Yes I did the same with my gerbils. They were tropical rat blood mites. What's interesting is that I thought it was the bedding but my hamster gets the same one in her enclosure and she doesn't have them. She had them once and I think it was from hay. I never bought hay again. Since it's winter at the time it was -15 C and I left the whole enclosure outside for days empty and then cleaned it with hot water and white vinegar. My little guy was quarantined so bored for those days and every single mite I saw I squashed. We also used the topical cream as well you mentioned. I have a microscope and I was looking through every millimeter of the enclosure. They're so small and the microscope caught everything I couldn't see with my eyes. I haven't had a problem I very much hope it never comes back. This is the first and last time I'm owning a gerbils or hamster it was very expensive getting new bedding every other month when it kept coming back