Smell from an uncleaned cage
The first, most common one is that it is not the furry animal that has a nasty smell, but its home. If the owner of a hamster does not regularly clean his hamster’s cage, then the smell will stagnate there and not very pleasant.
Rodent owners know: healthy animals do not have an unpleasant odor . Seven days after cleaning, a specific aroma appears, which tells the hamster owner that it is time to restore order: clean and wash the rodent’s cage. It is not the animal itself that smells bad, but its excrement.
The cause of the stench is the bedding in the cage. If you use old newspapers, hay or scraps of fabric, this litter will not retain odor or moisture. And in addition to this, it can become a source of various infections, which are dangerous for both the pet and its owner.
For bedding material, sawdust or fillers are suitable: wood, cellulose or corn. Each filler or different sawdust has its own positive and negative sides. Each type has its own expiration date, during which it will absorb moisture and absorb odor. If it is not replaced after a certain time, then even the best litter will begin to emit a foul discharge.
The sawdust in the hamster's cage is changed, as a rule, every 2-4 days. If the hamster lives in wood litter, then it must be removed once every 5-8 days. If it is corn filler, then the cleaning period is once every 7-10 days.
If you choose the right filler for your furry rodent’s cage and carry out regular cleaning, then there will be no question of a bad smell in the apartment from your pet.
Do all breeds smell the same?
Healthy hamsters in a calm mood do not smell. Large breeds of hamsters are believed to have stronger and more unpleasant odors. This is the opinion about Syrian hamsters. But this breed is relatively large rodents. They consume more food and, accordingly, excrete more waste products.
Long fur on the coat of Angora hamsters, for example, can also cause an unpleasant odor. No matter how the rodent cleans itself, the long pile of the skin absorbs various aromas well, including unpleasant ones.
Regardless of the breed, if your pet has an unpleasant odor:
- Clean up his cage and change the litter.
- Eliminate the stressful situation your hamster is in.
- Calm your pet.
- Pay attention to your hamster's diet.
- Take him to the vet so you don't miss anything serious in your pet's health.
Whether your pet has a specific smell because it is sick or for some other reason is a second matter, the main thing is to understand this and eliminate the cause, doing everything necessary so that your baby hamster lives in comfort.
Healthy hamsters live without a specific odor for their entire measured two or three years. The myth that these rodents smell bad was invented by lazy owners who don’t bother to tidy up their pets’ homes in a timely manner.
What I am a master at is talking incessantly about hamsters. I have three hamsters at home, and my husband has a pet rat. That’s how we live, the six of us eat, the six of us sleep :)
Many of us do not want to buy rodents because we believe stereotypes about the uncleanliness of these animals and refuse cute animals, without even thinking about whether hamsters actually stink.
What if the hamster itself has the smell?
If your hamster smells unpleasant, then this is already a reason to worry. We repeat: the nasty stench from a rodent is not natural, since the hamster constantly cleans itself.
A hamster can emit an unpleasant odor in certain cases.
Your pet is very nervous
Maybe you recently moved or bought your rodent a new cage. Or maybe another pet appeared nearby. Even the new owner is perceived as a stranger until the hamster trusts him. He marks every centimeter of his space so that opponents know that everything here is mine! Or, by filling the place where they live with their scent, your rodent is less afraid of an unknown danger.
Some species, for example, Syrian hamsters, entering into a fight for territory, begin to exude an unbearable aroma when they are in the same cage with a same-sex representative.
In both cases, the hamster needs rest. Place the cage in a place where there are no scary odors. If there are several new animals, then you need to divide the space or move them to different cages so that the animal stops worrying.
If your new pet is afraid of you, the owner, or is afraid of a new cage, then you need to be patient until the rodent calms down on its own. Here his favorite treat from you or a few paper napkins will help him, from which the hamster will begin to build his nest.
Hamster has health problems
The animal may emit a bad odor if there are problems with its health. Any disease in a rodent can be associated with bad odors. Hamsters often suffer from diseases associated with metabolic disorders and gastrointestinal tract disorders. This may be due to poor diet, which can lead to indigestion or even poisoning.
Because of this, they become lethargic, problems with the skins begin, and an unpleasant odor appears from the animal. Your rodent may suffer from enteritis, he may have inflammation and hamsters are susceptible to diabetes.
An unpleasant odor from an animal, in the absence of a stressful situation, is a reason to pay attention to the animal’s nutrition and show your pet to a veterinarian.
Do hamsters smell and if so, why?
Anyone who has kept these rodents knows that an unpleasant odor from healthy hamsters does not appear immediately, but a week after cleaning. The time period can increase or decrease depending on the number of individuals in the cage. This indicates that it is time to clean and wash the cage, because healthy animals themselves do not have a smell - it is their excrement that accumulates.
