Dwarf hamster mite treatment?!

[Anonymity82]

So, as some of you may know I adopted a couple of hamsters from PetSmart a few weeks ago if you happened by this thread: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?242574-Hamsters!!

Well, one of them, Peggy, chewed off her foot and tail after an infection (which is why she was adopted out). She had a somewhat bald spot that didn't look too discolored or anything on the same side as the crippled leg. I didn't think much of it since she recently saw a vet. Well, I may have let her "pet zone" (the small upper portion of the Critter Trail cage) get a little too damp. I saw the pee steam but kept parlaying cleaning it out. Well, today I noticed that she's very red, balding, and slightly crusty/flaky on her abdomen and chest and even reaching behind her ear.

I've done a ton of research today and I can't see a difference between mites or fungus. Obviously these need to be treated differently.

I wasn't able to find any hamster safe home remedies for fungus BUT I did find something on many forums for mites. 1 pt of room temp tap, 1 tbs witch hazel and one tbs unflavored antiseptic mouth wash. I'm weary on buying the mite killer spray or some other type of medicine because I imagine that this stuff is going to be stronger and put my other arachnids at a higher risk the home remedy. But of course, if this home remedy kill mites I guess it would be just as possible to kill my arachnids too. I hate mites! Except red velvet mites. Those things are awesome!

Anyone have any similar experiences?

 

[Moonfall]

Don't bathe any small animals. Like mice, small hammies can get sick and die if cold or wet.

I personally use Revolution with my rats, mice, ferrets, etc, and even on my chickens, when we have parasites. It is a one time deal (can be once a month for dogs but not at all necessary IMO) and will sterilize the parasites through the bloodstream. Because it's effective in the blood for 30 days the adults will die and eventually, the eggs will hatch, feed, and also die without reproducing, therefore stopping infestation.

I think that since it is effective in the blood and not a spray or something that as long as you did not handle any Ts after using it for a day or two or even had another person apply it, that your pets would be safe.

 

[Anonymity82]

We've had some mite covered hamsters at work in the past. The vet prescribed lime sulfer dip. I'll have to do some more looking into it but yeah, that sounds a lot better and safer for my T collection. Is Revolution something I can buy or do I need a prescription first?

If I try the home remedy (I've read this on a few different and popular hamster forums as safe way to rid them of mites) I will do it in the bathroom with the room heater going. I will also use a q-tip to apply and definitely not soak the hamster at all.

Thanks for you help! I talked to a local exotic vet. I just don't think I can afford going to the vet.

I'm also nervous of overdosing with revolution too. I've read people using it for rats and mice but haven't heard anything about using it with hamsters. They're both rodents but they are quite different animals.

I've read tea tree oil is good too. It's strong stuff though but i might just need drop one drop on her shoulders.

 

[lizardminion]

If she's been laying in a bed that's soaked with urine, she may be getting a skin in infection, or even acid burns. This inevitably happened to a disabled hamster of mine; having a broken back down halfway, he ended up dragging his belly into wherever he urinated, causing his skin to get infected and it went deeper.

 

[Anonymity82]

This is most certainly a possibility! Thanks! How do you treat it?

 

[The Snark]

There are mitecides that can be applied to the animals bedding instead of directly contacting the animal. Consult a vet. Fungus infections are treated with antibiotics or antifungal agents. Some agents are extremely toxic. Again, consult a vet. Above all, keep the animal and it's environment scrupulously clean. Hamsters, gerbils et al are so inbred their immune systems are nearly always compromised to some degree.
With mites the sad rule is the mite is usually stronger, healthier and more virile than the animal. Specific treatments are required. Sulphur and slaked lime will kill mites but can be highly irritating to some animals. Get a quality prescribed formula or be certain it is Ph neutral.

PS Beware wholesale bedding as sawdust. Buy sterilized material or sterilize it yourself. Sawdust is a very common source of mites.

 

[Moonfall]

Sawdust or any wood bedding (except aspen) will cause nasty disease in the respiratory tract because of the phenols. Don't ever use it. Paper based is much safer. I use carefresh with my rodents.

For the revolution, vets carry it, but most sell it without a prescription. There should be detailed dosing info on the internet if you do a search. When I used it with my mice the dose was so tiny that I used a toothpick to rub it into the fur. (I had a big tube because I was dosing 8 mice and 3 rats.)

It has to be bought from a vet though because it treats heartworms.

 

[Anonymity82]

I use aspen mixed with either plain cheap TP or this other stuff. I'm going to buy some hamster vitamin drops tomorrow. I can't afford all this lol! The carefresh is expensive but I might get some just for her. I can only get one this week though and since she's stressing out I'll do the vitamins.

Yeah, I was reading up on stuff that is used with mice and rats. Much of the stuff isn't supposed to be used on hamsters. I don't remember the exact reasoning. Either way I'll avoid it as there is other methods that are supposed to work if she indeed has mites too. There's a home remedy that's a sticky in a couple different hamster forums that I may try if it is indeed mites.

After talking to an admin on one of these forums I'm thinking it is ammonia burns. But we'll see. I'm going to clean out her sleeping area every couple of days and put pure aloe on her nightly. Vita-drops on the food every couple of days or in the water.

She's so sweet but she hates being handled and manipulated. Before anyone says "they all do" I have an extremely cage vicious albino fancy russian who's so easy to handle after he's out of the cage. Of course, if he had some painful rash this would probably not be so.

I'm also thinking burn instead of fungus or mites because she rarely scratches. She grooms often but rarely scratches. I'll give her a week on this treatment and if no improvement I'll look into the vet. I hope they can make a payment plan!

Thanks everyone!

 

[The Snark]

Here's a very uncomfortable FYI: various bacteria grow extremely well in aloe vera gel. Sterilize the gel and it supposedly loses it's healing properties. How's that for sucks?

 

[Moonfall]

I'd guess that if taken directly from the plant the bacteria wouldn't have time to grow, and it would be just fine? I don't know.

Tons of people use it though.

 

[The Snark]

I'd guess that if taken directly from the plant the bacteria wouldn't have time to grow, and it would be just fine? I don't know.

Tons of people use it though.

I'd say you are dead on there. Avoiding factory farming, processing and storing in normal (utterly filthy) factories and so on is the trick. I'd still be extremely hesitant to apply the stuff to open wounds. Staph infections in people who used aloe are pretty commonly reported in infection control surveys.

 

[Anonymity82]

Well, what do I do? Lol.

The condula oil was for external use only! I got the purest form I could get from Whole Foods and it needs to be refridgerated. It's also watery as they don't add thickeners either. We'll see. She looked slightly better last night. I will be checking on her soon.