Help! Hamster Has Mites Or Fleas!

[ScoutCarcer]

I took my hamster out to play and he had small red bugs on him I gave him a bath and put him back in his cage. Please I dont know what they are. What should I do

 

[rachelbatchelor]

Right. You can either go to your local petshop, who will sell mite powders, or go to the vet who will find out exactly which mite it is, and treat it. Then you will need to clean out the cage before putting the hamster back in.

Hope that helps.

 

[The ultimate_fish MaC dAddY]

WHOA, Those are not mites, those are Chiggers. Heres a picture of them:

http/ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/insects/images/chigger2.jpg

They need to be treated ASAP, if they get on you, this is what it will look like:

http/www.geometer.org/crtrip2002b/Chiggerfoot.jpg

 

[emma12321]

Most mites that small furries get are invisible to the naked eye. It's probably lice that your hamster has and you should be able to get a lotion to dip / bath it in from the vet.

I got a rescue guinea pig that had lice and she was nearly bald by the time i got her, after about 2 months of weekly baths she was loads better but her fur is still thin in places just because it was really bad. Treat this as soon as possible or your hamster could literally scratch itself to death. If you have any other pets that have been near the hamster they will probably need treating too.

Emma

 

[The ultimate_fish MaC dAddY]

she said small red bugs, and lice are white, trust me I've had them plenty of of times from going to nasty pet stores

But some of the nasty ones have some really awsome fish for sale

 

[Angel Lady]

Those are chiggers. Any lice I have ever seen surely isnt red. And I have always heard that you cannot see mites. And chiggers is worse on animals than they have ever been on a human. You saw that mans foot just imagine three times worse on that poor hamster. Give it a bath in clorox water, Clorox will kill the chiggers, and will not harm your hamster, Use about a half of a table spoon ful of clorox and that should do the trick, Poor little thing.

 

[zelandonia]

WHOA, Those are not mites, those are Chiggers.

Chiggers are a species of mite. They are also known as red bugs. If your hamster has mites it can be treated with ivermectin. Ivermectin can either be given orally, by injection, or as a topical treatment if diluted. You can get ivermectin from a veterinarian but I'd advise finding a vet that is familiar with treating pocket pets so that they give the correct dose. Good luck.

z.

edit: ivermectin can be given at a dose of 0.2-0.4 mg/kg subcutaneously once every 10 to 14 days for hamsters

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Use about a half of a table spoon ful of clorox and that should do the trick

to how much water?

 

[RandomWiktor]

Do NOT put chlorox on any living thing; hamsters have very sensitive skin and respritory systems. Rodents in general are hypersensitive to all cleansers; most places I've worked will not even mop the floor with dilute bleach of the rodent is in the same room.
Please take your hamster to a vet; severe parasite infestations can lead to devastating anemia (well, providing they are the blood sucking type), as well as secondary infections from scratching. Your vet can perscribe something (probably ivermectin) to get rid of the parasite infestation. In the mean time, you can keep his cage very clean, keep him well fed and watered, and give him a warm bath here and there to rinse off loosely clinging mites.
Good luck!

 

[The ultimate_fish MaC dAddY]

Yeah but Chiggers are a lot worst then just regular mites

 

[RandomWiktor]

Eh... I don't know. Compared to mange mites, they are pretty easy to treat, and do not require painful skin scrapes to identify. However, how nasty they are is irrelevant; the main point is, ANY parasites on your animal are a bad thing, and the little hammie needs to see a vet - promptly.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Make sure you throughly disenfect and clean out its cage and all things that may be in it like its house, exercise wheel, water/food bowl, toys etc the day you treat the hamster as you don't want the hamster to get re-infected after it has been treated.