Which substrate should I get?

[Hammielover]

I've been using wood shavings for my hamsters for years as it's the easiest to get hold of and the cheapest. However I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to it and I know it's not a very good substrate to use so I'm looking to change it. The only pet shop I go to is Pets at Home and there is carefresh there but it's just a bit too pricey for me and the bags only last one cage clean. Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap substrate that I can buy online? Or are there any other good ones from Pets at Home that I just haven't noticed?

[AmityvilleHams]

Fitch is absolutely wonderful!It's cheap,online exclusive,comes in bulk(20kg for a much better value than Carefresh),and the safest option available in the UK.

[alpacassei]

Fitch! It's like carefresh but way cheaper (only £23 for 20kg) and dust free!https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bedding-Rab...dp/B007P3YBHS/
All my hamsters love it and it's really good for them to burrow in. Since I switched them to fitch, they don't even use separate bedding and they just sleep in the holes they burrowed

[AmityvilleHams]

https://www.fitchrecycling.co.uk/fit...bale-20kg.html

Cheaper ordered directly from the Fitch Recycling website rather than Amazon They also have multi-bale packs but that really isn't necessary and would be fairly difficult to store,which is very unfortunate.

[Hammielover]

Thank you! Stupid question but just to get an idea, how long do you reckon a 20kg bag would last me? It's for a zoozoone one

[AmityvilleHams]

It depends on how deep you fill it.Not as long as a larger cage,as you'd be able to get maybe 3 months out of a fully filled 4-6 inch depth for a cage that size with occasional spot cleaning.

Interestingly enough,cages that are a square meter and larger would go far longer without needing full cleans even with the same substrate depth mostly due to having more surface area.Minimally you could go 6 months to a year,while with very deep substrate you could potentially go from a year to maybe a year and a half(or more).

[Hammielover]

Ah okay I see what you mean. I'm hoping to have a larger cage in the future, maybe a detolf, so that should work perfectly. I might order a bag soon and see how I get on. Thanks again for the help

[Pebbles82]

I love Fitch! I get the 10kg bag which costs £16.99 and isn't too big to store indoors. It used to last me about 6 months with a 100cm Barney cage - which is bigger than a Zoozone 1. By having the substrate deep you can spot clean mostly and only do a main clean every two to three months (even then I do a partial clean and only replace about half the substrate as the other half is dry - and mix it in so it still smells familiar).

I would start with a 10kg bag and see how you go with it. It does last a long time though and hams really like it. I had the 10kg bag in the corner of a bedroom with a throw over it so it looked like a child's size beanbag chair It does need to be kept indoors or it'll get damp or fusty. You can order it direct here, includes postage and usually takes 3 to 4 days to arrive. it comes in an oversized plastic bag so you can squish it into lower flatter shapes or taller thinner shapes if you want to fit it under or behind something It also comes with a tougher outer plastic bag.

https://www.fitchrecycling.co.uk/ani...-delivery.html

[DrropS]

I'll say fitch too, like many other people here!
I was suggested to try it on this website and I actually just received few days ago my first bale and I just love it.
No more dust, wich was terrible with aspen what I used before and I still have over half of 15kg bale left even I filled up completely my 80x70cm cage.
From now on fitch is the one I am buying all the time

[SweetPeaHammy]

I've never used fitch bedding before but I know a lot of hamster owners love it