Hamster Bin cage questions (first time owner)

[XxlilikinxX]

Hello there! I am going to be getting a Syrian Hamster soon. But I have two important questions before I decide to buy one:

1) I bought a cage that's 660 sq. Inches. Is this big enough for him/her to have lots of room to run around?

2) I know Hamsters like to burrow but bedding can be very expensive to constantly buy. Can I put down I blanket for bedding and them fill a shoebox with Aspen or Carefresh and let him brow in that when he wants? Or does the whole cage have to have this beddin?

[cypher]

That sounds as though it may be small for a syrian, what are the dimensions of your bin?

You can't use any fabric bedding for hamsters, it could be chewed, possibly swallowed & do them a lot of harm.
You need to have at least 15-20cm of good quality substrate over the base of the whole cage, this may seem like a lot but you never need to do whole cage cleans replacing all of it, you just spot clean any pee areas & then do partial cleans when needed every few weeks or so. So the initial purchase might be quite expensive depending on which substrate you use but you won't need to buy more all that often.
You also needs a good pile of shredded plain white toilet tissue for nesting material.

[XxlilikinxX]

My cage is 22 by 30 inches.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and Welcome to Hamster Central

1) It does sound like it a bit on the small size for a Syrian - as Syrian size toys tend to be on the larger size so it might become overly crowded.
Do you have a measurement for the height of the bin? - as some Syrians end up needing 11"/12" wheels so might not fit inside comfortably.

2) Fabric is safe for hamster - as they will chew up and pouch pieces which can end up being accidentally swallowed which can result in internal blockages. I personally would say it is best to fill all the cage with a suitable depth of bedding for digging as they do like to tunnel beneath and a burrow box doesn't allow this.
Syrian hamsters can be litter trained to use sand baths as toilets - this make cleaning fairly easy and this helps substrate stay cleaner for longer. Hamsters also only need there cage cleaned every month depending upon the size of the cage - full cleans are necessary just partial cleans are sufficient to keeping the cage clean.

What country are you located in? As this will enable us to suggest suitable bins/or cages as well as affordable substrate to you if you would like.

[mlwinters]

Yes you must use proper bedding and not fabric as the fibers can get wrapped around the limbs and if injested, can cause all sorts of issues.
Bedding like Carefresh is expensive for what it is. I personally use Aubiose, it cost me £10.80 from a farm supplier for a 20Kg bag. One bag fills my 1100+ sq inch cage with 3-4 inch of substrate more than twice over. If one only does full cleans it out once every 8-10 weeks, the bedding is really not expensive (less than £4 per full cleanout). I would hate to think how much it would cost to fill my cage up with Carefresh.
One of my life sayings: Saving money is never a valid reason to compromise safety.

[XxlilikinxX]

22 by 30 inches