Toilet patch

[Sooty]

I've had my new hamster a couple of weeks now, but i'm totally stumped as to where he is going to the loo! Occasionally he is peeing in the wheel... which i kind of expected all my others started off doing that but i can't find where else he is going. I've done 1 partial cage cleanout - just removed about third of the substrate, the rest went back in with new but if he's not toilet trained is it still ok to only clean every couple of weeks or so? I did check his house but i was worried about having to do too often in case it stresses him. I did try a litter tray but he tried to destroy it! Which was strange as he's not really interested in chewing anything.

[Drago]

It's actually much better to clean every few weeks to a month rather than super often which can be more stressful than it is beneficial! If you're not finding where he's going, it's likely mostly in his wheel. If you can't find it, then it's not an issue as hamster urine doesn't contain the bacteria and harmful things in it like ours would and thus as long as your cage is well ventilated, it should all be fine. Perhaps you can try to catch him going to the bathroom and move the soiled bedding into an easy to clean area? Hamsters by habit tend to choose a corner or a particular area to go to the bathroom and tend to stick with this. As for the litter tray, a large ceramic bowl filled with sand can work well and can't be chewed so that's worth a try as well. Best wishes

[Cinnamon Bear]

I was going to suggest a sand bowl too. My Syrian uses her sand as a potty. That's super convenient too.