My hamster niffs

[cringer]

My new syrian hamster 'Cringer' is completely the opposite of my previous hamster in that it does it's toilet in it's bedding thus sleeping in it and resulting in a smelly hamster.

My previous hamster 'Arnie' would poo & pea as far away from himself as possible in a corner and never ever in his bedding.

I'm a bit disapointed in the new hamster as i thought they were very clean animals, due to my 1st hamster experience.



So my question is - is it possible to get my hamster to not poo on itself (where it sleeps)

Any info would be appreciated.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/mattwoodhall/cringer.jpg


p.s. i'm 31 does that make me a bit childish to have a hamster??? Personally i think they are brill

[souffle]

Welcome cringer. You are never to old for a hamster. I am a lot more than 31! :oops:
If your hamster is a baby he has likely not set up much of a routine yet and babies often wet the bed just like human babies. I can see he is a long hair and the wet sticks to the fur much more with these hammies too. His poops should not be sticky but dry and hard. These are harmless and do not smell if left in the bedding. It is normal for them to poop in the bedding so don't worry about that. Is the bed actually wet? If he is in a small enclosed plastic house there may be too little ventilation so he is getting damp and musty giving him a smell. I would take out any such house for now and replace it with a cardboard box, quite roomy with plenty holes in it for air to circulate. Throw it away when it gets stinky. Keep his bedding clean. Never use the fluffy bedding but use ripped white look roll for him. Brush him daily with a toothbrush. Try and get him to use a potty. Maybe a shallow tray with some chilchilla SAND in it. Put some of his wet stuff in it to attract him. Otherwise just 'air' him as much as possible and clean the nest frequently. If his 'skirt' is dragging in the wee give him a nice trim and that should help stop it tangling and soaking up wee.

[cringer]

Sounds good - thanks for the advice.

i'm not sure how i can trim him or brush him as every time i try to pick him up he makes a strange screaming / chirping noise then if i don't take heed he bites me???


I've heard of a hamster loo with litter - do these work?? But i use cat litter instead of sawdust for the bottom of his cage so could this have an adverse affect in that he smells the litter and doesn't know where to poop???

Cheers

[souffle]

Your hammy is scared because he is young and new cringer. This is why he is screaming.
Look here for some taming tips in our article
http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Taming_tips

I would suggest you try something different from the cat litter for his bedding as this can be rather sore on their little feet. Also the glue used to stick it into pellets can upset their tums if they eat the stuff and it disintegrates into sawdust when wet. I take it it is the wood based one you use? Never use the clay one though some people do use the paper one (bob martins I think) Maybe carefresh would be an idea or even going back to shavings and cutting his skirt short would work. Once he is tamer it should be no problem but you will just need to be patient with him.

[cringer]

Bio catolet residual cellulose cat litter is what i'm using (sounds lovely) :shock:

This is what i was recommended to use when i bought Cringer @ pets at home, although the 'advisor' was like 4 years old and was more interested in flirting with the other staff than actually taking any interest in my questions!!! :lol:

[haziebabie]

Hi there,

Isn't cellulose plastic??? Doesn't sound good. :(

My hamster poos in her bed too but its dry and doesn't really smell. She does have a pee corner though (thinking about getting a potty) where she and her babies all go, so its nice and easy to clean daily. He is probably still settling in and will calm down. Sounds pretty wild though so you are going to have to take time over taming. Good luck, I am sure he will be fine soon.

[souffle]

Never heard of that but it does not sound great for hammies especially if they eat it! Take it back and say you were advised wrongly and it is upsetting his tummy. Cellulose is what plant cell walls are composed of and it absorbs water so if he is eating it it could swell up in his tummy. They should refund or exchange for carefresh or shavings. Do not be tempted by the scented ones as they are not good for their chests and you would not like to smell lavendar or lemon all day long would you?

[cringer]

Cleaned cage out today & i put him in his ball for 5 minutes to have a roam round the house & when i went to grab him to put him back in his cage the smell was awfull, it is like ammonia & wee but really concentrated. Luckily you can only smell it when your nose is within 10" or so but is this normal??? Do they all whiff this bad??

I've put him some more gear in his cage - hamster toilet, log tunnel, 2 houses, bendy bridge & a hanging treat that he has to scale the bars of the cage to get to.

I was hoping this might stop him from being bored & now he has 2 houses & a toilet maybe his cleanliness instincts will kick in (if he has any) and he will toilet in one or the other but not where he sleeps.

The ironic thing is he now has 2 houses and he dragged all his bedding out and put it all in one of the outside tubes of the cage.

I think he's got attitood!!!

[souffle]

A tube is not a good place to sleep. He will get very whiffy in there if he sleeps in it. The strong smell of urine you describe is rather unusual in a young hammy. How long is it since he was last done? On exposure to air it can get smelly if you don't clean for a couple of weeks or something but young hams usually do not wee or smell too much.
I wonder if he might have a urine infection? Do you see him straining to wee or anything. Any blood staining? It might be worth taking him to the vets for a checkover.
How is his tummy now since you stopped the veg?

[cringer]

I can see a definite improvement in the poo (it's getting harder & dryer)

It seems to have dragged some bedding & food into the tube & the rest into one of it's houses and it slept in it's house anyway so thats ok - i just hope when i clean it out it's not pooing where it sleeps.

I clean it out every 3 days by the way.

Is there anything i can do to clean it or just make it smell better?? It is impossible to hold it still enough or long enough to trim it at this stage as it always wriggles free & i darent bath it or get it wet cos i've read on here that it may die or MULTIPLY :twisted: 'bright light' 'bright light'

[souffle]

You need to work on getting him tame cringer. He is almost certainly a male judging by the length of the coat so no need to call him it! Read the taming tips and start really taming now. You may need to use gardening gloves if you really can't hold him. Start with a simple lift and lay down and extend this. You may be able to wipe him with a baby wipe and then brush his coat with a small brush and trim him once he is tame though you should not use anything stongly scented or containing any chemicals on a hamster. Don't be tempted to spray him or anything. Have you changed from the cat litter? Clean the wet corner every day and make sure he does not get his bedding damp and smelly by frequent changing.
Glad to hear the tum is getting better. He was having too much veg I think. remember only a tiny bit fingernail sized a couple of times a week when you restart. Don't restart till he has been 'solid' for at least a week.

[cringer]

I cleaned him out last night & the smell has gone, he seems a lot healthier and cleaner.

I think he was scared and peeing all over himself but he is a lot cleaner now, plus he started using the hamster potty for weeing immediately.

So all good - thanks for the help guys.

I've bought some dried yogourt, fruit treats & dried carrots in place of the wet food but ill give him the odd bit of fruit/veg every now and then. :D