hamster smell

[Wendell]

i just adopted a hamster yesterday and all ready his smell is over powering the whole apartment. i knew he would have a smell, i grew up with rats and rabbits and more, but this is pretty bad. i got the bedding i have always used for my pets, carefresh ultra, because with all my other pets i've noticed a dramatic difference with the use of this product. what else can i do to make him not so smelly.:yuck:

[janie36]

I don't understand how your Hamster is smelly!
Females have more of an odour when they have their estrus cycle, but I have never known hamsters to smell, so I don't really know how to advise you! Maybe check with your vet?

[Wendell]

he smells like a hamster but really strong. way worse then what i thought. the ones in the pet store dont even smell this strong. he check out alright with the vet, i got him at pet smart, they said someone didn't want him any more and left him there, they have a vet in the store, and showed me the check up. all animals have a smell, even people, i don't mind a little smell, but i dont want my whole appartment to smell like it.

[pinkpink33]

um, have you checked his bum? i've had a few hamsters, and i've only ever noticed my syrian girl smell very slightly musky when she's on heat, even then the cage doesnt smell, and you only notice when you hold her right up to your face.
if he smells unpleasant do check his bum for diarrhoea (sorry for spelling), as this is the only reason i can think of.
what kind of hamster is he? and how old?

[Wendell]

no diarrhea. he is really active and looks good. age, im not sure, he's bigger, but probably still young, about 5 inches in length, brown, meduim length hair, not short and not long like the ones in the store. definetly a boy.

[pinkpink33]

maybe he's just really into marking his territory? i've never had a boy!sorry i cant help more!

[Wendell]

he hasn't drank much water. i'd attach a picture but i dont know how

[Wendell]

maybe he's just really into marking his territory? i've never had a boy!sorry i cant help more!

didn't even think of that

[CookieDough24]

I've never had a hamster that smelled that bad either, although my female's does because I haven't been able to clean her (she has babies, have to wait 5 more days!) but other than that, nothing. He could be marking his territory, but even that wouldn't probably smell that bad. This may seem like a dumb question, but are you sure it's the hamster and not the cage? Did you notice a smell in the store when you bought him?

[Wendell]

its definetly the cage, because he doesn't smell out side of it. i have a bin cage, set it up yesterday. what types of beddings do you all use?

[pinkpink33]

i use usually just sawdust. sometimes i use recycled paper bedding, "back to nature". carefresh is also good, but i dont like it myself.
2 of my hams are also litter trained, which means i can basically clean anything smelly out of their cage every day, so they never smell.
i also have bin cages, and even when i had a pair in one cage (dwarfs), before they were toilet-trained, it never smelled.

[Wendell]

huh. well, ill give it a few days. he hasn't picked a spot he potties in yet, because i would like to litter train him, i think it would really help. he is a little older and i do have other pets, so he probably smells them and is marking his territory. i'll just keep him in front of a window for now.

i've always really liked carefresh. when i had my rabbit, switching to carefresh helped his odor a lot (but then again, so did altering him), and the ultra one (the white one) i think is the best there is, way better then the gray.