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racinghamster · 03-21-2014, 02:03 AM

Hi. Wood shavings can be hit or miss. Personally, the Pets At Home shavings are very good (the NON scented shavings, never buy the scented ones). Shavings should be removed from their packaging and kept in an open storage bin and given a good shake about before use. Shavings shouldn`t cause more issues than Carefresh or Megazorb, both of which have been known to cause issues as they too can be dusty and smell!

Make sure your hamsters sleeping area is a large box like a shoe box turned upside down with two exit/entry doors cut into it and not a small plastic stuffy area. Sniffling and sneezing could well be signs of allergy or ventilation issues if the hamster is sleeping in too confined a space and breathing in phenols from the shavings.

The cage should also be large as Syrians require at least 80cm x 45cm floor area. Especially as they grow larger. Hope this helps in the meantime, but if you can give more information about your cage and the type/brand of shavings you are currently using, this would help. x

03-21-2014, 02:03 AM
racinghamster PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Central Scotland Posts: 13,415	Re: Sniffing/Sneezing Hi. Wood shavings can be hit or miss. Personally, the Pets At Home shavings are very good (the NON scented shavings, never buy the scented ones). Shavings should be removed from their packaging and kept in an open storage bin and given a good shake about before use. Shavings shouldn`t cause more issues than Carefresh or Megazorb, both of which have been known to cause issues as they too can be dusty and smell! Make sure your hamsters sleeping area is a large box like a shoe box turned upside down with two exit/entry doors cut into it and not a small plastic stuffy area. Sniffling and sneezing could well be signs of allergy or ventilation issues if the hamster is sleeping in too confined a space and breathing in phenols from the shavings. The cage should also be large as Syrians require at least 80cm x 45cm floor area. Especially as they grow larger. Hope this helps in the meantime, but if you can give more information about your cage and the type/brand of shavings you are currently using, this would help. x __________________ Get A Life, Get A Rodent!