It's important to clean your hamster's cage so you can ensure that your hamster stays healthy. Hamsters are quite clean, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't clean their space, provide fresh food and water and give them a run in their exercise ball while you clean.
Like all pets, hamsters are not maintenance-free. Occasional cleaning is still necessary if you want to maintain a clean, safe, and comfortable habitat for these adorable little creatures.
So Let's dive in to how to clean a hamster cage by looking at frequency.
Contents
Cleaning Your Hamster's Cage Daily
Hamsters like to use one to two specific corners to go to the bathroom, which makes cleaning easier for you as the hamster owner. You can use a scoop or put on a glove to grab the dirty bedding. Make sure you replace it with new bedding when you are finished.
While you are doing your daily cleaning, you'll also want to clean out your hamster's food and water dishes on a daily basis, so there aren't any bacteria growing where they shouldn't. Cleaning the food and water dishes prevents your hamster from eating and drinking contaminated food and water, keeping them healthy and happy.
Cleaning Your Hamster's Cage Weekly
Once a week, you'll need to clean the deep clean and remove all the bedding. Your hamster can run around in a hamster ball while you clean its cage. You will want to use a mild soap, focusing on the pee corners as hamsters are sensitive to smells. If you have several hamsters, you may need to do this more than once a week. By giving the cage a full cleaning and replacing it with more bedding, both you and your hamster will be happier without the smell of ammonia in the air.
Here's What You'll Need To Clean A Hamster Cage
- Pet disinfectant or any antibacterial cleaning solutions (buy here)
- Plastic bag
- Sponge or brush
- Dishcloth
- Towel
- Playbox
Here Are Step-By-Step Instructions On Cleaning Hamster Cages
Step 1 - Prepare A Temporary Box And Move Your Hamster To A Safe Place
You will be cleaning just the cage, not the hamster too! Prepare a safe place for your hamster to go so you can clean an empty cage and all the accessories that you have inside. Make sure your hamster can't escape the box when you prepare it as well for them.
Step 2 - Remove All Cage Accessories And Materials
Take out everything in the cage and set it aside, as you can't clean the cage properly if there are still toys and wheels that will get in the way. You want to make sure that nothing is left in the cage or caught on the toys that may leave behind bacteria.
Step 3 - Dispose Of Soiled Bedding And Uneaten Food
You should fully empty the food bowl and the cage of all bedding, even if it looks and smells clean to you. Hamsters are sensitive creatures and prefer fresh bedding and food. You also don't want your hamster ingesting contaminated food either, so it's always a safe choice to remove any leftover food when you are cleaning the cage. You will want to throw out any used material into the waste bin.
Step 4 - Disassemble The Cage
You should always set aside enough time to disassemble your hamster's cage, so you can get to all the nooks and crannies that you may not be able to reach properly with the cage intact. Make sure you keep track of all of the pieces so you can reassemble them once it's clean.
Step 5 - Thoroughly Wash Your Hamsters Cage
You'll want to use a mild soap or you can use a cage-cleaning solution that you can get at your local pet stores. Make sure you don't use anything with harsh or strong chemicals. Make sure you scrub every part down and focus on the spots where your hamster uses the bathroom. Set the cage down to dry once you are finished.
Step 6 - Ensure You Wash All Cage Accessories
Another important step in cleaning your hamster's cage is washing all of the accessories that you have in the cage. Some accessories may need more frequent cleaning than others. Make sure you also wash the food bowls and the water bottle, as well as the litter scoop once you are finished with it.
Once you are finished washing your hamster's cage, make sure you wash your hands! It's very important that you wash your hands after both touching your hamster and cleaning its cage.
Step 7 - Dry And Reassemble Your Hamster Cage
Once your hamster's cage and the accessories are dry, it's time to put them back together. By ensuring that the entire cage is dry, there won't be any wet spots in the bedding. Once the cage is reassembled, you can add new fluffy bedding two to three inches high, a food bowl for your hamster's food stash and fresh water in the water bottle.
Step 8 - Return Your Furry Little Friend To Its Cage
Once the cage is back together, you can gently place your hamster back into its cage. You might have digging hamsters, so you can watch as your hamster explores its cleaned cage. Hamsters are sensitive creatures, and cleaning their cage can be a stressful operation for them, so avoid direct contact for a few minutes after you return them to their cage.
Here Are A Few Things to Remember
You'll want to disinfect your hamster's cage about once a month, but spot clean as needed.
Your hamster's cage is its home, so be mindful of that when you are cleaning it. Before you feed the hamster fresh food and water, wash your hands with antibacterial soap and make sure there is no residue left over.
If the cage is made of wire. Give it a good scrub when you are cleaning it as well.
Before you place fresh food and water, make sure you wash your hands so what you’re feeding your hamster is free from disinfectant or soap.
Are you doing it differently? Let me hear your story in the comments below.
