Article: Only bathe your hamster if there is something stuck in its fur or if he has come in contact with a toxic chemical. Bathing your hamster in water washes out their natural oils and can seriously harm them! Hamsters can’t swim very well and therefore can drown, they will be extremely stressed during the process as well and this can lead to stress-related illnesses such as Wet Tail which can kill a hamster. The rapid temperature changes can also give your hamster a cold which can make them seriously ill. During estrus, female hamsters can also have a different odor when they are in heat. The best way to address a smelly hamster is to clean out his cage more frequently.  Before attempting a bath, change your cage-cleaning habits and see if the smell improves. Touch up problem areas up daily and change all of the bedding weekly. The only time you should give your hamster a bath is if there is something on its coat that could harm him, e.g. something toxic or sticky on his coat or something stuck to him that he could choke on if he tried to clean himself. If you've spilled something harmful on your hamster, you will probably wish to bathe it. If your hamster is not life-threateningly dirty, a sand bath should be sufficient.The hamster will roll around in the sand, and the sand will cause most dirt to fall off naturally.  Buy chinchilla sand at the pet store and put it in a little bowl for your hamster. Make sure to buy sand, not dust, as dust can cause respiratory problems for your hamster. It is like inhaling  smoke as a human every day. Try to buy children's play sand from a hardware store. You can sterilize it by baking it in the oven at 400 °F (204 °C) for 15 minutes. If the sand is a permanent fixture in your hamster's cage or playpen, make sure to check it daily as your hamster may start using it as a litter box. For example, if your long-haired hamster has gum in its fur, you can simply cut it out.

What is a summary?
Avoid bathing your hamster if possible. Clean the hamster cage more frequently. Ensure that your hamster really needs a bath. Try a sand bath first. Make sure there is no other way to remove the problem substance.