To understand the reason for the unpleasant aroma of a hamster, you need to sniff the animal and the cage separately.
Why does the hamster itself stink:
- The smell came from dirty wool.
- The rodent is stressed.
- The pet is sick.
If nothing has changed after cleaning the cage, the reason is in the animal itself.
Stress in pets occurs due to various reasons - loud noises, moving the house to a new place, or close attention from cats or other animals. Some breeds of rodents can emit a scent due to the fight for territory with other males (this is what “Syrians” do). To return the fluffy to normal, you need to seat the partners in other cages or let him get comfortable in a new place. He will calm down and the inconvenience will disappear by itself.
A common cause of odor is gastrointestinal diseases from the wrong food that it is fed. This entails poisoning or indigestion. However, it happens that a Djungarian hamster or any other one stinks, despite the fact that it is fed exclusively with special food. In this case, the animal should be immediately taken to the veterinarian, because it may develop pneumonia, diabetes, or contract parasites.
What you need to remember to avoid unpleasant odors
- The pet's cage should be spacious enough. For large hamsters, the dimensions of his home should be 40 x 40 x 60 cm. For small breeds, purchase a slightly smaller, but still spacious cage 30 x 30 x 50 cm;
- use only good filler. Do not use cat litter or compressed kibble as an absorbent. Take straw or sawdust;
- The best odor absorber is corn filler. It can be changed once every two weeks. The rest, as a rule, at least once a week.
A hamster can be toilet trained!
These rodents are not only big clean people who constantly wash themselves, they are also clean in their own home. The hamster chooses a place for himself that he will use as a toilet room.
Take a closer look at where your hamster has such a place. Make your own tray for him to relieve himself. By cleaning and washing the litter box, you will save litter and clean the cage much faster.
You can take and cut a plastic bottle as a tray. To help your pet get used to the new interior detail, sprinkle a little used litter with traces of discharge on top. After a month or two, the hamster will get used to it and remember the place of its toilet.
Potty training a hamster
Breeders of these animals know that hamsters do not smell. They not only constantly clean themselves, but also choose a certain place in the cage, which they use as a “toilet”.
Watch your pet and pay attention to where in the hamster cage he relieves himself. You can make a small tray with your own hands, which will make cleaning faster and save on filler.
To do this, you can use a cut plastic bottle. In order not to frighten your pet and help him get used to the new “furniture” faster, you can initially put a little litter with traces of his feces in the tray. In a couple of months, the animal will finally get used to it and remember where it should go to the toilet.
Important steps in cleaning a rodent's home
Cleaning a hamster cage begins with the owner removing the animal itself. You need to put him in a safe place so that he doesn’t run away. To do this, use a carrier or a jar. First, we change the bedding, and do it in such a way as not to destroy the animal’s buildings or to do it to the minimum.
The tray is washed under clean running water. If the contamination is severe, you can use baby detergent or hamster shampoo. You need to be careful with detergents so as not to cause an allergic reaction in the animal.
You need to know how to wash a hamster's cage, sleeping house and dishes: feeder, drinking bowl. The main rule is to do it manually using a brush. After everything is washed, wipe dry. Then we change the bedding. To prevent the rodent smell from disappearing completely, leave some of the old shavings.
Caring for the cage does not end there; you need to wipe the rods with a clean, damp cloth. To ensure that the cleaning is carried out correctly, pay attention to each device, we wipe the wheel, labyrinths, and stairs. Wooden accessories are wiped with a brush, a clean cloth or napkin without using detergents, since the baby chews them. If you decide to clean the cage, be sure to wash the water bowl and fill it with clean water.
Which breed smells less?
We have already figured out that healthy animals in a calm state have no smell. It is generally accepted that Syrian hamsters stink. The point is not the breed, but the fact that they are larger in size and therefore excrete more waste products.
The long coat of some breeds is a second cause of odor. No matter how hard animals try to clean themselves, their fluffy coat still absorbs unpleasant odors.
Now you know what to do if your hamster stinks. The main condition for the normal functioning of animals is the human factor. It is the owners who must know what to feed and how to clean the cage.
Whether hamsters stink because of illness or other reasons is irrelevant. The main thing is to notice this in time and do everything possible to make you and your pet feel comfortable.
The animal is unwell
A hamster is too small to smell when sick so that it is noticeable to the human sense of smell, and even more so - it hits the nose even when approaching the cage. In addition, the signs of the disease are quite noticeable (here, smell alone is rarely enough), and hamsters get sick at lightning speed due to their high metabolic rate. That is, a hamster cannot get sick - and at the same time have clear eyes, not inflamed or scratched skin and, most importantly, live a long time. For a hamster, we dismiss this reason as fantastic.
