Bedding

[hammiesarelovex3]

I recently just bought a brand of bedding which I am now using called Crittercare and it is the same material as Carefresh but a cheaper price and I got it at Walmart. Does anyone have this bedding? What do you think of it? I LOVE it and my hammie does too!

Also when cleaning the tank, should I mix some of the old (that's clean) with the new bedding?

Should I do a FULL clean on a 20 gallon aquarium once every two weeks instead of once a week? Because, it is generally clean after 1 week and I heard plenty of people do that...what is your opinion? I feel that it is a good idea because it can be a pain to clean and it wastes money too...

[souffle]

We do once every two weeks with potties cleaned every two days or oftener if necessary especially with the older hams who may have weaker kidneys and wee more. We use dust extracted wood shavings but I have used Carefresh. I find it rather dusty and hard and in the UK people like Megazorb which is meant for horses which I have seen and it seems very good. I don't like the grey colour of Carefresh but that is just a personal thing. For bedding we use kitchen roll put through a shredder then torn up a bit. This is cheap if you have a few hamsters! Does your hamster use the potty? This really cuts cage cleaning a lot. We always put a teeny bit of the old bedding in the new and a little food in the old store so the hams do not feel all is lost after a cage clean and they seem to settle quicker.

[red_hot_chili_peppers]

I don't like Megazorb, it smells horrible and it's grey. I use Nedz bed

[racinghamster]

I will soon be a Roborovski and Winter White owner, thanks to babyboos! So I would go with Souffle's idea. It makes sense really and giving back some of the old nesting material and food stash will make the hamsters feel homely.

I use corner litter trays with the covered plastic roofs and have chinchilla sand in these. I want the hamsters to use these as they please either as a sand bath and/or a loo! I will clean these daily if need be.

I do the same with my gerbils and mice. Spot clean daily and do a full cage clean when I think it's necessary.

I would use white toilet paper ripped into strips for bedding as it's digestible and would break up easily if ingested. Kitchen roll is good too and thicker, but doesn't break down as easily as toilet paper if ingested. I use this for my gerbils as they shred, but don't swallow it, but the mice get toilet paper.

As a floor litter/substrate, I use Chipsi-Classic spruce based European shavings either on their own, or mixed with Megazorb. I can't scource Megazorb easily but a friend drops me off the odd bag when she's away stocking up! I use BedExcel cardboard squares for my mice as they, like rats, carry Mycoplasma bacteria in their upper airways, so can't have shavings. However, I air off all my shavings for a month before using them in plastic bins. This eliminates any odour that may cause respiratory problems.

[rhona]

I'm probably going to be shot down for saying this but I only clean my hamster out once a month BUT.....I clean his toilet every 2 days and his bedding every week but he is soooo clean and when I do clean him out his floor tends to be spotless

[racinghamster]

Oh well, horses for courses! Everyone is different in their approach. I suppose it depends on how urgent the cage clean is?

[souffle]

rhona everyone knows their own hamster and you know when yours need cleaned. Often you need to clean more ofen as the animal grows and gets older. Babies are small and only wee a little so they last longer where as old hams wee a lot we find and need frequent changing. It is important to keep an eye on the store and bedding area as sometimes they store a bit of fresh food and even though you think the cage looks clean the food has gone mouldy in the store and contaminated the dry food so that is something to look out for.

[SnuggleHam]

I think everyone has done a great job in answering your questions. I’m glad to see you are very concerned about giving your hamster the best care! But just to add in my two cents.. I basically keep an eye on my hamsters' cages and clean when I feel it's necessary. My roborovski cage can go without cleaning for a long time because he’s so small and he gets a thick amount of bedding to burrow in.

For my Syrian hamster I clean when I think the droppings are starting to look too many. I basically go by judgment. Of course we must check the cage everyday when we feed or take the hams out to play, so I’m sure you will do fine on your cleaning frequency by just seeing how the cage looks and smells.

[babyboos]

Nothing wrong with a monthly clean out if you use a potty and have a very good, clean hamster I find my boys are generally messier than my girls but some of the girls can go a fortnight between full cleans. Newly weaned pups need cleaned out nearly twice a week as they just generate so much food and poop mess. Most of my hamsters are 10 days, sometimes a few more if I am away on survey, as my partner is so much slower then me. He takes ages washing the dishes too My Roborovski can go even longer, and I think they actually prefer a bigger gap, as it seems to really stress them when they are cleaned out. A month for them is not uncommon.

[Minicooper]

I clean Hammis out every week, even if it's not dirty