Is this hamster lotion safe for my hamster ?

[Nichole]

Hi I’ve been given this hamster lotion thing from a friend and was wondering if it’s safe for my hamster.
Here are the claims of it(Biogance guinea pig and hamster lotion)
This non-rinse lotion has been especially formulated from organic and natural ingredients for an extra mild dry cleanse. Suitable for sensitive skins.
This ultra soft lotion helps protect the coat from drying and skin irritation.
This pH-balanced formula has been enriched with organic lemon balm extracts to deodorize, refresh and help give the coat a soft and glossy look.
Its red fruit delicate perfume makes your Hamster and Guinea pig smelling fresh.
Colorants free, paraben free, phenoxythanol free and silicone free.
The brand is biogance.

[cypher]

Even if the ingredients are safe this kind of thing is totally unnecessary for a hamster, they really don't need their coats cleaned or deodorised, quite the opposite! They need their own scent on their coats & if healthy are perfectly capable of grooming & cleaning themselves. Their skin doesn't need protecting from drying out either, any sign of dry skin would be either an irritation from something in the cage or a likely nutritional deficiencies both of which would need to be corrected rather than trying to improve things with a topical remedy.
I think things like this are just made up to make money & create a market for something that isn't needed or healthy tbh so don't use it.

[Pebbles82]

Sounds awful - sorry. Hamsters dislike scented things - they have a very strong sense of scent and any scent at all can be overpowering for them or even harmful (they also have a tendency to respiratory problems with dust or odours etc).

I think any product that claims to be for hamsters and guinea pigs as well isn't suitable really - they are very different creatures.

The best way to keep a hamster's cage odour free is to use a litter tray with Chinchilla sand in it. If you put the litter tray in the right place (the place the hamster has chosen to pee - often a corner of the cage) they will use it. The sand soaks up the pee - and you empty the litter tray every 5 days or so and no odours.

Hamsters groom a lot and are very clean little things really - they lick themselves all over to clean themselves and sometimes roll in sand (syrians less than dwafs) to clean themselves, but primarily they groom a lot.

Their poops aren't dirty or smelly - they're like little hard black seeds - sometimes they eat them or hoard them which is normal as they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops

I use the corner litter trays which work well as Syrians usually choose a corner for a pee place.

[Nichole]

Ok I’ll keep that in mind , I was also wondering if bath sands from random brands are okay for them. It’s all labeled hamster bath sand but the ingredients are not stated. The claims for it are dust free and all that . They come in scented ones as well but I know better than that. The sand itself looks really fine so I’m not really sure if it’s ok for them or not. The brands are chubby pets gardens , Carno brand. I can’t really find play sand here too .

[cypher]

I couldn't find the second brand of sand you mentioned but the first one looks as though it should be ok (apart from saying don't leave it in the cage all the time!) but you can only really know by seeing it, if it seems very dusty & fine then it might not be good but if not it should be ok to use.