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AmityvilleHams · 04-17-2022, 01:11 PM

I would say a very strong no. Painted woods aren't going to be safe with hamsters for toys and toy parts - even water based very frequently includes things like acrylic which you definitely don't want to risk them ingesting as plastic is completely indigestible!

Another huge red flag with them even if they were just completely raw wood and nothing else is they don't even say what species of wood they are. This is a very big problem because not every wood species is safe for hamsters, some being a potential irritant as well as a variety of wood species being quite toxic to hamsters for various reasons.

In terms of toys in general another safety issue to keep in mind are things like plywood and wood composite type materials. Many people get away with them for cage structure and such but they should never be chewed or ingested by pets. This also includes things like the Ecotrition Snak Shacks and similar products - they're essentially a wood composite(inedible) with hay & honey, plus they tend to contain questionable ingredients like synthetic dyes and preservatives that are best avoided.

Snak Shacks have sadly lead to rats dying at the very least. The honey encourages pets to eat them when they are NOT edible. Wood isn't something that pets should be ingesting much of, and while the occasional nibble on a bit of untreated/kiln dried safe wood species is fine it is still very difficult to digest and if enough is ingested it can absolutely lead to life threatening digestive blockages.

Sadly there are so many unsafe products on the market for all different kinds of pets with any source you could think of including Etsy. There are definitely good options out there but they can take some digging to find!

Rosewood actually have dandelion & nettle root which would be a really good alternative to wood chews. Many hamsters don't actually end up chewing much if at all on the typical wood chews. Whimzees are also very popular among hamsters - just make sure not to get the veggie sausage or veggie strips as they contain clove bud oil which isn't safe for hamsters!

04-17-2022, 01:11 PM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Are these safe for hamsters? I would say a very strong no. Painted woods aren't going to be safe with hamsters for toys and toy parts - even water based very frequently includes things like acrylic which you definitely don't want to risk them ingesting as plastic is completely indigestible! Another huge red flag with them even if they were just completely raw wood and nothing else is they don't even say what species of wood they are. This is a very big problem because not every wood species is safe for hamsters, some being a potential irritant as well as a variety of wood species being quite toxic to hamsters for various reasons. In terms of toys in general another safety issue to keep in mind are things like plywood and wood composite type materials. Many people get away with them for cage structure and such but they should never be chewed or ingested by pets. This also includes things like the Ecotrition Snak Shacks and similar products - they're essentially a wood composite(inedible) with hay & honey, plus they tend to contain questionable ingredients like synthetic dyes and preservatives that are best avoided. Snak Shacks have sadly lead to rats dying at the very least. The honey encourages pets to eat them when they are NOT edible. Wood isn't something that pets should be ingesting much of, and while the occasional nibble on a bit of untreated/kiln dried safe wood species is fine it is still very difficult to digest and if enough is ingested it can absolutely lead to life threatening digestive blockages. Sadly there are so many unsafe products on the market for all different kinds of pets with any source you could think of including Etsy. There are definitely good options out there but they can take some digging to find! Rosewood actually have dandelion & nettle root which would be a really good alternative to wood chews. Many hamsters don't actually end up chewing much if at all on the typical wood chews. Whimzees are also very popular among hamsters - just make sure not to get the veggie sausage or veggie strips as they contain clove bud oil which isn't safe for hamsters!