George the Syrian Hamster 🐹

[Nikaaa]

Hi everyone!

Today, I have quite the bad news. I was doing the daily spot cleaning and I have noticed a tiny brown bug. I squished it and was like what the hell! Then I see another one…and another one… I got very worried. I found a picture of them online


(NOT MY PHOTO ) <- link to credit.

I couldn’t get a photo as tbh h was more concerned over my hamster than thinking about taking photos at the time

From what I read they are weevils? Never heard of this creature except that bin weevils game I played as a kid.

Pretty stressed out as then I started aggressively checking my hamster and noticed a red bump on his side from scratching… I feel like the worst owner for not noticing that… I have been working long shifts and wasn’t checking up for the past three days…must have started to happen after I gave this treat.. one night so he has something to do while I pass out on the bed due to exhaustion.

Currently George is back in his old enclosure so I am glad I kept it for that reason and in the morning I am yanking it all out.

I also am calling the vets tomorrow to check up on him. I really want the best for my little guy.

Also… I have wooden items and I will bake them to kill everything. I am guessing the toys have to go in the bin like the dream catcher and cardboard hide I got recently from hanstermail. Very sad about that but I am worried the weevils got inside the holes.

I am going to freeze the seed mix just in case..

I feel all itchy from my brain feeling like I have them all over me now-

Just feel bad that George needs to have all his bedding removed.

p.S it is nearly 3am. Which is why I’m continuing tomorrow.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Sorry to hear about your insect problem. They shouldn't be directly harmful to George, but could be carrying parasites, so changing the bedding and food is a good idea. There are some insect experts on here who should have some good ideas on dealing with this.

 

[Nikaaa]

Sorry to hear about your insect problem. They shouldn't be directly harmful to George, but could be carrying parasites, so changing the bedding and food is a good idea. There are some insect experts on here who should have some good ideas on dealing with this.

Thank you! I am going today with him to the vet !



he is currently residing in here and in using it as a hospital cage. Only using plastic and ceramic stuff because I need to sterilise the wooden items and quarantine them for two weeks. I also have his carrier ready :’)

 

[Nikaaa]

Sorry to hear about your insect problem. They shouldn't be directly harmful to George, but could be carrying parasites, so changing the bedding and food is a good idea. There are some insect experts on here who should have some good ideas on dealing with this.

He has a little scab on his back which got me worried…

Also question, for the sprays. Should I throw away the ones that he had and give him new ones or freeze the old ones? It is it safer to just give him new ones ?

I am unsure who is quite informative on the insects or which thread to direct to. Do you know???

 

[Nikaaa]

His carrier is ready, just needs the water. Also put some chamomile !!!

 

[Maz]

I'm really sorry to hear George has bugs in the cage. I'm not sure what they are but they're too big to be mites. Are they just in the enclosure? If so they have probably hatched out from something - either food or hay etc. They shouldn't be harmful to your hamster - I think it's things like red spider mite that is harmful and most bugs aren't - but it does sound like a concern if he has a scab on his back. Could you take one of the bugs to the vet with you or get a good close up photo of one (showing the legs as well) as we might be able to identify it online as well.

Either way, it does sound like he needs a full cage clean and things disinfecting or freezing so you're doing all the right things. It is a total pain when these things happen. I don't recognise the bugs. @elusive might.

 

[elusive]

Sorry to hear you have a bug problem, it is always a bit alarming when you find things in the cage but I would think a thorough clean & freezing food should do the trick.
I can’t tell from the photo but it could ba weevil, there are alot of different species but they are quite common & can be found in food so it is most likely something from food that hasn’t been frozen.
Weevils don’t bite & are herbivores so it shouldn’t cause any harm, the scab may not be related but still best to check it out.

I would use fresh sprays that have been frozen rather than freezing ones that have already been in the cage.

 

[Nikaaa]

I'm really sorry to hear George has bugs in the cage. I'm not sure what they are but they're too big to be mites. Are they just in the enclosure? If so they have probably hatched out from something - either food or hay etc. They shouldn't be harmful to your hamster - I think it's things like red spider mite that is harmful and most bugs aren't - but it does sound like a concern if he has a scab on his back. Could you take one of the bugs to the vet with you or get a good close up photo of one (showing the legs as well) as we might be able to identify it online as well.

Either way, it does sound like he needs a full cage clean and things disinfecting or freezing so you're doing all the right things. It is a total pain when these things happen. I don't recognise the bugs. @elusive might.

A chairperson from Hamster Info Ireland, contacted me on instagram and said this could be a grain weevil. So they come from the food.

The scab could be a different issue but I would like to get it checked. I have was looking for them but they curl up to the point that they look like grains (I am guessing it is like their defence mechanism) cause yesterday I grabbed one by the tissue to show my mum and he hid his legs and curled up. He started to move after he didn’t feel threatened so I was finding it difficult but I have found like 5-6 of them yesterday night.

I have figured they are not harmful but I still wouldn’t like George having Tiny friends living with him plus it is quite gross-

I am throwing out the whole bedding and giving him fresh. He might stay at the hospital cage for a few days until I get everything sorted. I need to get new bedding though.. I was thinking if getting chipsi classic as I heard it’s not that dusty and I always sneeze due to kaytee bedding.

 

[Nikaaa]

Sorry to hear you have a bug problem, it is always a bit alarming when you find things in the cage but I would think a thorough clean & freezing food should do the trick.
I can’t tell from the photo but it could ba weevil, there are alot of different species but they are quite common & can be found in food so it is most likely something from food that hasn’t been frozen.
Weevils don’t bite & are herbivores so it shouldn’t cause any harm, the scab may not be related but still best to check it out.

