Hamster Baths

hammiesarelovex3 · 07-27-2006, 01:22 PM

The other day, my hamster's fur on his back was greasy, so we took a warm, damp wash cloth and gently wiped his fur, and he didn't seem to mind. It didn't take long for his fur to dry and he was much softer, cleaner, and smelled pretty good too. I think a wash cloth bath did him well. Do you think wash cloth baths are a good thing for hamsters?

souffle · 07-27-2006, 03:29 PM

Unless they are very dirty or messy we never wash our hams. He may smell nice to you but hammies much prefer their own scent. That is why a hamster nearly always grooms himself when you put them down after handling. They are licking your scent off and speading their own from the scent glands over their fur. Hamsters often appear wet or greasy around the scent glands on the hips but this is quite normal especially when around a member of the opposite sex! Hamsters love to bath in a sand bath. If you can get a small tub or a potty and fill it with chinchilla sand I am sure your hammy will find a good roll soon has that fur gleaming. Ours all love sand baths.

hammiesarelovex3 · 07-27-2006, 04:30 PM

ok, thanks! what sand bath do you prefer? (like a brand) how often should you change the sand bath and do you keep it in their tank the whole time?

racinghamster · 07-28-2006, 12:43 AM

Do you use eBay? If you do, go to the hamsters page and you will see plastic corner toilets with a scoop. These can be used as hamster sand baths and they are enclosed too. I would keep the sand bath in the hamster cage at all times and allow the hamster(s) to go in and out as they chose. I think Souffle's plastic bowl is a Ferplast food dish? Even one of those would be sufficient! As you can see from souffle's picture, the hamster is loving it!

My gerbils have a cat litter tray that they sit in and roll around in and they clearly love their chinchilla sand!

Many pet shops sell these corner litter trays too. I paid £2.95p each for mine off eBay from a shop seller called `Mickspetsupplies'. He does accept cheques too! Service is great and he's in Yarmouth, England. He's just re-listed his hamster loo's, so get yourselves a bargain!

red_hot_chili_peppers · 07-28-2006, 05:25 AM

I have had to bathe hamsters, like my Longhaired Whites... but you didn't mention if your hammy was Syrian or a Dwarf/Chinese... or was it me not reading another thread properly? But my Syrians will not use a sand bath, some of my Winter Whites and Campbells do, but not all of them, and half the time they use it as a potty.
I wouldn't frequently bathe one, or unless it needed it...

souffle · 07-28-2006, 06:47 AM

Yes that one is a little feeding dish that came with a cage! The sand stays better in a hooded potty which is what we use for our Syrians. They are available at most pet stores. When first changed they have a good bath then use it as a potty so it works both ways! The little Campbells dwarf in the picture uses it for both at the same time. Grubby lad! A shallow ice cream tub would do fine and you can use kiddies playsand in it too. Beach sand is not suitable because of the salt and possible contaminants. We leave the sand baths in the cages all the time. Some people have a deeper box filled with sand which they let their hamsters use as a toy for supervised sessions. We change the sand every two days or as needed.

hammiesarelovex3 · 07-28-2006, 01:01 PM

My mom has an account on eBay but we could probably go to Petco, Walmart, Pet Valu, the grocery store, or the pet shop in the mall, but thanks for the suggestion!

I have a Syrian hamster.

I was wondering, could you use a Tupperware type container? Like this one?: http://www.foodservicedirect.com/produc ... 26711S.jpg

souffle · 07-28-2006, 03:46 PM

I don't see why you could not use any plastic box as long as it is flat bottomed and not too deep as he might knock it over or have trouble getting in to it. I think any of those pet stores would stock potties and they are not too expensive. Get a larger one for a Syrian and some chinchilla sand or dust. They do sell hamster potty litter but ours prefer the sand. The litter is like little granules and I have seen babies try and eat it so we don't use that.

**babyboos** · 07-28-2006, 03:53 PM

Yes that tub would be fine, as would an empty margarine tub for instance. All my hamsters have sand baths in their enclosures, and I do find it helps reduce cage cleanouts as after "washing" in the sand they invariable use it to pee and poop in. I clean the tubs out every 2 days rather than the cages every 7 days. I can go over 10 days now using sand baths, which is very fortunate when you have 14 enclosures of your own, not to mention the rescue tubs.... My Roborovski can go nearly a month as their poops are so small and they are very good at peeing in the sand. I find the smaller the dwarf the more important their scent is to them.
I use Charlie Chinchilla sand in my baths/potties, but as souffle said children's play sand is possible and a lot cheaper, and more readily available.
Maybe you would like to read a Hamster Central article on the subject?
http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=13

hammiesarelovex3 · 07-29-2006, 12:18 PM

Ok, thanks! I will try to get a Tupperware container at the store and get some chinchilla sand bath at Petco...

It is kind of expensive though...but is there any hazards I should look for in the sand? like too dusty...etc.?

For example, is this stuff good? http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product ... 13162.aspx

I don't know if they have it at the Petco near me, but I will try to get it...

How high should the sand be in the dish?