Bugs in enclosure!

[Winter white dwarf]

This is my first time owning a hamster. I’ve had Willow for about half a year and haven’t had any bug issues. I was cleaning her enclosure this morning when I found a little bugs on her hideout which is buried in the bedding. There wasn’t many but enough to freak me out. I HATE bugs. My dad said they look like mites and we decided to do a deep clean. I took out all her bedding and put her in a temporary home while I cleaned the enclosure. I’m throwing a lot of wood things away and washing the rest of her stuff. I’m going to the store later to get new bedding on some replacement items. I am terrified of bugs, even small ones and I need some help in what to do. How common is this? What should I clean the tank she is in with? What could this have come from? I feed her seed mix but I freeze it for a week beforehand. How can prevent this from happening again? I checked Willow and there doesn’t seem to be any bugs on her. I want her to stay healthy and I don’t want to be scared to reach into her enclosure. I am just really nervous and need some help. Thank you!

 

[Maz]

Hi. It's so horrible when things like this happen isn't it? You can actually bake some of the wood items which would kill any bugs and eggs. They could have hatched out from some wood item or sprays. Do you freeze sprays first? Hay is another culprit. I freeze or bake everything that isn't smooth wood or ceramic. They won't be on Willow so if you've disinfected the cage and thrown the bedding, you'll be ok now. You can bake cork logs, and bark wood items like bendy stick bridges, although I'd probably just replace bendy stick bridges.

 

[Winter white dwarf]

I haven’t frozen or baked anything other than her food. That’s good to know to prevent this from happening again. What items do you freeze and what items do you bake?

 

[Maz]

I freeze just about everything for a week Sprays, treats, food, coconut huts, hyacinth tubes, hay, carrot topped cottages - anything natural or food based. I bake cork or cork logs and any barkwood items or wood branches etc.

The only treats I don't freeze are things like human-grade pumpkin seeds.

 

[Winter white dwarf]

Ok thank you! I have one more question, I think it might have been from her seed mix, which is from Chubby Hamster Cheeks on Etsy. I froze it but I got a new bag just about when I noticed the bugs. I’m nervous to order a seed mix again because I’ve heard there can still be bugs after being frozen. Is the any alternatives with less of a risk that will still meet her nutritional needs or do I just need to risk it and by seed mixes?