I would use fresh sprays that have been frozen rather than freezing ones that have already been in the cage.

Thank you so much elusive !!! I will do as you say

I have thrown out half of the bedding so far (my back is not enjoying it ) this might take a few days to sort out. But I am glad I kept the old cage and use it as a hospital cage for now. George was very confused but he was sniffing the wooden platforms of his old cage and he recognised he used to live there

 

[Socks' Mum]

Chipsi is a mixture of softwood and hardwood shavings. The problem of emitting phenols occurs most significantly in softwood, and hardwood is considered safe. If the packet says kiln dried and dust free, the phenols may have been baked off, but I am not sure what Chipsi says on their packaging. I bought pine shavings once, very cheaply, but the strong pine smell I found unpleasant. There is a very good study on phenols and bedding on this site which gives advice. I hope things work out OK and George is back in his nice cage. Fitch is popular, although expensive, and seems pretty dust free and pleasant.

 

[Maz]

It's actually all softwood. It's a mixture of fir (pine) and spruce). Spruce is a softwood as well but is the equivalent of hardwood in terms of levels of phenols - ie not enough to be concerned about. My concern about Chipsi is they won't tell you what the percentage of Spruce is. I did ask them and wasn't convinced it was mostly Spruce. Having said that quite a few people use it.

 

[Nikaaa]

Chipsi is a mixture of softwood and hardwood shavings. The problem of emitting phenols occurs most significantly in softwood, and hardwood is considered safe. If the packet says kiln dried and dust free, the phenols may have been baked off, but I am not sure what Chipsi says on their packaging. I bought pine shavings once, very cheaply, but the strong pine smell I found unpleasant. There is a very good study on phenols and bedding on this site which gives advice. I hope things work out OK and George is back in his nice cage. Fitch is popular, although expensive, and seems pretty dust free and pleasant.

The thing is, fitch ain’t available in Ireland. The only bedding that is available in Ireland is kaytee clean and chipsy that is safe for hamsters and reasonable in price. I am able to get like aspen from niteangel but that is so expensive for what it is given and the price, since I bought it before to try out and have it for texture purposes more than using it as a bedding. :’) I was doing research lately and the only ones that are suitable even told to me by hamster info Ireland is chipsy or kaytee clean from my research it was something I looked into few days ago

 

[Nikaaa]

It's actually all softwood. It's a mixture of fir (pine) and spruce). Spruce is a softwood as well but is the equivalent of hardwood in terms of levels of phenols - ie not enough to be concerned about. My concern about Chipsi is they won't tell you what the percentage of Spruce is. I did ask them and wasn't convinced it was mostly Spruce. Having said that quite a few people use it.

I bought one bag to layer it in a lasagna type way. I still got kaytee clean as I wanted some soft bedding around. Too bad it’s quite dusty though and sometimes has weird pieces inside ? I have some aspen from niteangel left aswell

 

[Socks' Mum]

Aspen is expensive! Hemp is good as a mixer, along with chipped birch. Aubizoo, Aubios and Haypigs Co. birch bedding are nice if you can find them. I thought Aubizoo was very nice. Socks has paper and birch bedding, but my guinea pigs in their open top cage are in P@H wood shavings on the rebound from an all fleece set up that was nice but didn't control odour in got weather. Piggy poo can start to smell like manure after a time so it needs to be sunk into bedding which dries it. Apparently all UK wood shavings are kiln dried, which helps, but there is some smell, not bad in Summer though. I might try birch again in winter with paper on top to protect their feet.

 

[Socks' Mum]

I wonder if kiln dried wood shavings still emit dangerous levels of phenols or VOCs

 

[Maz]

It's not really known how safe it is Socks Mum - most people now avoid all pine woodshavings for that reason. Kiln drying removes some of the phenols but not all of them and there is no "standard" to the kiln drying in the Uk, to know how effective it is. I don't know the PAH brand but some wood shavings also just say "softwood" rather than pine - and if they just say "softwood" it include all kinds of things - including Cedar, which is a big no-no.

I don't know if the risk is the same for guinea pigs, as it is for hamsters though.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hmm, perhaps I should go back to Aubizoo, which is hemp.

 

[Nikaaa]

I wish Ireland would have as many options as UK does but sadly we don’t- even when I tried to order online a lot says „doesn’t ship to this country” messages- I can get niteangel aspen but it’s too expensive to keep up with for my budget which is why I am doing chipsy and kaytee mix and some left over niteangel bedding I have for trxtures

 

[Nikaaa]

Hi guys! I have been inactive. Super busy with work and George. After making his enclosure I have noticed the grain weevils made their way back into his new thing after freshly done it up. I have gotten so mad as George was waiting a while.

I have frozen all the sprays and forage again and I believe that’s where it came from. I have thrown out everything instantly and I haven’t seeing the bugs for 2 days in the fresh bedding and I keep checking- not sure if I got rid of them all in time. Or probably should buy new bedding- I have lost so much money it’s crazy

But to end on a good end I have a cute pic of George holding a walnut

 

[Maz]

Such a gorgeous photo of George . I feel for you - it’s horrible when you have to throw so much away - especially the bedding. I usually freeze just about everything for a week - sprays, food, treats, bath wood items. Or bake cork and wood. It tends to work although I still had a moth outbreak last year - maybe I missed something.