Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Species > Syrian Hamster

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-19-2019, 12:24 PM   #1
kjalbaine
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 6
Default Looking for sand bath advice

Hi there,
My beautiful Syrian hamster Freddy has such gorgeous fur and I brush him regularly, but around his neck area his fur is greasy. I got some reptile sand (the kind with without calcium and such added because I heard it can bind them up). He loves digging in the the sand and peeing in it, but he doesn't roll in it. So it isn't doing its job taking the oils out of his fur. I tried putting some on him and rubbing it through his fur. But that doesn’t seem to be helping either. Kaytee makes a dry shampoo for hamsters. I haven't tried it yet because I’m not sure if its a good idea. If im only barely misting him with it i don't see how it could hurt him as he wouldn’t be getting wet and I’d brush it through to remove the excess oil.
I would appreciate some advice from pet parents who have more experience with Syrian hamsters than I have.
Kara
kjalbaine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2019, 05:39 PM   #2
PurpleKat
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Midlands
Posts: 208
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

I'm not that experienced but my syrian didn't use her's much to start with just peed. But she's got a larger tub now for her to dig deep cover her pee then she rolls in a different section, about 2.5 kg's of sand.
There are just odd creatures but cute.
__________________
Always learning. Protector of Nougat
In my heart Caroline & Elaina & Frigg & Pancake & Caramel & Oreo
PurpleKat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2019, 10:33 PM   #3
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

Definitely don't use any kind of sprays, especially not anything like the Kaytee dry shampoo! This shampoo product doesn't even list ingredients, and despite being marketed for small pets it can be quite harmful(toxic at worst, severely irritating at absolute best which is almost guaranteed due to being a scented product).

I would change to baked children's play sand instead of reptile sand. Reptile sand has questionable safety, while children's play sand is known to be quite safe. A larger sand bath and baked & sifted play sand are really the only things that I can recommend changing to, and long term this will save you quite a bit of money as reptile sand is often horribly overpriced anyways in comparison to how cheap play sand is.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2019, 10:50 PM   #4
alpacassei
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
alpacassei's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Cornwall, UK
Posts: 1,109
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

I agree, its best not to use any kind of products on his fur.

Have you considered the possibility that he’s satin haired? Its quite common for people to mistake satin haired hammies for being greasy.
__________________
<3 Sunflower Custard, Bigfoot, Petal, Stormy, Flurry, Vanilla <3
___________
Angel hamsters: Francisco, Marcello, Peppermint, Mishka, Stephano, Sundae, Peach <3
alpacassei is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2019, 08:45 AM   #5
kjalbaine
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 6
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

Thanks everyone for the advice. I wont use the spray. I had a suspicion it wouldnt be a good idea. And I just smelled it and yuck yes seems toxic. Glad i didnt use it. I will research i to if he is satin haired. Thanks for the advice on the baked and sifted children play sand. I will give that a try. When you bake it what temperature and for how long? Thanks!
kjalbaine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2019, 09:01 AM   #6
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

Breaking it down into simple steps, there are really two parts to getting debris and dust out of the sand. The first is rinsing it. A big portion of dust particles and things like that should float to the top of the water surface in this step, which can easily be scooped out before sifting/straining the sand. After that you can bake the sand at 350 degrees fahrenheit(roughly 176.6 celsius), although the baking time isn't something everyone agrees on but a good minimum is 15 minutes.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2019, 05:04 PM   #7
kjalbaine
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 6
Default Re: Looking for sand bath advice

Great thanks for the info!!
kjalbaine is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
fur, sand, advice, hamsters, brush, syrian, helping, idea, good, i’m, shampoo, dry, kaytee, makes, kara, oil, experience, excess, remove, i’d, parents, wet, pet, misting, wouldn’t

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:16 AM.