Does anyone buy/use dried grass?

[racinghamster]

Today, I was given a small bag of dried herbs from a friend of mine for the two hamsters and they loved the fresh smell of the herbs and looked to really enjoy them. I`ve never wanted to use actual Hay due to the risk of bringing in mites from an outside source or the fear of sharp hay damaging their pouches. So I wondered if there was a dried grass alternative on the market? I did a quick google but all that came up was dried grass nests and hay products for rabbits!

Pet Supermarket sell the Burgess dried herbs for small animals, but does anyone use, or know of a dried grass? It would look similar to hay, but be much softer in consistency. Just wondered if anyone used it for their hamsters?

[Silver]

Hello RH,

I don't feed it & have not looked for it until now!.

I did a quick search & found this:

http://www.deemillen.co.uk/product_i...378fb1903faff3

Looking at it, it is not hay, but dried grass which is what you are looking for. That said I don't know if the ends are sharp.

In the description it tells you that the drying process kills Virtually all parasites, mites, fleas, fungal spores & other harmful contaminates found in hay.

It look's like grass rather than hay.

Silver xxx

[racinghamster]

Thanks Silver, appreciate your help on this. Unfortunately, when I click on the link, it asks for a log in, so I just scrolled down the left hand list of products and clicked on hay/grass thinking the page would show the product but it just jumps back to the home page? Strange!

I may just stick to buying a small bag of herbs because like you said, even some dried grasses can have sharp edges and I would hate to order a bag and then find I didn`t approve. Probably better to play safe.

[Silver]

If you click & then it say's you need to log in close the window or look at something else then click the link again

It did this to me when I was looking for it. Bit strange

Yes it's one of those things do you risk it or not

Silver xxx

[NotsoLittleOlive]

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but p@h sell several different bags of herbs/flowers.
I've got one that's all flowery bits and a larger 'chinchilla garden' one that's a mixture of grasses, herbs, leaves, an bark. The hams love rummaging around in it an nobody has hurt themselves.

[vanilla-yazoo]

I ordered 'Readigrass' for the rabbits, its more of a treat as i know its a bit controversial if its high in calcium or not. My rabbits adored it, I ordered it from ECF, it was £14, for a sack as big as aubiose/megazorb but more full, most of it just felt like dry grass, the odd bit was a bit sticky, but thats just the long stalks of grass, if you where mindful of those, I think it would be suitable.
I also have meddow hay from the local farm, that I give to the rabbits,and for the gerbils for their nests and tunnels. the rabbits do love that too, but the readigrass is so fresh, and green! it smells like its still on the field, fresh, Herby, delicious!
the meddow hay is really twiggy, spikey, I do not let the hamsters get near the stuff.

I dont know if they still sell it, as it was a long time ago I ordered it, but I think zoo plus also sell similar, dried grasses. I think erin loves dwarf hamsters, and a few others give timothy hay, but I am not sure of its textures and quality
hope this helps x

[Vectis Hamstery]

I use the dried small animal herbs at clean out to sprinkle in their substrate. They aren't there when I next clean them out! I don't use hay much as I'm allergic to it and prefer it in as few cages as possible (the harvest mouse and acacia rats need it for nesting). I get the soft meadow hay and haven't found it pokey. I did give it to a couple of Chinese as an experienced rodent keeper friend of mine has used soft hay for many years with no problems. My chin girl did like hiding away in it but I was less keen!

You could have a look at the Galens Garden site. I came across them at the Earls Court pet show and they were very knowledgable. When I ordered it arrived promptly and in good order: Forage

[racinghamster]

Thanks guye for all your input on this. Vectis, the dried grasses on the Galen`s site look really nice and these are something I will look at for future `trials` but for now will stick with the dried herb mixes as they do seem to be going down really well with my little robo. I only gave him a very small bundle yesterday and almost immediately, he was nibbling and playing with it, which was lovely to watch. I`m looking into various things that are natural but SAFE. So soft grasses/herbs/flower mixes seem to be the way to go rather than hay. I`m very big on keeping foods and treats as natural as they can be where possible.

Olive, I`m rarely in our Pets At Home as it`s on a retail park and not accessable without a car, but I will look on their website for the herb & flower mixtures.

Thanks also Silver and Vanilla for your input aswell.

[racinghamster]

I`ve ordered two seperate bags of herbs from Pet Supermarket today. The Burgess Supa Excel Country Garden Herbs £1.90p
The Naturals Herbal Garden £2.69p

I`ll try these as they have good feedback and the Naturals one has a nice variety within. My last order took a week to arrive from Pet Supermarket so with Christmas just around the corner, it might take a little longer but my confirmation email is through so the ball is rolling!

I saw something called Redi-Grass which looked nice too, but I`m not sure if it`s something I would know is soft or not. Dried grass is softer than hay, but without actually having some in my hand, it`s difficult to say if it is or not.

[Lloydhammy]

I grow my own wheat grass for my Syrian and he loves the fresh stuff. You can get a bag of seeds at the pet store for cheap