Hamster rolling around in cage.

Garzard

We've a Syrian hamster here, about a year old. I've noticed that for around the past week that when he comes out at night he'll roll around in the corner of his cage in the sawdust and tonight he was scratching a good bit at his head. I'm slightly worried it might be fleas / ticks since he does get a few hours run around the living room most nights and goes under cabinets and dusty areas. Is there be anything to worry about and if it is fleas could anyone recommend a spray or other treatment for this? Thanks in advance.

baby and crumble

It's quite possible. There are sprays and treatments you can pick up in pet shops. Look around the ears for dirt- that'll be a sign of fleas or mites. If he does have mites they could have come in in bedding.

If I were you, I'd disinfect te whole cage, change all the bedding. Get a removable tray of sand you can change every day. See what happens.

Garzard

baby and crumble wrote: »

It's quite possible. There are sprays and treatments you can pick up in pet shops. Look around the ears for dirt- that'll be a sign of fleas or mites. If he does have mites they could have come in in bedding.

If I were you, I'd disinfect te whole cage, change all the bedding. Get a removable tray of sand you can change every day. See what happens.

Would dog and cat sprays be alright in small amounts, just in case I can't find hamster spray?

To be on the safe side I've cleaned the cage, replaced the cotton wool bedding, the sawdust and wiped it down with a bit of Dettol. Couldn't find anything in the bedding packet. Should I include a box of sand/grit for him to scratch in?

baby and crumble

In future if you can get pet friendly disinfectant, do. It Runs less risk of burning little toes.

I wouldn't use anything that's not for the animal you're using it on, simply because you can't be sure of sensitivities etc. plus the types of fleas you get on cats and dogs are different to rodent mites etc. it should be easy to get rodent specific stuff, most pet shops will have it, no matter how small they might be. Same goes for the disinfectant.

I would still get rid of any sand etc he's been using. These things can be microscopic. If you need to cut down on costs, you can get kids play sand in Argos/ toy shops. It's already hypoallergenic etc but ALWAYS bake it in an oven to kill off any bacteria or mites that are harmful to Hammies. Either that or get chinchilla sand from a pet shop.

Also just FYI I don't recommend usin the store bought fluffy bedding. It can get caught around legs and cause problems with blood flow, and also if it's swallowed can cause major issues. Just give in a pile of tissues. Far cheaper and safer.

Garzard

baby and crumble wrote: »

Also just FYI I don't recommend usin the store bought fluffy bedding. It can get caught around legs and cause problems with blood flow, and also if it's swallowed can cause major issues. Just give in a pile of tissues. Far cheaper and safer.

Thanks for all that info b&c. There was another type of bed material we got a while ago which was sort of like soft bits of paper which hamsters apparently enjoy shredding down. I'll buy use that from now on and check in a few pet shops today for disinfectant.

We've never used sand but rather cheap packs of wood shavings for the floor of the cage, same stuff you'd use for rabbits, guinea pigs etc. Should this be replaced with pet sand instead?

baby and crumble

Garzard wrote: »

Thanks for all that info b&c. There was another type of bed material we got a while ago which was sort of like soft bits of paper which hamsters apparently enjoy shredding down. I'll buy use that from now on and check in a few pet shops today for disinfectant.

We've never used sand but rather cheap packs of wood shavings for the floor of the cage, same stuff you'd use for rabbits, guinea pigs etc. Should this be replaced with pet sand instead?

Yeah the soft paper stuff is grand, it's the stuff that looks and feels like cotton wool hat should be avoided. But in all honesty I have a box of tesco value tissues and it's perfect. Cheap and cheerful and a box lasts ages.

Well for Isabellas set up we use Tumblefresh (Isabella is allergic to some types of wood shavings so we just go with tumblefresh. Much more expensive but it keeps smells down for much longer meaning we only do a full change now every 2-3 weeks, and there's no hammie sneezing!!!) in the cage, an ikea jar with chinchilla sand as her toilet (we trained her to go in to use the potty, again keeps smells down and let's us change bedding way less frequently than before. The chinchilla sand clumps really well meaning you can just remove wet bits super easy) and the we have a shoe-box full of baked childrens sand for digging and bathing when she gets out of her cage. We don't leave it in her cage, it's more of a daily ritual/ treat for her and she loves it. But it's really trial and error until you find what works for your hammie, we tried Isabella digging in woodchip and it ended badly, tried her with sand and hey presto! I wouldn't use sand as a bedding, no. No need, woodchips/ tumblefresh or similar is best.

New Home

Hi there,

If it's of any help, I find that neem oil helps a lot with both mites and fleas, and you can put a few drops at the bottom of the cage as a repellant. The easiest way I've found to apply it to their fur is to put a few drops in my hands, rub them together, and then cuddle the hell out of them (just watch out for their eyes).

For their bedding, I either use hay (and if I can't find it, then I use straw) and/or wood pellets, and they seem happy - if you put a big layer they'll be able to burrow into the pellets too.