Can you make hamster cages smell better? If so, how?

Question

I have a boy hamster and i change his cage 2 times a week.( The vet told me to.)But his cage smells. It makes the air in my room stinky. These days I sleep in the guest room but I want my room back with fresh air.help?

Answer 1

It's unusual that his cage is so stinky....I have three boy hamsters, each in his own cage, and I only need to clean their cages once a week, and even then their cages aren't really smelly. Like someone else said, maybe you should try using a hamster "potty" in the corner where he seems to go to the bathroom. That's what I do for mine....they have a clean empty jar lying on its side in one corner, filled with some litter, and they almost always use that for their bathroom. I just empty and wash it each day, and this keeps their cages much cleaner.
Their pee is really the only thing that would make the cage smell bad.
Please don't use any kind of deodorant, air freshener, etc. on or around your hammie....any kind of chemical can be very dangerous for them, even if it's supposed to be for pets. Also, using cat litter is dangerous, since it has deodorants and is dusty, and is hard on their paws.
The best thing is just clean, dust-free litter, and a potty in the corner. It's also good to remove all uneaten food each day, otherwise it can spoil, especially fruits or vegetables.
Good luck!

Answer 2

Obviously, cleaning the cage twice a week isn't enough.

Hamsters have VERY sensitive noses, so if YOU think it stinks, it's 100 times worse for him!

Before you do anything else, you need to give your cage a THOROUGH cleaning. Put your hamster in a safe place and then take the cage outside, take it apart and CLEAN IT with soap and water. Every part of it. Use the hose. While you are doing this, try to notice whether or not there is a part of the cage that pee gets that you AREN'T cleaning. Sometimes pee can 'hide' in a place and really stink. And then you need to clean all the toys -- his wheel, house, food dishes, water bottle, everything. Throw away anything that can't be cleaned.

Once the cage is all clean and dry, put fresh bedding in it, put back all the toys and add the hamster.

Now comes the hard part...you need to clean the cage every day. Yes, I said every day.

When you 'change' the cage twice a week, do you also wash off the levels and floors? Do you clean the toys? If not, you need to do that -- just changing the bedding isn't enough.

I know this sounds like a lot, but if you want to have a pet, you need to take care of a pet. You will soon get used to the routine of cleaning every day and if you try to make it 'playtime' with your hamster, you might BOTH start to enjoy cleaning time!

Answer 3

First, get some Nature's Miracle Ultra Disinfectant. This stuff is AMAZING. It contains enzymes which break down the ammonia in urine, which is what causes that hamster smell. It's safe to use with rodents, I use it in my rats' cages. I dump all the soiled bedding, and spray down everything non absorbent, wait five minutes or so, and wipe it off. I do it every week and it keeps the pee smell down. If you can't find it, ask someone at your pet store about other urine neutralizing products, but be sure they are safe for rodent cages (the perfumes and chemicals in some can harm their little lungs). I also spray down the carpet under their cage, the walls, table, etc with a Febreeze that is specially made for pet odors. It's perfumed so I don't like to spray it directly inside the cage, but it is pet safe and covers up the pet store smell. Everything that they play on gets sprayed down, since they sometimes have little accidents. Hope this helps :)

Answer 4

Introduce a hamster litter box. Yes, they have them. And clean it, or the place hammy is peeing at, every day. Not twice a week. All hamsters have a specific corner or place they like to pee over. Make sure hammy has plenty of fresh clean water. To dilute the pee so that it's not as strong smelling. Make sure you are using appropriate bedding. Talk to a pet store and get advice. Stay away from strong smelling solutions, bedding - not good for hammy's nose or lungs. Clean the whole cage one a week. And, make sure you are getting fresh air in your room.

Answer 5

Um, don't buy spray for the cage, you'll kill your hampster. Try getting pellets that absorb your hampsters urine, so it is easier to clean. Don't buy plastic liners, because your hamster will eat them and get sick. The only thing that helped my hamster cage (a lot) was litter training it. Yeah I know it's silly, but most likely your hampster pees in one spot. All you have to do is get a little tray with litter in it (unscented), and scoop up some of the pellets with urine on it and place it in the little box. Most likely your hampster will start learning to use it. Hope it helps. Or if you have a temporary cage, you can always run plastic cages through the dishwasher.

Answer 6

There is a product called carefresh which you can use to replace the normal wood chip or saw dust you use at the moment.

The reason hamsters wee smells so much is because its very concentrated. Once your hamster has wee'd the smell is quite toxic, but carefresh eliminates the smell and stops it from turning toxic. I hope this has helped.

Answer 7

Pets are smelly. If you don't like the pet smell in your bedroom, then maybe move him into another room?

It also won't hurt the little guy if you changed his cage more often- twice a week is the minimum required to keep him healthy.

Answer 8

first thing is get rid of the cedar shavings. red cedar is good to an extent but you mix that with amonia in urine and it can be quite noxious.
instead heres what to do. take the advice of the one that said wash everything, with hot soapy water, and if it can be, throw it thru the dish washer. if the items are too small for the dish wrack get a cuptowel place items in the cuptowel and tie it with a hair tie or string. run it thru.
get some regular baking soda and sprinkle a very light layer on the bottom of the cage then use corn cob litter. this is sold in most pet stores. it is easy to clean and absorbs moisture.
if you want to make a comfy place for your hamster use a handful of white cedar wood shavings and cotton batting in the one side of his cage. and for something extra for him to shread, use an empty toilet paper roll. he knows how he likes his bed.
that way his mess can be cleaned up easier. and the baking soda absorbs the smell.

Answer 9

Other than the obvious of cleaning it more often, buy whit epine wood shavings. It doesn't completley destroy odor but it does help absorb most of it. Other than that I would suggest Glade Plugins or some other mass produced non-aerosol cover up. If you can't handle the smell maybe you should try getting a fish or something. Pets take work and responsibilty. research your pets before you buy them.

Answer 10

Go to pets at home or any good pet store near you and ask for cage disenfectant. you canalso get them from supermarkets sometimes. make sure you give the cage and toys a good scrub once a week and occasionaly brush your hamster. gd luck!! emeita xxx