Re:How Much Do You Spend on Bedding in a Year? - 2007/08/05 14:06I really don't know about it LEADING to ear mites, but if they have mites they will continue to live in the tank in wood while you are medicating your hedgie. When I treated one of my hedgies for stress mites, the vet said to remove all wood and wood chips and shavings, wipe the tank out and all its contents with a mild bleach and water solution and rinse really well.
So, the little wooden chew I had just bought had to be tossed. And so did the shavings. Some people have success with puppy sick pads, Pippi had a grand time ripping those to shreds - that's about the time I switched to fleece. Most hedgies are okay with cardboard and paper, Pippi was a shredder and because of this I could not toilet train her on a folded paper towel as some people are able to do with their hedgies.
I'd also get rid of any paper or cardboard tubes they've been playing with and make some tubes out of those foam craft sheets until the mites are gone.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
But first, a quick reply here to the poster above me:
Mites (no matter where they end up nesting on our pets), fleas and even ticks will often arrive inside "Natural" litters. This includes hay, woodchips and similar. Yes, even CareFresh (if stored together with these other naturals) may carry it.
The only method I know to get rid of any of these unwanted inhabitants is something I read on the rats forums of my days as a rat owner: Freeze the bag. Throw it into the 4-5 Star freezer for at least a week and THEN use it as littler. it will not kill off everything, but it will get rid of the worst of things that can be brought in, especially with hay.
It also will not have to be a sign of you being untidy or not keeping your pets clean. While I had a pack of three rat generations, 4 girls overall, the old Lady of the day (Wisp, I'll see you by the Rainbow Bridge... ) suddenly was plagues by mites, even though I gave them baths and they all slept snuggled up in a big pile - SHE was the only one who had to deal with them. Poor health, being old or other weakness can lead to mites just showing up one day. *shrug*
Back to the main topic: I swapped to CareFresh Ultra. We did not have the likes in Germany (I wonder if they will distribute it there some day...) and I love the stuff. No dust, nothing that can trigger allergies, easy to clean, picks up wee promptly and hardly any odor problems.
In the past month I have now used up about 40 of the 50 liters of Ultra CareFresh. As time moves on, I now use less of the stuff, as I only need to replace spots of it, not fill up the whole cage. The 50l bags cost about 20ish$, so I estimate that in the near future I'll spend about 10-15$ per month on my hedgies litter.
Yes, that#s quite a bit. But both Hedgie and I like it this way, so I think it's worth it.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
HamorHollow
Admin
Posts: 2169
Re:How Much Do You Spend on Bedding in a Year? - 2007/08/13 02:07I have never gotten mites through infected bedding. They have always been caused by stress and only on 1 or 2 animals at a time.
I buy my pine in bales and will use about 1.5 bales to clean all the cages here (60+ hedgehogs). If the bedding were the problem, I would have a massive breakout and be treating all the hedgehogs instead of just 1 or 2 at a time.
I'm not saying that bedding can't be infected, but I am saying that if it's good enough for my 60+ kids then don't stress out over the possibility of infected bedding.
And if you do get mites, treat the hedgehog with Revolution, chuck the bedding, clean the cage, and go have a nice cold non-alcoholic beferage and relax. Mites are so not a big deal. One treatment of Revolution will outlast the life cycle of the mites and is *usually* enough.
To be honest, when I have had mites, I grab the hedgehog and treat it with Revolution, then put it back and get myself that nice non-alcoholic beverage. I don't clean the cage and disinfect, and my mites still go away and don't come back.
-KKelly Sosik-Hamor Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. | Do you want to buy a baby Hedgehog? Please fill out out questionnaire. | Hedgehog World - A Community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders
Hedgehog Forums 
) suddenly was plagues by mites, even though I gave them baths and they all slept snuggled up in a big pile - SHE was the only one who had to deal with them. Poor health, being old or other weakness can lead to mites just showing up one day. *shrug*
