Why does my syrian hamster smell

But what is the smell and where does it come from? Why does my hamster smell? Most hamsters smell to a certain degree, and this is normally due to waste in their cage or the secretion of an odorous pheromone, released from their scent glands. Having recently returned from a family holiday we were immediately struck by some noticeable changes to Oscar.

Although his cage had been cleaned regularly there was a strong musky scent left hanging in the air and Oscar had developed a couple of bald patches on his flanks. Slightly concerned that he may have developed a skin infection I decided to do some investigating and discovered some useful hints and tips on how to stop your hamster smelling.

If Oscar is not curled up all cozy asleep, then he is trying to break some kind of stamina record by spinning on his wheel or constantly cleaning himself in the corner of his cage. Contrary to believe, hamsters are not dirty animals, but are actually meticulously thorough with their grooming routine, based on both habit and instinct.

In the wild, hamsters are pretty low down in the food chain and are hunted by almost every animal roaming. Therefore, in order to remain as innocuous as possible, a hamster will clean itself regularly to make sure it is as scent free as it can be, making it harder for predators to sniff out.

This goes for owners as well, for as much as your hamster enjoys a play or a cuddle, when cosseted in our hands it does not want to smell like you, and will remove your scent almost immediately. Hamsters are considered low maintenance in comparison to other pets, but it is important that you clean out their cage on a weekly basis, providing them with fresh wood shavings and bedding.

This will prevent any offensive odors occurring. But, if you notice that after just a few days the cage has already started to smell, then try spot cleaning specific places that your hamster may be using as a toilet area. Although it is important to clean your hamster frequently as they have a sensitive sense of smell and can fall sick if the cage is dirty, you should also resist the temptation to change their cage too often as it can stress them out. Make sure that you choose a comfortable and secure place to put your hamster whilst cleaning out their cage.

Ideally, a hamster owner in such a situation will not use water in any form to clean their hamster. In most cases, a fine-toothed pet brush designed for small mammals like hamsters can rid the fur of unwanted debris. Hamsters are vulnerable to becoming sick when even the slightest bit wet, so avoid using water no matter how tempting it may be. Long-haired Syrian hamsters experience waste getting trapped in their fur more often than dwarf hamsters. This is, of course, due to the length of their fur.

Some hamster owners have had to resort to carefully trimming the fur if a brush is not enough to remove the problem. This means that the cause is likely centered in their usual environment: their cage.

Their cage is where your hamster will live out most of his or her life. This is where they will urinate, defecate, eat and play the vast majority of the time, so you can expect some foulness.

No matter the type of bedding you use, hamster cages need to be routinely cleaned to ensure a healthy and odor-free residence for your hammy. Click here to read our complete guide to hamster cage maintenance. Within this guide, you will learn the ins and outs of cleaning hamster cages, including daily and weekly tasks that should be carried out. One of the most important things that you can do every day to cut down on the stink is to remove soiled bedding at least once per day.

If your hamster uses a litter box, remove soiled litter as well. Having less urine and feces lying around will minimize the smell in-between cage cleanings. Each come with their own pros and cons, as you can see in our hamster bedding guide. The best hamster bedding is:. Sometimes, even when the cage itself seems quite clean, hamsters pick designated spots that are more likely to become dirty faster than the rest of the cage. Melissa A. Kling says hamsters' scent glands are also known as flank glands or hip spots.

When the male is excited, it will lick its scent glands until the entire area is wet. It will also scratch and rub itself as if the area is irritated. Hamsters' scent glands, especially males', are enlarged and are sometimes mistaken for tumors.

Here are some warning signs you can provide clients that indicate something may really be wrong:. Some people could be put off by this smell, but it's really quite normal and natural. It may be especially noticeable after handling dwarfs, when the ventral gland has brushed up against its handler's hand.

The scent glands' appearance often causes concern and can appear to be tumor-like growths. The presence of flank glands and their position differs in all species.

In Syrian hamsters, these flank glands are bilateral and are situated on the flanks. They are flat and greasy in appearance. They are usually pigmented and have longer hairs over them. In dwarf hamsters, these scent glands are single and are situated close to the umbilicus.

These are devoid of any hair and have greasy, yellowish secretion. The musky smell is produced by scent glands has several purposes. The unpleasant smell is an indication of some unique behavior. This can eventually lead to the ringworm infection in hamsters. Hamsters live in solitude. They hardly share their cage with any other hamsters. The cage is their possession for himself. In this way, they try to show their dominance. It produces secretion in their cage to mark their territory. They rub their scent glands against the cage floor for defining their territory.

Marking territory is a message to others to stay away from his area. They even mark their food and other belonging with their scent. They also rub their scent gland against other objects like toys to mark their possession.

During this course, their whole body is also covered with secretion. Due to these secretions, they have an unusual smell. Scent glands also produce a musky odor when they are trying to show their dominance over other submissive hamsters. If two hamsters are kept inside the same cage, then the dominant hamster smells stinker than the submissive.

Sexual maturity is another reason for hamster smelling so bad. At puberty, when he is fully grown, its scent glands are fully developed. At the age of 4 to 5 weeks, it is fully sexually mature. Then the scent glands produce a more intense and robust smell than usual. When he gets excited its smells so bad than ever, during the excitement, the pet scratches its scent glands and lick it with the tongue. This scratching and licking increase scent secretion. Environmental factors like ventilation and poor hygiene make this smell worse.

The peculiar smell of hamsters at puberty vanishes somehow when he gets old. Marking scent during excitement is a message to the female hamsters, when the hamster mate the smell on their surface, becomes more intense.

These pets are aggressive and stressed in their nature.