A hamster's cage is not only a place to keep him, for him it is the whole world, the house where he lives. As in any home, the cage must be tidy, clean, comfortable and dry.
Reference. The hamster is a clean rodent that is not prone to living in dirt. If you do not clean your animal's house, this can lead to the development of various diseases, so do not be lazy and clean the cage regularly.
Why is it important to keep the cage clean?
By nature, hamsters are very clean. Wild relatives of domestic hamsters do everything to ensure that no foreign odors come from their homes and fur.
Interesting! Any smell is a bait for a predator, so in the process of evolution, hamsters have learned to carefully care for their fur and fur.
The possibilities of domestic hamsters are limited, at least because they do not live in burrows, but in cages. Responsibility for maintaining cleanliness and optimal living conditions rests with the owner.
Why is it important to keep your cage clean:
- Over time, the cell litter becomes damp and becomes fertile soil for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.
- If you do not clean it regularly, a strong, unpleasant odor will emanate from the cage and the hamster.
- Hamsters sleep buried in the bedding, so a dirty cage is a direct path to various inflammatory processes and deterioration in the quality of the coat.
- When your hamster smells bad, he is constantly stressed. The pet instinctively worries that it may become a victim of a predator.
Cleaning the cage is not the most pleasant pastime, but it is an essential aspect of caring for pet rodents. In addition, by following basic instructions, you can get rid of the unpleasant odor that comes from the litter.
Where to start cleaning your home
The first thing to do is remove the animal itself. During this time, it can be kept in another cage or carrier; some use a regular jar. First, we change the pallet with bedding. It is important not to touch anything that was constructed by the animal. He put a lot of time and effort into each design. Try to minimize your direct interference in his life. How to clean a hamster cage? The pan must be washed with plenty of waste water. If the contamination is serious and this method does not work, you need to take a special hamster shampoo or baby detergent. Whether an allergic reaction will occur depends on what you wash the hamster's cage with, since chemicals are contraindicated for rodents. In children's products, its amount is kept to a minimum. Ideally, of course, you need to wash everything manually; we use additional products only in case of serious contamination. For preventative purposes, you can additionally disinfect your home. How to clean a hamster cage? As well as other utensils, such as a razor. Girls will understand me. The only caveat is that it does not use detergents. Now he is replacing the old bedding with a new one. It is important to not change all of it, we leave some of the old one so that the smell of the hamster does not completely disappear from the home. It is important to know how to stop a hamster from biting so as not to be attacked.
Frequency of cage cleaning
Before you start cleaning, look carefully at your hamster's cage. The frequency of cleaning the cage will depend on the current condition. Carefully inspect:
- Tray.
- Walls.
- All gaming accessories.
- Feeder and drinker.
Tip: If your hamster's cage looks too dirty, clean it in sections. Global, general cleaning can cause stress for your pet.
It is best to spend 10–15 minutes cleaning the cage several times a week:
- Remove wet parts of the litter. Over time, hamsters choose one place to go to the toilet. The rest of the bedding will remain relatively clean, but one of the corners of the cage will be constantly wet.
- Remove food supplies from the corners of the cage or in the house. Hamsters instinctively stock up, even if they are not in danger of starvation. You will notice that your pet is especially active in storing food in the fall.
- Wash one of the accessories in the cage thoroughly ; the next time you clean it, it will be enough to wipe it.
Important! The water in your hamster's drinking bowl must be changed daily! The drinking bowl must be washed every time the water is changed, especially in hot weather.
The need to carry out general cleaning arises if the walls of the cage are dirty or there is a persistent or unpleasant odor emanating from it.
How to decorate a rodent's home for the holidays?
To feel the New Year's mood, the places where pets live are also decorated. Cages with pallets on the outside around the perimeter can be decorated with tinsel. To do this, in some places it needs to be fixed with tape. Then they hang the toys outside the pet’s home. On the outside of the drinking bowl there are areas inaccessible to the hamster, which are decorated with snowflakes or balls.
Decorating your hamster's cage before Valentine's Day is also fun. Its outer part is covered with red or crimson hearts. It’s great if an aquarium is reserved for the animal’s home. Decorating it from the outside is much safer than decorating a cage, because in this case the pet will not be able to reach them.
After you have become familiar with the nuances of arranging a hamster's home, buy the animal you like. Give him everything he needs and it will keep him healthy for years to come.
Stages of cleaning a cage
The stages of cleaning the cage are arranged depending on the volume and scale of the work. Consider the sequence of general cleaning:
- Prepare a bowl of warm soapy water.
- Fill a spray bottle with soapy water.
- Remove all accessories that need to be soaked and place in a basin.
- Remove all litter from the tray and fill it with warm water.
- Use a spray bottle and an old toothbrush to clean the joints of the cage walls.
- Wash the drinker and feeder thoroughly.
While the tray is wet, it must be treated with a disinfectant. After soaking and washing and assembling the cage, you need to wait for it to dry completely. It is better to dry the cage and accessories in the sun.
What can you use to make a home for a Syrian hamster?
If it is not possible to purchase a cage, you can make it yourself. The following designs are possible:
- A good solution would be a food container. Using it, you don’t have to worry about your pet chewing through the walls. There will also be no problems with ventilation.
