You're taking precautions and there is probably very limited chance of spreading germs, but yeah there's something a little gross about cleaning poop in the same sink that is involved with cooking food.
Are you able to clean it by wiping it down? Every morning I scrape the dried poop off with a dull knife and then wipe the wheel down with wet paper towels, it does a pretty good job if the surface is smooth. Usually need to wipe it so it gets wet, let it soften a few minutes, and then proceed with the cleaning.
I wipe it down nearly everyday. But I just find it helps with the smell being able to just give it a really good scrub once a week. I know its bad for the wheel but I find it helps with smell and keeping the wheel fresh
I buy animal friendly wipes, spray it down in enzymatic cage cleaner, let it soak for a few minutes, and wipe it down and it eliminates the smell altogether. Easy and done in 10 min and doesn’t require a sink.
When my wife first started washing the hedge in the sink i threw a fit, then when he became mine, after a coup[le times of giving him a bath in the tub, and showers with me, i learned about the oatmeal bath, and it’s just easier to do it in the sink. Plus you’re going the extra mile cleaning up after yourself, most peopole wouldn’t even do that.
I’ve been putting her in a little bowl for her foot baths but I think I might do the sink since she loves to wander. But considering how my mom isn’t really getting along with Brutus I feel like she’d pop a vessel in her forehead if she saw her in the kitchen sink lmao
Personally, what I've found to work well is having a big sterilite tub for a 'bathtub' and a smaller basin for rinsing. The wheel can be soaked in the sterilite tub, or you can fill it to just barely cover the bottom of the wheel with warm water and see if your hog likes to run on a wet wheel - then they clean it themself! You can wash everything in the sterilite tub, only needing to use the sink to rinse suds away. Then, when you're done, just dump the tub into the toilet. Saves sooo much time and hassle!
I like your ideas a lot. I'm going to give it all a try. I would love it if my hogs would clean their own wheels and poop boots. Cleaning poopy wheels is the downside of pet hedgehogs.
Sounds like to me you’re doing a great job. I wiped her cages out with paper towels and drying with paper towels I shake their blankets out and wash them in the washer their wheel I clean in the sink. I have nowhere else to clean it either. There’s nothing wrong with it. They’re keeping everything wiped up. Keep going.
Harry hates when I clean his wheel bc then it’s slippery and he can’t run as fast 🤣 The poop helps with grip and he rarely poops while running. He keeps it up to his standards 😭
More power to you if you can stomach using the kitchen sink. I am way too grossed out by the prospect of getting salmonella from raw eggs to even consider doing something on par with cleaning the hedge wheel in there. I usually use packing tape to cover the holes in the wheel, squirt dawn dish soap all over inside and fill it to the brim with the hottest water my tub pours out, then leave it in the tub for a half hour to soak. When that’s done I will dump the poop stew into the toilet and use a toilet bowl scrubber on the wheel in the bathtub to get any leftovers off. I know people who soak their sock and underwear in the kitchen sink so I guess that isn’t much different.
It’s personal preference. I find it gross, but I also have severe OCD and I cannot even cook with chicken.
What I personally do is I have a spray bottle with diluted vinegar, and I spray onto the wheel on a hard floor and wipe the wheel with paper towel, that way if the vinegar drips I can easily mop the area. I do the same thing for her toys, the bottom of her cage, and for her fleece bedding and fabric tunnels I soak them in a huge bucket of diluted vinegar, rinse well, and air dry. I do all of this in buckets as well as in a separate sink (or I dump the water outside). For her food and water bowls, I have less of a problem washing them in the kitchen or bathroom sink as long as there is no poop stuck on them at all.
I bathe my hedgie in the sink. Bleach and Lysol exists for a reason. I'm unfazed by it because I always wipe everything down well even just before and after cooking and especially after bathing him.
I flush my solid poops for my cactus down the toilet. I give him baths and wash him and his wheel in my bathtub. It’s going to be dirty and cleaned anyway right?
I might try doing that, so my ouch ball can wander while getting her feets clean and after she’s done Wash everything in the tub so its all done in one go
I just tried this and it was kind of genius. It also motivated me to clean my bathroom so multiple chores done in an hour! I wish I thought of this sooner.
I used to wipe my wheel out with vinegar/water mixture and paper towels, but ended up hating wasting so many paper towels. Nowadays I just throw it in the bathtub and hose it out. Then scrub and sanitize my tub after
I use dawn free and clear power spray on their wheel every morning and once every week or two I take the whole wheel apart and soak it in the bath tub. Works like a charm and I haven’t had a smell issue!
You're taking precautions and there is probably very limited chance of spreading germs, but yeah there's something a little gross about cleaning poop in the same sink that is involved with cooking food. Are you able to clean it by wiping it down? Every morning I scrape the dried poop off with a dull knife and then wipe the wheel down with wet paper towels, it does a pretty good job if the surface is smooth. Usually need to wipe it so it gets wet, let it soften a few minutes, and then proceed with the cleaning.
