How to Clean Your Hamster Cage – Owner’s Guide

Despite the fact that hamsters are excellent first pets, it still takes a lot of time and effort to ensure that they have long, healthy lives. New hamster parents may not be familiar with some aspects of care, such as grooming and cleaning the hamster’s home. You need to know how to clean your hamster cage.

Daily Cleaning of the hamster’s cage

Keeping your hamster’s bathroom clean and stocked with new food and water should be a daily ritual. It is common for hamsters to discharge themselves in one or two cage regions. It’s easy to tidy up this little “bathroom” nook. 

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A scoop or a gloved hand may scoop up any filthy material from the cage and dispose of it in a trash bag. Clean bedding should be used to replace the old. The dishes your pet uses to drink and eat from should be washed on a regular basis. Your hamster won’t eat or drink contaminated food or water if you maintain these areas clean. This will avoid the buildup of hazardous germs or bacteria.

Weekly Cleaning of the hamster’s cage

Keep your hamster’s cage clean and safe by changing the bedding once a week or as needed. If you detect a strong ammonia smell, the bedding seems more filthy than normal, or if you are keeping multiple hamsters together, you may need to thoroughly clean more often.

Instructions to clean hamster’s cage

1. Transfer Hamster to a Safe Place

Move your hamster out of his or her cage when you’re ready to clean, such as in a pet carrier or hamster ball. To avoid hurting your pet, your hamster may run past while you clean up the mess or refill the food dish.

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Preparation is key, so gather your cleaning products ahead of time and make sure they are safe. You may use mild soap and warm water or solutions designed particularly for tiny pet habitats from your local pet shop. Using full-strength bleach is a no-no!

2. Empty the Cage

Afterward, remove all the bedding and dispose of the waste. To ensure a new start and a clean environment, even if part of the bedding seems clean at first glance, it is recommended practice to replace all of the bedding regularly.

Toys, food, and water dishes should also be removed. Sooty bedding or food particles will not be able to accumulate beneath things.

3. Thoroughly Wash the Cage

Use mild soap and warm water or a cage cleaning solution to clean the empty enclosure. If you don’t want to use soap, you may instead use vinegar to clean the cage, but be sure to rinse away any vinegar residue afterward properly.

Take the cage apart if you have a hamster, depending on the sort of cage you have. This way, you can clean every part of the house without having to deal with small doors or access points.

4. Wash All Accessories

Toys, wheels, tunnels, and bowls must be cleaned, and your hamster’s cage. As a result, urine, feces, and germs may be found in the cracks of tunnels, behind dishes, or on the surface of toys. This has to be taken into consideration. 

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Ear infections and vision problems could happen if you keep coming into contact with this dirt for a long time. Rinse all objects well after washing to remove any remaining soap or cleaning solution.

5. Dry and Reassemble the Cage

The cage should be well-dried. If water is left behind, it might lead to mold growth or damp bedding. Ensure the cage is completely dry before putting it back together and filling it with fresh bedding. Your hamster should provide two to three inches of fresh, fluffy bedding. 

Using pine or cedar bedding might lead to respiratory problems in your hamster. Incorporate all previously removed items back into the cage, ensuring to dry everything well. Return your hamster to his clean and fresh home after cleaning.

What Makes a Hamster Cage Smell Bad?

• In the absence of an exercise ball or transport carrier, hamsters spend most of their time inside their cages. That’s why most of its excrement and food end up in its bedding.
• Pee is the most common cause of the smell in the shelter. Because the pet only pees in one spot, cleaning is a breeze. This spot will remain the same if it chooses to move its nest.
• In most cases, it is sufficient to remove or spot-clean the pee corner to eliminate the smell. Hamsters, on the other hand, defecate in a separate area.
• Due to their lack of scent, wet feces may be found all over the area. However, they should be removed since they are unsightly.
• As for the food, hamsters like to keep their uneaten food in one area in order to guarantee that they always have enough to eat (this is a hamster’s inclination). The stench of rotting food may be alleviated by removing the food from the pantry on a daily basis. 

Frequently asked questions

1. What can I use to clean my hamster’s cage?

When it comes time to clean the cage, a washcloth or hand towel will come in helpful. A disinfectant is also required. In pet shops, you may discover cleaning products. Dish soap or gentle hand soap is more options.

2. How often does a hamster cage need to be cleaned?

At least once a month, thoroughly clean your hamster’s environment. While doing the major cleaning, keep your hamster in a secure, temporary home, such as a critter carrier.

3. Do hamsters get mad when you clean their cage?

All animals, even hamsters, prefer a clean habitat. A cage that is cleaned too often might agitate your hamster. You shouldn’t replace all the bedding at once since the scent of their own body soothes them.

Conclusion

Cleaning the cage on a daily basis may help remove surface stains, but a weekly thorough clean is required if filth begins to penetrate the cage’s accessories, bedding, and other surfaces. Keep your hamster happy and healthy by cleaning the cage and the hamster itself; your house will smell better.