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Old 11-28-2019, 06:19 AM  
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Cleaning hideaway/bed/nest

cI lift the roof off when the hamster is out and sniff for bad odours and touch the nest with back of my hand to check if its dry. If all seems fine i leave it alone.

To clean it i put the hamster into a transport box together with substrate and his favourite hide. I put a few treats like sunflower seeds in to keep him busy.

I remove the house and carefully scoop the nest out with my hands then put it on some paper or something. I also remove the hoard but keep it. The idea is to preserve as much as possible from the nest and hoard. I only throw out peed on bits or bits of not so fresh fresh food if there is any.
I then clean out and replace miffy or peed pooped substrate in the cage with clean and mix with existing clean substrate. If its really wet and mucky i wipe the cage with a jcloths and water with mild washing up liquid, rinse and dry.
I put back the house and the nest and hoard but add some hamster mix if i had to chuck quite a bit out. You don't want to be seen as a thief by your hamster. Leave plenty of plain white toilet paper strips outside the house so the hamster can rebuild the nest to his or her liking.

There is no set rule as to how often to clean. I'd say as little as possible and only when needed. My nose is my guide.

Hamsters react differently to cleans depending on their personality same as humans have different standards.

I have three hamsters and they all react differently, ranging from not being bothered much at all to completely freaking out. Got to be done from time to time and they get over it.
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