Cage base material

[xFluffyHamsterx]

Hi guys i just noticed my hamster might of had some sawdust in his eye, he managed to get it out (one eye was half shut, but could be fur). I read up and saw sawdust can cause respiratory problems for hamsters which is understandable. What can I use instead of sawdust? Could i buy a paper shredder and shread newspaper or should i buy carefresh? (This is what he walks on around the cage). Is the confetti better? Money is quite tight so i want to keep costs low. Any recommendations welcome,Thank you.

[AmityvilleHams]

Carefresh would be better than shredded newspaper,since newspaper is unpredictable to some degree with ink.However,Fitch would be a more cost effective term in the long run since you are in the UK and Fitch is the most cost effective paper-type substrate in the UK!

With deep substrate doing full cleans only once a month if not less(depending on cage size,but no more than once a month)the 10-20kg sizes should all last several months.

Fitch Recycling - Fitch Pet Bedding 20kg size,which is the largest affordable variation.There are larger amounts but these would be much harder to store and would cost a lot more,but are definitely worth considering if in the future you can store even more substrate!

Fitch Recycling - pet bedding 15kg with a box,so it becomes more of an in between size than the 10kg and 20kg

Fitch Recycling - 10kg Single Bale Fitch Paper Bedding For Smaller Critters - Bedding - Rabbit,Guinea Pig & Hamster - Fitch Pet Store And finally the 10kg smallest reasonably priced size!

Overall the 20kg is the best deal though,and you can split packages up into multiple containers to fit whatever storage you have available.You'd be replacing the substrate in the cage as well though,so it isn't like you'd have to store a full package of Fitch at once!

[cypher]

Don't use shredded paper, it can be very sharp & news print can be toxic too.

Carefresh is ok but can be dusty & expensive.
I think the best substrate has to be Fitch, so many of us use it now with no problems at all, I love it although I do mix mine with Hugro hemp it works well on it's own.
It can be a bit expensive to buy initially & takes up a bit of space but long term it is really very economical.

[GhostsInSnow]

There are lots of different substrates that are great for hams. I personally use Finacard for mine and it works well for the hams. Other paper/card based substrates out there include Fitch as has been mentioned, paper based cat litter, Carefresh, Bedmax and Megazorb. I think most, if not all, of them are dust extracted so you won't have to worry about resp issues.
There are other substrates such as Tumblefresh and Aubiose (Chopped Hemp) but I personally found these quite dusty.

[AmityvilleHams]

Paper based cat litter won't allow for proper burrowing so on it's own it isn't a good option on its own,but as a litter or layer underneath the burrowing material it can work for added odor control and such which makes it better.

[Pebbles82]

I am a Fitch fan! It works out very economical as well. I get the 10kg bag which isn't as massive as the 20kg one but still lasts me a long time (4 to 6 months with a 100cm cage). It does need storing indoors, but you can squish the oversized bag so it can be long and thin or short and fat, to fit in or under different places. I now have ours in the corner of the bedroom with a throw over it so it looks like a child sized beanbag chair

[velma]

Just checking - when you say sawdust do you actually mean sawdust or do you mean wood shavings (the bag will say)? As you're in the UK, wood shavings are safe for hamsters but saw dust isn't. I wouldn't use newspaper, as cypher said because of the ink being potentially toxic if ingested. Wood shavings are fine and cheap, I use a mix of that and Carefresh myself. Others use things such as Fitch, finacard etc which can be bought in bulk online and therefore are cost effective. If you have a good size cage and can encourage your hamster to pee in one place, then you only need to regularly spot clean and full cleans can be done a bit less often which means your bedding will last longer.