New Problem: NOT MITES BUT BLOOD LICE!

[ashleyrenee]

Ok now zorro and missy have mights again after zoey had them like a month of two ago. Whats going on?!?!?

The first time they got it, it was because of the food and i changed the bedding to corn cob. Now could it be because i dont clean their tank out frequently like i should?

I clean them at least every 2 weeks. Im not being mean to leave them in their cages not cleaned its only because i dont have money to buy new bedding. Which im going to buy tommorrow as soon as i get home.

Well im gonna clean their tank, toys and take a wash cloth to them and some medicine. Does anyone know why i keep getting this problem its the third time now.

Im getting worried. I dont want to have my parents make me get rid of them. My heart would get broken. Please someone help me please!

[gerbil01]

Wow. My gerbils have nver had mites so I'm sorry to say I don't know anything about it.
I really hope you can get it resolved so your parents don't take away your gerbils
I use corn cob bedding and never get mites o.O

[ashleyrenee]

After I changed to corn cob bedding i havent had problems. I probably think i need to clean their cages more often then I do.

Ill update more tommorrow.

[maxthegerbil]

I`ve never had mite/lice problems with my gerbils either, but I would say your problem was contaminated litter or hay? If you can, freeze any new shavings/hay/straw for 24 hours before use. This kills any parasites. Just do this well in advance of using them incase you have to air off what you freeze before using it.

Use really hot water to soak any toys and food dishes in. If you still feel the gerbils are harbouring mites, you might have to have them treated by a vet topically (solution spot dropped onto the back of the gerbils neck) to get rid of them and keeping up your hygein throught.

There are powders you can buy in the bird section of pet shops for birds to treat mites, but having never used this myself, I can`t truly advise on how to use them and the last thing you want is ill gerbils! You can`t have them inhale the powder as this could bring on a respiratory problem.

Good luck and don`t worry too much! Ivermectin treatment by your vet would solve the problem. x

[spicesugar]

How do you know you have mites?
Can you see them or are your gerbils scratching?

I obviously need to read up on mites and how they get into your cage. I guess some bedding material could be infested when you put it in there, right?

I hope your problem is solved quickly.

[ashleyrenee]

I dont ever use hay or stray or shavings. I know about freezing the bedding. I always do it. I have medicine for the gerbils, and i do soak the toys and everything. I just dont see how htey can get them. The first time like i said was because of hte food. I went to pick up the bag and there was a worm on it. like a maggot worm *barf* it was nasty.

Powder sounds good does anyone else have any recomedations? I have heard about people using powder and spray if so please tell me what brand is it and where i could find it.

[squeaksister]

You have to do more than just soak everything in hot water. You have to bleach everything once a week for atleast a month. And make sure you get in the corners of the tank and their water bottles. You should also get powder with "carbaryl" in it and sprinkle it outside the tank to get mites that escape.
-Mary

[ashleyrenee]

bleach everything?!? Could i dilute the bleach?
Wow for a month maybe thats why i keep getting them well im gonna to do my best! Which will be great dont worry. Thanks squeaksister, what about my gerbils who have the mites on them? ok ill also get that stuff with hte carbaryl. It wont harm my babies will it?

[squeaksister]

Yes use a bleach mixture of 10%bleach and 90%water. I do it in the bath tub I spray the tank and lid down and leave the waterbottle to soak. Then I fill the tub with a few inches of water , like 4 inches, and use a sponge to wipe the tank thoroughly . Then I drain the tub and use a large cup to rinse all sides of the tank , make sure you rinse it very very well. Then I scrub out the waterbottle and and all its part very well and dry everything off. The I fill the tank with corncob and a papertowel tube , or some other small amount of cardboard. Then I give the gerbils their medicine and put them in their nice clean tanks. Also before I put the tank back on the shelf I sprinkle my flea and tick powder , something like this www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441776059&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302032959&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1145319913734&itemNo=25&Nao=24&Ntt=flea&In=All&previousText=flea&N=2 , which is alittle expensive or you can use www.gardentech.com/sevin.asp which is the same stuff but is cheaper. This is not safe to use on your animals , as far as I know , but can be used outside the tank for the ones that escape , and they do trust me There are safe powders and sprays that you can use on the gerbils such as Ortho BugBGon www.acohardware.com/330.html that you can sprinkle right on the gerbils and that will work with the Ivermectin to help kill the mites.
Those cleaning should be done every week to get rid of those nasty mites , and they are real nasty! I found out the hard way that I am very allergic to them and can get fevers and bruises and all kinds of things **shudders** I Hate[/u] mites! I hope you can finally rid yourselves of them.

[ashleyrenee]

ok what kinda medicine do you give you gerbies to get rid of the mites? Is it the Ivermectin? Last time i asked that from my vet they didnt have any to use on my babies. Ill bleach tommorrow i just cleaned their tanks out with dish soap today and got all of their toys out, hot watered them and i have them now in the freezer.

[maxthegerbil]

Bleaching and thoroughly rinsing the tank and making sure everything is completely dry before you put the gerbils back into them. You cannot see mites, they are microscopic. You can see lice, but not mites. First of all, you have to decide why your gerbils are scratching? A vet would have to do a skin scraping to find out exactly what the paracites are. Ivermectin is a nerve agent and HAS to be administered by a vet. The vet dilutes it for small rodents, otherwise it could affect the animals nervous system and not just the paracite!

If you can see any tiny specs on your gerbils hair, these could be lice eggs. As I explained above, mites cannot be seen. Some are sarcoptic and can cause bald patches. I would seek a vets advice if you can`t control the symptoms. It`s annoying I know, but it`s a vicious circle.

Only use bought products that kill mites and lice, NOT fleas and ticks! Gerbils don`t catch these as far as I`m aware....

[ashleyrenee]

Then they must be lice because i find little red bugs nad little grey ones. Im looking up what they have and im sure its probably blood mites because when you squish the little red ones they look like they filled up with blood. And another thing my gerbils have scabs from scratching so much.
It says they can be brought in by birds or bedding containated with birds. Well we dont have a bird or does my family.

So now how do i get rid of the blood mites?

[squeaksister]

OK yes you can see mites and gerbils can catch fleas , trust me Ive had both.
Take your gerbils to the vet so they can give you the proper diagnosis and treatment. The things I have recommended have been what I have used to rid my gerbils of both pests.
This person purplekatkritters.tripod.com/mites.html has a picture of a mite next to a penny.

[ashleyrenee]

My vet last time told me to give them a bath so i took a wash cloth and it helped a little bit but what medicine should i recommend for them to give me (the vet give me)?? They diffently arent mites, that my babies have. Well ill update more tonight

[squeaksister]

How do you know they arent mites? You were pretty sure that they were yesterday. Mites can be grey brown or red depending on whether or not they just bit someone or not. The vet should give you ivermectin and obviously the bath didnt work because you still have them.