Hello from the UK!

[chocdonuty]

Hi there, Not sure where everyones from on here but seems a busy forum so thought I'd join to say hello and get advice

I'm a mom from Redditch and currently have:

1 x robo hamster, Bubble, unknown age who I adopted unexpectedly from a lady a week after I collected two unwanted guinea pigs from her. she gave me a call and I took him in, could hardly say no as the guinea pigs wern't looked after all that well and thought I could give him a home.

1x Syrian, 4 months old called Bonnie, chubby, taming up quickly and awaiting a lovely big cage for her as she's in a little starter home due to a courier muck up!
Got a lovely big wheel and toys waiting, just need the cage!

1x white dwarf albino Hamster, only got him a few days ago but he's not looking well, 9 months old I'm told, I'll start a thread in the right place for him (That's what I've been told, not had chance to get a good look but not entirely convinced)

8x guinea pigs yep 8, no more though, means my sawdust/hay use is massive!

3x cats, well behaved, curious more than anything and I think the guinea pigs scare them!
Well thats all for now, will chat soon

[InkyPen]

Welcome to the forum!

You've certainly got a lot on your hands! With regards to the hay and woodshavings usage - have a look at some agricultural suppliers as they will be way cheaper than anything designed for the pet market. When I had pet chickens, we used to buy an enormous compacted bale of woodshavings (1m x 0.5 x 0.5m?) from the sawmill for £6 (admittedly this was about 10 years ago...). You could also buy hay in bales from agricultural feed merchants, and I'm sure they sold woodshavings too.

If you have a car and somewhere to store it then it might help to cut down on the pig bills substantially, if you're not already going down this route!

The other one people on here like is Fitch, which is more expensive than woodshavings from the sawmill, but kg for kg about the same as retail priced woodshavings https://www.fitchrecycling.co.uk/fit...bale-20kg.html

[chocdonuty]

Currently i get my woodshavings for £3.50 for 10kg at wilko or if I have the rare use of a car I can get a big bag from a horse suppliers, not sure of weight but big for £9.
I have tried fitch but for the guinea pigs its not great value as they use so much!
However I'm now thinking of woodshavings for the pigs as normal and something else for the hammies, I like carefresh but a tad expensive from most places :/

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to HC

Well done rescuing those in need of a loving home, look forward to hearing more about your hamily.

[BorisPasha]

Hello and welcome to HC

[ladyntramp002]

Hello and welcome to our lovely hammie community!

[Drago]

Hello and welcome aboard! Sounds like you've got your hands full with all those lovely animals

[Cinnamon Bear]

You've come to the right place with people who have small amounts of pets and many have lots of pets. Welcome to HC

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Blimey, that's a lot of pets.

[AmityvilleHams]

Have you considered investing in fleece liners for the piggies?It would be a big initial investment but it would save a ton over the lifespan of the piggies,as they'd not be using something that has to get thrown out after being used