Preparing cage contents

[hamster lover 123]

Hi,
Last night, we noticed that there were quite a few tiny bugs in Dora’s cage! I was rather worried so did a full cage clean. They were on her toys, platform and cardboard houses

Dora isn’t best pleased however she is starting to settle back in now and I hope we did the right thing. After reading previous threads about concerns regarding mites, I gathered they weren’t mites as they are invisible to the eye and only can be seen through a microscope. However should I be worried about Dora? I think it may have been caused by her new treats from Pets @ Home. They were mostly made of hay which bugs can hatch out of

I read that freezing treats and food a week prior is the best thing to do however I’ve only frozen sprays before to kill off any bugs. I’m wondering if there is anything I should freeze before putting in Dora’s cage?

There is a photo of what I have bought from Pets @ Home below as her unwashable toys have been thrown away Although I think the chew tube and fruit and veg multipack should be fine.

I’m trying to be a bit more cautious now with what goes into Dora and Fifi’s cages!

Any guidance would be much appreciated thanks

 

[Maz]

So sorry you and Dora have had this. To be honest, I freeze or bake almost everything that goes into the hamster cage except plastic, ceramic or bedding. I've even read of wood niteangel houses having bugs in the cracks/joins. So peronally I would freeze all of those items.

A lot depends on where they have been stored before purchase. The cardboard tube is probably ok but I'd probably still stick it in the freezer!

 

[Maz]

But no they are not likely to be harmful to Dora. They could be hay mites. There are lots of different mites. The demodex mites that live on hamsters are the ones that aren't visible to the naked eye. Hay mites are visible. I freeze all food and all treats. Pet produce isn't stored in the same conditions as human grade food.

 

[hamster lover 123]

Okay, thank you for the advice and information I’ve put them all in the freezer and will do that moving forwards. Should all of them be frozen for a week?

Glad to hear that they should’t harm Dora I can see no fur loss or itching.

 

[Maz]

Those kind of mites wouldn't cause fur loss and itching It's the demodex mites that cause that and the first sign can be fur loss and maybe the odd wound where they have scratched themselves raw. The demodex mites live on hamsters naturally without issue - and it's usually only if their immune system is low (eg diet or stress) that the mites proliferate and start to cause issues.

External mites from another source, that are visible don't actually live on hamsters. The hamster might want to eat them though But any kind of external mites, if they multiply can just be unpleasant and not particularly healthy generally and could get into the home, so that's the main reason to prevent or remove them.

 

[hamster lover 123]

I see, this makes sense thanks for the information! Have you ever experienced mites with your hamsters?

 

[Maz]

I haven't no - neither hamster mites nor other mites from wood, hay etc. I have had moth outbreaks (from food) hence freezing all the food I did once find a rotting half blueberry in our robo's cage (he had taken it somewhere behind his wheel to eat) and a few little maggoty thinks crawling around it . I just removed the blueberry and the few visible ones and that was sorted - so must have nipped it in the bud.

The sort of mites you've had will have probably come from hay or wood items, if you'd had some new ones.

The moth incident was absolutely gross! I had another minor outbreak some years later, despite freezing all the food, and I suspect it was some treats or treat sticks I had forgotten to freeze.

 

[hamster lover 123]

That sounds pretty awful! What did your little robo think of them?

 

[Maz]

It was a Syrian's cage the first time I found them crawling in his nest all around him and he was just sitting there normally as if nothing was happening . Had to do a full cage clean which resolved it, but they had got into the kitchen cupboards by then ............. that took more work. Hence being called pantry moths!

The second time it was both the Syrian and Robo cages but it was nipped in the bud very quickly. Only one moth in the cage and a couple on the wall behind the cage. But sadly both hamsters had to have a full cage clean. And I sprayed the wall with vinegar! Just to make sure no eggs had been laid or hatched out. Sorry, it's a bit gross!

 

[hamster lover 123]

Oh that really sounds gross! I can imagine Fifi doing that too Wow! I didn’t realise they spread, I bet that was hard work getting rid of those critters I did feel bad for Dora when she had her full cage clean, their scent and tunnels completely disappear so it must be a bit confusing for them.

 

[Maz]

It is. Because normally we keep some of their bedding. Hiding and scattering lots of extra treats in the cage helps

Yes that first time it happened to me I didn't know much about hamsters and had the opened hamster food bags in a kitchen cupboard It completely freaked me out - it took months to get rid of them. I won't go into all the details or people will have nightmares ha ha.

At first I just froze and thought - pretend this isn't happening. It's a dream. Then I realised I had to sort it out - and had to really psyche myself up to deal with it! It was a particular bag of food I hadn't used before - Oxbow pellets (which I now know aren't good for hamsters anyway) so I think it must have been stored inappropriately - imported as well I think. I had never frozen the food prior to that and never had an issue before. But I'm belt and braces now If you ever see a moth in a hamster cage - it didn't just walk in there by accident ........... it came from there. It might walk in and out but it lives there! Catching it early stops eggs hatching out.

 

[hamster lover 123]

Okay, I’ll scatter some food and treats around the cage. I’m putting Dora’s treats and toys in soon after taking them out of the freezer earlier. Hopefully she likes them

Oh no, I would hate to have to deal with those moths! That must have been awful. It was bad enough with the little hay bugs

Thanks for letting me know about them, I’ll keep a closer eye on the cage and always freeze things before hand.

 

[Maz]

Dora will be happy about that I am sure. How have they coped with their cage cleans generally? They tend to settle down after a few days.

 

[hamster lover 123]

At first, Dora wasn’t too happy, chewing the bars, but I think she is pretty much fine now and nearly settled in. She was biting me a bit more than usual though on sunday night.

And for Fifi, she is all settled in to hers, which we cleaned just before Dora’s. She loves to sleep under the wheel and sit in her igloo with her little stash of food!

 

[Maz]

Aw poor Dora - I'm sure she'll settle down soon