Putting Leaf Litter in A Hamster's Cage

[Grinewin]

Hi! In my never-ending search for ways to enrich my hamster's life, I came across the concept of spreading leaf litter across the floor of a cage yesterday. But I'm finding it it difficult to ascertain whether it's safe to buy any old bag of leaf litter and throw it into a hamster's cage. Are all sorts of (dried) leaves safe for hamsters? If not, which species of tree leaves are safe? I've read that apple and birch tree branches are safe for hamsters, but I couldn't find any leaf litter made up solely of apple and/or birch leaves. Anyone have any knowledge about this? Or maybe some alternatives to leaf litter? I really want to give Egg a proper German style cage, so I'm looking into ways to clutter up her cage and give her more things to touch / sniff / patter across.

Thanks in advance!

[Ria P]

Have a look at the Rodipet website. They do all sorts of different ground covers and they state what type of leaves, flowers etc they sell.

I use the cheaper Rosewood dried leaves and flowers for enrichment available at any petshop.

[Grinewin]

Unfortunately, I'm in the US so I can't order things from Rodipet. But I will have a look at their products and maybe it'll give me an idea of what to look for

[Ria P]

I know that twigs and leaves from fruit trees like pear and apple or hazelnut are safe as long as they haven't been sprayed with chemicals. I've used them from my garden but baked them first at 100C for an hour or you could freeze them for at least 48hrs to remove any unwanted visitors.

[Grinewin]

Thank you for that information! Luckily, I happen to live in the middle of a forest, so I'll have a look around.

[cypher]

I would be careful collecting leaves from outside as you have no idea what may have been on them & they carry the potential for disease, twigs should be ok if you bake them but for any kind of leaves I would buy dried leaves & flowers rather than collecting your own.

[Nebulah]

I tend to buy a bag of dried dandelion leaves and flower heads as well as sprinkle some dried dill/basil in and my hammie loves it. Also the cage smells amazing