Hamster Central - View Single Post - Safe potting soil? And bedding for long-haired Syrian?

AmityvilleHams · 05-18-2020, 02:44 AM

Organic soil isn't safe, just as with any other actual soil. The only safe option for a "soil" material would be coconut fiber, and even that has to be used carefully despite being significantly safer than any actual soil. You wouldn't want to be mixing the coconut fiber with any other substrate either - it would need to be a shallow small container.

This is in an old thread to posts might get deleted, but it is critical for anyone with actual soil in their cage to remove it completely - yes, even organic, which is NOT any less dangerous than "regular" soil. Anyone looking for a soil type material should stick to coconut fiber and nothing else, while doing so carefully to keep it to small amounts in a well ventilated cage keeping the coconut fiber neither too dry(can become too dusty) or too moist(can also impact the respiratory system negatively). Soil shouldn't be used outside the cage either and the same rules would apply, but you can potentially get away with a larger and deeper amount of coconut fiber outside the cage for a variety of reasons!

05-18-2020, 02:44 AM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Safe potting soil? And bedding for long-haired Syrian? Organic soil isn't safe, just as with any other actual soil. The only safe option for a "soil" material would be coconut fiber, and even that has to be used carefully despite being significantly safer than any actual soil. You wouldn't want to be mixing the coconut fiber with any other substrate either - it would need to be a shallow small container. This is in an old thread to posts might get deleted, but it is critical for anyone with actual soil in their cage to remove it completely - yes, even organic, which is NOT any less dangerous than "regular" soil. Anyone looking for a soil type material should stick to coconut fiber and nothing else, while doing so carefully to keep it to small amounts in a well ventilated cage keeping the coconut fiber neither too dry(can become too dusty) or too moist(can also impact the respiratory system negatively). Soil shouldn't be used outside the cage either and the same rules would apply, but you can potentially get away with a larger and deeper amount of coconut fiber outside the cage for a variety of reasons!