[AmityvilleHams]

I personally would suggest looking online or going to a specialty lumber store of some sort.Home Depot and other chain stores sometimes have a small amount of kiln dried wood,but with chain stores you may not have the best options and you might not know where the wood is sourced(including wood that may be from China).

Popsicle sticks could potentially work,but at the same time they'd be a lot more work to seal(using beeswax or another DIY natural wood seal that is hamster safe)compared to a solid piece of wood that's more flat with no gaps in between.Plus,ordering good quality wood(including USA sourced wood)doesn't have to be expensive if you can get it cut to size instead of buying only small pieces!