Some Questions I Have

[RoyalCheerio]

I'm keeping my Winter White in Savic Hamster Heaven Metro, which he seems to just love. There's room for loads of toys and other stuff, and he never chews at the bars, which is always a good sign. The only issue I have with it is that he's unable to get onto the pink platform and through the tubes. Does anyone know of a way to fix this? I was going to make a bridge out of toilet rolls to the pink platform, but that only solves half of the problem, and there may be better solutions, even for that.

My second question is about the Rosewood Naturals Play 'n' Bedding Pods. I have actually bought this, because I wanted to see what it was all about, but I haven't yet given it to my hamster. What I found is that it's similar to the cotton wool bedding, however there are some differences: it's natural, there're seeds in it (being a natural product), the strands are much smaller than typical types (so I very much doubt it'll wrap around limbs), the reviews aren't bad at all and it feels much softer and fluffier. My only worry is that I have no idea how it will behave if the hamster eats it, so I'm hoping someone knows. However, I won't put it in the cage until I do.

Finally, I wanted to know if the Pets at Home wood shavings (the normal ones, not their value one) are safe. Somewhere I saw someone say that it's kiln dried pine, making it safe. Because of that I have been using it, but I wanted to check this over. I used to use Carefresh for my now dead Roborovski, but Carefresh is quite expensive. If the Pets at Home wood shavings are unsafe then I will switch back over to Carefresh.

Thanks in advanced!

[souffle]

Hi and welcome
WW have little furry feet and they often cannot climb tubes especially the wider vertical ones. It's actually better that he doesn't because once they get a taste for the tubes and small nest pop they tend to hang out in there and it isn't very healthy. The condensation builds up and makes it damp and musty especially if they pee in there! This can cause chest and skin complaints. If he is using the rest of the space I'd leave it be.
No don't use the rosewood pods. Even though natural so is cotton wood (it's just a cotton pod) and your hamster cannot digest it as it is too fine and fibrous. It can tangle round limbs and also cause bowel blockages as well as choking if it tangles in the teeth.
Take some and place in a glass of water. Does it dissolve? Take some ripped loo roll and do the same. It dissolves quickly. Some finely shredded bedding don't dissolve like the J cloth type but the fineness of the bits and the fact they don't tend to pouch small bits makes them OK.
The pets at home shavings are fine if you and your hammy are OK with them and they cause neither to suffer allergies. They are kiln dried so any phenols in the wood would be evaporated. Don't use the scented ones though.

[cypher]

Hi RoyalCheerio & welcome to HC

Most of the plastic bits & pieces in cages really aren't designed with russian hamsters & their hairy feet in mind! I don't use any of the plastic shelves or tubes, I prefer to use flat topped houses as platforms & wooden bendy bridges for them to climb on.
You could always replace the pink platform with something like this, Trixie Natural Living Ida House, 19 x 20 x 19 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies the house can be used separately so you could just use the platform part, my hams love climbing on these

As Souffle says the wood shavings are safe but you might want to look at Fitch or hemp as an alternative, lots of us use these, they're economical & really good for the hams.
Fitch Recycling - Fitch Pet Bedding - Animal Bedding
Natural Hemp Bedding Siccofloor at zooplus: Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

[RoyalCheerio]

Thanks, souffle!

Okay. So, if I were to remove the tubes, would you know of a way to help him get onto the pink platform? I was thinking about using toilet rolls to make a suspension bridge or was also thinking of using an old (clean) sock and wrapping that around the slide, to give him some grip.

I tried it, and I see what you mean. I ran the fluffy stuff under a tap and the water just ran off, and it took a couple of minutes of pulling the fluff apart and compressing it before it actually started reacting in some way to the water. I won't use it for sure, but do you know if it would be fine to remove the fluff and give him the seeds for treats and reuse the pod itself as some kind of a toy or chew?

Great! Thanks. Just out of interest (I've no intention of using the scented/coloured stuff), what is it they do with the scented/coloured shavings that makes them bad for hamsters?

[RoyalCheerio]

Thanks, cypher!

That looks great! I've seen a lot of good reviews for the Trixie products, so they must be good. Is there anything else you'd recommend, other than the house?

I've seen the Hemp recommended quite a lot before, though I always find it a bit of a weird thing to be used for bedding, considering what else it's good for!

[Skeever]

An ingenious collection of ladders and things he can climb? Ramps?

Zig has always gotten to the second floor by physical effort, lol.....he gets on his house, or a similar woven pod/house thing, and then up to second floor.....Though there is a large tube, he only uses that one to slide down to the first floor. He uses the same size tube though to go from Ground Floor to Penthouse.....but for second floor, he climbs on the things in his cage, so I make sure they are stable, don't tip over, and the like.....you don't want a ham falling in love with tubes.....

As for the products and names of products that sound natural, caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware. Lavender litter, rosewood pods, and the like? Well, like Souffle said, cotton is natural too....as is , oh, snake venom? From years using essential oils and herbs, its dangerous to assume a natural herbal sounding name or ingredient won't have unexpected consequences!
Even the mildest herb, in the wrong proportion can result in the very least, in an overwhelming stink to a hammies system.....'nice' herbs like mint and lavender included. In the wild they can reject or move away from what they don't like.....a cage with reeking herbal ingredients leaves the ham no option.....natural isn't always a synonym for healthy.....

I'm not a botanist, but as for hemp? I don't think hemp and cannabis are necessarily synonyms.....never heard of anyone smoking or eating hemp rope to get high. May be the same plant base but its like assuming that grapes are wine.

Which reminds me, I have to burn out Ziggy's poppy garden in the back corner of his cage. I don't trust what he may do with all that contraband.... He says he just likes to look at the purdy flowers? Hmn

[Artisans_uk]

All my dwarf fluffs love hemp seed, I imagine them once I've gone to bed, all chillin out after a feast from their bowls, glazed look in their eyes.

[Skeever]

I would still wonder how much of the effect is just by association. I would start to worry if they suddenly hooked up sound systems and were blasting Radiohead

[Artisans_uk]

As far as I know, there isn't any effect from the hemp seed, or maybe that's because I have some hemp seeds daily too.

The difference between hemp and the "other stuff" is that they are both variants of the cannabis plant and we get confused and use terms incorrectly. Hemp only has very low content of THC. Selective breeding over millennia have resulted in hemp plants which would not make them useful for using in other ways, but its strong fibers proved excellent for rope making and the seed for oil.

So definitely no need to worry about items or food for our fluffs from hemp.

[Skeever]

And conversely, no need to hope it will stop our hams from worrying?