When is it safe to clean the cage?

[nevadamoon]

As you may/may not know, I have a dwarf hamster mom and her litter of babies taken from a shelter.  No idea when the shelter last cleaned the cage, but it's filled with shredded paper, and doesn't smell the best.  The cage itself is this odd.. Plastic thing (not critter trail) so it doesn't look like it has the best ventilation.  I'm itching to clean it, but I know that the mom will hurt/kill the babies if she feels like they're being threatened.  So do I have to wait until they are weaned before I can clean it?  They have markings, but no fur, so they probably around a week old.  Pretty young little guys.  Will being in a dirty cage make them sick? :/  Is there really ANY things I can do to make it better for them without disturbing them muchly?  Mom seems halfway social (Interested in me when I feed/water them, doesn't run and hide but comes over and stands up to look at me) but I haven't tried picking her up, and honestly, I've been bit enough times by girl dwarf hamsters to not want to get my hand too close to a mother one.

[julztoni97]

I've cleaned Cutie's cage 2 or 3 times already.  I even switched her into a different cage a few days ago.  She was a little frazzled for about 5 minutes but didn't hurt anyone.  The 1st time I cleaned it I took her out to play and then cleaned the cage.  I put the nest back in the same place and she was fine.

[nevadamoon]

Oops, sorry I wasn't very clear!  They're dwarf hamsters, not rats.   

Gosh, you've only had to clean Cutie's 2 or 3 times?  I scoop out half of Quinn's cage daily because she poos like you wouldn't believe.  

[LastEchoes]

With hamsters, it's best to wait until about 10-14 days until you start disturbing the babies/mom. If the cage is THAT dirty and can pose health risk, you could clean the cage but know that it may stress out the mom to the point of cannibalizing the babies(since they're young and i'm assuming mom isn't bonded with you).
I was in a simular situation once(adopted a hamster from a shelter that turned out pregnant)...and mom was VERY aggressive towards me. You can clean the cage but you have to do everything possible to minimize touching babies. Meaning, put on gloves so you dont leave that 'human' smell behind...and DONT TOUCH THE NEST/BABIES...just scoop up the babies/nest(and put it back into clean cage) or even better yet clean AROUND it....also, don't throw away all of the dirty bedding and put some of it back with the clean bedding. Just a handful to mix it in with clean bedding so the cage still smell familiar to the mom.

[nevadamoon]

They're about to open their eyes.. But I really don't know how old they are.  I was going to try a day or so after their eyes open.  Mom .. seems social, but I haven't really tried picking her up yet.  She's interested in me, and watches me, but I've also gotten nipped by hamsters that seemed friendly like that, until you got your hand near.  

Just wondering, but how am I to get all the babies out with them running around?  :S  They're extremely mobile little guys, and so I don't really know.. the best way of scooping them.  They don't usually all stay in one spot.  I usually don't even clean my other hamster's nests (Of course, I clean everything else, and do so pretty frequently) and honestly, I don't know how 'bad' it is dirty wise, as mine have never been this bad. I mean, it doesn't burn your nose, and if the lid is shut, you can't smell it from 4 feet away, but I still feel bad for how it must be for the hams living in it.

I was pretty worried she'd cannibalize them, too.  :S  I mean, bounced around from home to shelter, to my friend's home and then to my home?  Lots of inconsistency.  I got her in a quiet place, and she's mostly undisturbed apart from when I check in a few times a day for food/water/a little air for them. 

[julztoni97]

Oops, sorry I wasn't very clear!  They're dwarf hamsters, not rats.   

Gosh, you've only had to clean Cutie's 2 or 3 times?  I scoop out half of Quinn's cage daily because she poos like you wouldn't believe.  

You were totally clear LOL!  I just only half read it!

[Summer_Rat]

It is best to wait until they are a little older although mom should be ok once their eyes are open. Is it possible that you can use a different cage so you can just switch them and (maybe) just move the whole nest?

btw dwarfs are cage territorial in small cages so if not now but later if you get a nice big cage then you have a less likely chance of getting bitten.

[nevadamoon]

I may put together a bin-cage.  I was planning to anyway for the babies once they get old enough to be separated.  So that's not a bad idea.  I just... am a bit unsure as to how  I'm supposed to scoop up the babies.  I mean, they run EVERYWHERE.  They don't just lay in a little pile looking cute (Okay, they do that too.).

I've only ever been nipped (Never broken the skin) by one dwarf, and.. I'm not really sure why.  I think a lot has to do with one time I went to pick her up without having washed my hands (So I smelled like my other dwarf) and since then, she's just been a bit nippy towards me.  Oh well, as long as they're not doing damage, I really don't care.

[LastEchoes]

If the babies are already mobile and eyes are starting to open, that means they're around 10+ days old. At this stage, it's more or less safe to clean the cage. I'd still stick to not leaving human smell on them though (so wear gloves) jsut because mom has been moved around so much.