Dwarf hamsters scratching & squinting: Revolution didn't help.

Question

I am the Store Leader at the Petco in Monroeville, PA and we had 5 Dwarf hamsters relinquished to us about a month ago. They scratch all the time and always have their eyes so squinted they look nearly closed. Vet had us apply revolution twice with a gap of 14 days in between treatments. No skin scraping was done. They have not improved at all and they have another vet visit in a few days with a different exotic vet. They arr on carefresh bedding. Any insight? Pet's info: Exotic | Unknown - Exotic | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 3 months old | 0.1 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for the question. Sounds like you guys are on the right track with the Revolution and the Care Fresh bedding. That is what I would have tried first if I didn't have a skin scraping. At this time, since they haven't improved, I would say a skin scraping would be in order and maybe a test for ringworm to see if we are missing something. If they have demodex mites they may need oral Ivermectin daily to get rid of those specific mites. I know you are using the Care Fresh bedding but has everything else in their environment been clean/sterilized? The toys/housing/dishes, etc? I would use a 10:1 dilution of water to bleach and let those items soak in that for 30 minutes and then rinse thoroughly and dry them before placing that back in the cage. Also the cage should be cleaned with a 10:1 bleach solution in the same manner. I hope this helps. Make sure the vet does a skin scraping this next time and see if they think a ringworm test is warranted. Definitely clean the cage, dishes and other items with dilute bleach water as described above and continue with the Care Fresh bedding. I think you guys are on the right track. Thanks for caring about these little guys. I'm sure you'll get them well soon! Best wishes! Dr. Amber

Dwarf hamsters scratching & squinting: Revolution didn't help.

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