Booklice or mites? help greatly appreciated!

[ameliagb]

Hiya Its my first time posting here so i apologise if the format isn’t correct! I have two hamsters (in separate wooden pawhut enclosures), yesterday i was cleaning and noticed a tiny bug in one of the hamster cages and today when i was investigating the other- i spotted two more of these little bugs. Each bug has been right beside their water bowls and i have thoroughly looked through the rest of the cages and haven’t seen any. I have added some photos of the bugs, when i squashed them they didn’t secrete any red fluid which seems to be a good(?) sign & im guessing that they may be booklice. Neither hamster is itchy at all, they both seem happy and no fur missing (ive checked their coat and can’t see any bugs either) If anyone could possibly confirm whether they look like booklice (or anything else, mites etc?) and please let me know if i need to replace/ clean everything in both enclosures. Their cages are wooden so if so i will most likely have to dispose of them but im not sure on how to go about this, there is so much conflicting information online. I’ve never dealt with booklice or any mites so im a bit lost! Also, i have two free roam rabbits in the same room and am worried whether they will be affected by this! if you have any advice please let me know!! Thank you so much

 

[Maz]

Hello. I'm so sorry you're having this. It's hard to tell from the photo but perhaps they are a bit larger than booklice? However booklice are attracted to damp areas and water. It would appear they are hatching out in the cage if you found one or two in both enclosures. They won't do any harm to your hamster or your rabbits. The main thing is finding the source. Some bugs can hatch out from food. Some from hay or wood items like apple sticks or rough bark wood items, some from sprays.

The not so good news is it will almost certainly mean a full cage clean to try and get rid of them. So that would be disinfecting everything in the cage, either baking or freezing - and replacing all the bedding with new, and also disinfecting the enclosure itself. Which is actually possible with a wood enclosure but not particularly easy as there are so many little joints and crevices.

Before doing that, maybe you could try and work out the source. If they;ve only just started hatching, you might be able to catch it before they affect the cage/enclosure itself.

 

[Maz]

Edit - I just uploaded your photo to AI who reckoned it is indeed a book louse. As such I would do the full cage clean as soon as possible. However, you need somewhere to move the hamster to meanwhile as it's not a quick easy job. I'm really sorry you're having this. Do you have a spare cage or two? What species are the hamsters? Syrian or dwarf hamsters? If they are dwarf hamsters you could maybe set up a couple of bin cages temporarily - they are inexpensive (plastic storage bins). But I wouldn't recommend that for Syrian hamsters. And if you were thinking of changing the enclosure/cages anyway, it could be worth looking for second hand Savic Plazas. They have more ventilation so you'd be less likely to get the book lice back. However the bases aren't very deep but they can be adapted for deeper bedding (a combination of cardboard and perspex panels).

 

[ameliagb]

Hiya, that’s really helpful thank you- they’re absolutely tiny (i had my phone on the max zoom in to get that photo!) and someone on a reddit ‘identify this bug’ subreddit also said book louse.

I have two lovely syrian girl hamsters!
Unfortunately i just gave away my spare cage to a friend who recently adopted a new hamster I’ve been planning on getting bucatstate enclosures for a while now so maybe this is the time to do so. Is there any temporary cage (diy preferably as i don’t want to spend a tonne on something temporary) you recommend whilst i sort out two bucatstate enclosures (shouldn’t take more than a week along with baking and freezing all necessary accessories). Or do you reckon i could go straight from their current pawhut enclosure (with minimal everything inside whilst it’s being treated) to the bucatstate when it’s all complete?

I’ve made myself a long list of everything i need to freeze/ bake/ scrub with hot soapy water but i just need to figure out where they can stay during this process- i really don’t want to cause them any stress

I have an air conditioner with a dehumidifying setting so i’ll pop that on and try keep the humidity at bay as well.
Thanks- amelia x

 

[Maz]

That sounds lovely I bet they keep you busy - two female Syrians! But I am sure they are adorable and affectionate as well.

So it can be difficult. There are a couple of people on here had booklice outbreaks, one of whom has a bucatstate and has had great difficulty getting rid of them. As they apparently were hatching out in the hollow legs. I am not sure the best thing to suggest. It would be upsetting for you and the hamsters if you moved them into lovely brand new Bucatstate's and the issue came straight back. It would be nice to know it was resolved before moving them to an expensive new cage perhaps. On the other hand a temporary move to say, a second hand cage, would mean two cage moves for the hamsters.

You can't put an entire pawhut in the oven to sterilise it that way either! So it would be a case of spraying and then painting and sealing it I think. Which is quite a big job. Are there any second hand Bucatstates's available in your area? Anyway as mentioned before, if you can manage to determine the original source, it should help make sure they don't come back. The other member found they were from a bag of apple sticks I think.

 

[ameliagb]

Hmmm yes i’ll definitely be having a look around for the source of the booklice, i do actually have some apple sticks so ill be sure to check them first thing tomorrow. Ill also have a look for some second hand cages but honestly, just to lower my anxiety about more bugs i think id rather splash out and buy new cages and then thoroughly sanitise them… ive never used a bucatstate but i wonder if there is a way to completely fill the hollow legs prior to use?

I will also have a look at some cheap-ish temporary cages for them as i don’t want to rush the process and end up with another buggy outbreak!