Bedding:
There are lots of different types of bedding available to line the floor of your hamster cage. These are some of the ones I have tried:
Shavings:
The traditional and perhaps the cheapest bedding for small animals. Can be purchased in various size bales. I don't use shavings because I seem to be allergic to them.
Carefresh:
Carefresh comes in a 15L and 60L bags and is made from virgin wood pulp and it's manufacturers claim it is specially designed to eliminate urine odours, and lasts twice as long as traditional bedding. I have found Carefresh to be a good bedding but it works out very expensive if you have more than one or two hamsters.
Paper Cat Litter:
Also 10L bags but quite a bit cheaper than Carefresh but not quite as absorbent or as good at eliminating odour, in my opinion.
If, like me, your hamster collection grows you may wish to consider buying larger bales of equine bedding as this is much more economical.
Hemp Bedding:
Aubiose and Hemcore are two of many similar products made from hemp. Good for long-haired hamsters, they provide a soft bedding but I found that they were not as good at eliminating odours as some of the other beddings.
Megazorb:
Megazorb Bedding is a horse and general animal bedding made from virgin wood pulp. The manufacturers claim it is ultra absorbent, dust-free and sterile, absorbs odours, and is biodegradable. Megazorb comes in an 85 litre bag and is usually quite cheap to buy. It is soft and absorbs the urine odour really well. One drawback is that it does tangle a bit in the coats of long-haired male hamsters. Some people say that megazorb has a distinctive smell but I can't say I have noticed.
Shredded Cardboard
There are several manufactueres of shredded cardboard, including Ecobed and Finacard. I have tried Finacard. It doesn't tangle in long-haired coats, and when I used it on the female cages it absorbed odours very well but has not been quite so successful with the smell of the males urine. A bale is well packed and goes a long way. I would not use it for my pregnant and nursing mothers as it is quite large pieces.
Flax
This is similar to aubiouse and hemcore but is made from the flax plant. A bale goes a long way and doesn't tangle in long coats.
Nesting Material:
Hamsters like a nice cosy nest, especially in the winter and there are lots of nesting materials to choose from in the pet shop.
Please don't give your hamster the fluffy, cotton-wool type as this is very dangerous for hamsters. They ingest it and it can block their intestines, even the ones which say they are safe. Hamsters have also lost limbs because of it wrapping around their legs and cutting off the blood supply.
The cheapest (and good as any) nesting material is torn up white toilet paper. Don't use kitchen towel though because this is not designed to break down so could cause a problem if the hamster swallows it.
Pet shops sell bags of white shredded paper which looks like torn up toilet paper and this makes good nesting material for your hamster. Another suitable type is the one which looks like tiny bits of 'J-Cloth' shredded up.
Please don't give your hamster the fluffy, cotton-wool type as this is very dangerous for hamsters. They ingest it and it can block their intestines, even the ones which say they are safe. Hamsters have also lost limbs because of it wrapping around their legs and cutting off the blood supply.
The cheapest (and good as any) nesting material is torn up white toilet paper. Don't use kitchen towel though because this is not designed to break down so could cause a problem if the hamster swallows it.
Pet shops sell bags of white shredded paper which looks like torn up toilet paper and this makes good nesting material for your hamster. Another suitable type is the one which looks like tiny bits of 'J-Cloth' shredded up.
 Don't use nesting material that looks like this - even if it says it is safe on the pack. Hamsters can get blockages in their intestines from this sort of nesting material. |
 Shredded Tissue Paper is good |
