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Old 06-29-2017, 03:08 PM   #1
Yulia
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Default re-homed hamster smells horrible

Hi all

2 days ago I adopted an 8-months old female WW (normal grey-ish colour). And since she moved into her new cage the whole room smells... well, of a hamster
It's not a sweet smell (I've had diabetic WWs before so it's not this for sure), she eats and drinks normally. It's just a very, very strong smell of a hamster.

She looks very stressed and I would even say terrified, either of her new environment, or of whatever have been her experiences in the past (she is slightly overweighed and very shy and timid), and does not come out of her cage apart from drinking and grabbing some food. She did come out in the night though and even ran the flying saucer (but even slightest sound scares her and she disappears inside the house in a matter of seconds).

So, now about the smell. It is VERY strong, and when I say very strong, I mean the whole spare bedroom where her cage is and even an adjacent part of a corridor smelling of her. I did some research and people suggest it's most likely the smell of her pee from the house (she seems to do her business only inside the house for now, I did not find any wet spots in the cage as yet). Or she may be having heat, or sweating after execrises that she clearly hasn't done before, given her weight, or trying to mark the whole cage with her scent, or combination of all? Don't know...

I wanted to ask you advice - if it's the stale urine problem when is it time to replace the beddings inside her house for the first time to avoid stressing her even further? I'm ready to wait of course, but I have to do it eventually as all the fabrics in the bedroom will soon smell of her!

And of course returning her back to the store isn't an option as she deserves a better life! ))
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Old 06-29-2017, 03:58 PM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

Hello. They don't normally smell strong. And I doubt it's just pee after only 2 days. I didn't spot clean our hammy's cage for two weeks when he moved in and it only just started smelling a bit then. Female hamsters can have quite a strong smell when they're on heat, which is every four days. And maybe if she is on heat and stressed it is stronger? The only other thing I could think of is if she has an infection or something - eg a urine infection. See how she is over the next few days - see if the smell subsides and if she seems ok in herself and if there still might be an issue then having her checked over by a vet might be an idea. Our vet doesn't charge a lot for a general check - maybe £20.

She probably is very scared. It's best to leave them alone for 2 or 3 days to settle in and scent mark in their cage (if she is peeing to scent mark it might smell a bit more than usual I guess). And then take it slowly - maybe offer her treats through the bars and talk to her until she seems less scared, and then maybe gradually start taming out of the cage. A hand in their cage scares them a bit sometimes. So in a playpen or the bathtub (you could use a hamster ball for her to hop into and carry her to the bathtub). Dry obviously!
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Old 06-29-2017, 04:11 PM   #3
Cinnamon Bear
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

I have a 5-6 mo old Russian dwarf named Dakota. I just posted on her before reading this. She also smells very strong urine smell. She smells as much as all my other hamsters together.

You could try using white Carefresh so you can see where he's peeing. Also might want to rule out diabetes by testing urine with Keto-Diastix strips.
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Old 06-29-2017, 10:13 PM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

If she's not diabetic then you would barely be able to small pee after two days, I have Chinese hams that like to pee in the house & but even in the house it doesn't smell that much for a while.
I would imagine she's probably been scent marking a lot, if it is that then it should begin to diminish as she settles in & has less need to scent mark.
I wouldn't be tempted to clean too much for a while as that would probably make her even more nervous & just add to the problem.
I haven't tried it but apparently putting a bowl of bicarb in the room can absorb the smell so you could try that while you wait for her to settle.
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Old 06-30-2017, 12:44 AM   #5
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

I would suggest you still test her for diabetes. The smell withing two days is not normal. How much is she drinking? Diabetic urine does not always have the 'sweet' ketone smell it does when end stage. If she is early stage and drinking a lot and peeing a lot in a small house then it could be bad quickly. The nest needs checking as sleeping in wet bedding will make her develop urine burns and chest problems so it needs to be done.
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Old 06-30-2017, 03:12 AM   #6
Yulia
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

thanks to all of you for replies!

So, a quick update.

This morning I could not resist and desided to part clean the cage as the smell was overwhelming. By the way, I noticed it's quite volatile as when I open the window (moving the hamster to another room of course) in 5-10 min it's all gone.

Coming back to the cage cleaning. The wheel and the edges of the bowl with sand were covered in a smelly (and a bit greasy maybe) stuff, so I had to soak it in very hot water for good 10-15 min, especially the wheel and then spray with special cage cleaning anti-bac spray. Now they nearly do not smell (let's hope it's enough for her to still feel it!).

