Cage cleaning frequency question

[clerbird321]

I typically deep clean my Syrian’s cage every 3wks because he primarily pees in his burrows, but we skipped it this week and decided to wait until the 4wk mark since it was the 4th of July and I didn’t want to stress him out with fireworks AND a cage cleaning. But it definitely smells strong in there right now lol.

Is this fine or will it get too dirty? I guess I just don’t know what happens if we wait too long, does he get sick from there being so much pee?

 

[clerbird321]

Update: I ended up cleaning part of his cage, his hide where he does a lot of peeing, and will do the rest this weekend!

Does this forum have a recommended cleaning schedule?

 

[Manxrainbow91]

From what I’ve read, don’t do a full clean very often at all. Just take the wet/dirty stuff out and then fill back up. All the scent trails are gone if you completely empty

 

[Maz]

Hi. A full cage clean every 3 weeks is too much and can cause stress for them. It's better to "spot clean" the pee as needed, if the hamster doesn't use a toilet or sand as a toilet. Then do "partial" cleans. The more bedding you have, the less often you need to clean out and it's easier to just do a third of the cage at a time because most of it stays clean and dry. And then it maybe only needs doing every few months with spot cleaning in between. I've added our cleaning tips article below

Hamster cage cleaning

Tips on how to clean your hamster cage and avoid causing stress to your hamster. It's best to have plenty of depth of substrate and mainly spot clean your hamster cage. Avoid disturbing your hamster's nest and hoard.

www.thehamsterforum.com