Tiny, furry, and inquisitively fun, hamsters are the picture of pet perfection and the choice pet for more than 1.6 million households across the United States. They stay clean by self-grooming, but when your hamster gets something stuck in its coat, looks messy, or starts to smell bad, a bath may be the first thing that comes to mind. These animals are usually so small that bathing them can be a dicey venture, though, so how do you go about cleaning them?
The only way to give your hamster a bath is with sand. Hamsters have evolved to clean themselves this way, and with a sand bath, your pet can groom and clean itself up and have a lot of fun wriggling in its natural habitat while at it! Never give your hamster a water bath unless directed by a vet.
Keep reading to find out how to give your hamster a water bath if the vet recommends one, how to set up a sand bath, and other safe ways to keep your furry friend’s cage clean and healthy.
How To Give a Hamster a Sand Bath
A sand bath helps to get your hamster clean by taking off dirt and reducing the buildup of oils on its skin. It’s a safe and exciting way to get your pet the many natural benefits of being in its comfort zone. Your furry friend gets to roll, dig, have fun, “bathe” its fur and skin, and keep parasites away all at once!
Setting it up is a relatively easy task. Follow these simple guidelines to set up a sand bath for your hamster:
- Get the sand: You’ll use special sand that’s been washed and dried. It should also be dust-free because inhaling dust can cause respiratory distress for your hamster. Don’t worry; you don’t have to prepare the sand yourself. Many pet stores sell hamster-friendly sand for sand baths. If you can’t get sand specifically meant for hamsters, chinchilla bathing sand is a great alternative that’s sometimes easier to find.
- Choose a container: Get a bowl or dish that’s small and low enough for your hamster to comfortably climb into yet large enough for it to roll around and have some fun. You should also check to ensure that the bowl can stay steady under your pet’s weight as it wriggles in the sand.
- Fill in the sand: Spoon some sand into the bowl, and place it in the hamster’s cage. Most of them are usually so excited that they rush over to the bowl themselves, but if your hamster seems unsure about getting in, you can carry it into the sand yourself. If it still doesn’t feel like trusting the bath yet, leave the bowl in there and give it some time to get used to it.
- Take the bath bowl out: Sand baths are generally about 15-20 minutes long, depending on how much fun your hamster is having. The sand could pose a health hazard as an irritant, so you should take it out of the cage as soon as your pet is done.
Read Is Vita-Sand Safe for Hamsters?
How To Give a Hamster a Water Bath
Your hamster may need a water bath if it falls into a toxic chemical like nail polish, paint, or alcohol, gets covered in gooey, non-animal-friendly food that it could end up licking, or gets a potential irritant stuck on its skin.
Even then, you should remember that soap and water aren’t suited for the fur coat of a hamster, so you should only give it a water bath if your veterinarian instructs you to do so.
Follow these general tips, and any other specific guidelines from your veterinarian, to give your hamster a water bath with minimal risk:
- Choose a warm room that has very little drafty breeze. A bathroom could be perfect for this, but any other room with sufficient heat and few windows is okay, too.
- Choose a container with high sides. Having your hamster stage an escape during its bath could be a messy situation, so you should choose a container with much higher sides than its height. Waterproof Tupperware containers are a common favorite for this.
- Use lukewarm water. Not cold enough to get your hamster sick and not hot enough to scald it. To get a safe temperature, you could test the water with the inside of your wrist, as with a baby’s bath.
- Keep water at shoulder level. Hamsters cannot swim, so you shouldn’t have so much water that your hamster gets jumpy from fear of drowning. The water level in the container should be approximately as high as its shoulders – deep enough for a proper bath but shallow enough that it can stand in the container with its head above water.
- Use a hamster-friendly shampoo for the bath. Be careful to keep it out of your hamster’s mouth and eyes while washing.
- Keep your hamster warm after its bath. A wet hamster can quickly develop hypothermia from the sharp temperature change after a bath. After a water bath, dry your hamster w