Smell

Question
I want to get a hamster, but my mom says she doesn't want one because of the bad smell. She says that not only will she have to bear with the smell, but that it is also bad for my health to have one in my room. Is it really bad for your health? Im not asking you like if you were some doctor, but has it affected your health before? by the way, do they smell bad because, my mom always compares them to rats and mice and says they are the same thing. Thank you for you help! :)

Answer
Hi Karla

Male mice can smell a lot, however hamsters don't particularly.  Female hamsters can give off a scent when they are in season but you only really notice it when you have been handling them.  The key thing with hamsters is to clean their cage weekly - if you clean them more than this they will keep reapplying their scent.  If you leave them much beyond this time the cage can start to smell a little.  I use woodchip on the base of my cages so that this can absorb any urine.  It is important however that you don't get woodchip that is scented or that which comes from pine, cypressus or cedar trees as they contain a volatile oil that can cause respiratory problems.  Never be tempted to spray air freshener near a hamster cage as their sense of smell is very sensitive and you can make them sick.

You can train a hamster to use a special 'hamster toilet'.  Basically this is like a cat litter tray.  Hamsters are generally very clean little creatures and tend to choose one corner of their cage as their toilet area.  Once you identify the area if you place a 'hamster toilet' (which is a special triangular shaped plastic container designed for sitting in the corner) and fill this with some 'hamster litter' (if you can't get this you could just put woodchip in it) and more often than not the hamster will start to pee in this.  This means that you can wash out the toilet daily and this will totally get rid of any potential smells.  When cleaning out the cage you can use a small pet disinfectant to kill any germs.

It is also important to throw out any uneaten fresh vegetables daily as otherwise these can start to smell and also they aren't good for the hamster if they are mouldy.  I keep a lot of hamsters at any one time and everyone who comes to my house has always said that they can't smell them at all (I don't think they are just being polite!).  Once I did bring a cage of mice home and they really did smell!  I had to return them to the rescue as I couldn't stand the smell.

In terms of keeping a hamster in your bedroom - I'm not sure this is a great idea.  It is fine during the day because they sleep but hamsters are nocturnal and therefore you are probably going to be kept awake with them running in their wheel all night long.  You can buy 'silent' wheels, but these tend to make a noise too.  If you do decide to get a hamster I would advise opting for a male Syrian.  The key thing is to get a large wire cage - it needs to be quite big because Syrians can grow quite large (depending on the variety).  It also needs to be large enough to fit a large wheel - the wheels that come in wire cages as standard are too small for an adult Syrian and it is vital that a hamster is given the correct sized wheel so they can get some exercise.  If you are going to keep the hamster in your room I would strongly advise relocating the cage overnight - perhaps into the bathroom or another room so that you aren't disturbed by the sound of the wheel.  Don't put your hamster in a damp room however, so if the bathroom is damp after a bath/shower then it would be better not to put a hamster cage in there that night.

With regard to health issues - there are some illnesses that hamsters get that can be passed onto humans and vice versa.  Although these are normally passed on through touch.  However, I don't know if it is a good idea for anyone to sleep in a room with an animal in case of developing allergies (this is my own personal opinion and isn't based on any fact).  It really depends how large the room is, I suppose.  I wouldn't want a cage right by my bed, although I do know of some people who keep their pets in their room and they have never had any problems.

You can tame hamsters to wake up earlier in the day so that you can play with them but they really become energetic later in the evening.

I hope this helps you.  

Regards