Bugs?? Should I be concerned? I'm slightly panicked

[odi2gil]

Hello!
Last month, I adopted 2 degus from a family. When they gave them to me, they also gave me a large bag of timothy hay they had gotten from a local farm. I've been using it every day, I mix it with their bedding and I also give them clean hay to eat every day. A couple weeks after getting my degus, I had noticed very tiny, dark brown bugs crawling around on these wooden planks that I insert in the cage to act as shelves. They were on the outside of the cage though, where the wood comes out, and I rarely saw them and when I did there weren't many. Fast forward to now, I have moved them into a different room, their life has changed, fall has arrived, and I just recently (yesterday to be exact) just noticed them itching a lot. I've noticed that the weather has gotten colder and the room they are in has cooled down a bit. Especially since I keep a window open to circulate the air (but there's also heat on so they won't freeze, not environmentally the friendliest but oh well). I think I've noticed their fur getting longer as well, but I could just fooling myself. When I pet them, I get a few strands (but not an absurd amount) which is more than usual, and I've been sneezing around them more which makes me think that they're shedding for a new coat? But I might just be trying to stay positive and hoping it isn't mites. 
Today, when I went to feed them, (a little earlier than I usually do) there were the tiny brown bugs again! And there were lots more! They were around the base of the cage and hiding around under things I had around the cage but I couldn't see any inside the cage on the shelves. I cleared away as many as I could with a tissue and tossed them away. I think I've only seen them between morning and afternoon? But rarely ever at night or evening. What could these bugs be? Should I be worried?
I'm thinking of freezing the hay, but I don't know what else I should do. I'm itchy but I don't know if I'm paranoid, the bugs are actually biting me, or if it's the mosquitos being bad this year. 
Please HELP

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum and the weird world of degus.

Could it be possible to see a photograph of these bugs? That way we may be able to identify them for you.

I wouldn't recommend freezing the hay as it might not do it any favours. Can you tell us what it's kept in?

Your degus will be growing their winter coat (fur wise) as the weather is getting cooler so you will see thicker, longer fur. It's quite normal and can be quite Itchy for them.

Are your degus boy or girls? Do they have names? How old are they?

Also what are you feeding them? They need unlimited hay, but they also need other foods as well and getting their food right can be a bit of an uphill struggle to begin with.

[odi2gil]

I'll try getting a photo tomorrow, but they're both boys, Odis and Gilbert, and their previous owner told me they're both a year old.
The hay was given to me in a giant vacuum bag that they had cut open (even though it had a ziploc top) so I did my best to tape it back together and just use the ziploc part.
They also gave me food, and to my knowledge it's a mix of guinea pig and chinchilla food. I feed those to them along with the hay and for treats I have rice puffs!

[winic1]

If the hay is well dried, freezing it shouldn't bother it at all. May kill the bugs, may not. Bird people use freezing as a way to kill bugs in their seed supplies. But I can tell you that not everything is killed by freezing, from experience.

Really need pictures of the bugs to tell what they are.

[deguconvert]

Could possible put some of those bugs in a sealed bottle and take them to the vet for identification as well.

[odi2gil]

UPDATE! THERE ARE MORE BUGS. 
 

Here is a picture of the bugs, it's a bit blurry, but they are EVERYWHERE in the room, I'm going to take the goos to the vet tomrrow. Any advice on how to get rid of these? I'm more than a bit panicked now.

[Karma]

Hmmmmm I know those bugs - I thought they only eat protein sources tho?

Edit - look up larder beetle .... might be them. They are extremely common, I get them every so often if i miss a hair ball somewhere or cat kibble spills in the cabinet. They do prefer protein and fat sources so I have noooo idea what they are really liking. One website said bay leaves are a deterrent which is completely safe for degus since they can eat it.

Lots and lots of cleaning. I would remove and toss the wood you are seeing them in because it's going to be almost impossible to clean them all out - you definitely have tons! Check all your food sources - pellets, hay. Honestly I would play it safe and just toss everything, buy new bags and do a thorough full clean of the cage. Maybe freeze all their wooden products in the cage to ensure you get them all.

They won't harm you or your degus but could spread to your kitchen and food so be careful!

Ooooooo I wonder if they are going to town on the degu poop?

