 PM   #5
lovehamsters01
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Default Re: worm infestation????

I actually had no idea about freezing hamster food! thanks so much for letting me know. I dont think she hoards fresh food but I will definitely be checking much more closely now. its possible that she was hoarding it in her sandbox which i wasnt as careful about cleaning thinking that as its her favorite part of her cage, I didnt want to mess up her hoards. looking back I realize that was a mistake, although I'm still assuming for now that the worm came from the food. such a relief to know that they cant harm hamsters though.
thank you so much everyone for the replies!
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Old 08-13-2022, 03:51 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: worm infestation????

I also think it's likely to have hatched out from the hamster food. Especially in this warm weather. Get a new bag of food and stick it in the freezer for a week. You'll need to keep using food from it during that first week anyway but hopefully it'll be ok. I'd discard the old bag. You could freeze that but ...
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