Anything that is not properly cared for starts to smell. There is also a common thought that stumbles upon most people’s minds is the fact that rodents smell. But do hamsters smell? Should you be worried?
“The answer to this question is, NO! They do not smell. Hamsters are clean little animals that will keep you happy by their presence. If you did not know, hamsters have a tendency to self-clean. This greatly lowers the chances of your hamster smelling.”
Bad odor is something that many people run away from. In fact, we avoid them as well. Hamsters certainly do not smell or stink whatsoever. It’s the food in their cage that goes bad and starts giving a bad odor. Here is everything that you need to know regarding the question “do hamsters smell?”
Hamsters: The Best Scrupulous Creatures of All!
Hamsters do not smell. This is mainly because they do not want to be dirty. Their self-cleaning tricks prevent them from smelling or getting dirty.
The only reason you might smell a bad odor from your pet’s cage is because of leftover food. This leftover can be of the bananas or strawberries enjoyed as a treat by your hamsters. But that can be avoided by cleaning your pet hamster’s cage more often.
The fact that hamsters self-clean, they do not require cleaning. But that does not necessarily mean you should not offer a helping hand. You should also clean your pet and its cage.
1) Do Hamsters Smell? – Interesting Ways They Self Clean:
If you notice your furry friends very closely, you will observe their activity of rubbing their paws.
They rub their two little tiny paws against their faces. This, my friend, is their way of cleaning their face as that’s where their mouths are. No one likes to eat something with bad breath and a dirty mouth, and the same goes for your pet hamster.
Another interesting fact about hamsters is that they will do the same for all parts of their body. Well, at least where your pet’s little tiny paws can reach in order to remove the dirt and residues of food and other stuff.
2) Do Hamsters Really Clean Themselves?
Hamsters are as scrupulous as a household cat.
When you play with them or pick them up with the intention of having fun with them, you will notice one thing. When you put them back in their cage, they will start grooming and cleaning themselves.
Your furry friends do not like to be stinky and have germs on their bodies.
One amazing thing about these cute little creatures is that they tend to keep themselves fresh, clean, and away from being stinky. They want to be as groomed and fresh as they can be if we talk about being in the wild.
The reason behind this act is that they are well aware of the fact that having a strong bad smell can attract predators. It is a natural thing which certainly shows how clever they can be.
Generally speaking, hamsters know some predators are waiting to attack from the sky, and some are sneaking behind the bushes. And these predators have a keen eye and are ready to have a feast on their smelly prey.
So, I would say you can’t blame the smell on these poor little cute creatures. It must be their cage and its surroundings.
3) 10 Minute Task To Keep The Cage Of Your Hamster Odor-Free:
As mentioned earlier, your little furry friends can clean themselves very well. But they lack the skills to clean their cage. More importantly, the bad smell or odor that you might experience may very well be coming from your pet’s cage and its nearby environment.
There probably will be some rotten food or any leftovers that your hamster did not eat. For that reason, cleaning and properly maintaining their cage is very important to have a pleasant smell.
You should look for stains, poop, rotten food particles, or similar stuff and clean them out. To properly clean the cage, you have to empty it fully and wash it with soap and water.
You also have to make sure to clean the entire cage. This includes the food bowl, toys, if any, the wheel, or if there is anything else.
Cleaning your pet’s cage is an easy task, and there is nothing for you to be worried about. In addition to this, it is also not complicated or time-consuming.
It only takes 5 to 10 minutes to clean your pet’s cage. But, it must be done on a daily basis. This will also keep your pet hamster smell-free and happy.
If you are a busy person, you can clean it twice or thrice a week. But you have to make sure that this cleaning is done thoroughly. As it also affects the health of your little furry friend.
4) 1 Specific Part To Aim For When Cleaning Your Pet’s Cage:
An interesting thing about these furry creatures is that they poop far from where their bed is. You will notice that if you pay attention, they will go to a corner and set that place as a toilet. It is quiet at a distance from your pet’s living area.
You should take advantage of this fact and make that area odor-free on a regular basis.
In addition to this, you can try to train your little pet to poop outside or at a specific place. This way, the cage, and its surroundings will be clean and odor-free.
Training Your Pet Hamster – Ways To Help Your Pet Groom
Hamsters are usually good at cleaning themselves, but they don’t mind an extra pair of hands. Here’s how you can help them groom themselves better and prevent them from smelling.
1) Do Hamsters Smell? – 3 Ways To Train Your Furry Pet For Poop:
If you are on the lookout for finding ways to train your furry pet for poop, allow me to put you at ease. It is actually quite easy and very effective. You can train your pet to poop in a specific area.
For that, first, you have to monitor them for as long as you can. Where does your pet hamster go for poop? You have to note down his pooping routine.
