Digging Sand Vs. Sand Bath?

[TinyBubbles]

I have been spending time reading old threads and wonder if I'm thinking something is two different things when it is really just one?

I've noticed many of you provide a sand area that is a part of the home. I read someplace else that you should provide a sand bath (chinchilla dust was recommended there) but it should only be made available for a bit each day and not left in overnight.

Would a sandy area be all a dwarf needs? Do I hear our experts are not a fan of chinchilla dust for dwarfs? How long & what temp do I need to bake play sand?

While I'm asking, is there a difference between carefresh and Kaytee clean & cozy? Are there opinions about the colored carefresh?

[cypher]

A sand bath should be left in the cage all the time, dwarf hams love sand so the bigger & deeper the better.
You must use chinchilla sand not dust though.
Kaytee is much softer & less dusty than carefresh, much better imo.

[Ria P]

You can get Kaytee c&c in colours too. The white is the softest but i prefer the papery texture of the natural and camo. I use the green Carefresh on top sometimes for colour or in my Syrian's cage because he doesn't burrow at all and the firmer Carefresh doesn't sink in. He always has the Kaytee in his house though. They are all good. Try out different ones to find out the subtle differences. Kaytee goes further because it is less dense than Carefresh. I never had a dusty Carefresh but one pack had a peculiar smell that went off after a while which put me off a bit. Never had this with Kaytee.
I use the Tiny Friends sand (never use dust) and never had any issues but people's opinions differ on that one.

My dwarves and Robo have their wheels in the sand pit, keeps it in place and guarantees a soft landing when the Robo runs very fast and falls out.

[sarahbutterflies]

A sand bath offers more enrichment. Hamsters can use it for bathing, digging, or a toilet. I have read that if you choose to put the sand in a container to make sure the container is 2-3 times larger than your hamster. German hamster care recommends to have 1/3 of the cage filled with sand for dwarfs, they need it more than Syrians but still good for Syrians as well. Please do not use anything dust related at all, it can cause respiratory issues. I use childrens play sand that I get at my local hardware store for about $5, it's a 50 pound bag. You can use reptile sand without added calcium. The cage should not be made up of just sand, although some hamsters may come from areas that are dryer or have more sand they still need a place to burrow. Paper bedding (unscented) holds burrows the best out of all the substrates, sprinkling hay in between layers also helps hold burrows. Other substrates you can use is aspen, not softwood shavings (pine, cedar). Cotton is also not recommended, this can cause many problems too. I just tried carefresh and I personally like kaytee clean and cozy better, it's just much softer and doesn't smell. I also think kaytee is a lot cheaper.

[Jo 17]

I am not an expert, but reading a lot I do know that you should really avoid anything with word “ dust “ in it. I am using bathing sand by “ tiny friends farm” company and my hamster using it regularly with no problems. As for leaving it or taking it back - I leave mine all the time in his cage, just need to check it regularly as occasionally He may use it as toilet. But that is not a problem as you can spot it straight away as sand is getting lumpy.

[Engel]

Both my Syrians and my dwarf have a sand area and a soil area. The sand area normally doubles up as a toilet. So my robo basically lives in it. Rolling around and digging in it. Toileting and eating. Lol my Syrians use it as a digging box and toilet too. Soil are just for digging and adding texture as well as some extra enrichment. At the moment they only have tubs of sand and soil in there but I'm thinking of a way to just have it all in there on the base but how to seperate it so it doesn't mix into one big mess is still mystery

Anyways. If you decide to put in some sand. Your hamster will decide it's use. Im trying out desert sand for reptiles which is brilliant. Downside the biggest bag they sell is 5kg and with 4 hams, 3 of which are Syrians, the sand isn't lasting long

[peculiarplanets]

For my Syrian I use a mix of chinchilla sand and coco husk. This is because she only uses it for digging so it adds a little extra do her digging pit.