Cage and general accessories question

[Dearest]

First time posting here! I’m planing on getting a hamster in the near future, so for now I’m doing my research.

This is a general question just to understand hamster keeping: let’s say I have two cage options, both are 400 square feet. One of them is a square and the other one is longer but not as wide. Do they both offer the same life quality or is one of the options better? (I keep fish just so you guys know where this is coming from lol)

Is fine aquarium sand safe? As in quartz sand, I get mixed answers on this. And I cannot find a lot of options. I found reptile sand but that’s way too expensive.

Bedding options in a country where I can’t find paper bedding or aspen. Would ripped paper work? I think that’d stink easily so I’m considering a litter box. Is litter made of diatomite safe? It says it’s made for rodents. The next option would be natural cat litter made from dried edibles like corn.

Seed mix or super premium kibble? Both would be complemented with fresh food.

[cypher]

Square or rectangular tanks or cages can both work but you don't want anything that's too narrow as it will make setting up the cage & best use of space difficult.
You need chinchilla sand (not dust) not aquatic or reptile sand.
Shredded paper isn't really good enough for the main substrate, they need to be able to dig & burrow in it & it needs to hold burrows, you need at least 15cm of substrate which is a lot of paper!
If you use a litter tray then you either use the same substrate as in the rest of the cage or chinchilla sand, most litter pellets aren't safe.
A seed mix is preferable to a kibble diet, it does depend on what mixes are available to you though.

[Dearest]

Originally Posted by cypher

Square or rectangular tanks or cages can both work but you don't want anything that's too narrow as it will make setting up the cage & best use of space difficult.
You need chinchilla sand (not dust) not aquatic or reptile sand.
Shredded paper isn't really good enough for the main substrate, they need to be able to dig & burrow in it & it needs to hold burrows, you need at least 15cm of substrate which is a lot of paper!
If you use a litter tray then you either use the same substrate as in the rest of the cage or chinchilla sand, most litter pellets aren't safe.
A seed mix is preferable to a kibble diet, it does depend on what mixes are available to you though.

Thanks! But I’m struggling so hard to find the right stuff, I live in the biggest city in my country, I’m sure we’re way over 20 chain pet stores, I’ve visited three and tried online shopping and NO LUCK. It’s crazy how late we’re in the rodent department. I can’t even find chinchila sand, just dust. That’s the main reason I’m waiting to get my hamster, if I won’t find the right stuff it needs to be at least a safe alternative.

[cypher]

Can you get children's play sand where you are? If you can that's fine to use for hams although you do need to dry it out in the oven before using it.
Sorry to hear it's so hard for you to find appropriate things for your ham but finding things like a suitable substrate of some kind is really important. Can you get hemp there?
What country are you in? You may be able to order from some web sites that ship internationally.

[Dearest]

Originally Posted by cypher

Can you get children's play sand where you are? If you can that's fine to use for hams although you do need to dry it out in the oven before using it.
Sorry to hear it's so hard for you to find appropriate things for your ham but finding things like a suitable substrate of some kind is really important. Can you get hemp there?
What country are you in? You may be able to order from some web sites that ship internationally.

Yeah, I’ll look for children’s play sand. I’m in Brazil. I’m contacting a few sellers on eBay to see if they’d ship. Specially those out of the US because the US-Brazil shipping is crazy expensive. I’m considering getting a few packs of Carefresh and then complementing with homemade paper bedding when I need to change a portion of it. As a last resource I know a lady that will ship anything but that also includes a fee. I need to figure out how much bedding I’d need first.

[reddoc]

For substrate try equestrian stores........ I buy a hemp bedding called auboise, but there are other brands in the U.K., and probably where you are too. There’s also megazorb in the U.K., which is for horses, and you possibly have similar. As they are made for horses you get a big bag.... but it lasts a while. Some reptile substrates are ok..... aspen is usually found in the reptile sections in the U.K., so it would be worth checking that out. Good luck

[cypher]

If you can get carefresh then that would be ok, if you want to add paper make sure it's safe, just plain white toilet tissue (no scent or anything) is the safest thing to use, it's the best thing for nesting so you could use a big pile of that in the house/nest area.
I'm not sure about any companies that ship to Brazil so no help there, sorry.

[Dearest]

Originally Posted by reddoc

For substrate try equestrian stores........ I buy a hemp bedding called auboise, but there are other brands in the U.K., and probably where you are too. There’s also megazorb in the U.K., which is for horses, and you possibly have similar. As they are made for horses you get a big bag.... but it lasts a while. Some reptile substrates are ok..... aspen is usually found in the reptile sections in the U.K., so it would be worth checking that out. Good luck

Thanks! I REALLY want to this right. I’m leaving the fish hobby because I can’t bear the pet store abuse anymore (hamsters are a bit better than fish here at the store at least) so it makes no sense for me to provide a bad housing. You gave me a brilliant idea. Searching for reptile bedding I found aspen! I wasn’t able to find it by the actual name online because only the package says aspen and they didn’t bother to include it at the actual listing.

[Dearest]

Originally Posted by cypher

If you can get carefresh then that would be ok, if you want to add paper make sure it's safe, just plain white toilet tissue (no scent or anything) is the safest thing to use, it's the best thing for nesting so you could use a big pile of that in the house/nest area.
I'm not sure about any companies that ship to Brazil so no help there, sorry.

I just found aspen in a odd listing name! A bit expensive but more affordable than importing Carefresh.

[cypher]

That's good, carefresh isn't cheap at the best of times so if you can get aspen I'm sure that would be much better!