Cheap but good bedding options

Nakuzo · 02-19-2020, 01:42 PM

Hello everyone

I have a small problem. In my country, the only bedding I can find is either cheap shavings (unhealthy cedar or pine) or carefresh which goes for something like 10 euros per 14 lt. Right now I have a 60x40 bin cage (which is something like 54x34 in the bottom) and I already need 2 carefresh packages to fill it good (12 cm). Given that I am looking to upgrade to a 78x56 bin cage from IKEA, I am not really fond of the idea of having to spend 30-40 euros each month just for bedding alone, is there a good alternative you can suggest to me?

I would much more prefer to here from people that either make their own bedding or have another good idea I am not aware of, but of course every comment is welcomed.

LunaTheHamster1 · 02-19-2020, 02:04 PM

Have you seen this video by Erins animals about making your own bedding?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo3MNM6x1o0

Vierville · 02-19-2020, 05:00 PM

Carefresh is very expensive and I find that it can be very dusty.

Do you get Kaytee Clean and Cosy in Greece? It is much cheaper than Carefresh (about half the price here in South Africa) and is dust free.

Torn up toilet paper is also very good for nest material.

cypher · 02-19-2020, 10:23 PM

I did have a look on Zooplus & it does seem there is very little available in your country but do try & see if you can find the Kaytee clean & cosy anywhere as it is much better than carefresh as well as cheaper most places.
It sounds as though you're doing full cage cleans each month? That really isn't necessary, just spot cleans as needed & a partial clean every few weeks or so. You may be throwing away more substrate than you need to.

Nakuzo · 02-19-2020, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

Have you seen this video by Erins animals about making your own bedding?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo3MNM6x1o0

I have seen it, though I haven't tried it yet

Nakuzo · 02-19-2020, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vierville

Carefresh is very expensive and I find that it can be very dusty.

Do you get Kaytee Clean and Cosy in Greece? It is much cheaper than Carefresh (about half the price here in South Africa) and is dust free.

Torn up toilet paper is also very good for nest material.

Unfortunately, nobody sells Kaytee Clean and Cosy in Greece. Looks like I will have to make it myself.

Ithuviel · 02-20-2020, 02:01 AM

Look for hemp bedding. Zooplus sells 14 kg of it for cheap in Romania. I think we have the same problem with zooplus. I have contacted them. They seem to give every product to Bulgaria, bur for Romania there is a very limited amount of stuff you can get and i think its not fair.

See if this is available in your country: https://www.zooplus.ro/shop/animale_.../canepa/244937

Pebbles82 · 02-23-2020, 03:43 AM

I remember Erin of Erin's Hamsters was living in Cyprus (not sure if that's still the case)and having the same problem finding bedding. She was getting Aubiose shipped to her (that is hemp bedding). I am not sure where from but rat rations in the Uk ship to many countries and they sell aubiose - as it's sold in a bulk amount it will last a long time. I am not sure how expensive the shipping is though.

https://ratrations.co.uk/substrates-...d-hemp-bedding

At the bottom of the page is a link "Delivery" which has some info about delivery but doesn't specify how much it costs to ship overseas - it does say you need to be there to sign for it. To find out how much it costs to ship to Greece, you could put the bale of aubiose in your basket and go through the checkout process (but not complete it) and it should tell you how much shipping will be. Or you could click on "contact" at the bottom of the page and email them via their message option and ask them

Another option - check out any local horse supplies on google and see if they sell hemp bedding. Also any reptile supply places - they sometimes sell aspen which is safe to use.

While googling hamster supplies in Greece, I came across this

You have wild hamsters in Greece - might be an interesting day out some time, hamster spotting! Although I realise Greece is a big place!

https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/hamster/print

It would take some time but you could just make paper bedding by tearing up a lot of plain white toilet paper into strips - it would be both for bedding and nesting.

Pebbles82 · 02-23-2020, 04:04 AM

This is Zooplus Greece - supplies for Hamsters. It does have Hugro hemp bedding available

I just put "Hamster" in Greek in the search box but you might want to have a look around the other headings to see what else they sell.

Hugro hemp is good, apparently ships to Greece and is sold in a bale so will last a while.

They also have Chipsi Classic - this is wood shavings but very good quality - part pine and part spruce (spruce is equivalent to hardwood as in virtually no phenols so better than pine). It is kiln dried to German standards! And dust extracted. It would be a good option for wood shavings.

Personally I would go with Zooplus - they will charge shipping but it shouldn't be too much - I tend to buy two of things at the same time to save on shipping. If you like the idea of hemp then the Hugro hemp is a big bale. I have asthma/hayfever and couldn't cope with hemp. The Chipsi wood shavings are about the best you can get really in terms of wood shavings.

https://www.zooplus.gr/esearch.htm#q...25B5%25CF%2581