How to Clean a Small Pet's Cage
It's not the best part of owning a pet, but somebody's gotta do it.
Instructions
- Step 1: Put your pet in a safe, enclosed place where he can stay while you clean his cage. An empty, dry bathtub or an empty wastebasket—clean, of course!—works well.
- Step 2: Take all the toys, food dishes, and water bottles out of the cage.
- Step 3: Dump the dirty bedding from the cage into a garbage bag.
- Step 4: Using paper towels, remove any clumped bedding that's stuck to the bottom of the cage. Animals often use the corners of cages as their bathrooms.
- Step 5: Soak a paper towel or dishtowel with water and a bit of mild soap. Use it to wipe out the entire interior of the cage—all the nooks and crannies.
- TIP: If the cage still smells after you've washed it, you can wipe it down with a solution of equal parts of white vinegar and water. Then rinse it thoroughly.
- Step 6: Use paper towels or a clean dishtowel to dry the cage completely.
- Step 7: Line the cage with a few inches of clean, new bedding.
- TIP: Pine and cedar shavings contain chemicals that can be harmful to small animals, so don't use them.
- Step 8: Clean your pet's plastic toys, food dishes, and water bottle with mild soap and warm water, then rinse and dry them thoroughly.
- Step 9: Replace any cardboard tubes, paper towels, and other nesting materials.
- Step 10: Fill the dishes with new food, and put new water in the water bottle.
- Step 11: Put the toys, food dishes, and water bottle back in the cage.
- TIP: Rearranging your pet's toys and bowls each time you clean the cage gives him something new to explore.
- Step 12: Use a dustpan and brush or vacuum cleaner to sweep up the floor or surface around or under the cage.
- Step 13: Return your pet to his sparkling-clean quarters—and watch as he starts rearranging everything the way he wants it!
- FACT: In the wild, hamsters dig and live in tunnels up to three feet deep.
You Will Need
- An empty
- dry bathtub
- A large garbage bag
- Paper towels or dishtowels
- Dishwashing detergent or other mild soap
- Clean beddingu2014aspen shavings
- pelleted paper
- or hay
- And a dustpan and brush or vacuum cleaner
- White vinegar