chinchilla sand

Juliebrei · 10-06-2016, 09:51 AM

did any of you know that chincilla sand is apparently dangerous?
Greasy Syrian Fur - General Care - Hamster Hideout Forum

the one i use says somthing about being made of clay: JR Farm Chinchilla-Sand Special | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!
is that bad as well, according to that?
can't quite figure it out, having english as a second language.

Culprit · 10-06-2016, 10:02 AM

Yes!!!!! DO NOT USE CHINCHILLA SAND! It is VERY bad for hamsters! It is more of a dust and as hamsters don't have any kind of filter in their noses it goes straight into their lungs!

Rads · 10-06-2016, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juliebrei

did any of you know that chincilla sand is apparently dangerous?
Greasy Syrian Fur - General Care - Hamster Hideout Forum

the one i use says somthing about being made of clay: JR Farm Chinchilla-Sand Special | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!
is that bad as well, according to that?
can't quite figure it out, having english as a second language.

Do not use specific Chinchilla sand as it is very fine and dusty and can give Hamsters respiratory problems.
Brug venligst ikke Chinchilla badning sand er det ikke egnet til hamstere, da det kan forårsage åndedrætsbesvær

I use Tiny Friends Farm Hamster Sand which is about £3.00 or 4.25Euro per Pack here in the UK.

Hope the translation to Danish is ok..

Penguin · 10-06-2016, 10:38 AM

Rads that was a very cute translation! C: I really appreciate the effort you put into that!

Alright, this might be a bit long, might be offensive... might not who knows.. I'm not trying to be offensive, but just to talk about the topic and explain a few points

All in all I wouldn't worry about chinchilla sand being unsafe for hamsters. If it had any real disadvantages, as chinchilla dust has, surely it would be very well known by now.
I think this is more a question about being paranoid. Just like we are paranoid when it comes to chemicals in kids toys or food.
HAD chinchilla sand caused our tiny friends any harm or discomfort, I am more than positive that it would have been a large topic with clear rules on exactly what to avoid. And as of right now, the only thing I'm aware of is that 'dust' is a nono, 'sand' is a gogo

I think removing the chinchilla sand would be the same as having to remove every toy that was made of plastic. Which would give 90% of us a problem as our cages are largely made of plastic as well. But then if we decided to build cages out of wood and glass, we could again worry about the aquarium sealant containing chemicals that would get in our hamster's bodies, despite it saying 'petsafe'.

If the sand was toxic and would harm our fluffs, it would spread around these forums extremely fast. It's not secret that we are all a bunch of crazy people who set our hamsters above everything. Because I have only read this one thread you linked saying that it is toxic, I will go with the biggest group and say that it's safe. I will definitely look into it because I'm curious, but I am not scared to continuing using the sand I have used this far (:

I hope I made my point clear and didn't offend anyone (:

pinkneon · 10-06-2016, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rads

I use Tiny Friends Farm Hamster Sand which is about £3.00 or 4.25Euro per Pack here in the UK.

I do too, and it says on it chinchillas, gerbils and hamsters

However, I am wondering whether each country uses different things to make it? Kind of like how America used to put baking soda in their Carefresh for example?

Juliebrei · 10-06-2016, 11:30 AM

I agree, that was very cute, and thank you, but where I run into problems is more about when they start talking about ingredients and chemicals and specific procedures and stuff like that.
I think, and hope that i might accidentally have stumpled upon one of the good ones with the clay thing, from my understanding.

I see your point penguin, and i agree with pinkneon about the huge differences there can be in products from country to country.
as penguin can probably attest to, there are millions and millions of products that are perfectly normal in the states for example that are not even allowed into denmark. some are even directly illegal.

a good example of differences in between countries is coca cola. they put different amounts of sugar in their products depending on the country. UK likes sour things so there is less sugar in a coke there, the states usually hates sour things, so it's sickly sweer over there, as far as i remember.

barley · 10-06-2016, 11:31 AM

I thought chinchilla sand was ok and that chinchilla dust is the one that should be avoided? Joey loves his sand bath!

pinkneon · 10-06-2016, 11:34 AM

Same here barley! I thought that ... Sweep loves his sand, and I've NEVER had issues with it, so unless someone tells me that it is DEFINITELY unsafe and should be avoided AT ALL COSTS then I will continue using it

Rads · 10-06-2016, 11:49 AM

I have avoided the dust completely as I would not risk the possible health consequences, and have always opted for a safe sand that is good for Hamsters and coincidently Chinchillas as well.
Pip loves her sand bath
P.S. I have found on examination of a few makes, that the sand is virtually identical in it's make up and grain size etc. It seems that the only thing that differs is the packaging and what they sell it for.