Cleaning the tank

[hammiesarelovex3]

Do you people hate cleaning your hamster's cage? I have a 20 gallon tank and it's kinda heavy, I throw away the bedding in the trash and suck up the the bits and pieces with the vacuum, then I bring it to the bathroom and spray the whole tank with white vinegar, let it soak, wash it out with water, dump the water, or soak it up with a towel, and dry it with a towel and suck the moisture with the vacuum. It's kinda a pain...The exercise wheel, I take it apart (it's a wodent wheel) and put white vinegar on it and take a paper towel and scrub it off and then put it under water and dry it and put it back together. Food dishes, I spray with vinegar, put it under water and then dry them, i do the same with the exercise ball. Water bottle: warm water and rinse and put cold water for him to drink.

That's basically how I clean the tank weekly...is that a good routine? any tips? do you hate cleaning your hamster's cage?

My hamster sleept in his exercise wheel last night...is that ok?

Have a hammilicious day!! :D

[SnuggleHam]

hammiesarelovex3, first off, let me just point out that I edited your post here. You already asked about feeding on your thread "Question about feeding my hamster, and eating portions..." Id prefer if you kept each question to its appropriate topic. Since this thread is more about housing Ive moved it to the "housing" topic on the fourm. Posting each question under its relevant topic makes moding easier for us. This way we dont have to "split" the topics. Of course if you have more questions about feeding please feel free to ask further questions on that thread you started about food portions and what not. :)

I have one of my gerbils housed in a 29-gallon tank. Its always pretty heavy and I usually need the help of Smoo to get it on the floor and to help me empty out the bedding. I dont think there is anything you need to change with the routine. However Im not to sure about the use of vinegar. Im not sure if it affects the hamsters in anyway? But I do know its strong smelling and must seem even more potent and unpleasant to an animals who's senses are far greater to ours. I would worry about it irritating their nose and eyes. Maybe some one else has more insight to using it.

I think that using normal dish soap and warm water would do the trick just fine. Make sure you rinse and dry it well of course. Thats what I do anyway and have never had problems. Actually its rare that I really wash the cages because I do clean the cages often enough that washing with water really inst necessary, a good vacuum does the trick.

You may want to look into making a custom bin cage. You can get more floor room for the hamster, as much as you would a large tank. But you dont get the inconvenience of it being heavy. Bins are lightweight and often have handles to pick them up by. We have an article on the website about it if your interested. http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php?action=viewArticle&a=18

[hammiesarelovex3]

Thanks, yeah I was thinking about a bin cage, but my dad surprised me with it, and I don't wanna waste his money. :)

[SnuggleHam]

Get a bin cage and use the tank for fish or something *wink* wont be a waste then *grins*

Perhaps he wont feel that bad about it if you let him know how heavy the tank is and that a bin cage would be more ideal for many reasons :)

[hammiesarelovex3]

I don't know, a bin cage sounds great and all, but I think i'll stick with my 20 gallon tank. (no offence!) Carmelo likes it alot and all the stuff fits right and everything is perfect in it, if I clean it once every two weeks, I'll be fine, but thanks though! If that tank gets old, or something bad happens to it, then I will get a bin cage. :)

[SnuggleHam]

Oh I take no offence if you keep it. I was just making a suggestion because you were asking about the cleaning routine and complaining about the weight of the tank. But if you can manage its certainly a suitable cage! :D