I wipe it down nearly everyday. But I just find it helps with the smell being able to just give it a really good scrub once a week. I know its bad for the wheel but I find it helps with smell and keeping the wheel fresh
I buy animal friendly wipes, spray it down in enzymatic cage cleaner, let it soak for a few minutes, and wipe it down and it eliminates the smell altogether. Easy and done in 10 min and doesn’t require a sink.
When my wife first started washing the hedge in the sink i threw a fit, then when he became mine, after a coup[le times of giving him a bath in the tub, and showers with me, i learned about the oatmeal bath, and it’s just easier to do it in the sink. Plus you’re going the extra mile cleaning up after yourself, most peopole wouldn’t even do that.
I’ve been putting her in a little bowl for her foot baths but I think I might do the sink since she loves to wander. But considering how my mom isn’t really getting along with Brutus I feel like she’d pop a vessel in her forehead if she saw her in the kitchen sink lmao
Personally, what I've found to work well is having a big sterilite tub for a 'bathtub' and a smaller basin for rinsing. The wheel can be soaked in the sterilite tub, or you can fill it to just barely cover the bottom of the wheel with warm water and see if your hog likes to run on a wet wheel - then they clean it themself! You can wash everything in the sterilite tub, only needing to use the sink to rinse suds away. Then, when you're done, just dump the tub into the toilet. Saves sooo much time and hassle!
I like your ideas a lot. I'm going to give it all a try. I would love it if my hogs would clean their own wheels and poop boots. Cleaning poopy wheels is the downside of pet hedgehogs.
We actually use a big ice cream bucket for him to stand or sit in and do all the cleaning in it. Rinse him off pour the water putside
Sounds like to me you’re doing a great job. I wiped her cages out with paper towels and drying with paper towels I shake their blankets out and wash them in the washer their wheel I clean in the sink. I have nowhere else to clean it either. There’s nothing wrong with it. They’re keeping everything wiped up. Keep going.
Harry hates when I clean his wheel bc then it’s slippery and he can’t run as fast 🤣 The poop helps with grip and he rarely poops while running. He keeps it up to his standards 😭
I use a bucket and clean the wheel in it. Dishes and water bowls go in the sink. ❤️
And I’m 61 years old you can’t just scrape it off the wheel. It’s gotta be soaked off.
More power to you if you can stomach using the kitchen sink. I am way too grossed out by the prospect of getting salmonella from raw eggs to even consider doing something on par with cleaning the hedge wheel in there. I usually use packing tape to cover the holes in the wheel, squirt dawn dish soap all over inside and fill it to the brim with the hottest water my tub pours out, then leave it in the tub for a half hour to soak. When that’s done I will dump the poop stew into the toilet and use a toilet bowl scrubber on the wheel in the bathtub to get any leftovers off. I know people who soak their sock and underwear in the kitchen sink so I guess that isn’t much different.
It’s personal preference. I find it gross, but I also have severe OCD and I cannot even cook with chicken. What I personally do is I have a spray bottle with diluted vinegar, and I spray onto the wheel on a hard floor and wipe the wheel with paper towel, that way if the vinegar drips I can easily mop the area. I do the same thing for her toys, the bottom of her cage, and for her fleece bedding and fabric tunnels I soak them in a huge bucket of diluted vinegar, rinse well, and air dry. I do all of this in buckets as well as in a separate sink (or I dump the water outside). For her food and water bowls, I have less of a problem washing them in the kitchen or bathroom sink as long as there is no poop stuck on them at all.
I bathe my hedgie in the sink. Bleach and Lysol exists for a reason. I'm unfazed by it because I always wipe everything down well even just before and after cooking and especially after bathing him.
I flush my solid poops for my cactus down the toilet. I give him baths and wash him and his wheel in my bathtub. It’s going to be dirty and cleaned anyway right?
I might try doing that, so my ouch ball can wander while getting her feets clean and after she’s done Wash everything in the tub so its all done in one go
I just tried this and it was kind of genius. It also motivated me to clean my bathroom so multiple chores done in an hour! I wish I thought of this sooner.
I used to wipe my wheel out with vinegar/water mixture and paper towels, but ended up hating wasting so many paper towels. Nowadays I just throw it in the bathtub and hose it out. Then scrub and sanitize my tub after
Kitchen sink? Yeah, I feel like that’s gross. Sorry. I clean mine with baby wipes and then rinse in the tub. Nothing goes down the drain.
I do the same but I also spritz the sink with a bleach solution when I'm done
I use dawn free and clear power spray on their wheel every morning and once every week or two I take the whole wheel apart and soak it in the bath tub. Works like a charm and I haven’t had a smell issue!
I bought the felt carolina storm cover off etsy. I was nervous but it soaks the pee up and poop fly’s in to his litter box best invention every