Controlling hamster urine

Question
My hamster shoots his pee. I'm not kidding. He actually shoots it through the bars of his cage. I am sick of cleaning the carpet. How do I prevent this? Is this normal? Is he trying to tell me something? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Kiwi

I can totally sympathise with you on this.  I have had a few that pee up the sides of their cage and it shoots over the wall and I spend a lot of time washing the wall and re-painting it.  

It is hard to snap them out of this behaviour but sometimes you can.  Have you tried him with a 'hamster toilet'?  If not it might be worth a try.  You can buy special 'hamster toilets' which are triangular plastic containers that sit in the corner of the cage.  You can either use wood chip or a special 'hamster litter' in this.  The thing is to take some of his soiled bedding and put it in the toilet.  Then give his cage a thorough clean and disinfectant (use pet disinfectant not household).  If you dry it thoroughly then put in all new bedding and place the hamster toilet in the corner that he uses as his bathroom he should start going in this.  It is worth persevering.  Some hamsters get the hang of it quickly, others take a while.  If he does start using this it is very easy to keep the cage clean - you just rinse out the toilet daily/alternate days and the rest of his cage will stay fresh for a week or two.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila