Sand alternatives

[BethandLil]

Hi all,

Lil uses her rather large sandbath as a litter tray and ideally I'd like to replace all of the sand once or twice a week but that would get pretty expensive if I continue to use tiny friends farm (Harry hamster) sand.

I've read kid safe sand is used as an alternative? Can anyone confirm that it is as good? I would imagine it's not as fine. Is that the case?

Or does anyone have any other cost effective suggestions?

Thanks in advance

[AmityvilleHams]

Children's play sand is a good option,as long as it's bought in sealed bags(not in bulk from outdoors or similar setups!)and properly baked at home before being used,which can be done in batches and portioned out.

There's not really any other option though,as other methods are questionable at best and could cause various problems.

[cypher]

Play sand is fine but you probably don't need to replace the sand that often if you just scoop out the damp clumps when you see them a large sand bath shouldn't need changing completely too often & I find they can get a bit miffed if I change all the sand too!

[BethandLil]

Originally Posted by cypher

Play sand is fine but you probably don't need to replace the sand that often if you just scoop out the damp clumps when you see them a large sand bath shouldn't need changing completely too often & I find they can get a bit miffed if I change all the sand too!

At the moment I remove any soiled sand as and when I see it and transfer remaining sand and clean the container about once a week but it still seems to give off a bit of a smell. I think it must be when I don't get the the soiled sand soon enough and Lil and dug around in it so it is mingled back into the rest of the sand.

Lil doesnt seem fazed when I replace all of the sand

[AmityvilleHams]

What material is the sand bath?Some materials hold smell no matter what.

[BethandLil]

The container is plastic.

[AmityvilleHams]

That's almost guaranteed to be the issue then Plastic is the worst in terms of holding onto odor,but switching to a glass or ceramic container would help(as they don't hold odor like plastic).At most with those you'd need to use a vinegar water solution to clean them,even then it would likely need to be done monthly if not less frequently which is quite far from weekly or every two weeks!

[BethandLil]

Ah! Thanks Amityville!

[GhostsInSnow]

Another good way to remove debris and soiled sand is to use a fine sieve to run the sand through. I've definitely got a few extra uses out of sand by doing that