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Ah okay. Thanks for your advice, hopefully Toni’s bald patch gets better after having some linseeds. 
Bald Patches
- Thread starter teeny_tiny_tony123
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Hi all! Toni’s Parasite Treatment has been delivered today. The vet advised us to clean Toni’s cage thoroughly. Is it best if we clean it out and put back some of her old bedding or not under the circumstances? Some advice would be much appreciated, thank you!
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I'm waiting to see what others say 
If it's definitely mites then a full cage clean would be needed. If it's just a guess it's mites then I'm not so sure. Assume the vet didn't do a skin scraping to be sure it was mites?
The theory is, that if it is mites, the cage and contents need a full clean so they don't get back on the hamster.
What do you think @Daisy?
If it's definitely mites then a full cage clean would be needed. If it's just a guess it's mites then I'm not so sure. Assume the vet didn't do a skin scraping to be sure it was mites?The theory is, that if it is mites, the cage and contents need a full clean so they don't get back on the hamster.
What do you think @Daisy?
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There are different types of mites. Demodex mites are present on all hamsters but occasionally the population grows into an infestation and causes itching etc. This usually happens to elderly or ill hamsters. These mites are invisible to the naked eye and don't affect humans or other pets.
Because demodex mites are always present on hamsters anyway, you don't generally need to clean the cage fully because you don't need to eradicate them, only get their population down to a manageable level. Sometimes this might involve regular spot on treatment for the rest of a hamster's life.
Then there other types of mites, for example tropical rat mites, which hamsters don't normally carry but can be infested by. These mites are often visible to the naked eye. They can affect any hamster and are likely to bite humans too. If you feel little bumps or see spots of blood on your hamster, it's more likely they have one of these types of mites rather than demodex. If you have an infestation of any type of visible mite you do need to clean the cage completely. For maximum effect, I recommend following these steps:
DAY 1: Treat the hamster with a spot on anti-parasitic (ivermectin or selamectin) and move them a temporary cage with a shallow layer of bedding and only non-porous accessories (e.g ceramic, painted wood, glass, plastic).
Empty the cage, throw away all the bedding. Wash the non-porous things in hot, soapy water and you can use these again right away. Anything porous like untreated wood, and especially anything with nooks and gaps like cork logs should have boiling water poured over it and then be left either outside, or in a sealed plastic bag once dry. Ideally do this all outside to avoid spreading mites in your house.
Vacuum the room where your hamster lives very thoroughly and then change the vacuum cleaner bag. Otherwise the mites will escape the bag and re-infest the room.
DAY 2: Change the bedding in the temporary cage, as live mites will have jumped off your hamster onto the bedding. It shouldn't be necessary to change the bedding again after this, unless you see a live mite.
DAY 5: Get the porous things which you left outside or in a plastic bag and pour boiling water over them again. This is case there were any eggs on them which should have hatched by now.
DAY 8: Treat your hamster again with the spot on treatment, unless your vet has recommended a different treatment schedule. The treatment kills adult mites but not eggs, so you need to treat more than once to allow eggs to hatch in between.
If there are no signs of mites on your hamster or in their bedding, at this point you can move them back into their usual cage with new bedding.
DAY 15: As above, treat your hamster again, unless your vet has recommended a different treatment schedule. So in total there are 3 treatments, spaced a week apart.
My gerbils had mites last year, and I was able to eradicate them by following the above steps (fortunately they didn't spread to my hamster). However personally I would only do this if I had actually seen visible mites, because it's very drastic and disruptive for a hamster. If you haven't seen any mites, it's much more likely to be demodex mites or some other cause. It's worth giving the anti-parasitic to see if it does have any effect. But if not, I'd consider the possibility of a bedding allergy.
As far as I know, with Cushings the baldness is typically symmetrical and it is baldness rather than just fur thinning. But there are various other hormonal causes of thinning fur.
Because demodex mites are always present on hamsters anyway, you don't generally need to clean the cage fully because you don't need to eradicate them, only get their population down to a manageable level. Sometimes this might involve regular spot on treatment for the rest of a hamster's life.
Then there other types of mites, for example tropical rat mites, which hamsters don't normally carry but can be infested by. These mites are often visible to the naked eye. They can affect any hamster and are likely to bite humans too. If you feel little bumps or see spots of blood on your hamster, it's more likely they have one of these types of mites rather than demodex. If you have an infestation of any type of visible mite you do need to clean the cage completely. For maximum effect, I recommend following these steps:
DAY 1: Treat the hamster with a spot on anti-parasitic (ivermectin or selamectin) and move them a temporary cage with a shallow layer of bedding and only non-porous accessories (e.g ceramic, painted wood, glass, plastic).
Empty the cage, throw away all the bedding. Wash the non-porous things in hot, soapy water and you can use these again right away. Anything porous like untreated wood, and especially anything with nooks and gaps like cork logs should have boiling water poured over it and then be left either outside, or in a sealed plastic bag once dry. Ideally do this all outside to avoid spreading mites in your house.
