What are mites?
Mites: Are microscopic parasites that cause hair loss, scabbing, and flaky skin.
Mites affect all kinds of small animals and require vet diagnosis and treatment to get rid of.
Even worse...
Once a small animal gets mites...
Everything in the enclosure is contaminated.
If your small animal has mites you need to:
- Throw away all bedding and nesting material.
- Wash the enclosure with hot, soapy water
- Wash plastic, ceramic, glass, and metal wheels, hides, food dishes, water bottles, etc. with hot, soapy water.
- Launder fabric items (if applicable) in hot water and dry on high heat.
- Freeze or replace natural wooden items only if your veterinarian recommends it, since wood is porous and harder to disinfect.
How do small animals get mites?
Hamsters can get mites in several ways:
- Direct contact with an infested hamster (the most common source)
- Contaminated bedding, cages, or accessories (less common but possible)
- Naturally occurring mites multiplying excessively. Some mites can live in very low numbers on healthy hamsters without causing problems. If the immune system becomes weakened, these mites can overgrow and cause disease.
What is the treatment?
Again, because mites are microscopic, they require a vet diagnosis.
Treatment depends on the mite species, but commonly includes:
- Prescription antiparasitic medications: these medications often require repeated treatments over several weeks to eliminate newly hatched mites
- Treating secondary conditions: like skin lacerations and rashes that the mites caused
- Cleaning the enclosure: is just as important for healing, the mites should be completely gone before your small animal is put back in their enclosure
Most importantly
Mites CAN BE cured
With the appropriate treatment, mites can be cured.
Symptoms to look for:
- Excessive scratching or itching
- Hair loss (often patchy, especially around the neck, shoulders, back, or rump)
- Dry, flaky, or dandruff-like skin
- Red or irritated skin
- Scabs or crusty patches
- Small sores from scratching
- Thinning or poor-quality coat
- Restlessness due to itching
- Overgrooming or excessive rubbing against cage items