Can you give a hamster a bath?

Question

While I was in town getting some treatment for my fish my husband decided to let my 3 year old son play with my hamster, Harry. He knows to be very gentle with my hamster but I NEVER let him have him unless I can watch him the entire time. Anyways, my husband let him have Harry and when I get home I find Harry in his cage COVERED in lotion. At first I thought my son dumped water on him until I picked Harry up and smelled the lotion on him. Harry is a long haired Syrian hamster and I was wandering if anyone knows if it's safe to give a hamster a bath. I've had many hamsters in my life but have never had any reason to need to give them a bath so I don't know if it's safe. What should I do?

Answer 1

The best way to bath a hamster is this:

Get a bowl containing 2 inches of warm water. Test the temperature with your elbow to make sure it is not too hot or too cold.

Wet the hamster and gently rub it into the dirty area to cleanse it. Take extreme care not to let any water get near the nose, mouth, ears or eyes.

If your hamster has something particularly sticky that’s can’t be cut out in its fur, then you can use shampoo, but it must be baby shampoo.

Again, make sure not to get it near the hamster’s face.

Carefully rinse out the shampoo, and place the hamster on a towel.

Dry very carefully; be careful of the hamster’s legs.

Then, get a hairdryer and put it on its lowest setting. Hold it very far from the hamster and always keep your hand between the dryer and the hamster to avoid burning the skin.

Wash your hamster on a warm day if possible to lessen chances of getting a chill.

Make sure the fur is completely dry before returning the hamster to its cage or the shavings will stick to the damp fur.

For more information:

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniver...

Answer 2

I still don't think you should give him a bath. They are not used to water and you don't want to know what might happen.

I suggest you wet a clean (never been used) toothbrush and start brushing him. Keep on wetting the brush and use very gentle strokes. After, dry him by gently by stroking him with a wash cloth or small towel. You might want to try blow drying the towel to make it as warm as possible but not hot. Do not blow dry the hamster!

Next he might be a little damp, so dab him (gently) with toilet paper. Make sure his environment is warmer than usual and not cool. Let him stay in his cage for the next day untouched so he can completely dry off.

Do this asap so Harry doesn't try to clean himself and l**k the lotion off. Good luck to you and Harry! P.S. when all is done, give Harry a treat to come him down :)

Answer 3

NO... do NOT bathe your hamster! You can make them seriously ill and possibly kill them. Hamsters are not suited to be wet and should never be washed, nor should any type of soap get near them where they could possibly get it into their mouth. I can't believe so many people are ignorant of this!

If you feel like you MUST cleanse him, I would wipe him with a paper towel and buy this bathing powder you can find at a pet store. This is the ONLY safe way for hamsters to bathe... they will play in the dust and eventually clean themselves off.

I certainly hope you didn't bathe him in water! Good luck with him!

Answer 4

Hahaha...thats cute!

Yes you can give the hammy a bath. If you want to use some type of soap I would use dawn (remember those comercials where they bathe animals injured in oil spills), it is totally safe.

Answer 5

Of course you can bathe him with water or a gentle soap or detergent.  Even a tiny drop of dishwashing liquid would be okay.  But rinse him very well, and don't let him get chilled.

These things happen!

Answer 6

My hamster's name is Harold lol. Give him a bath. Have fun.

Answer 7

well it is ok to give them bath, i bath my hamster every week; i use a dog shampoo, and i can GUARANTEE that it is 100% safe really!!!

just make sure you dry it well, because it can catch flu.

Answer 8

umm ma'am. If a wet hamster becomes cold, it can lead to flu and possibly death so next time don't let ur kid touch it hamster don't like water they hate it and u can tell they try to run really fast and get nervous and start shaking his whole body dats why u see a hamster grooming a lot like touching it fur and l*****g so they don't need to a shower and the people above me they r wrong heres a website dat tell u wen u should take ur hamster  a shower ma'am