How To Clean Your Dwarf Hamster

#1

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Posted 06 January 2017 - 11:38 AM

Hi all! So when I was researching hamster care before getting my hamster, I read that a cage should be spot cleaned daily but completely cleaned once a week with the exception of very VERY large cages (which can go longer without being completely cleaned), while leaving some old bedding for your hamster to familiarize it.

I got a bit confused just a few minutes ago since I read varying answers on a thread on when to do a complete clean. I know everyone might have different intervals and preferences on how they clean their cage, so I wanted to know what you personally do and when do you do a complete cage cleaning.

#2 Burrow Beans

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Posted 06 January 2017 - 12:09 PM

I personally clean my cages about once a month. I do spot cleans every day or so (sand bath, picking up loose bedding) and clean off food dishes and wheels every week or so. Since the minimum cage size is 450 square inches, that allows for you to be able to go about 3-4 weeks without having to clean For my larger cage containing my robo hamster, I really only do a full clean about every 2 months. She's a really clean hamster, and even then the bedding isn't too soiled or smelly. For larger DIY cages, you can go months without doing full clean-outs, if you use your bedding right

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#3 CrochetCritter

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Posted 06 January 2017 - 12:17 PM

How frequently you need to clean your cage varies a lot based on size of the cage and how deep the bedding is, as well as how messy the hamster is. Most "hamster" cages (the little modular ones) definitely need cleaned once a week, and even a tank the size of a 20 gallon will need cleaned every week or so if there is just enough bedding to cover the bottom of the tank. My 75 gallon tank, which houses a Russian hamster, has 12" of bedding in it and I typically go about threemonths between bedding changes.

My personal tanks and cleaning schedule (for full bedding changes):

20 gallon, 6" of bedding on one half, 1" of bedding on the other half: 3-4 weeks

40 gallon, 6" of bedding: 6-8 weeks

75 gallon, 12" of bedding: 12-16 weeks (3-4 months)

DCN - around 750sq inches, 6" of bedding: 4-6 weeks

The DCN gets cleaned so often, even though it my second largest setup in terms of bedding amount and largest in terms of total size, because it houses a Syrian hamster (the rest of my hamsters are dwarfs) that is particularly messy. Seriously, she is a slob. :yuck: But I love her anyway :heartbeat: .

I do spot cleaning weekly for all cages. I remove several handfuls of dirty bedding (usually the bedding under the wheel and the grossest parts of the nest), and wash wheels, food dishes, and water bottles.

#4 nebit

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Posted 06 January 2017 - 04:58 PM

I agree with Crochet Critter's assessment. A tiny Crittertrail is going to need weekly cleaning. The forum's minimum though falls easily into "very large cages" that can go several weeks or more. My own cages are a 75G housing a tiny dwarf and a 1200 sq inch bin with a Syrian and a 12" deep section. Both get cleaned every 4-6 months or so. I play it by ear, and clean when it is dirty. The Syrian is litter trained and the litter box obviously gets changed much more often.

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#5 Trixie

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 01:28 AM

I clean my cages a little more then most people just because my mom is very sensitive to the smell of them.

110 qt bin (home to one russian campbells hybrid): Spot clean weekly, bedding change once a month (usually half to 3/4 of the bedding)

Samla bin (home to one litter trained syrian): Spot clean every few days. Full clean every 2-3 weeks

#6 HamsterKitty

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 01:30 AM

I clean my hamster's cage once every month, just taking half of the bedding out, adding some new bedding in. I usually start to clean when things are super messy everywhere and the smell of the bedding is a little off. My hamster Misty lives underground and can be very messy with her food. Every 3-4 months, I do a complete cage clean, taking all of the bedding out and replacing it all. I have a 950 square inch cage with 5-8 inches of bedding.

Edited by HamsterKitty, 07 January 2017 - 01:33 AM.

#7 GryffindorHammie

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 02:37 AM

Hi all! So when I was researching hamster care before getting my hamster, I read that a cage should be spot cleaned daily but completely cleaned once a week with the exception of very VERY large cages (which can go longer without being completely cleaned), while leaving some old bedding for your hamster to familiarize it.

I got a bit confused just a few minutes ago since I read varying answers on a thread on when to do a complete clean. I know everyone might have different intervals and preferences on how they clean their cage, so I wanted to know what you personally do and when do you do a complete cage cleaning.

I spot clean every few days, and change the top layer of bedding every month. The bigger the cage, the less frequent you have to change the bedding.

#8 animalpetlover21

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 07:09 AM

I spot clean daily to every two days. Then full clean every month. I clean my wheel weekly.

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#9 HamsterCrazy24

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 08:20 AM

I like to spot clean my hamsters cage every day by picking up the little poops and clean out her potty area and changing her water. I like to do a full clean every 3 to 4 weeks i take out all the bedding and wipe down the cage with a wet paper towel. She lives in a 40 gallon tank.

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#10 SageAcris

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 01:44 PM

Every other day i clean the sand, twice a week spot cleaning and full clean every 1 and a half to 2 months.

I have a detolf.

#11 SlothyHammy

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 11:40 PM

I personally think that cleaning a hamsters cage too often will just freak them out.

I would clean my cage around every 2-4 weeks and clean the toys in between.

Cleaning the toys and cage at the same time doesn't give the hamster any similar smells.

Make sure you spot clean every day or so.

Edited by SlothyHammy, 07 January 2017 - 11:41 PM.

#12 inactiveaccount

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 02:02 AM

" How often do you clean your hamster's cage? "

My current Hamster, Angel, has her 20 Gallon long Tank cleaned every two weeks. I also dig around and do some spot cleaning throughout the week to keep it sanitary.

I personally haven't the slightest idea why some people with CritterTrails (which are bad enough already) clean them every month. I beleive, unless you have a 40 gallon, you should not clean it every month. CritterTrails should be cleaned weekly sense they have barely any space.

Now, if the tank is a 40 Gallon, then it is acceptable to clean it monthly due to its size. But, it is neccasary to spot clean sense hamster pee and poop can pile up quickly.

#13 twenty one hamsterss

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Posted 15 January 2017 - 02:51 AM

It depends on my hamsters. My robo gets his cage cleaned every 3-4 weeks because he's extremely messy and doesn't mind cage cleanings. My two Syrians get theirs cleaned every 4-5 weeks. They all also get daily spot cleanings along with that.

#14 Petlover500

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Posted 15 January 2017 - 02:54 AM

I spot clean every 2-3 days and full clean every 5ish weeks :P

Edited by Petlover500, 15 January 2017 - 02:54 AM.

#15 RoboLover24

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Posted 15 January 2017 - 03:00 AM

I have very small robos, one lives in the detolf and the other in a two part bin cage about the same size as a detolf, and they stay clean for a very long time. I personally don't even have to spot clean often becuase there is almost no big areas of mess since their so tiny and they also have sand baths. I completely clean them ( change bedding and disinfect as well as wipe down toys and switch them out) every 5-7 weeks or so. I think in most other circumstances you would want to clean them more often, but personally I feel that if they aren't dirty, cleaning them doesn't make since and it's just gonna stress them out, thus I only feel the need to clean every month- month and a half.

Edited by RoboLover24, 15 January 2017 - 03:01 AM.