Kaytee Small Animal Hardwood Aspen Bedding For Pet Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, Hamsters, Gerbils, and Chinchillas, 54.2 Liter,Brown

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In addition, pine bedding is often dusty, and this dust can also be irritating to a hamster’s respiratory system. It’s important to use the right kind of shavings, though. Pine and cedar are not safe for hamsters. These shavings are typically harder and can splinter off, harming your pet. They can also irritate your hamster’s lungs. Pine and cedarwood shavings may splinter and wound your hamsters; you don’t want that to happen. Besides, when your hamsters urinate on these types of shavings, it can have a chemical reaction that will produce toxic substances that can harm them. Sawdust Homemade hamster bedding might make up a lot of people’s experience with paper, but it isn’t all there is. Hamsters love to dig – it is an important behaviour for them and it is essential that their cage setup allows them plenty of digging opportunities. Ideally, they should be able to dig anywhere in their cage base, but if it isn’t possible to make that substrate deep enough, then they’ll also need a special digging area.

Since this is a controversial topic, there are varying opinions from hamster owners. Some hail the affordability and absorbency of pine bedding, while others warn new hamster owners to stay away from such pine and cedar bedding at all costs. If you want wood shavings as bedding in your Hamster’s enclosure, then aspen is no doubt the best choice. This is becoming a more popular substrate option, as it allows for a more naturalistic set-up. However, it is important to note that most coir (which is sold for gardening and reptile-keeping) is moist in the bag, which is detrimental to hamster health. Therefore, if using this, it is important to dry the material out properly before putting it in the cage. Hamsters love to burrow, and the depth rule of the bedding has always been “the deeper, the better”. In the past, we often went for at least 5 inches (13 cm), but we also know that many experienced hamster owners would go between 5-8 in (12-20 cm), especially if you have a Syrian. Pine also helps to inhibit the growth of fungus and mold in your pet’s cage. Best Aspen Bedding For HamstersIf you want to use natural materials, then you can choose between wood shavings, straw, or paper. All of these materials are absorbent, so they will help keep your hamster’s cage clean and dry.

Allergies: Some hamsters may be allergic to pine or aspen. If your hamster is showing any signs of an allergy (sneezing, watery eyes, etc.), it’s best to switch to a different type of bedding. While pine bedding is absorbent, it also releases phenols, a type of acidic chemical compound that can cause respiratory and liver problems for your hamster. These phenols give off a nice aroma that is pleasant to human beings but harmful to animals. If you find any of these symptoms to be true in your Hamsters, I would recommend you to immediately take them to a vet.

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However, some hamsters may not like the smell of straw or paper, so you may want to try wood shavings first. Vitakraft’s option* (paid link), on the other hand, bills itself as being 100% recycled paper fiber. It also avoids using baking soda, which is an ingredient that can have a bad effect on some small animals. Yet, this material can be toxic and harmful to your hamster’s health. According to the Animal Humane Society, pine and cedar shavings have fumes and oils that are harmful to hamsters.

This can happen if your hamster decides to eat the pine shavings. Whether it’s an injury to your pet’s mouth or digestive tract, it’s best practice to avoid pine bedding altogether. Animals that don’t pee much have another advantage, and that is that their bedding doesn’t need changing every week. That means that bedding types that might be too expensive for large and enthusiastically peeing animals like rats can be a practical and affordable option for a hamster cage, despite the deep depths of substrate required for burrowing.Hamsters are curious pets and if you have used aspen bedding for the first time, it is quite sure that they will much on it. They just try to find out what it is. Over time, you may see them stop eating it. My Hamster Keeps Eating Aspen Bedding: What Should I Do? While there are plenty of safe hamster bedding options available, there are some products on the market that you should avoid using. Scented beddings You can even shred toilet paper or kitchen paper rolls as bedding, but those are really bad at odour control and often cost more than bedding made for hamsters. BEST HAMSTER BEDDING AND SAFE HAMSTER BEDDING PetForums - How do hamsters and gerbils breathe in deep burrows? ( https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/how-do-hamsters-and-gerbils-breathe-in-deep-burrows.265907) Syrian hamsters are among the largest varieties. You might want to look for hamster bedding alternatives for your Syrian hamster. Something non-toxic, that will adequately control odor, and absorb any mess.

One study on softwood bedding for rodents shows that while heat-treated bedding reduces the toxic effects, they still occur. This means your hamster may be at risk, albeit less of a risk than untreated bedding. So one reason to use aspen bedding in their cage is that it actually does a really decent job of absorbing some of the odors.Using a mixture of nesting materials is better than just one, as it provides more enrichment for the hamster, allowing them to make decisions and construct more complex structures. Litter Sawdust contains very fine wood shavings and this makes it very dusty. For years Pet Shops have been saying this is suitable and it has been commonly used. However it is now known that the dust from Sawdust can lead to respiratory infections in small animals. This is now widely discussed for example research centre SATRA say “very fine particles in sawdust can cause respiratory problems for all animals, especially for small ones such as guinea pigs and hamsters”. If constantly breathing in the small dust particles isn’t bad enough it is also thought that fine dust can irritate a hamsters eyes. There are many different types of bedding that you can use in a hamster’s cage, and aspen bedding is one of them. So is aspen bedding actually safe for hamsters?