Wood with bark

hamtarokid · 05-03-2016, 02:29 AM

So I got some great driftwood at a craft shop to put in Ambrose's cage. They're too big to boil on the stove, so I was planning to soak them in bleach for like a day. I also got this thing I thought looked really cool but it's mostly bark. Is it okay to put wood with bark into a hamster cage if you bleach soak it first?

cypher · 05-03-2016, 02:34 AM

Some woods are safe for hams & some not so you need to know what kind of wood it is, also I wouldn't put anything in a ham cage that's been soaked in bleach unless you can rinse all the bleach out which I doubt you could with wood.

Pebbles82 · 05-03-2016, 02:56 AM

I think it would be dangerous soaking in bleach hamtarokid. It has toxic fumes, even for humans, never mind hamsters, and would stay in the wood. It wouldn't necessarily work either. Could you bake them in an oven?

Personally I think better safe than sorry - check what type of wood it is first (some barks are ok, some aren't).

This thread might help - it suggests baking at 250 degrees (centigrade) for 25 minutes or so is safe. It also advises against bleach.

Sanitizing Driftwood

hamtarokid · 05-03-2016, 04:35 AM

I can't bake it because I don't have an oven. I read a thread where people were talking about doing this for fish tanks and they said bleach was good if you rinsed it and then let it dry until it didn't smell like bleach anymore. Is there another way to do it?

hamtarokid · 05-03-2016, 04:43 AM

I believe the bark is cork bark. There's a half log of cedar wood. And then the other two I don't know. :/ Aw man. I hope I didn't waste my money on this wood.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 05-03-2016, 06:02 AM

NEVER use bleach on hamster stuff! Especially wood! It can absorb the bleach and kill them the second they chew on it and get it in their check pouches! Would you really consider doing that? I'm so glad I saw this thread! Hope you take this seriously!

I used bleach once to disinfect a tank and it was 1 part bleach for 9 cups water and the whole apartment was full of fumes and it was old bleach too. DONT DO IT!

AmityvilleHams · 05-03-2016, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamtarokid

I believe the bark is cork bark. There's a half log of cedar wood. And then the other two I don't know. :/ Aw man. I hope I didn't waste my money on this wood.

You wasted your money on three pieces.Cork is generally considered safe though.Do NOT use bleach on the wood,boil or freeze or bake it instead as those are the only safe methods to sterilize wood.Cedar is toxic to hamsters,and is just as unsafe as bleach

Unspecified wood could be anything,even another toxic species of tree that just isn't worth risking so throw all but the cork out.If the cork was directly in contact with the cedar,I'd not risk it anyways just because of the questionable proximity to toxic phenols.

hamtarokid · 05-03-2016, 06:11 AM

Okay, okay, I won't use bleach. And, darn, I won't use all but the cork.

Is just freezing enough to sterilize it?

AmityvilleHams · 05-03-2016, 06:18 AM

Freezing alone should be fine

hamtarokid · 05-03-2016, 07:26 AM

Great! I can do that.

I'm sad I wasted money on the other wood, but at least he gets the nice piece of bark in his cage to climb around on and file down his claws. I may have to find him something else to put in there to help with the claws, since cork is kinda soft. Maybe I'll turn the other pieces of wood into decorations for my own house.