Reducing the smell ?

carefresh · 03-08-2005, 02:19 PM

Hello I am trying to convice my mom into letting me have my own hamster, but she says I need to find some way to reduce the smell. Does anybody have any advice for reducing the smell ? Thanks in advance !

SnuggleHam · 03-08-2005, 03:17 PM

First of all Hamsters don’t smell. Your mother is poorly misinformed. Hamster urine isnt nearly as potent as a rats or mouse.

Cleaning the cage once a week will eliminate any strong smells. People that take poor care of their hamster cages are going to be the ones that smell.

Another thing you can point out to your mother is that hamster can be potty trained. All you need is Chinchilla sand and a shallow box or container to put it in. If you place it in the corner your hamster chooses to urinate in this will help eliminate odor and you can change this every 2-3 days.

Most hamsters have a corner they choose to urinate in. This is what smells the most I find, not fecal matter.

You could also try a large sized aquarium to help retain any smells that might bother your mother. But these are more awkward to clean because of their shape and their weight. Don’t put a Syrian in anything less then a 29 gallon.

But really if you provide a potty and change the cage once a week the smell shouldn’t even be an issue. Carefresh, Yesterday's News and CritterCare bedding is very absorbent and more ideal for your hamster. You can see more about bedding and potty’s HERE

Before you do get a hamster though its best you have a talk with your mother and have her agree to take the ham to the vets if it ever needs it. Saying it’s not worth it because the ham cost 10 dollars is a very poor excuse. Unless of course you are already able to afford this yourself.

hammydude · 03-08-2005, 03:20 PM

Smell

Hamsters are generally smell-free animals. There are only 2 ways that I can think of that you would get any smell. First being if you don't clean their cage EVERY week I have hear that they will smell.Solution-clean the cage EVERY week. Second being if you use cedar or pine bedding(which you SHOULD NOT use due to hamster health issues). Sollution use aspen( I use it and it IS smell-free!), carefresh, or any other odor-free bedding material.

Hope this helps you get a hamster! :P :P :P

Oh, and another thing.If this helps this Thursday will make 3 weeks that I've had my hamster.I clean his cage thouroughly every Friday and use aspen bedding and I've had NO smell!

carefresh · 03-08-2005, 03:25 PM

I know that they dont smell, but my mom insists that they do. so i'll take your advice, and was going to clean cage EVERY week anyway. she's agreed that the smell isn't a problem now so i'm really happy ! oh yah, i'm going to use carefresh bedding (as u can tell in my name !) thanks alot

SnuggleHam · 03-08-2005, 03:26 PM

I have two Roborovskis and one gerbil in my small apartment and there is no smell between all of them who live in the central part of my home which is the kitchen and living room in one.

The only thing my husband complains about is the littler box for my cats. Have your mom read over this thread if she’s not convinced.

carefresh · 03-08-2005, 03:30 PM

OK sounds good. Thanks again to everybody !

hammydude · 03-08-2005, 03:30 PM

What type of hamster are you going to get? Syrian? When do you plan on getting it?

carefresh · 03-08-2005, 03:37 PM

Well...I'm not sure what kind I'll be getting because I love them all. But I may choose a dwarf because they are ADORABLE ! I was wondering...at my petstore all of the dwarves are called dwarf fancy hamsters. What are these really? Also one of them is called a dwarf siberian hamster, what type of dwarf is that? It'll be quite a while till I get my hammie, but I'm waiting patiently !

SnuggleHam · 03-08-2005, 04:09 PM

Dwarf fancy hamster is very vague. I can’t really tell you without looking. I would assume they are probably Campbell’s Russian Dwarf hamsters. Siberian hamster is another name for a Winter White Russian Dwarves but I think that the name is also given to the Campbell’s Russian Dwarf hamster.

Please check out http://www.hamstercentral.com and look at the the different dwarf species, maybe you can tell from looking at the pictures and reading about their general appearance characteristics?

Also ask the people that work at the store if they know the specific species of dwarves they are.

If you do get a dwarf note that they are not as handtame and cuddley as the Syrians are. Also dwarves do better and live longer lived when housed with a cagemate, so its best that you buy two sisters or brother when you do.

**babyboos** · 03-10-2005, 04:18 PM

A Syrian is probably best for a first hamster of your own, especially if you just want the one. Dwarves really do live longer with a cage mate