Hamsterita I have to confess I'm not entirely sure why but sprouting lentils (& other legumes like mung beans) in a jar so the sprouts are just little tips is not considered safe for hamsters generally, growing them in the saucer like you did so you have tall lentils, more like a plant than a little sprout is considered safe, hope that's not too confusing!
It's fine to soak your lentils first, about 8 hours should be enough, you can do the same with grains & sunflowers seeds then just plant them in your saucer as normal, it speeds up germination a bit.
A few things like buckwheat will spoil if soaked for more than 30 mins.
I tried using tissue in a little pot & it was just too much of a mush when wet! Kitchen towels don't break down so easily & might be better.
If you're growing your sprouts in a saucer or small dish I really recommend trying it with sand.
ETA another thing you can do as you don't have fitch with small seeds, not big ones like lentils, is just grow them on a sheet of kitchen paper on a saucer, this is Zephyr enjoying the Shelled warrior mix grown like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziEkydsZh2s
I'll try to get some photos together to show the difference between stages of sprouting but by tiny sprout in the jar method I mean when you can just begin to see that the seed/lentil/grain is growing before you get a long shoot.
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