Are water treatments good for a hamster and is it possible to bathe him

Very fond of breeding hamster families at home. Unpretentious, playful little fluffy lumps become playmates for young children and teenagers for a long time. Sometimes an unpleasant smell comes from the cage with the hamster, which suggests that the pet needs to be washed.

Under normal conditions, hamsters do not have a bad smell. They take great care of the cleanliness of their little body and fur and wash them with their tongue. The animal performs such bathing quite often – about 5 times a day, which completely eliminates the manifestation of a bad smell from the hamster.

In order to avoid unpleasant odors in the room, you should carefully monitor the change of bedding in the cage, after which the hamster’s housing must be washed and wiped dry. In the hot summer, this is done at least once a day. If the cage contains a whole family of hamsters, then the sawdust is changed more often. Therefore, whether it is necessary to wash the hamster is decided after cleaning the cage.

Can you bathe your hamster from time to time? permanent Animals do not need to bathe, even older members of the breed can take care of their toilet. Many owners of playful animals are sure that the animal can independently cope with any contamination of the wool by combing and licking it with its tongue. But there are several reasons why bathing hamsters is a must.

How to wash a hamster

Reasons for bathing

• If your animal has got into some substance that cannot be removed from the coat with its rough tongue, and the hamster is worried about this. To help him cope with this trouble, you need to bathe in the water.
• The presence of parasites in the coat can cause a lot of trouble for your pet. Processing is carried out by special means. But after the destruction of all parasites, it is necessary to bathe the animal to clean the body and wool from chemistry.

Washing process

Animals are mostly hate water, so it will be very difficult to accustom them to washing, for a long time bathing in water will cause stress in pets. You need to take this very seriously and study a number of subtleties of this process.

You can bathe hamsters only with products specially prepared for this, which include shampoos bought in a pet store. Usually these can be products for cats or rabbits, if it was not possible to find a shampoo for hamsters.

Washing pets with regular human shampoos is not recommended due to the risk of skin irritation. If there is absolutely no shampoo for animals, as a last resort, you can use a product for baby bathing.

Khomyakov bathe in small containers, for example, bowls. It is impossible to use deep vessels, a soapy slippery animal can escape from the palm of your hand and choke in a large amount of water.

First, put it on the surface and, holding it, carefully pour water from the ladle so that moisture cannot get into the eyes and ears of the animal. Can you bathe your hamster? in water with a temperature of 35–40ºС. Cold water will cause cooling, and hot water can harm the little heart.

Pour quite a bit of shampoo into a handful and with light movements begin to wash your pet’s fur. You can do this only with your fingers, without using any brushes, washcloths and sponges for bathing. The skin of a hamster is very delicate and easily amenable to any injury.

Letting a hamster out of your hands is not recommended even for a minute; to calm an anxious pet, you need to gently talk to him. Words can be anything, as long as the intonation is soothing.

If it is not possible to hold the hamster and water it from the ladle at the same time, ask your family to help you.

It is necessary to wash the body of the animal for a long time and thoroughly, until the detergent is completely washed out of the wool. This is especially true for breeds with long hair. Any soapy residue on the skin can subsequently cause irritation and itching. The animal can lick unwashed particles of shampoo from the coat with its tongue, which can provoke intestinal diseases.

Drying the animal after bathing

• After bathing, wipe the hamster with a soft towel and wrap it in a warm thing and hold it in your arms until completely dry. You can not leave your pet in a draft, blow it with a fan, otherwise he will catch a cold.
• It is recommended to dry the hamster with a warm (not hot) hair dryer. But you can do such a procedure only by making sure that the hamster is not afraid of turning on a buzzing electrical appliance. If the animal panics, it will have to be dried in natural conditions.
• If you have a long-haired breed of hamster, then the hair should be combed with a stiff brush, like a cat comb. Smooth wool is enough to comb through with a toothbrush.

Sand alternative to bathing

Animals in nature love to play in the sandSwimming is a lot of fun. To prevent severe pollution of the fur of animals, it is necessary from time to time to put a box of sand in the cage to the hamster, in which he will constantly bathe.

After a quick wash in the sand, the bathing vessel is recommended to be removed. At the same time, you need to comb out the pet’s hair from the sand with brushes. This procedure will greatly help the natural cleansing of the hamster’s coat.

Sand requires the most refined composition, you can add talc to it for better glide.

To wash or not to wash your pet, each owner decides for himself. Before bathing an animal, weigh the pros and cons. It may be enough just to carefully wipe the skin of the hamster with a damp cloth and the pollution will disappear.