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Pebbles82 · 02-03-2021, 05:57 PM

Sorry but agree- very bad idea for a hamster! Humidity and mould could result and hamsters have extremely sensitive respiratory tracts and could get fungal lung infections. It’s a lovely idea for the right species. It could actually be a welfare issue.

The other thing is - it isn’t necessary because hamsters are very clean little things and will use a litter tray (pee). Their pee is the only unhygienic bit. You just empty the litter tray once or twice a week and the rest of the cage stays clean and dry. I go four months without doing a substrate change doing this - apart from occasional spot cleaning if necessary or just adding a bit of substrate because it’s flattened down.

Also they eat their own poops sometimes! This is normal behaviour as they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops. So the hamsters themselves are bioactive!

They don’t eat all of them though but can have little hoards or poops too (emergency food supplies to help them feel secure).

Their poops are not dirty or smelly but more like seeds and dry so they aren’t an issue unless they start taking over the cage and then you can just spot clean them.

02-03-2021, 05:57 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Bioactive hamster cage? Sorry but agree- very bad idea for a hamster! Humidity and mould could result and hamsters have extremely sensitive respiratory tracts and could get fungal lung infections. It’s a lovely idea for the right species. It could actually be a welfare issue. The other thing is - it isn’t necessary because hamsters are very clean little things and will use a litter tray (pee). Their pee is the only unhygienic bit. You just empty the litter tray once or twice a week and the rest of the cage stays clean and dry. I go four months without doing a substrate change doing this - apart from occasional spot cleaning if necessary or just adding a bit of substrate because it’s flattened down. Also they eat their own poops sometimes! This is normal behaviour as they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops. So the hamsters themselves are bioactive! They don’t eat all of them though but can have little hoards or poops too (emergency food supplies to help them feel secure). Their poops are not dirty or smelly but more like seeds and dry so they aren’t an issue unless they start taking over the cage and then you can just spot clean them.