is it okay to reuse the bedding?

[charlieqhel]

It's been two to three days since the little guy started living in his enclosure. Today I cleaned his home for the first time; By gathering the bedding and picking out the poops. (I know it sounds disgusting, but I'm used to touching small animal poop thanks to my birds.) All done while he was on his wheel, not seeming to be bothered about it at all. I then replaced his bedding and he doesn't seem stressed about it. I also placed a little DIY house in which he brought some treasure (a piece of nut) almost immediately. Although he seems fine and dandy about it all, I still wanted to ask the forum. Is it okay to reuse the bedding a few times? Would it stress out the hamster or cause trouble in the future? He still digs and attempts to eat the shavings. (He is really silly)

 

[Maz]

We have an article about cage cleaning I'll link it below. Their poops really aren't dirty though unlike other animals They actually eat them sometimes, which is normal as they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops - it's a hard wired survival thing.

Usually with a new hamster, it's better not to clean anything for the first two weeks, although after a week you can just spot clean out the pee - they usually have a pee place - maybe a corner of the cage. And you can just take a handful out and put a new handful of bedding in. If you use a corner litter tray with sand in they usually use it - if you put it in their chosen pee place

It's only really their pee that's unhygienic. But yes you can reuse bedding and it's actually advisable to help keep their scent so they don't get stressed by the change. Hamsters get stressed by change so easily.

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

 

[Daisy]

If the bedding is clean you can reuse it. When I do a big cage clean (a couple of times a year) I take out all the bedding and split it between two bags, one for dirty bedding to be thrown away and one for clean bedding that goes back in the cage and is topped up with new bedding.

 

[charlieqhel]

Thank you for your help. ❤