My hamster smells when she is tired

[Hamster Dragon]

When i get my hamster out in the morning or when i get her out the cage for a cage clean she emits a powerful odour

Could you tell me why please.

[nooboo]

can only think of coincidences, maybe she pees when she is out in her ball and its that smell, and in the morning she has been not doing a good job of keeping herself clean either as she is tired..



i dunno, but one of this lot will i am sure

[Hamster Dragon]

Originally Posted by nooboo

Maybe she pees when she is out in her ball

But she does not use a ball she has a run on the bed like our rats do.

[Pendragon]

Hello!



Female hamsters come into season once every 4-5 days. You can tell which stage of her oestrus she's in by looking at her private parts.



When she is actually in season, she will have a clear wet discharge from her "lady bits". The evening of that day she will be at her most ready for breeding. If she is not mated, then the next day she will have a whitish discharge which may be present for a couple of days. It's this that gives the characteristic smell you've noticed.



I guess that hamsters being very solitary in the wild, with large territories, a female which hasn't managed to attract a mate has to "advertise" strongly that she's available for breeding, hence the scent which she would leave around, hoping a male will pick it up and visit the next time!



Although, I have noticed some girl hamsters smell more than others, and I have one who whiffs a bit all the time!

[nooboo]

u see i would put smells down to that.. but it does not follow the only in the morning or after a long out rule.. seems rather odd to me

[babyboos]

in the morning she will have been active all night and the smell is also strong when you have her out - coincidence that at this time she is also active - I think not - when she is active her scent glands are being stimulated hence the smell. After her nightly activities she will go to sleep in her bed. Her nesting material will become strong with her smell and this will help to increase the smell in her fur in the morning.

Does she have a sand potty?

[Hamster Dragon]

Originally Posted by babyboos

Does she have a sand potty?

She used to have one but she did not use it , i think it is becuase i used care fresh .

But if you want i could try it again with sand if it helps

[Emma]

You could try using chinchilla sand (not dust - I use "Charlie Chinchilla" comes in what looks like a plastic milk bottle!)