My hamster, who I have bought 2 weeks ago, seems to potty everywhere he goes, once even in his food bowl. I know hamsters usually pick a corner and do their business, but it seems my hamster likes to do his business where ever he pleases. How do I get him to go in one corner?
Image by Joseph Hoetzl
Tags: Potty, food bowl, corner image, Hamster, trainRelated posts:
Are you kidding? Who has time for that?
You can’t train a hamster.
i used to have a hamster and he did that too. go to petsmart.. or your local pet store and ask a worker there about potty training hamsters and they will show you the isle where you can by the corner cage pottys for them. they will know that they must go there.
At petsmart they have a hamster potty for sale. I’ve seen alot of people have them so there must be something about them that works.
it won’t work. by the time they get it, they’re near the end of their lifespan.
Hamsters are one of the neatest and most well groomed rodents you can ever have around. Hamsters themselves designate a corner in their cage for their pee/urine which is why you will notice that only one corner of the bedding will emanate bad smell and needs to be replaced frequently. But hamsters can never be trained to poop only in one corner. There is a reason behind it too.
You would often see a hamster eating its own poop. It’s not only normal, it’s essential. Hamsters are very efficient with food and water. They eat their poop to digest more nutrients from it that their bodies couldn’t absorb the first time. Their poop is actually an irreplaceable source of nutrition. Babies eat their mother’s poops to establish their own intestinal flora.
When they poop,they make two kinds — one which they choose out to eat again, and one which is devoid of further nutrition. They often collect the reusable ones in the nest or food area. Please don’t do anything to prevent it.
You can train a hamster to poop in a particular corner but it would use that area only for the useless poop. As for the other poop, that is hamster food so he would try to collect it everywhere in his bedding and food dish. Though it looks disgusting to us humans, what they are doing is perfectly normal and healthy for them.
i suggest getting a hamster potty. all you have to do is put the potty in his cage, put some potty litter in it and then put some of his “used” bedding in it. he should get the hang of it sooner or later.
here’s what to buy:
litter & potty
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753288
pricing maybe different if you go to a petsmart store than ordering online. and of course if you go somewhere else
For me, I have hamster potty litter. I always get a small plastic container for the corner of her cage, and put in some potty litter. Then, in a very short time, she learned! Now, she is really used to it. Hee hee!
You can’t really train them
After you do, they go right back to their habits
Every time he goes to “potty” put him in the corner you want him to go in. Eventually he will get that “im supposed to be in this corner”.
They usually do it by nature.