Hamster Question

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So I have my hamster about a month now. We're getting on great so far but I just have a question relating to his behaviour. He sleeps in the little box at the top of the cage but he also hoards most of his food there as well going to the toilet there too. He does this every time I clean the cage out. I'm a bit worried that he might get sick from having his food so near his excrement. I'm just wondering is it normal for hamsters to do this and is it safe? Or should I be trying to encourage him to go to toilet elsewhere in cage?

loveisdivine

As far as I know there wouldnt be any danger with the hammy pooping and eating all in the same space. Although they are technically omnivores, most pet hammies are predominantly vegetarian so theres not the same level of 'nasty stuff' in their poop.

My guineas eat their own poop. Its actually very good for digestion and a lot of rodents do it. its full of fibre.

baby and crumble

Hamsters eat their own poo. They actually are meant to, because their digestive systems are built in such a way that they need to in order to get all the nutrients. So long as you're spot cleaning the urine every day it shouldn't be a problem. You could try potty training for urine. Isabella now pees exclusively in a big ikea jar full of chinchilla sand. (It clumps really well so daily cleaning is a breeze!) We just put a jar of sand in the corner she peed in and put some of her pee soaked bedding in there and now voila!

You also shouldn't be fully cleaning the cage too often, especially at the start. He needs to have some old bedding left every time. I only clean Isabella's cage out fully every fortnight. She gets a part change once a week. Her food stash goes back in unless its soiled or fresh food that's more than a day old. He'll be hoarding everything in the one place because he's nervous that it'll all get taken away. So try not cleaning the cage out fully for a few weeks, just spot clean the wee and the poo every few days. He'll probably relax then.

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Thanks for the great advice I'm cleaning the cage once a week so I might do it every fortnight from now on. I didn't realise I should leave some old bedding behind, he probably secretly hates me for taking it away each time! Will try the potty training too and see if he takes to it.

Sigma Force

If you haven't already got a hamster loo I'd get one for him, I used to use a nutella jar but any hard plastic (or something he won't chew) that he can climb in and out of and next time you are cleaning him out keep back some of the bedding that is soiled with pee. Don't mind the poop so much.

Clean out his sleeping area with vinegar (soak in vinegar if it's stained) until it's spotless. That way he will use the toiler with the pre-soiled stuff in it instead of his bed.

I would use chinchilla sand it's not that expensive but only in his toilet although use a tiny bit of the soiled bedding in it at first and every time you clean out his toilet keep a tiny bit of soiled sand back so he knows where to go for next time.

Hammies are generally very clean and will pee in one spot, I'd try and encourage him to pee away from his bedding because he'll end up smelly and could end up with urine burns over time it's very easy usually to get them to switch to using somewhere else using the method above. Unlike some other rodents they will pee in one spot as a general rule.