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Pebbles82 · 04-26-2016, 04:59 AM

She could be burrowing down under the substrate and having her wee spot under there

Our hamster did that when his house was a bit small. He dug a burrow under the substrate and pee'd in one corner of it. It took a bit of spot cleaning!

Just one thing - I wouldn't recommend replacing his nesting material or substrate so often. It stressed them out when their scent is all removed and their nest is their number one most important thing in life (arguably!).

If you have the substrate deep enough (3 to 4 inches minimum but ideally 6" or more) you should just be able to spot clean mostly - ie take out a handful or two and replace it with a clean handful or two then mix it in so it still smells familiar.

The nest can just be left unless it is wet if it has been pee'd in, and even then it's best to leave part of the old nest behind so they can rebuild it.

Does she have a house to nest in, or does she nest under a shelf?

You could make a shoebox house/hide for her to nest in, and if the house is big enough she might move her wee corner inside the house (that's what ours has done each time he's had a large house) - I think they do it so they can eat, sleep and wee undercover without having to come out lol.

If she does that you could put a corner potty litter tray in that corner, and then you just need to clean out the litter tray every few days (I use chinchilla bathing sand in it).

So you just get a shoe box, cut the bottom out, leaving the lid as a lift-off roof, and cut an entrance door in the front and stand it on top of the substrate (they like to bury hoards under the nest so a nest on the substrate is best). If you put a bendy bridge tunnel or tube over the entrance hole it will also make it nice and dark inside so she's more likely to go in there to nest.

The lid of the shoe box also makes a shelf or platform.

They are quite precious about their hoards as well so if you have to remove any hoarded food (ie if it has been wee'd on) then always replace it with new food in the same place.

I like this video on cage cleaning tips from Erin's hamsters - it really helped me get into a good routine with our hammy and helped him have more normal behaviours and get less stressed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

At the moment - if you can see a tunnel hole anywhere, have a good feel around in that area under the substrate and you might find some wet.

Having said that, hamsters don't have very large wees, and can sometimes bury it afterwards. Our hammy is a very clean little boy and after he wee's in his potty he either digs sand over the top of the wee, or puts substrate on top of it.

04-26-2016, 04:59 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Where is she weeing?? She could be burrowing down under the substrate and having her wee spot under there Our hamster did that when his house was a bit small. He dug a burrow under the substrate and pee'd in one corner of it. It took a bit of spot cleaning! Just one thing - I wouldn't recommend replacing his nesting material or substrate so often. It stressed them out when their scent is all removed and their nest is their number one most important thing in life (arguably!). If you have the substrate deep enough (3 to 4 inches minimum but ideally 6" or more) you should just be able to spot clean mostly - ie take out a handful or two and replace it with a clean handful or two then mix it in so it still smells familiar. The nest can just be left unless it is wet if it has been pee'd in, and even then it's best to leave part of the old nest behind so they can rebuild it. Does she have a house to nest in, or does she nest under a shelf? You could make a shoebox house/hide for her to nest in, and if the house is big enough she might move her wee corner inside the house (that's what ours has done each time he's had a large house) - I think they do it so they can eat, sleep and wee undercover without having to come out lol. If she does that you could put a corner potty litter tray in that corner, and then you just need to clean out the litter tray every few days (I use chinchilla bathing sand in it). So you just get a shoe box, cut the bottom out, leaving the lid as a lift-off roof, and cut an entrance door in the front and stand it on top of the substrate (they like to bury hoards under the nest so a nest on the substrate is best). If you put a bendy bridge tunnel or tube over the entrance hole it will also make it nice and dark inside so she's more likely to go in there to nest. The lid of the shoe box also makes a shelf or platform. They are quite precious about their hoards as well so if you have to remove any hoarded food (ie if it has been wee'd on) then always replace it with new food in the same place. I like this video on cage cleaning tips from Erin's hamsters - it really helped me get into a good routine with our hammy and helped him have more normal behaviours and get less stressed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww At the moment - if you can see a tunnel hole anywhere, have a good feel around in that area under the substrate and you might find some wet. Having said that, hamsters don't have very large wees, and can sometimes bury it afterwards. Our hammy is a very clean little boy and after he wee's in his potty he either digs sand over the top of the wee, or puts substrate on top of it.