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Home » Hamster Care » How to Clean a Hamster Cage

How to Clean a Hamster Cage

September 30, 2014 By Sarah Yee 7 Comments

Hamsters are very clean animals and in order to keep them happy it is important that their cage is cleaned on a regular basis. It is recommended that you clean your hammy’s cage at least once a week especially if it’s a smaller one. Larger cages can go without full cleans (just change some or all of the bedding) for a longer time. Hint: Having a potty/toilet in the cage will help confine most of the mess in one place and make it easier to clean.

how to clean a hamster cageThere are a number of steps that can be followed to ensure that your hamster cage is as clean as possible for your hamster:

1. Keep your hamster safe. Hamsters are surprisingly quick and may be difficult to catch if they escape. You can keep them in a play area or an exercise ball you are cleaning their cage as this will allow them to explore without putting themselves in danger.

2. Remove all toys, hideouts, tunnels, and other accessories. These can then be washed with warm, soapy water. You can dry them off with a towel or leave them to dry while you are cleaning out the rest of the cage. It is important to ensure that all the soap is completely washed away as this may make the hamster ill if they ingest any.

3. Remove all wood shavings (also known as sawdust in some countries) and bedding. The easiest way to do this is to place one end of the cage in a plastic bag and then tipping the contents of the cage into the bag. You will need to make sure that the cage is completely empty before moving onto the next step which means that you may need to scrape some bedding off the bottom of the cage. The corners in particular should be checked to ensure that none of the shavings or bedding is remaining. Hint: Good bedding/wood shavings can keep the cage clean and odor-free for a longer time, reducing the need for frequent changes. Find out which ones I recommend here.

4. Use a disinfectant that is designed to clean hamster cages. This type of disinfectant will not contain any chemicals that may harm your hamster. Your hamster will also be able to recognize their cage as they will have put their own scent on it and using a mild disinfectant will ensure that the cage is cleaned properly but does not get rid of this scent. This disinfectant should be left for the amount of time that is indicated on the instructions in order to allow it to dry completely before the new bedding is added to the cage. Some people also use a mixture of 1 cup water and 1 cup vinegar instead of a commercial disinfectant.

5. Put fresh wood shavings and/or bedding in the cage. The bedding should completely cover the floor of the cage and enough should be provided for the hamster to keep themselves warm when they are asleep. If you place the bedding in the area of the cage where they usually sleep then they will arrange it so they are comfortable.

6. Replace all the toys and other accessories. If you can try and put them back in the same place as they were before. Your hamster will have arranged all these toys to where they want them and they will remember where they have placed them in the cage.

Following the above steps will ensure that your hamster has a clean environment in which to live and this can go a long way to keeping them happy and healthy. Don’t forget that the hamsters food should be replaced every day and their water refilled as often as is needed.

Photo Credit: bsabarnowl

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Filed Under: Hamster Care

  • Bailey

    I am getting two robo hamsters this weekend. I am so ecexcited! I was just wondering what you woild suggest about have two wheels… two toys. Two water dishes and what i should do about the food. i have read some places that it would be best to just scatter it all around the cage but i am worried that i am going to overflowed them. What should I do? Or do you have any advice?

  • alivia

    hi Justine my hamster are like exsacly the same as yours and i think your right 100% just wanted to let u know

  • Georgia84

    Well to be honest iv always had hamsters and always bought them in pairs they love company x

    • mutt

      no, they actually REALLY do not, my dude. they are completely solitary in the wild outside of momentarily coming together to mate, their territory drive is very high. if you are VERY lucky, your pair, a ticking time bomb, will be littermates and may TOLERATE each other. they will be living under immense stress due to this. simply google “hamster killed other hamster” and see just how common that is

      • HoshiRyo

        That depends entirely on the species of hamster you’re getting–a
        pair of robos of the same sex from the same litter, kept together from
        an early age, can do quite well, but it’s wise to have a spare cage so
        if they start fighting you can separate them quickly. Having two of everything helps reduce the odds of them fighting, though you should be aware that they’ll box. (You should have a spare, small cage, for travel and quarantine purposes.)

  • mutt

    workers are right on the pair deal but for future reference pet store workers often know nothing besides the bs they’re given in the form of little brochures when they go to work for the store – and we all know pet stores are full of crap and dangerously so, their “beginner’s guides” for exotic/small animals are often wholly inaccurate, entailing practices that are actually very harmful for the animal

    after all, NONE of the hamster/gerbil/mouse cages petco or petsmart/similar stores in the US sells are NEAR big enough for the animal not to suffer, you have to make your own bin cage from scratch for your hammie to have a suitably sized place to spend its life which is kind of ridiculous if you think about it, like how many huge companies that make hamster cages are there and how much do they not care at all about the health/welfare of the animals they make products supposedly for

    also i have seen a bloody torn dead hamster killed by its “roommate” at petsmart and more than one shredded male mouse at petco

    small animals put together in the store are not always siblings, they are whatever unfortunate baby animals that were near each other in a section of the huge mass-breeding operation supplier warehouse and grabbed and literally tossed into boxes on top of each other to be shipped to stores across the country – their parents will never see the light of day, they will be bred til the last day of their short unthinkably bleak lives, kept in small plain filthy bins piled with other animals – that is, if they don’t get sick or injured first (and most do, in those conditions, duh) in which case they will be “euthanized” via being slammed against a wall/table or put into a freezer

    this includes all kinds of hamsters, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs, bunnies, chinchillas, and even birds, all kinds of parrots, as beautiful and intelligent as they are; if it’s a live animal being sold in a pet store (not an adoption display) it came from a supplier precisely like that described above

    petsmart and petco are the largest clients of these suppliers

    when you buy *anything* from such a pet store (i focus on the major chains bc small local ones aren’t even worth mentioning, they get their puppies from puppy mills) you are supporting these practices – get your animals from a private breeder where you can go to their home and see their setup/origins of the parents, or even better, go to a shelter/rescue and adopt a homeless friend

    and buy your supplies online or from a bulk store that doesn’t sell live animals, it’s much cheaper anyway

    do the right thing for our hamsters and their brothers and sisters guys, i adore my little guy (chubby djungarian dwarf who’s so trusting now that he excitedly comes to the front of the cage when i walk by like omg – also a foodbowl sitter like yours, too freaking cute) and it’s not fair for the rest to have to suffer *only* so they can be sold by corporations for human profit. peace

  • Sue

    Quick question I have a roboroski dwarf hamster probably 2 years old now,( was grandsons, hes moved out so nans got it ) when you clean out cage,should you move house/toys around to stimulate him or should I keep it in the same place ??.

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