Hamster Stink - Paw Talk

nik8806 · #1 01-07-2007, 03:46 PM

So, I know hamsters arent the greatest smelling animals in the world... but Haylee seems to Really smell. I hold her and afterwards I have to wash my hands/arms and change if I dont want to smell like her! =) I clean her cage at least 2 times a week, and its not horrible, but it still smells.. luckily shes so cute haha

is it normal for them to smell this much? My dwarf hamster charlie didnt smell this much. Maybe cause shes a syrian hamster she smells more??
Anything I can use for the smell??
Thanks!
Nikki

**Sasami** · #2 01-07-2007, 03:49 PM

Hmm. That seems weird...I've had several hamsters and never noticed any smell. What kind of bedding do you use and what do you feed her?

nik8806 · #3 01-07-2007, 03:54 PM

Well at the moment I am feeding her what the pet store was feeding her, but will slowly change that to something better.. but I cant tell whats good to feed her, everything at the pet store looks the same! Im feeding her Bananza Bounty Buffet or something like that at the moment. It has a mixture of a lot of stuff, of course, she only picks out the stuff she likes... I know thats not good and thats why ive been looking for better food.
And I use aspen bedding.

What is a good food to feed them??

mulder · #4 01-07-2007, 04:03 PM

the only thing i can think of, is check any areas for moisture, like a drip from the bottle, spill from the bowl, pee/poo spots. my hammy likes to sleep in the tube with his food and filth so i empty that tube daily (it takes like 5 min). also check for condensation, my old hamster' hutch got really gross really fast with the humidity in it

**Sasami** · #5 01-07-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik8806


	Well at the moment I am feeding her what the pet store was feeding her, but will slowly change that to something better.. but I cant tell whats good to feed her, everything at the pet store looks the same! Im feeding her Bananza Bounty Buffet or something like that at the moment. It has a mixture of a lot of stuff, of course, she only picks out the stuff she likes... I know thats not good and thats why ive been looking for better food. And I use aspen bedding. What is a good food to feed them??

Harry Hamster and L&M are decent brands but I fed a mix that our petstore made. However, I fed a lot of other things, too. Dog food, mealworms, vegetables, grains, etc. I would type up a more detailed description of my hamster mix but I have to get off right now.

nik8806 · #6 01-07-2007, 04:05 PM

I have her littre under the water bottle, so if it drips it goes into there, and I clean that almost daily!
Everything is pretty much dry other than that, And theres big enough holes in the lid now that theres really no humidity =S I just dont know! Shes just a stinker

mulder · #7 01-07-2007, 04:06 PM

lol iguess so!!!

nik8806 · #8 01-08-2007, 05:38 PM

Well, I went to the pet stores in town today, trying to find different kinds of hamster food. But everything is practically the same.

But I found these Rodent Blocks, for mice, rats, gerbils, and hamsters. So I got that and some of the similar food I had before, and I guess I can just mix that and see how she likes it. I gave her a block today and she grabbed it (it was too big to fit in her cheeks) and she started sqweaking like crazy, watching me, ran into her house, and started eating it! haha she didnt want me taking her food. I also got her a salt lick which she LOVES!

btw- is aspen bedding the best to use?? I wont use carefresh, being my chinnie almost died from it.

VanillaRat · #9 01-08-2007, 09:30 PM

I just recently went thru something similar with two rescue rats that had a bad odor...while none of my other rats did.I bathed them (which I know is NOT a good idea for hammies) and eventually their smell went away.

Aspen is good.I use aspen with Yesterdays News mixed in.Both are safe and work at absorbing the smells.Maybe get a bag of YN to mix with the aspen???

nik8806 · #10 01-08-2007, 09:57 PM

Ive heard of Yesterdays News, but I dont know what that looks like. I dont think they sell it here.
Is there a place where it is usually sold? Like a wal-mart or some place like it. Or somewhere online for cheap! haha

**Sasami** · #11 01-09-2007, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik8806


	Ive heard of Yesterdays News, but I dont know what that looks like. I dont think they sell it here. Is there a place where it is usually sold? Like a wal-mart or some place like it. Or somewhere online for cheap! haha

I use Yesterday's News for my bunnies and degus (I mix it with aspen with the degus) and I can get it most places...even grocery stores. Wal-mart and K-mart have it.

The softer texture one is more annoying to clean, haha. And I always buy unscented

. It's a good idea to mix it with aspen shavings or something else soft.

nik8806 · #12 01-09-2007, 12:56 AM

Thanks! Ill go look around tomorrow and try and find some.
Im guessing its okay to use with chinchillas as well??

milenia · #13 01-09-2007, 03:24 PM

i've noticed that Syrians do tend to smell a bit more but thats just me, my current boy Syrian stinks but i put this down to his bed, i have a igloo type house for him to sleep in as its winter but i find he smells really bad as he hardly ever comes out of the house and he sweats in there as well as goes to toilet etc which isn't pleasant, i found that by changing his bed to something bigger and using the paper bedding mixed with a bit of fluffy bedding now its colder he was alot better and didn't smell as bad.

ztarwarzchic · #14 02-07-2007, 09:54 PM

I have a few syrian female hamsters and boy do they STINK. It's usually harmones they are letting off when they come into season, but sometimes it sticks around. Does it smell like urine or something else? If it smells like urine, its probably the bedding.

nik8806 · #15 02-08-2007, 01:41 AM

no it doesnt smell like urine. I clean her pee corner every day. And I change most the bedding every 3 or so days. cause it stinks. but Its her that smells i think. her cage smells bad.... but i dont think its cause she is making a mess and peeing everywhere, i think its just her body that smells. cause whenever i hold her, i have to practically shower my arms to smell good haha. shes cute enough that i dont care though =). even though it would be nice if she smelt beautiful too. lol
must be those hormones.. how often do they coem into season? cause... she always smells haha. and when i put my hand in the cage, (sometimes she freaks out... not as much anymore) all the sudden there will be a STRONG scent from her... is that normal??