Is Mite Spray for Birds Safe for Treating a Hamster with Mites?

Hamsters are adorable and easy to care for and are therefore, very popular pets. Unfortunately, hamsters getting mites is a common problem faced by their owners that can be difficult to take care of. Most pet stores do not carry mite medication for hamsters and small animal/exotic pet veterinarians are simply not found in many areas. This often leaves hamster owners trying to find a treatment that is effective and safe to use based on the recommendations of other hamster owners. This was the situation I recently found myself in. Unfortunately, I believe the treatment that was supposed to be effective and safe to use caused the death of our hamster.

My daughter's black bear hamster got mites when it was about a year old. I had dealt with mites with other pets and immediately knew what she had, but I didn't know what to get to treat a hamster with mites. I called the local pet stores to find out if they carried mite medicine for hamsters, but no one did. I looked for a small animal/exotic pet veterinarian in our area, but there weren't any. I then did some research on the internet to find out what to do to get rid of the mites. I came across several sources from people that seemed to be experienced hamster owners that all said you could use mite spray for birds to treat a hamster with mites. Since I was getting this information from websites all about hamsters or small pets, I trusted the information and decided to try mite spray for birds as recommended.

I purchased a bottle of mite spray for birds, followed all the instructions for proper cleaning of the hamster's cage to remove any mites, cleaned all of the items that would go back in the cage, sprayed the cage with mite spray, and then treated the hamster with the mite spray for birds, shielding her head as directed. The information from the hamster websites said that it can be difficult to get rid of mites and that is was safe to repeat treatment as needed. The bottle of mite spray for birds said to use the spray no more than two times a week and said nothing about discontinuing use after a certain number of weeks. I knew that after killing the mites that were currently on the hamster, eggs could hatch soon after, so I thought it best to treat for two weeks. This first course of treatment helped the hamster's hair to start growing back and she wasn't itching near as much, so I thought things were getting better. Then she started itching a lot and losing her hair again, so I checked her and found mites again. I figured there must have been eggs that hatched after the first treatment, so I started a second course of treatment again, this time doing it for four weeks. Toward the end of this treatment, I noticed a lump in her lower abdomen. I wasn't sure what it was and she wasn't acting strange nor did she have any other symptoms, so I just kept an eye on it to see what would happen. The lump went away and I thought she was okay.

The mite problem seemed to be taken care of, but then she started losing her hair again, so I checked her and found mites again. I then started our hamster on another course of treatment with the mite spray for birds and did the whole cage cleaning and spraying again. Once again, it took a couple courses of treatment and once again, she got a lump on her lower abdomen that went away. At this point, I was suspicious that the mite spray for birds could be causing the lump, but I soon found mites on her again and I had no other treatment options. I didn't want her to suffer with the parasites, she wasn't acting sick from the mite spray, and the lump always went away, so I decided to do the treatment once more. The treatment seemed to take care of the mites, but she got the lump in her lower abdomen again. The lump took longer to go away and after a while it started to come back without even using the mite spray.

It seemed I was unable to completely get rid of her mites with the mite spray for birds, because she started to lose her hair and itch again and I found mites on her once again. At this point though, I was afraid to continue using the spray, because I believed it caused her lump. Every time I had treated her with the spray, she would start to clean herself when I put her back in the cage. I believed that her licking the chemicals in the spray had done something to her. The lump continued to come and go and she started to become less active. Then she started to have a little bit of stinky urine discharge and was eating and drinking less. I was desperate to help our little hamster, but was very limited in what I could do for her without a small animal/exotic pet veterinarian in our area. I bought an antibiotic for hamsters from the pet store, just in case she had an infection, and treated her with it. Despite all my efforts to take good care of her, our little hamster died a couple of weeks later. We were absolutely heart-broken. It was horrible watching her get sick and then die and I felt terrible thinking that I was the one who did it to her by using the mite spray for birds on her. I had only wanted to take care of our hamster's mites and thought I was following the good advice of experienced hamster owners. I never thought it would hurt her.

It took a while to get past our hamster's death, but I eventually let my daughter get a new black bear hamster. To my dismay, I discovered mites on him less than a month after we got him. I actually believe he had them when we bought him from the pet store because he always seemed to be itching and grooming himself. I was determined this time to take proper care of the mites. I researched and researched until I found out that Ivermectin was the medicine a small animal/exotic pet veterinarian would use to treat a hamster with mites. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this medicine available over the counter in the United States. I continued to research and found out that Ivermectin was sold over the counter as Beaphar Anti-parasite Spot On for Hamsters and Gerbils in the United Kingdom. I then purchased this medicine from the United Kingdom on Ebay. I will no longer take chances using a medicine to treat a hamster that is not specifically meant for hamsters.

I do not want this to happen to another hamster owner's dear little pet. I do not believe that it is effective or safe to use mite spray for birds on hamsters. I truly believe that the chemicals our hamster ingested when she licked the spray damaged her kidneys and caused her death. Because of this experience, I recommend that you always use treatments and medications specifically meant for hamsters when treating a hamster for mites or any other ailment, even if you must purchase the medicine from another country.

Sources:
Ebay
Beaphar
Drug Therapy in Pet Rodents Veterinarian Article - VSPN.org