How often do i clean my dwarf hamsters cage?

Question

Im planning on getting two dwarf hamsters and i asked the girl at petco how often do i clean the cage and she said once a week but i think she meant syrians not dwarf because their so small and bedding is so expensive and i cannot be spending 9.00 dollars a week maybe take out only the soiled beding a replace with new but only like patches because syrians are like twice as big please answer so i can make a decsision if i should buy it or not if it is once a week could make some suggestions

Answer 1

Every 2 Weeks

One Thing Of Bedding Will Last About 6 Cleanings  

Answer 2

every week clean them out bedding just use unscented and uncoloured toilet roll

Answer 3

once a week or maybe you could get away with a once a week and half up to two weeks

Answer 4

Cage should be cleaned once a week if you are using good bedding like carefresh since it absorbs the smell of urine and is very comfortable for the hamsters. If you feel that the bedding is getting dirty faster, change the bedding twice a week and the major cage cleaning once a week. But don't delay the cleaning by more than a week.

Bedding need not be expensive. You can use aspen shavings which is cheaper (never use pine or cedar since that causes hamster allergies).

A very economical bedding for hamsters is ripped toilet paper. I have used that as a mix with aspen shavings for years for my hamsters and never had a problem. Make sure that the toilet paper is untreated, unbleached and non fragrant. Don't throw away the empty toilet roll tubes, give them to your hamster as they make good toys for the hamsters to play and gnaw.

Answer 5

i clean my hamsters cages every week if you dont it will really smell bad. and i would say to bye the bigger bags and use less bedding so you wont have to spent $9 a week.

Answer 6

I have had many many dwarfs, and if you have anything less than a ten gallon tank you will need to change their WHOLE litter once a week. With two of them in a ten gallon tank with a screen top you will need to check it in a week, if it smells like ammonia you will NEED to change the WHOLE cage, if it does not smell like ammonia (or pee basically) you can stretch it out I would say 4 more days max. Yes hamsters do pee in a corner, but if a corner gets too wet they change corners, and they poo wherever and whenever. So just doing soiled litter doesn't make sense, because they use all of it so you would have to change all of it.

Really if you are going to get a pet don't make it suffer because you can't afford something so basic as litter. What if they get sick? It is very common if you don't change the litter when you are supposed to your hamster will get a respiratory infection, which is fatal, and you will have to take him to the vet. How will you afford that? A hamster may cost less than a dog, but you have all the responsibility to take care of a living creature as if he were one.

I really don't want to sound mean, I just want to make sure you are prepared for both you and the hamster. If you get a good cage, and you can get the cheaper aspen bedding, though most people say it can give them respitory problems, they use it in petco, and I used it with mine, I had to get special bedding for my rats, but my hamsters were just find and happy with the cedar or aspen bedding. But if your give them attention every day like you should you will hear if they are sneezing a lot, or breathing with a whistle, or you would see if they have eye and nose drainage, you could see if they get something from the bedding and change it, but again that is something you have to consider before you get pets, you cannot change the future, you cannot see the future, so you have to be ready for it. Also so save on expenses, dont buy "Chew tubes" use toilette paper or paper towel rolls for them to chew up, they dont care they love it and they are small so they work great. and instead of "cotton bedding"...toilette paper or paper towels, they LOVE to chew it up, just make sure to change it when you change their bedding.But you do need chew blocks, and if you are tight for money, get the block food, otherwise you will spend a lot on food because they will kick out of their dish what they don't like. they get block food in Petco and they eat it just fine. Give them that and treats when they are out of the cage with you, and you can find treats like carrots or red cabbage if you don't want to buy yogurt drops. But changing thier bedding one a week or at least every 8-9 days is necessary.

One final note...NEVER get one boy and one girl...unless you want to have more hamsters than you know what to do with.

I hope this helped

Answer 7

Bedding is not that expensive. You can use aspen for hamsters which is a lot less expensive.