The house. it took me a while to take her out of it as she resisted up to the very end and even a pumkin seed and a slice of yellow pepper did not help. Anyway, I had to insist and took her out. The amount of poo was normal (as well as shape and size), wetness from pee wasn't a lot either and located in one corner of the house. She also did not drink a lot, it's not my first hamster and as I siad i've got a diabetic one before so know what it means. And this corner of the house was the smelliest bit, very strong, I'd say nearly intolerable. Not sweet, just a smell of concentrated urine.

I took some wet pieces of beddings and put them into one corner of the cage to try to toilet train her in the future and soaked the house in the hot water. In a meanwhile she tried to bury herself in woodshavings (I put lots of them for her in the cage) or hide in an empty loo roll and that's how I took her out of the cage to inspect. She looks ok, no wet tail definitely, no obvious damage or imflammation. Just VERY scared little creature that sits still with ears completely pressed to her head and shaking. In my experience it's the first hamster that is SO scared. Eventually she became more active (linseeds helped to speed it up) and I could hold her in my hands (don't know if i did the right thing at this point or scared her even further?).

After I cleaned the house I put new beddings (I use shredded paper for Pets at Home) and brought her back to the cage. She immediately went inside and i haven't seen or heard her ever since.

To conclude. I believe this smell is the conbination of stale urine from the house and scent marks in the cage (this greasy stuff on the wheel and bowl edges), and hopefully it will decrease with time. Alternatively i will have to spot clean her cage (house) very frequently. I know it might be quite stressfull for her but I can tolerate such a strong smell up to some point only. Plus when it comes to autumn/winter, I won't be able to aerate the room that often.

I'll keep an eye on her and keep you updated if the smell persists. At this point I would have to take her to a vet (money's not a issue, rather I need to find time off work to do so).

Thanks again for your advices and comments. Let's hope my smelly little girl (well, she's not that little I must admit!) will get less stressed and therefore less smelly
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Old 06-30-2017, 03:22 AM   #7
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

Somethings not right there if the pee smells that strong even though there doesn't appear to be too much of it , I would still test for diabetes just to be sure, if that shows negative then maybe take her to the vet to check for a UTI.
Being so scared could just be the change to a new home but it could also be a sign that she's unwell.
I wouldn't clean any more than you really have to, if she is scent marking a lot the more you clean the more she'll do it & the more insecure she'll become.
Tbh I've never had noticeable smells from pee or scent marking so I suspect she does have a problem of some sort.
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Old 06-30-2017, 03:58 AM   #8
Yulia
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
Somethings not right there if the pee smells that strong even though there doesn't appear to be too much of it , I would still test for diabetes just to be sure, if that shows negative then maybe take her to the vet to check for a UTI.
It makes sense, I'll do it in the next couple of days (need to order the strips). In my experience a diabetic hamster pees soon after they're placed in the carrier, let's see if this one will do it. I also do not want to scare her by taking out of the house/cage in the early days not to make her even more stressed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
Being so scared could just be the change to a new home but it could also be a sign that she's unwell.
Indeed, I've adopted hamsters before, but the coped much better and by day 3 they would at least get out of the house as their natural curiosity (and love for seeds and veggie) wins over their fears...
Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I wouldn't clean any more than you really have to, if she is scent marking a lot the more you clean the more she'll do it & the more insecure she'll become.
Tbh I've never had noticeable smells from pee or scent marking so I suspect she does have a problem of some sort.
Neither had I... Even male robos did not smell that strong after a week of no cage cleaning. I'll have to figure out the right balance between the flat smelling of her and her feeling more or less confortable in her own home. It's summertime now so it's easy to keep the rooms aerated, maybe it will improve with time.
Thanks for your advices. I'll keep you and the community updated.
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Old 06-30-2017, 07:21 AM   #9
Cinnamon Bear
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

Wood shavings doesnt control the odor as well as paper bedding like Carefresh. I've never tried anything else. The sweet smell doesn't really happen unless the hammy is in the advanced stages of diabetes, not positive on this?

Last edited by Cinnamon Bear; 06-30-2017 at 08:32 AM.
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Old 06-30-2017, 07:57 AM   #10
cypher
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Default Re: re-homed hamster smells horrible

I'm not entirely sure but I think the characteristic smell is more from ketones than glucose in the urine & levels of both can fluctuate so smell isn't really a good guide to anything.
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