help with bedding

auroraxo7 · 06-06-2020, 09:21 AM

hi guys! this is my first time posting. i have many questions but i really need to know which bedding to use for my new hammy that is arriving soon. i was thinking of kaytee but i have seen bad reviews on them and i just want to give my hamster the best health. i am based in the uk, if anyone could give me any tips or recommendations it wil lbe much appreciated! (not to expensive would be preferred) thank you!

Petite · 06-06-2020, 01:27 PM

I think there are quite a few of us on here who use Kaytee Clean and Cosy, and I've just switched to it myself from wood shavings. My dwarf seems to like it, and I don't find it to be too dusty. It also holds tunnels well in the substrate. Freya is in a detolf, so I don't have to clean too often, and a bag lasts me a while. I'm not planning to switch back!

Ria P · 06-06-2020, 01:46 PM

Hi and welcome to HC!

I'm surprised that you've seen bad reviews about Kaytee clean and cozy. My hamsters seem to like it going by the amount of tunnels my Robo builds, the size of my Syrian's nest and the fact that my dwarfs sleep burrowed into it.

It's economical and space saving storage wise because its sold compressed and expands a lot.

I really can't say anything negative about it.

I had a bag of Carefresh once that had an unpleasant smell about it but i still use Carefresh for a splash of colour as a top layer sometimes.

auroraxo7 · 06-06-2020, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petite

I think there are quite a few of us on here who use Kaytee Clean and Cosy, and I've just switched to it myself from wood shavings. My dwarf seems to like it, and I don't find it to be too dusty. It also holds tunnels well in the substrate. Freya is in a detolf, so I don't have to clean too often, and a bag lasts me a while. I'm not planning to switch back!

hello, thank you for the reply! i've also bought a detolf for my soon coming dwarf, thank you for the advice i will most likely be getting the kaytee bedding then

auroraxo7 · 06-06-2020, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ria P

Hi and welcome to HC!

I'm surprised that you've seen bad reviews about Kaytee clean and cozy. My hamsters seem to like it going by the amount of tunnels my Robo builds, the size of my Syrian's nest and the fact that my dwarfs sleep burrowed into it.

It's economical and space saving storage wise because its sold compressed and expands a lot.

I really can't say anything negative about it.

I had a bag of Carefresh once that had an unpleasant smell about it but i still use Carefresh for a splash of colour as a top layer sometimes.

Hey! thank you for the reply and your advice. i will most likely be purchasing kaytee bedding then, thank you very much

Jeanbird7 · 06-06-2020, 07:47 PM

I use clean and cozy on 3/4 of the house rising to deep on one end and snake aspen on 1/4 of the house. Non toxic sand, and sometimes they like coconut but not always (and it's messy)

Kyrkogrimr · 06-07-2020, 02:40 AM

I'm currently using the clean and cosy natural colour and I'm really happy with it. I mix some hay in with it to support tunnel building as I don't think the natural holds tunnels as well as the white does by itself. Fortunately, Carbon is quite happy with this - Cadmium hated having any hay in her cage; I think because she didn't like the smell.

I have recently switched from the white clean and cosy because personally I found it could get a bit dusty, and having had RI issues with Cadmium, I wanted to eliminate that as a possible cause. Aside from that though, I was very happy with the white version: it holds burrows well and has the benefit of making it easier to see where the bedding is soiled.

Both varieties work out reasonably economical price-wise for me and as mentioned above, they are sold compressed and expand a lot. One of my cages is a detolf and the most expensive change over is between pets when all of the substrate has to be replaced. Otherwise I spot clean daily and change out between 1/3 and 1/2 of the substrate for "big cleans" depending on how much needs removing. My main reason for this is that it minimises stress for the fuzz balls, but an added benefit is that the substrate goes a lot further and the cost isn't as high. Of course, this works because the detolf is a big cage

Thin Lizzy · 06-07-2020, 05:13 AM

I used to use kaytee clean and cosy and everything was fine but, I then started to find hard bits, staples and in one bag I found a plaster with dried blood on it which horrified. I always went through it before putting it in the cage. But, everyone is different. I returned those bags to p@h and I was given a full refund. I've now gone back to carefresh.
Give kaytee a try, your batch could be different.

Nika · 06-12-2020, 05:25 AM

Hi there! I'm also based in the UK and I have been ordering Aubiose for a few years now. It arrives in a HUGE bag that easily lasts me at least around half a year. Last time I ordered it on ebay, for around £20, which works out really cheap in the long run! It also contains smells quite well, and I need to clean a lot less than with paper bedding

Yanathehammie · 06-20-2020, 05:20 AM

Hiya!
Especially in the UK I recommend Fitch bedding (paper bedding) . It’s cheaper than Kaytee cc and carefresh. In my experience, it is not dusty and super soft. It is basically Kaytee bedding but a lot cheaper. You can buy a big 20kg ‘paper bale’ for around £35. It may sound expensive at first but the bale is huge and compressed and mine lasted for 8 months (I have one hammie with a 1500sq inch cage and 10in of bedding). I hope this helps.