Hamster Mites

Tips for Dealing With Hamster Mites

If you have a pet hamster you should be aware of hamster mites. Mites are a parasite that your hamster can get from other animals, or even from the hay that you put in the hamster’s cage. Hamster mites are tiny bugs that reside on the hair and though they will not always be visible with some hamsters, you can tell that they have mites because it will look as if they have tiny black specks in their hair. If you watch closely, you will see that these black specs are crawling.

When your pet is infested with hamster mites the skin will become irritated, and in cases of a bad infestation the fur may begin to fall off. If your hamster has mites it is important that you should treat the infestation as soon as possible; when left untreated your hamster could develop a condition known as mange, and this could cause lasting damage to your hamster’s health and wellbeing.

Fortunately you shouldn’t have too much trouble treating hamster mites successfully. To treat these mites requires that you buy some spray at your local pet shop that is specifically meant to treat hamster mites.

The first thing you will need to do is find out if your hamster does have mites. If your hamster is displaying symptoms of mites, such as fur loss, scratching and skin irritation, but you cannot see any black specs on the fur, you can rub the animal with a white cloth or towel to check for black specs.

Purchase the mite treatment spray from a pet shop or vet and follow the directions carefully. When spraying the hamster it is important that you protect the eyes and mouth from getting the mite spray in them.

You will need to clean the hamster’s cage and use the hamster mite treatment spray on the cage as well as all accessories inside the cage. The bedding should be removed before treatment and replaced with new bedding.

If you have other animals in the home you will need to treat them as well; this is important because they will continue to spread the mites between each other if all of the pets are not treated. The hamster should be isolated from your other animals until you know for certain that the hamster mites are gone. The last thing you want is for your animals to pass mites to one another after they have been treated.

Keep in mind that one treatment may not be enough to completely eliminate the infestation; your hamster may require more than one treatment. Getting rid of the mites will also be more difficult if you have other animals.

If you treat your hamster as directed, and the mites persist or continue to get worse, you will have to make an appointment to take your pet to the vet. The infestation may be bad enough that a simple home treatment won’t work. The important thing is that you do get your pet to the vet so that the infestation does not continue to worsen.

If you are not sure that your hamster has mites, it is best not to use the treatment unnecessarily, as the treatment is made of chemicals. If after checking for mites you are still unsure if your pet does have hamster mites, visit your vet to get a diagnosis. Keep in mind that this isn’t an uncommon condition and as long as you are proactive about treating the mites, the infestation should not be too difficult to deal with.