As mentioned earlier, they go to a specific corner of their cages. They will go more frequently so you can easily notice their routine. This is a spontaneous act that they go and poop far away from where they sleep.
The primary reason why your pet does this is to prevent the smell from their sleeping area. You can use these steps to note down their location for pooping. Next, you can try the following steps in order to train your little furry buddy.
- First of all, place a potty in that specific area of the corner where your pet goes more often to poop.
- You can fit or line it with the sand. This will help in masking the odor.
- You can also place something which smells good there. This will help to reduce the bad smell.
That is all you need to do in order to train your pet hamster to poop at a specific place. It may take some time for them, maybe some weeks, to get used to it. But, in the end, it will all worth it.
This will keep their cage fresh and smell-free, which is healthy for them as well.
2) Dos And Don’ts Of Hamster Grooming:
When the hamster’s body is clean and fresh, your pet will do a number of activities happily. These cute little animals are not dirty and smelly because they put more emphasis on their cleanliness.
If you pay a little attention, you will notice that your friend hamster will often be busy grooming itself. They will use their feet or nails for the self-groom. However, some of them will enthusiastically do it than the rest.
Self-grooming for hamsters is not only effective but also safe. They have valuable oils on their hair and skin that they use for the protection and insulation of their bodies.
This self-grooming does not remove these oils the way water baths remove these oils. Actually, it is not recommended to give a bath to your little friends, not even in shallow water as well.
A comfortable sand bath is an excellent way for a clean and cheerful hamster. For wild hamsters, a sand bath is a way to make themselves free from dirt.
It is also helpful in keeping their skin and hair clean. In addition to this, there would be no need to use soap and water. Moreover, this facilitates to spread those essential oils throughout their bodies.
Therefore, your hamster is unlikely to be a stinking animal.
3) Lend Your Pet An Extra Pair Of Hands – Reach Where Your Pet Can’t:
Your hamster plays all day long doing different activities. So, it is most likely that there will be dirt and particles attached to his body which are difficult for him to remove by himself. Even a sand bath is not sufficient enough to remove them.
Some hamsters, for instance, the Syrian one with thick long hair, tend to face more of this issue. The dirt particles are attached to their thick hair, which cannot be removed by self-cleaning or giving them a sand bath.
So, in such scenarios, what you can do is to lend your furry friend a hand and help him in his grooming. When the dirt is too stubborn to be removed, you can trim your furry little friend’s hair. This also allows them to brush their hair more easily.
Our Recommendation:
We would advise you all to use a fine and soft brush, specifically one that is made for pets only. This is to avoid any discomfort while brushing your hamster’s fur. Besides, this way, your pet will get attached more towards you.
Trying to create an even special bond with your pet? Try feeding him or her treats like blueberries and bananas.
4) Why Your Young Female Hamsters Smell All Of A Sudden? – Signs Of Heat!
It means she has a good chance to stay in the heat if you don’t know about it! Keep reading.
The owners of female hamsters (especially the young ones) sometimes notice a strong odor. It is usually a pungent and prominent musk odor.
The bad odor fades after a number of days. But it returns back after several days with even more intensity.
The smell indicates that your female hamster has to go into the heat. This means there is a short timeframe in which your female hamster gets the need for a male hamster.
In other words, your female hamster is ready to reproduce and can let you know itself through a number of different changes in her behavior. And, yes, a bad smell is one of them.
Hamsters are sort of loner animals. They only get the attention of a male hamster just to mate only. Due to this reason, female hamsters should be “welcome” to nearby males.
The scent they emit provides this purpose wonderfully. It is only good for male hamsters and is very bad for us humans.
This biological situation is not necessary and is not very convenient as well if you are not breeding your hamster. Fortunately, this lasts only during the years when your hamster is bearing a child. When she reaches the stage after maturity, this smell will slowly reduce and then vanishes completely.
Sadly, the hamster can do nothing but wait until the end of the year till the baby is born. Make sure your hamster does not fail to get into the heat. This is a normal as well as a natural part of their biological process. In fact, if there are no males around her still, you have to make sure she gets through it.
You have to bear that foul smell, no matter what, and you have to make sure her cage remains clean.
Do Hamsters Smell? Conclusion:
Hamsters are not smelly in general, and you won’t have any trouble with them. The bad odor or smell that you may notice is from their cage. Food often gets leftover in their cage when they stop eating, or their little tummies are full.
The leftover food then starts smelling, which is a bad odor that you may notice. Hamsters are generally very clean, and they routinely clean themselves using a self-cleaning process. They do this by rubbing their front paws against their body to remove dirt from their bodies.
To avoid any unpleasant smells from your hamster, you need to clean their cages every second or third day. This will also keep your pet hamster happy and allow you to spend more time with your furry little friend.