Hi Everyone & Substrate Question

[binaryfrost]

Hi everyone,

I had this forum and community recommended to me - so thought I'd come and check it out.

I've had Hamsters in the past (Hammy!, Sammy!! and Brandy) - but that was when I was young. Currently getting ready to accept a new furry friend into our lives (DIY cage build underway, learning a lot of the lessons of the past). So hopefully will find Hamlet in the next couple of weeks. Looking for a young Syrian, either bred or adoption - in the UK.

One thing that I've noticed that has changed a lot is talk about the substrate. Years (15+) ago it was wood shavings from the pet store - but now I hear a lot about Aspen. Should I be looking seriously at aspen as a substrate - or is this mainly for hamster's with allergies or where good quality wood shavings aren't available?

Thanks all!

[Sasha04]

Hi binaryfrost and welcome to HC!

That’s great that you have decided to bring a hamster into your home soon! Cedar and Pine wood shavings are unsafe for hamster because of the toxic acids and fenals they contain. The fenals are what give off the smell which is toxic for hamster to breath in long term because fenals are often used in pesticides and disinfectant. This can cause many respiratory infection which are no fun for you our your hamster to deal with. Aspen wood shavings, on the other hand, is safe for hamster because it doesn’t contain any toxic acids or fenals that Pine and Cedar do. Aspen is typically sold in the reptile section of most petstores but they may be sold in the small animal section as well. As long as you chooses a dust extracted Aspen wood shavings you should be good. If you find unamed wood shavings then I would avoid them simply because you don’t know where they come from and what it is. If you can’t find Aspen wood shavings then Paper Based Beddingis great! As you live in the UK, I would suggests Fitch, Carefresh, and Kaytee Clean and Cozy (KCC is my personal favorite because it holds up borrows very well). All of these are safe and I’ve tried KCC and Carefresh and been happy with them except that Carefresh if pretty hard and I don’t find it the best to burrow in.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions just come back and ask the form! Can’t wait to hear more about your future hammy.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central, you must be very excited to welcome home your Hamlet!

In the UK, pine wood shavings are safe to use for hamsters as by law the shavings have to be kiln dried and dust extracted this removes the majority of the phenols, which makes the wood shavings safer to use. Aspen is safe as it is a hardwood but it really expensive in the UK especially when providing a suitable depth of substrate for burrowing. Form my own personally experience I wouldn’t recommend Carefresh as it can be very dusty and also quite expensive. It’s true that woodshavings increase the risk of respiratory infections however it isn’t a certainty.

The most popular substrate on the forum is Fitch which is a paper based bedding as it comes in large bales (10kg, 15kg and 20kg) it makes the bedding really cost effective only. It’s only available to buy online from their website. My hamsters love it as it is soft and they can easily burrow in it. So I would highly recommend it!