by Lynn Chua

Created on: April 19, 2008

Keeping a cage cleaning schedule is important.Clean the hamster cage or hamster aquarium
regularly keep your pet hamster healthy and less likely to develop illnesses. Hamsters will
suffer from stress if either their cage is cleaned not often enough. And it isn't as
complicated as you think. If your hamster is particularly clean and only uses one area as a toilet (as many do) then you may be able to leave it a little longer providing you clean the

toileted area every few days and clean the cage floor twice a week or at least once week.

Things You'll Need:

Brush
Water
Dry towels
New bedding
Cleaner
Hamster ball or a deep container

Get container which is deep enough so that your hamster won't escape. Add a dish of chinchilla sand before you put in your hamster, so your hamster can have a bath. Not only will this remove excess oils or dirt from his coat, your pet will probably enjoy a sand-bathing while you are cleaning up the cage.

After removing the hamster from the cage and throwing away all old wood shavings and food.
Any fresh food that may have been stored by the hamster should be removed after a couple
of days to avoid it rotting. Scrape any dirt off the bottom and wash it down. spray it
generously with a bedding spray such as Clean n Safe. Leave it for 10 or 15 minutes then
wipe it down. Always make sure the cage is completely dry before putting everything back in.

To clean a plastic cage : I would recommend using an antibacterial soap and scrub it all thoroughly (wheel, dishes, wiring, bottom, etc), then dry it with paper towels, then spray it down with Lysol spray or wipe it down with Lysol disinfecting wipes, allow it to air dry. Once it has air-dried, then wash it ONE MORE TIME with antibacterial soap and water. That should pretty much eliminate any possibility of cross-infection.Plastic cage with multiple compartments and tubes. These cages can become a real chore to clean.

To clean aquarium: You should definitely use soap and hot water for the initial cleaning.
Try to use a dye/scent free soap because hamsters are very sensitive to odors. Also, after
you do this about twice (make sure you wash EVERYTHING) rinse until the water is not soapy.
Use a spray that bought at the pet store, a sanitizer specially made for hamsters and such.
It's safe and you don't have to rinse it after, just wipe down with a paper towel. Put plain
white paper on the bottom. This helps with keeping the cage clean as well. The paper soaks
up the urine and helps prevent the bedding from sticking to

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