safe sand baths?

[TNTWORX]

I know hamsters need sand baths, so what are some recommended sands and sand holders?

[Amys_Mum]

I use science selective chinchilla sand, I've found it cheapest from amazon but it's an add-on, so I buy a couple of boxes when I'm buying other things.

Harvey (syrian) originally had a butter tub as a sand bath, was just the right size and it was nice and deep so she could push the sand around and it didn't go everywhere. Now she's full size, she has a pyrex oval dish instead, not as deep but bigger. She tends to use it more to sit in to have a wash or chew on a stick rather than dig.

[kittokitty]

Chinchilla sand should do Make sure not to get the dust though, that stuff's deadly!

[Elliiy]

Originally Posted by kittokitty

Chinchilla sand should do Make sure not to get the dust though, that stuff's deadly!

why is the dust deadly?

[hammy2]

The dust from chinchilla dusting powder can affect the hamsters respiratory. Chinchilla sand feels like sand. You can also use children's play sand if you bake it in the oven to get rid of moisture

[Elliiy]

Originally Posted by hammy2

The dust from chinchilla dusting powder can affect the hamsters respiratory. Chinchilla sand feels like sand. You can also use children's play sand if you bake it in the oven to get rid of moisture

oh, ok thank you for the information i will keep that in mind

[Pebbles82]

I would stick with the Science Selective one - it's what most people on here use. It's not cheap, but mine lasts a while - you can scoop out any soiled bits and just add a bit more.

Amazon.com : Chinchilla Sand : Petsuppliesmisc : Pet Supplies

Any kind of ceramic or plastic dish would be fine - a pyrex oval casserole dish, or a plastic ice cream tub or similar. The main thing with anything heavy like pyrex or ceramic is to make sure it can't be tunnelled under and fall on them, so something deeper, that can sit on the bottom of the cage, with the substrate piled up around it, might be best.

Some people use angled glass cookie jars, which is a nice idea, or a large salt pig type thing. Also a mason and cash dog bowl

Amazon.com: Anchor Hocking 1-Gallon Penny Candy Jar with Chrome Lid: Decorative Jars: Kitchen & Dining

Pet Supplies : Mason Cash Cane 7-Inch Pet Bowl : Amazon.com

[Jeir]

There's also this one from Zooplus. It's around £8 for 5kg (£4.99 + £2.99 shipping), or a little under £16 for 15kg (£12.99 + £2.99 shipping), which works out a lot cheaper than the one from Amazon (roughly 6.8ltrs = 1kg, so you're getting 34ltr/£8, or 102ltr/£16, compared to Supreme's 1.5ltr/£2.69.).

But, erm, never used it before. =D So no idea what the quality is like. (Anyone else tried it? If I needed sand soon, I would buy to try it out and report back, but I've still got enough sand to last a few weeks.)

[TNTWORX]

Thanks! how big should the dish be?

[Pebbles82]

About 6 or 7 inches diameter (or lenth maybe). Or the size of that cookie jar