What do you do with your Dwarf Hamster when Cleaning the cage?

[Galaxyblue]

I bought a ball, but someone on here said that balls are not good ideas for Dwarf Hamsters so I need to rethink what to do with him when I clean the cage out?

Thank you! X

[Drago]

Balls are not very good for hams as they can cause them to overheat and/or get toes stuck. Aside from inherent dangers, they do not let the hamster sniff, mark, and explore as they naturally do.

I’d recommend laying a towel or fleece blanket down on the bottom of your bathtub, and fill it with lots of playthings/cardboard tubes. This is where I keep my rodents when cleaning out their cages. Best wishes!

[Sasha04]

Balls are definitely not a good option and I’m glad you have decided to move away from them. For cleaning out their cage you can either leave them in their while cleaning or move them to a playpen. My ham is very anxious and gets nervous very easily so I put him in a playpen while a clean. My past ham was quite the opposite and very happy to stay in his cage while I cleaned. I think it really depends on personality and how they reacte. If you are unsure of how they will think I would put him in a playpen. When all the new and old substrate is mixed in the cage with his food, water, and a few hides hear in there, I put him back. He always has a fun time burrowing through his new substrate when there aren’t a lot of toys in there and I find it gets out some energy! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to ask! Hope this helps!

[Fluffagrams]

I usually put mine (8 Chinese and 1 Robo) in their show pens or carry boxes... The Chineseys in particular would only get in the way if I tried to clean around them as they’re quite an inquisitive bunch. At least in their show pens or carry boxes, they’ll usually go back to sleep.

[cypher]

I use a pet carrier for mine while I clean the cage, you can't really keep an eye on them in a playpen or bath if you're cleaning so the carrier is safest, put plenty of substrate in so they can just burrow down & feel safe & comfortable while you clean.

[flowerfairy]

I put my hamsters into a carriwr like this one when I clean their cages. I put loads of fitch in there and some food to keep them busy!

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Rosewood-Po...4aAhzjEALw_wcB

[NogiHamster]

I'm really late, but wanted to answer!
I put my hamster in a 10 gallon while I quickly clean out her cage. It seems small, but I am working on getting her a playpen. You can also just buy her a carrying cage, like a critter trail.

[alpacassei]

I put mine in their carriers or a play cage while I’m cleaning them out

[flowerfairy]

I also have a plastic storage box that my hybrid dwarf enjoys exploring during cage cleans.

[Pebbles82]

I spot clean around our Robo while he hides under his ladder and watches! It's difficult getting him out and I tend to just spot clean mainly anyway and don't do big cage cleans or complete substrate changes very often as with a larger cage it's not really necessary very often. Same with our Syrian. Sometimes they like to see what's happening and may follow your hand around. It can be less stressful for them to "monitor" the changes than to have some playtime and then come back and find things have changed. I've found that puts them off coming out for a while afterwards in case it happens again!

Sometimes you do need to take them out to do some cage organising. It depends on the hamster what suits them/where you put them. Our last Syrian would happily just go to sleep in his pet carrier. I used to take the pet carrier up to the bedroom and put a blanket over it so it was dark. If he was in the same room when I did things to his cage he knew! And got quite anxious at the noises and presumably could smell things changing as well - so he was better somewhere else where he couldn't hear or sense the changes going on to his home.

Our current Syrian doesn't like being left in the pet carrier so I put him in a smaller playcage which I got as a travel/holiday cage.

I wouldn't leave any hamster in a ball while cleaning out as you can't keep an eye on them properly and they'd be in it for too long (they shouldn't be left in a ball for more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time and need constant observation - and as mentioned above, balls aren't really safe for dwarf hamsters anyway).

If you have a pet carrier you could try that. I'd also be a bit worried about leaving them in the bathtub or a playpen.

You could use a deep plastic bin with some substrate and a couple of toys in maybe - but you'd need to keep it near the cage to keep an eye on them - and personally I think they're better in another room while you're messing with their cage!

If you have something like a 70 x 40 cage or 80 x 50 and at least 5" of substrate, you could just spot clean mainly - you can go about 2 months doing that. It's also best not to do a full cage clean where you clean everything at once, so even if you did need to do a substrate change, it helps to replace some of the dry/old substrate and mix it in or sprinkle it on top so it still smells familiar - and to clean the wheel a different week and any toys a different week again. That way something always smells familiar and it's less stressful for them.

I also leave the nest and hoard alone - unless they're pee'd on. Their nest and hoard are the things they are most anxious about. If they are pee'd on and you have to remove them it's good to try and leave some of the old nest behind that is dry (even if slightly whiffy) and just add a big pile of new paper nesting material in the cage so they can rebuild the nest. Same with the hoard - try and leave some behind and also add new food to replace some of what you've removed, in exactly the same place.

Sorry if you know all that already! If you don't have a pet carrier it's worth investing in one - somewhere to put them when you sort out the cage and there if needed in emergency for the vets. The guinea pig Ferplast Aladino one is a good size - it's big enough to put a small house and plenty of substrate in. Zooplus do a similar one.