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AmityvilleHams · 08-19-2020, 04:54 PM

Elmer's glue won't necessarily give ingredients out. What I can remember of that particular glue is that it does contain synthetic petroleum though - something you do not want hamsters or any animal for that matter ingesting.

Many, if not the overwhelming majority, of glues are going to contain some form of plastic. We should all know by now that ingestion of plastic is not safe, so I would proceed with very serious caution.

Using toys made with glue outside the cage is what I would stick with. At the very least you can supervise and eliminate the risk of any hamster(s) ingesting the glues involved while still being able to make nice things for the hamster(s) involved.

Cardboard and wood are two materials that cannot be fully and safely sterilized. For the safety of any hamsters involved for multiple reasons, these kinds of toys that simply cannot be sterilized should only be used one toy per hamster.

Another option for out of cage toys would be using plastic. Plastic inside the cage isn't a very good idea and really should be avoided(with obvious exceptions for the wheel and water bottle if a plastic bottle is required for whatever reason), but outside the cage you'd have an excellent toy material as long as supervision is used to avoid any plastic ingestion and such. This alternative would be far more durable without necessarily being that expensive - plus it can be sterilized properly between hamsters and as such can be a more convenient and long lasting solution for hamster owners with multiple hamsters(or to use for future hamsters)!

There are also the alternatives of glass and ceramic. These would be great for some people, but they can both get decently heavy and aren't going to be as easy and convenient to move around as plastic. They're durable, yes, but also somewhat fragile if handled poorly. If you're going to use ceramic or glass toys and such, they'll inherently need more careful handling and storage. Not everyone will view this as a major problem but it is something to consider.

Obviously sticking to one material isn't required and they all have their places. As an example for a disposable travel playpen toy, cardboard really shines. You could make sets for each hamster you have which would be much more convenient than having to wash lots of plastic/glass/ceramic when staying in a hotel.

08-19-2020, 04:54 PM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Safe glue Elmer's glue won't necessarily give ingredients out. What I can remember of that particular glue is that it does contain synthetic petroleum though - something you do not want hamsters or any animal for that matter ingesting. Many, if not the overwhelming majority, of glues are going to contain some form of plastic. We should all know by now that ingestion of plastic is not safe, so I would proceed with very serious caution. Using toys made with glue outside the cage is what I would stick with. At the very least you can supervise and eliminate the risk of any hamster(s) ingesting the glues involved while still being able to make nice things for the hamster(s) involved. Cardboard and wood are two materials that cannot be fully and safely sterilized. For the safety of any hamsters involved for multiple reasons, these kinds of toys that simply cannot be sterilized should only be used one toy per hamster. Another option for out of cage toys would be using plastic. Plastic inside the cage isn't a very good idea and really should be avoided(with obvious exceptions for the wheel and water bottle if a plastic bottle is required for whatever reason), but outside the cage you'd have an excellent toy material as long as supervision is used to avoid any plastic ingestion and such. This alternative would be far more durable without necessarily being that expensive - plus it can be sterilized properly between hamsters and as such can be a more convenient and long lasting solution for hamster owners with multiple hamsters(or to use for future hamsters)! There are also the alternatives of glass and ceramic. These would be great for some people, but they can both get decently heavy and aren't going to be as easy and convenient to move around as plastic. They're durable, yes, but also somewhat fragile if handled poorly. If you're going to use ceramic or glass toys and such, they'll inherently need more careful handling and storage. Not everyone will view this as a major problem but it is something to consider. Obviously sticking to one material isn't required and they all have their places. As an example for a disposable travel playpen toy, cardboard really shines. You could make sets for each hamster you have which would be much more convenient than having to wash lots of plastic/glass/ceramic when staying in a hotel.