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.