It is important to make sure your hamster’s cage is cleaned regularly to make sure your hamster stays happy and healthy. How often you need to do this depends on the size of the cage, but generally once a week is sufficient.
- The most important thing is to make sure your hamster is somewhere safe and secure while you are cleaning their cage. A spare cage or hamster carrier is ideal. If your hamster has a ball he may well enjoy whizzing round in this while you clean his cage – just make sure he stays where you can see him and don’t leave him in there too long!
- Remove all the toys and wash them with a pet safe gentle cleaning solution (available from most pet shops). Don’t ever use harsh chemicals or household cleaning products as these can irritate your hamster’s respiratory system and can make him sick. Make sure that the toys you are washing are not porous as wood and fabric can’t be easily washed in this way. If your hamster has wooden toys, check them regularly for signs of chewing and when they are worn out just replace them.
- Water should be replaced every day. During your cleaning routine get a bottle brush and thoroughly scrub the inside of the bottle before refilling with fresh water.
- Empty the base of the cage and get rid of all the litter. The easiest way to do this is to put the base into a bin bag and shake it. Rinse the base with pet safe disinfectant and give the bars a wipe over with a damp cloth.
- Put the cage back together and replace all the toys. Add clean bedding (some owners prefer to save a little of the old bedding to put back in the nest so their hamster feels ‘at home’), litter, water and put a fresh bowl of food in the cage. Hamsters are creatures of habit and don’t like massive disturbance – if you want to change the layout of the cage do it slowly over a matter of weeks.
Do you have any tried and tested tips for cleaning your hamster’s cage? Do you have a photo of some ‘improvements’ your hamster has made to the layout of their cage after you have cleaned it? Get in touch with us via Facebook or Twitter
Some further reading here from the PDSA: http://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-health-advice/syrian-h…
