Houseplant for hamster?

Ria P · 04-25-2019, 04:38 PM

This is probably a daft question but is there a suitable plant to go in a hamster cage? My hamster kept climbing into one of my houseplants tonight. I kept taking him out and he kept running straight back into the plantpot. He was digging up the compost which was fine with me but then he tried to nibble the plant so I had to move it away in case its poisonous for hamsters. He loves fresh basil leaves and fresh food in general. I could dig a hole into his substrate and fill it with compost (what kind?) but could i put a plant in it? Or maybe a small herb plant? Note to self: keep the hamster away from the cacti collection.

Ashy · 04-25-2019, 06:16 PM

Lol @ your note to self. Yeah you better make that note! don't want your little one to get hurt :P

As for plants maybe get a vegetable plant and not a house plant like (for example) a chicory plant. My hammy bear absolutely loves to eat chicory! Its part of her main diet

cypher · 04-25-2019, 09:15 PM

There are safe plants for hamsters but it's not a good idea to leave a plant in the cage, most plants need bright light & you don't want your hamster cage in direct sunlight, they also need water & you don't want a damp area in the cage & compost can be a real problem too if you don't know exactly what's in it.
You could put a safe food plant in for an hour or two maybe if you were sure about the compost being safe or you could grow safe sprouts for your ham & you can leave them in overnight but otherwise I wouldn't recommend plants in the cage.

Ria P · 04-26-2019, 12:35 AM

Chicory is on today's shopping list. He's never had that.
Cypher what do you mean by growing safe sprouts? That sounds interesting. I'll do some research on the compost and food plants. Maybe I could put some in a clay pot with an edible plant and use it for out of cage playtime. My hamster likes to stay in his cage and last night was the first time he was keen to come out to get into the plant pot.

Shannonmcn · 04-26-2019, 12:53 AM

If he just likes digging in the compost you could try that Eco-earth I've been hearing some people chatting about? People use it in cages as a substrate, I think it's coconut fibre based? You could get him a little plant pot to dig in so you at least know 100% what's in it. I wouldn't trust actual compost myself.

Stick a leaf in it for him, he won't notice it has no roots lol

Ria P · 04-26-2019, 02:07 AM

Haha! No, he won't notice the absence of roots because the leaf will be eaten in 2 seconds. I'll check out the Eco compost, thanks.

Shannonmcn · 04-26-2019, 05:17 AM

Doing a bit of research and as usual Erin has a nice video on the topic of soil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ARp-dqqKs

I may have been being a bit over cautious!

Ria P · 04-26-2019, 06:59 AM

Yes but who knows what else is in the compost...... I'll check the bag I've got but its nice to have different textures and smells anyway so went back for the compressed Eco-earth (only £3.70) and will try it tonight then went next door to buy a new clay pot in case mine aren't clean enough! Thanks for the research. I'll watch the video soon as I get home.

Shannonmcn · 04-26-2019, 07:06 AM

You are quick off the mark Ria! I've been hemming and hawwing about whether or not to try the eco-earth for two weeks lmao

Ria P · 04-26-2019, 08:12 AM

Never could see the point in waiting. Well, I have to now. I just took a sneaky peek in the hamster house and its occupant is rolled up fast asleep. The bag of compost I've got has 4 months feed in it so no good. I need a small bag of organic compost without anything added. Hmm, I'll nip to the garden centre. Bye