Can someone help me understand why freezing for a week is any different than freezing over night?
It's a good question. It's because they are usually pantry moth eggs (Indian Meal moth). And the information out there about killing pantry moth eggs is freeze for a week. Some hamster sites say freeze for 2 days, which would probably kill most bugs but not necessarily pantry moth eggs. Having had two pantry moth outbreaks in the past, I stick with a week! 48 hours just doesn't quite do it. There is actually a theory that you should freeze for 2 days, unfreeze to room temperature again for a few days, and then freeze again. From what I understand, 24 to 48 hours would just make them dormant, but a week is enough to kill them. It does make a big difference!
The only time I had an outbreak after freezing food it was very very minor and was nipped in the bud quite quickly. So even with freezing it's possible the odd egg might escape.
Unfortunately all pet foods, apparently, contain moth eggs. They are not visible to the human eye, and they do no harm, unless they hatch out! It is in particularly warm temperatures that they can hatch out. Eg in very hot summer weather (with a warm hamster sitting on them). Or in winter with high heating on.
If they do hatch out, they do no harm to the hamster. But they breed very quickly and end up all over the house and in food cupboards, once they start breeding.
The first time I had it, it took many months to get rid of them and was a huge amount of work and had to throw a lot of flour and sugar and other foods away.
If you do get any hatching out in the cage, a full cage clean is needed, with every crevice of the cage disinfecting, and everything in it replacing or sanitising, or they just keep hatching out. So it's best avoided as that's stress for the hamster.
Tell tale signs are a moth inside the cage, or a moth or two on the wall above the cage. A female pantry moth can lay two hundred eggs a day - on your wall or curtains. In the worst case scenario there are maggots crawling all over the ceiling!
So I religiously freeze everything for a week - any hamster food, treats, wood items etc. Some wood items and cork logs can be baked instead.
Having said that - many people never have an issue. I didn't have any issue for the first year of keeping a hamster - I think it was a particular bag of hamster food that set it off (before I knew about freezing food). Which was in a kitchen cupboard and open.
So good practice to prevent this is
1) Freeze the food for a week
2) Then keep it in an airtight container (eg a lock and lock box - those are the only ones that are completely airtight apparently) Then if anything did hatch out it's contained!
The same with hay - anything with hay should be frozen as it can contain tiny mites or mite eggs.
Since people have been freezing food and hay etc, you don't hear so much about it. Telltale signs in a cage are webby stuff in a corner or little maggoty things - that's before a moth hatches out.
Don't worry about it though - just freeze the food, sprays, hay etc
I've only just seen this thread. I have frozen hay, moss, and baked cork bark, but never anything else. I'm really surprised to find it's a good idea to freeze practically everything before introducing it in to the hamster's home. Food, treats, the lot. Wow! I've got some food coming today for Kage. I hope the food I have will last for another week or he'll end up with hamster food flavoured iced lollies! Brrr!