hamster fleas

[jodie234]

my dwarf hamsters were itching a couple of months ago so i brought them some treatment which i thought had worked but they are both itching again. do you know why they keep getting fleas and what treatment i need? i also have a dog but i am sertain she doesnt have fleas. i have had a lot of bites recently and would like to know if it could be from the hamsters or if it would just be insect bites/ flys in my house? please help. x

[paddywak]

Animals that are susceptable to fleas, need to be treated at regular intervals, to break the life cycle of the flea, as killing the flea doesn't prevent any eggs already laid from hatching. I dont know what treatment you used but if I were you I'd see your vet as virtually all the stuff you can buy at a pet shop for cats and dogs is near enough useless so I assume other pet treatments are the same. By the way are you sure your dog is clear?

[what..the?]

You will probably find the hamsters have not got fleas but mites which are alot smaller. The smaller pets like hamsters guinea pigs and rabbits get mites more commonally. If you cannot really see anything on the hamsters it would unlikely be fleas because they are fairly easy to detect with our eye sight.

Mites are similar to fleas though and what paddy says about the life cycle is the same for the mite, the mites have to be treated in regular intervals to kill all the mites, You could try an over the counter 'spot on' for hamsters and follow the instuctions on the box for how much to give them, and then retreat them when the box says it is safe to do so. It will say something like 'do not retreat for 6 weeks'. Often though this over the counter stuff does not always work and you have to take them to the vet for the same treatment. The vets treatment is annoying though as their treatment means you have to take the animal in every week for a small dose. for approx 4 weeks.

Try over the counter stuff for mites first though and read instructions. I think the one I have used is a 'Bob Martins - spot on for small animals' you just put a drop or two on. If they do have fleas though this treatment should help with that too.

[Neet]

Hi Jodie. I know this is months later, but I just came across your question, as I was looking up treatment for fleas on hamsters. As one answer you got says, you definitely can see fleas if your hamsters have them. Our hamster has fleas. Poor little thing. It was a neglected, unwanted pet we only got yesterday. The cage was infested with fleas. Farm cats near the cage - she's from a farm house - won't have helped Honey (that's what we've named her), but I believe the source of the fleas was her bedding. They used dusty, dirty wood shavings, housed in a shed where other animals are nearby. I scrubbed out her cage and put loads of torn up paper towels in there, but she still has some fleas in her fur. I shall get some 'spot on' tonight. Apart from a course of flea treatments, you need to treat areas where your pets have been and my extra main suggestion here is to check how clean the wood shavings you buy are or use an alternative. As your question was 7 months ago, I'm sure you got it sorted and hope all's well. :O)