[odi2gil]

Yeah, I don't think they're larder beetles, which I have seen before. These are a lot smaller and from far look like tiny black specks that are moving. They don't jump or fly, just crawl round. Sometimes they are just completely still unless disturbed. I actually took this picture while they were inside a bowl I had on a table above my goos' cage. They were just laying on the bottom, not moving at all.
For now, I've moved the hay outside (guess I'll have a bonfire haha) and I've made plans to take them to the vet tomorrow. I'm also going to do a lot of shopping for sprays, bedding, etc. I think they got into the bedding as I see tiny holes in the bag. I don't really wanna test it. I think my goos have been more irritated due to this all and I just wanna get them as happy as possible.
I have another question though. I live in a small town with no pets store so I have to go out of town to shop for them. I don't have a carrier for them, any suggestion on what I can take them in?
For short trips (ex: moving them from room to room), I usually use a chinchilla bath house. Though there isn't room for them to run around, it fits both of them and they have room to stand and what not. I also use it for their baths.
If this a good way to transport them (or at least a way??)? I don't want them to be too uncomfortable and the drive will be at least 30 mins. Should I just but them in a box?
Any suggestions?

[deguconvert]

They look like fabric bugs. They eat more than fabric, but they can be very prolific. Are you new to your home? Is it possible they are pre-existing and you didn't know about them? Or perhaps they came with your degus and their things. They are hard to get rid of if they get established in your home.

[randomname]

I'm sooooo itchy right now  

[ntg]

My first thought was carpet bugs - my parents have had a nightmare with them this past year and we also had some little red bugs that were attracted to the dried flowers for the degus. I chucked about £30 worth of forage out to get rid of them. They never bothered the goos though.

As for a carrier, you can use things like the really useful storage boxes if you need something in a hurry - quite a few places do them. Mine is either the 19 or 25l box with holes poked in the lid with a heated up screwdriver.

[odi2gil]

Update!
Everything is okay with my goos! Odis and Gilbert are in perfect condition, according to the vet, were unharmed by whatever the bugs were! His guess (since I didn't bring any with me) were that they were just some sort of outdoor bug, brought in with the hay. They were probably escaping the cage, when I was putting the hay inside and escaping the bag to gather.
Last night, I had removed the hay, and this morning there were next to no more bugs!
As for what I had brought them in, I found a desk recycling bin and tried to keep them in that (it didn't work). They quickly escaped this at the start of our 30 min drive, so my friend in I held them in our laps for the whole drive and tried to keep them as content as possible. I then went to several pet stores before I could find rodent pet carrier, and barely made it to the vet in one piece haha.
Thank you for all the help and suggestions!

[zenaida]

Oh dear heavens! I'm now picturing degus loose in the car! That must have been a comedy of errors!

[bouncy]

Assuming it's a plastic pet carrier, just keep an eye on it for wear and tear

Personally, I got myself a wire cat/small dog carrier, replaced the plastic tray in the bottom with wood, and put some sides in to stop the substrate escaping (although my car seat always looks post harvest festival after a trip to the vet).

I do sympathise with the whole car thing. Squidgygoo escaped from his boxes two miles in to a 20 mile journey. Stopped at the lights, I looked down to see a goo sat on the front seat. Luckily, I plucked him up, and he ran straight onto my shoulder under my hoodie, very contented for the rest of the journey!

[titchycatnipsandwich]

A work colleague who had a wild variety of creatures in her house looked after my then-three for the Easter bank holiday weekend. She very kindly picked them up from my house on Thursday evening after work.

River chewed his way out of the carrier she'd lent me (as I only had one at that point, she brought a spare) - he chewed a hole in it, clambered up onto her lap as she was driving down the motorway and tried to get up onto the steering wheel to see where she was going! It wasn't her first rodeo with degus though, so she too just plopped him into a hoodie pocket and pulled over at the next junction to deposit him back into the carrier, plugging the hole with her scarf. He proceeded to pull the entire scarf into the carrier, pee on it, shred it to nest with and made himself a nice little bed. All in the space of about... maybe 20 minutes, if that?

I still owe her a replacement scarf

[deguconvert]

What a brat! ROFL!

[claire]

Hahaha this is why I have a hamster cage which I tie shut I don't trust all if mine in the same cage lol
I have images of the car in the next lane seeing a degu driving the car 🤣🤣🤣🤣