- The mink is made by analogy with the animal’s natural home. The disadvantage of such a home is that it is poorly ventilated.
- You can use an aquarium. Its advantage is that the sawdust will not fly in different directions and the animal will not be able to easily get out, but the aquarium is not ventilated enough, which is a disadvantage.
- From a ventilation point of view, the most optimal solution is lattice cages.
Homemade hamster cage
Cleaning toys and equipment
Cleaning toys and equipment is one of the most difficult tasks, as dirt gets stuck in the joints and fastenings. In addition, if toys are made of not very high-quality plastic, they can “keep an odor.” If the smell remains on the toys even after washing, they will have to be replaced.
Cleaning the walls
Cleaning walls is a long, monotonous, but fairly simple process:
- Hydration. The rods and their joints must be thoroughly sprayed with soapy water.
- Rough cleaning. Using a toothbrush, clean all joints, moving from the corners to the middle of the walls.
- Rinsing. Rinse off the soapy solution under running water or with a napkin.
- Drying. Wipe the bars and joints with a dry cloth, then leave the cage in the sun or draft for 10–20 minutes.
Basic rules to consider when caring for hamsters
There are a number of rules that need to be taken into account when caring for hamsters. They are the following:
- The hamster is a solitary creature. It is very important that he lives separately. If you add another hamster to a hamster, they will fight. And in some cases they can even kill each other.
- The hamster's cage should be spacious enough. Its dimensions should be fifty by thirty centimeters. The number of floors can be any.
- The hamster should be able to run a lot. Creatures living in nature are accustomed to increased activity. They move around a lot. Running is in their blood. Accordingly, we recommend purchasing a special wheel for your hamster. It should be large enough in size. To make it convenient for the creature to run. We also recommend buying him a ball. It will be useful for the hamster to walk around the apartment.
- You need to breed hamsters very carefully. Otherwise, you risk causing the creatures to fight if you put them in the same cell. After the hamster gives birth, its offspring will need to be housed. They must be placed in a separate cage. This is quite an expensive endeavor. Because you have to purchase a lot of cells.
How to keep a hamster cage?
It is imperative to place filler in the cage. It can be made in the form of granules. Or maybe corn. In addition, the cage must have:
- Napkins. They must be paper. And also white and odorless.
- Drawing for a nest.
- Wheel.
- Special drinking bowl. It must be suspended.
- A bowl. It is recommended to place special dry food in it.
Other items can be placed if you need them. For example, we are talking about a house. Special toilet. And so on.
Where should the cage be?
The cage cannot be placed randomly. It should stand according to the following principle:
- It cannot be placed in the kitchen.
- It cannot be installed in the corridor.
- It cannot be installed on a balcony.
- It should be placed at a large distance from the windows. And also from the doors.
- It should be placed at a distance of at least two meters from the batteries.
Keep in mind that hamsters are very fragile creatures. They can get sick from the slightest breath of wind. Accordingly, they need to be placed in the most favorable part of the room. Then they will be safe.
The cage must be placed in a quiet place. Keep in mind that hamsters have very sensitive hearing. Because of this, they get nervous when they hear something loud.
Keep in mind that sharp sounds provoke stress in hamsters. This has the effect of reducing the creature's lifespan. During the daytime, hamsters are in a state of sleep. And your task is not to wake them up.
The cage must be kept in a place that is ventilated
At the same time, it should not be placed in a draft. Be sure to place a specialized thermometer next to the cage. With it, you have to monitor whether the temperature in the room is optimal.
For example, hamsters should be kept in a temperature range of twenty-two to twenty-eight degrees. Not lower and not higher. In the first case, the hamster will freeze. In the second, it will overheat.
Signs of illness in hamsters
With proper nutrition and proper care, hamsters rarely get sick, but no one is immune from a number of common diseases. Below are the most common diseases, as well as the causes of their occurrence and treatment recommendations.
- Cystitis is a consequence of a urinary tract infection and manifests itself in frequent urination mixed with blood. As treatment, chloramphenicol injections are given at a rate of 5 mg per 100 g of weight twice a day.
- Enteritis is also infectious in nature and in 20% of cases ends in death. Its first signs are watery diarrhea. Antibiotics neomycin and tetracycline are prescribed as treatment.
- Scabies is caused by scabies mites, which lay eggs in the top layer of the skin. The parasite feeds on skin dandruff and is too annoying for animals. Scabies can be ear, head and general and is treated with a 3% solution of the drug “SK-9” and sulfur ointment. You can also use a 1% solution of chlorophos in combination with a 1% solution of D-33. Repeated treatment is performed after a week.
- Rectal prolapse occurs from diarrhea or constipation. If promptly contacted by a veterinarian, it can be easily treated without amputation.
- Rickets occurs due to the lack of vitamin D in food and occurs more often in young hamsters in winter.
You can determine if your pet is sick by the following signs:
- wet fur and heavy breathing;
- increased aggressiveness or apathy;
- hair loss or skin sores;
- chills, frequent stools (loose or dry);
- the presence of blood-sucking insects - lice, fleas.
