Best bedding? & Q re changing bedding.

[michyLS]

I'm quite new to hamster care, I have a 4 month old Russian dwarf hamster.
We rehomed him, and was given his cage along with him and he had shredded paper bedding in it, all in a corner as his nest. I couldn't get the shredded paper bedding at my local pet store so instead got a bag of 'carefresh' . So when I cleaned his cage out I piled the carefresh into the corner where the shredded paper had been but instead of nesting in it he has spread it about and is not sleeping there but sleeping in the tube that comes out the front of the cage.
Have a ruined his nest for him? Should I try and get some shredded paper bedding and put that into the corner as he had it before, or put more carefresh into the corner to make a bigger nesty area?!
I'm not sure if he slept in the tube before anyway or if he's moved because he now dislikes his sleeping area! Any advice please?

[pinkneon]

You could just used torn up toilet peper for a nest or some pet stores sell shredded paper but one I once bought wasn't very soft and my hamster refused to sleep in it!

[CMB]

You should get some more shredded paper for the nest or use non scented toilet paper.
He is probably in the tube because his nest has been removed.

A hide/house is advised as hamsters like their nest enclosed and dark. You can use an empty box with a hole in the side. The toilet paper can be put in the cage and let the hamster take it to make a nest.

[michyLS]

Thanks so much. I will try the box thing with more shredded paper and put it in his nest area, the tube he is now sleeping in is clear and at the front of the cage so it can't be very peaceful for him.
Thanks for the advice!

[Cinnamon Bear]

Also, is the cage size okay or does he need a bigger cage than the one he was rescued in? Tubes can make it hard for interaction initially. I'd definitely give him a couple weeks then if he needs an upgrade I'd consider that?

[Cinnamon Bear]

You can also block the tubes by packing them with bedding

[CMB]

Hope he moves into the box. If he stays in the tube you may need to block it for awhile.

When cleaning. Just remove any wet parts of the nest and add more nesting material. Don't remove the whole nest as it upsets the hamster. The same with the substrate (care fresh).

[Pebbles82]

I think adding a box sounds a good idea. With a hole cut in for a door. If you have a bendy bridge you could put that over the door. It makes a bit of a tunnel entrance and makes the house/box darker inside so your hammy will probably be tempted in there to build a nest. CMB has said it all really

For the nesting material, take some sheets of plain white toilet paper - I tear them into 5 or 6 strips lenthwise and put a big pile of it somewhere in the cage. You should see the pile go down gradually as your hammy takes some a bit at a time to build a nest.

I would put the box in and then the paper. Or your hammy might build a nest in the tube and not want to go in the house - but ideally do them at the same time really.

There are some really good cage cleaning tips on this video by Erin's Hamsters It really helped me get a good routine for our hamster and he is ok with cage cleans now using this method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

[cypher]

I did mention this in your other post but anyway, if you can remove the tube at least for now.
As the others have said lots of shredded plain white toilet tissue for his nest, I find Russian hams generally like quite a mountain of the stuff!
Any small box will do as a temporary house, long term you could get a wooden house but you would need to paint the inside with plastikote, I would avoid plastic houses as they really aren't very healthy.

I find Erins/the german method of cleaning doesn't really work with dwarfs as they do like to dig & burrow & well & truly mix up all that substrate so there's no such thing as a clean layer on top lol!
I tend to just spot clean any areas that may have been peed on then do partial cleans, in a small cage maybe half, in a larger cage about a third, at any one time, maybe once a month for a partial clean.

[michyLS]

Great thanks! So I don't need to do a big cage clean once a week then as I was told?