Vacuum the room where your hamster lives very thoroughly and then change the vacuum cleaner bag. Otherwise the mites will escape the bag and re-infest the room.
DAY 2: Change the bedding in the temporary cage, as live mites will have jumped off your hamster onto the bedding. It shouldn't be necessary to change the bedding again after this, unless you see a live mite.
DAY 5: Get the porous things which you left outside or in a plastic bag and pour boiling water over them again. This is case there were any eggs on them which should have hatched by now.
DAY 8: Treat your hamster again with the spot on treatment, unless your vet has recommended a different treatment schedule. The treatment kills adult mites but not eggs, so you need to treat more than once to allow eggs to hatch in between.
If there are no signs of mites on your hamster or in their bedding, at this point you can move them back into their usual cage with new bedding.
DAY 15: As above, treat your hamster again, unless your vet has recommended a different treatment schedule. So in total there are 3 treatments, spaced a week apart.
My gerbils had mites last year, and I was able to eradicate them by following the above steps (fortunately they didn't spread to my hamster). However personally I would only do this if I had actually seen visible mites, because it's very drastic and disruptive for a hamster. If you haven't seen any mites, it's much more likely to be demodex mites or some other cause. It's worth giving the anti-parasitic to see if it does have any effect. But if not, I'd consider the possibility of a bedding allergy.
As far as I know, with Cushings the baldness is typically symmetrical and it is baldness rather than just fur thinning. But there are various other hormonal causes of thinning fur.
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Thank you for that Daisy. I am guessing there is nothing visible and it is usually demodex mites if it's a hamster in that case and the spot on is to see if the balding improves.
What treatment/dosage did the vet give you TTT? Once and then repeat at a later date? As Daisy says it is very disruptive for the hamster to do a full cage clean (and it does mean not putting back some of the old bedding if a full cage clean is necessary).
I think personally, I would be inclined to have a second opinion and ask for a skin scraping and clear diagnosis of whether or not there are mites. It is fairly standard for a lot of vets to say - try spot on in case it's mites, as that can be quite common. Or alternatively, go back to the same vet and say - as your hamster has a large cage, and a lot of bedding you're concerned about the disruption and stress if absolutely everything had to be cleaned so you'd like to know if it is mites or not before doing that, and ask them if they can do a skin scraping to look under a microscope. If they say they don't normally do that then maybe try a different vet.
On the other hand I was in this exact same situation with an elderly hamster last year. And I didn't want to cause the disruption. The difference being he was elderly and actually died before I decided whether or not to just try the spot on.
Having said all that - I did have to do a full cage clean (in two cages!) due to a moth outbreak last year, and Raffy was absolutely fine being in a temporary cage until everything was sorted. He was about 18 months old at that time and a fairly confident, gregarious hamster.
When he went back to his main cage, everything was the same layout, even if disinfected and it did bother him a bit for about a week but after that he was fine. The most annoying thing was the amount of wasted bedding!
So I think your options are:
1) Call the vet and ask if they can do a skin scraping for a definitive decision.
2) Go to another vet for that
3) Just do the full cage clean and use the spot on - a lot of upheaval for both you and the hamster, but then you'll have tried everything.
What treatment/dosage did the vet give you TTT? Once and then repeat at a later date? As Daisy says it is very disruptive for the hamster to do a full cage clean (and it does mean not putting back some of the old bedding if a full cage clean is necessary).
I think personally, I would be inclined to have a second opinion and ask for a skin scraping and clear diagnosis of whether or not there are mites. It is fairly standard for a lot of vets to say - try spot on in case it's mites, as that can be quite common. Or alternatively, go back to the same vet and say - as your hamster has a large cage, and a lot of bedding you're concerned about the disruption and stress if absolutely everything had to be cleaned so you'd like to know if it is mites or not before doing that, and ask them if they can do a skin scraping to look under a microscope. If they say they don't normally do that then maybe try a different vet.
On the other hand I was in this exact same situation with an elderly hamster last year. And I didn't want to cause the disruption. The difference being he was elderly and actually died before I decided whether or not to just try the spot on.
Having said all that - I did have to do a full cage clean (in two cages!) due to a moth outbreak last year, and Raffy was absolutely fine being in a temporary cage until everything was sorted. He was about 18 months old at that time and a fairly confident, gregarious hamster.
When he went back to his main cage, everything was the same layout, even if disinfected and it did bother him a bit for about a week but after that he was fine. The most annoying thing was the amount of wasted bedding!
So I think your options are:
1) Call the vet and ask if they can do a skin scraping for a definitive decision.
2) Go to another vet for that
3) Just do the full cage clean and use the spot on - a lot of upheaval for both you and the hamster, but then you'll have tried everything.
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Thank you both for your advice, the vet has told me to use the Beaphar treatment and follow the instructions on the box. I’ve decided to fully clean her cage and administer the invermectin today. 
There’s no visible mites so I reckon it could possibly be the Demodex.
Poor Raffy!
It is a bit of an upheaval isn’t it?
There’s no visible mites so I reckon it could possibly be the Demodex.Poor Raffy!
It is a bit of an upheaval isn’t it?