Cage Cleaning Tips

[ggaabs19]

Hey there! I've had my hamster for two months now and I'm just a little uncertain about cleaning the substrate. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right because I don't want to stress out my hammie. The substrate is pretty clean. So I don't do too much. There's really only one area where Edmond pees and that's his nest. When I do clean it out, I find tons of seeds and poops mixed into the bedding. Is this his food hoard? I feel bad removing his stash and disrupting his nest but I also want him to have clean bedding. Is it ok to clean out this area entirely? Is once a week too often?

 

[elusive]

I would just spot clean anything that has obviously been peed on as & when needed, it’s better to just keep an eye on things & only do them when needed rather than sticking to a routine & maybe cleaning more than is needed.
Once a week is fine for spot cleaning pee but too often to do more than that.
If you find an area with food hoard that does need to be cleaned, if it’s been peed on, you don’t have to worry about poo so much as it’s dry & they will eat some of it to get all of the nutrients from their food, always put some fresh mix back where you found the old hoard & only remove any hoard that really is looking a bit iffy.
If you have to disturb the nest try to replace as much of it as possible so it still has his scent, if he doesn’t pee in the nest just leave it.
It’s best to never do more than say about a third of the cage at any one time when you do a more thorough clean though.

There’s more info on cage cleaning here.

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

 

[ggaabs19]

I would just spot clean anything that has obviously been peed on as & when needed, it’s better to just keep an eye on things & only do them when needed rather than sticking to a routine & maybe cleaning more than is needed.
Once a week is fine for spot cleaning pee but too often to do more than that.
If you find an area with food hoard that does need to be cleaned, if it’s been peed on, you don’t have to worry about poo so much as it’s dry & they will eat some of it to get all of the nutrients from their food, always put some fresh mix back where you found the old hoard & only remove any hoard that really is looking a bit iffy.
If you have to disturb the nest try to replace as much of it as possible so it still has his scent, if he doesn’t pee in the nest just leave it.
It’s best to never do more than say about a third of the cage at any one time when you do a more thorough clean though.

There’s more info on cage cleaning here.

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

Thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback. Do hamsters keep several stashes? I'm finding food all over the place to be honest haha. He keeps food in his sand, in the bedding next to his sand bath, and the nest.

 

[Maz]

Yes - particularly dwarf hamsters I believe

 

[RainbowBrite]

My hamster does. He has lots of hoards all over his cage.

 

[elusive]

Yes, it is quite normal for them to have a stashes in a few different places, they often take food into the sand bath (or even the wheel!) to eat it so you can find food everywhere really. No need to worry about food stashes unless they’ve been peed on or are full of old poo you don’t need to clean them out.

 

[ggaabs19]

Do you mind me asking how much you replace the sand in their sand bath? I find poops in there but no clumps of pee. I don’t think he’s peeing in there.

 

[RainbowBrite]

You can just use a little sieve and remove anything like that if you wish. I go through my hamsters sand bath with a small icing sieve but do not need to change it as he does not pee in it.

 

[elusive]

I sieve mine too, I use an old tea strainer! Even if they pee in it you don’t really need to change it, you can remove clumps but that’s all you need to do.

 

[Maz]

With a Syrian I tend to empty it out once a week or so. Dwarfs probably pee less so I can't comment on how often but it sounds like scooping out the pee works Our robo poops in his sand bath (but pees elsewhere) so I change his sand when the poops start building up a bit.

 

[Member ID2]

I use a small sieve for the dwarf's sandbath and a poop scoop to remove pee clumps from the Syrian's toilets. As always, i'm guided by my nose and change the sand when its smelly.