[Amethyst_ice]

That would only be in extreme cases, most hammies will groom out any knots but as they get older, they can get matted more as they sleep more and don't groom as much.

Like long haired dogs, the knots can get very tight and sometimes can't be brushed out, and the closer to the skin the knot is the harder and potentially painful it is to cut it out. I used to trim my LH boy as his poops had a habbit of getting tangled and he doidnt seem to bother to groom them out!

Regarding the alarm clock, do you mean like a classic old school one? A sharp shrill noise wll startle any animal, If you have to use it , id place it away from directly by the cage. Most hamsters will adapt to household noises over time