Russian Dwarf Hamster

[Angeldove97]

Hey, I was wondering if anybody out there had a Russian Dwarf Hamster because I've had one for almost a year now and I was wondering if their coat gets greasy, can you give them a bath? Not like dunk the poor thing into a tub, but wash them with shampoo or something? Thanks --Tanya

 

[Nicci]

NO NO NO NO you can not, under any circumstances, give them baths. They keep themselves clean. Their coat can get greasy from time to time, but what I do with my guys is I buy chinchilla SAND, not dust (the particles in the dust are too small for them and can irritate their respiratory systems), poor it into a bowl or something and put it in their cage. They will roll around in it and play in it, and it will keep their coat in good shape. If you try to bathe them, you are washing off the chemicals that they produce for their coats, not to mention the fact that you can make them sick. Baths do more harm than good. The soap/shampoo irritates their skin as well. If you want, I'll PM you a link that has a bunch of good hamster information on it.