Safe good value bedding material

[Jadetooth]

Dear all,

Appreciate all the advice previously. I’ve read a lot of conflicting information online - could anyone in the U.K. suggest what bedding and nesting material they use that’s a balance of safety and cost? I’m also interested how often you have to buy it if you don’t mind telling me that too I have a 80*50 Alaska and would fill to any recommended depth.

I’m still prehamster but hoping to rehome one soon!

X

[LunaTheHamster1]

I use megazorb and aubiose - BIG bags last me months with 1 or 2 hamsters in 100 x 50 cm cages.

I get megazorb for around £14 incl postage and the aubiose was around £20 and although looked about the same size wise as the megazorb I think lasts 2 to 3 times as along as the megazorb.

If you have some sort of equestrian shop nearby you may be able to pick up cheaper e.g £8 for the megazorb.

You will need somewhere that you can store these, but way cheaper than carefresh for example from pets at home and goes a lot further.

[Ria P]

I use Kaytee clean&cozy and buy the 85l bag for £17.99 from Porton Aquatics.
It expands x 3 so fluffs up a lot. I give my hamsters torn up strips of plain white toilet paper for additional nesting material. The cheap toilet paper is the best, not the scented or quilted stuff.
I change the substrate in my Syrian's Alaska cage every 6 weeks or a bit longer but keep as much as possible of the nest and substrate that doesn't miff. He's due a clean soon so i'll let you know how much i'm actually using.

My dwarves i only spot clean because their pee seems to evaporate so substrate lasts a very long time aside from my diabetic dwarf who goes through a lot more substrate because of his excessive drinking/peeing.

It does also depend on the species of hamster, whether they pee in a toilet or not, depth of substrate and size of cage.

What you want to avoid is fluffy nesting material like this cotton wool type stuff. And hamsterballs. Nothing to do with substrate but i dislike these awful contraptions so much that i can't help mentioning it.

[cypher]

Even filled up to the top of the. base you won't need that much substrate in the long run, most hams only need pee spot cleaned frequently & the rest of the cage just partial cleans every few weeks or so.
For paper substrate Fitch probably works out cheapest, you can buy 20kg bags which are very economical, I can't remember how long a bag lasted me tbh as I use Kaytee clean & cosy now, even with four hams an 85l bag lasts me ages.
For a little extra for nesting all you need is shredded plain white toilet tissue.

[Ria P]

Here's a newly opened 85l Kaytee natural and the amount taken out and put in the Alaska base to give you a visual idea of how far it goes.

[Pebbles82]

I use Fitch. 10kg bag for £22 and it lasts about 6 months with two 100cm cages (spot cleaning mostly and using a litter tray). It's recycled food grade paper. I like it and so do the hamsters. It is virtually the same as Kaytee Clean and Cosy although not quite as soft but I prefer the texture of Fitch and it works out cheaper. Both are dust free. Fitch is basically like Carefresh but without the dust.

https://www.fitchfirst.co.uk/fitch-p...-delivery.html

[Pebbles82]

I like the decor on your Alaska cage Ria!

[Pebbles82]

For nesting material, torn up strips of plain white toilet paper is best

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I like the decor on your Alaska cage Ria!

Thanks! Cheap stick on vinyl tiles from Amazon.

[Jadetooth]

Thanks so much everyone !