Sand? How often?

[Cinnamon Bear]

I recently bought Supreme science chinchilla sand & Kaytee ceramic sand baths for 2 robos & 2 russians

I checked this morning & their sand is free from debris. Only Koala looked fluffy, so he used his for sure. Cinnamon didn't look like he rolled in it & I haven't seen Latte yet?

I have another bath coming for Maddi soon. It's mostly for the younger hamsters plus Izzy doesn't have room for one in her cage. Chloe would kick all the sand out.

Question is do I leave a little bit of sand in the bottom of their baths, just the right amount where it won't spill out of the bedding through the entry, all the time, every day? Just sifting out debris? Like urine puddles although haven't seen that so far?

Or do I just put the baths in one night per week?

Thank you in advance!

[AmityvilleHams]

You give them sand permanently.Do not remove it,it actually helps to keep their fur clean and also gives them a place to use as a potty if needed.Clean out the debris and such regularly but reuse sifted sand if you want,and I'd like to suggest getting a hermit crab sand scoop for the sand baths.You shouldn't take them out though,just keep them in.

You can just put the bathing sand in a shallow ceramic bowl that is large enough for an individual hamster to roll around in and fill it partially with bathing sand.All you need to do is sift out the dirty bits and leave anything clean in them.

[cypher]

I keep sand baths in all my cages all the time, you do need a good depth of sand for them to have a good dig & roll in, if it spills over into the substrate it really isn't a problem at all, it just sinks to the bottom of the cage after a while & they can dig in it there too!
I take out any wet clumps daily or more than once a day if I happen to be by the cage & interacting with the hams & notice some fresh pee in there. Other than that I change the whole lot every few weeks probably, don't keep exact track.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Ok, I'll keep the sand in all the time then. Hopefully all of them will use their Kaytee sand baths & it won't be too confining for them?
It wasn't too small for Koala like I was saying & the robos should find them plenty big. Cinnamon I'll need more time to see if he's using it as a hide out only or rolling in it?

They might need time to learn what it is? Latte is used to rolling in dust out in the open. Cinnamon likes to roll in the bin so I know he likes to roll. I suppose I would have to use a larger dish if he doesn't use his?

The sand is expensive, the kind that cleans the fur compared to children's play sand which wouldn't clean their fur. So using large amounts os sand would be too costly.

I'll definitely buy a hermit crab scoop, hoping I can find one, will check Amazon too... edit: Pet Smart sells them for .99 cents

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

Ok, I'll keep the sand in all the time then. Hopefully all of them will use their Kaytee sand baths & it won't be too confining for them?
It wasn't too small for Koala like I was saying & the robos should find them plenty big. Cinnamon I'll need more time to see if he's using it as a hide out only or rolling in it?

They might need time to learn what it is? Latte is used to rolling in dust out in the open. Cinnamon likes to roll in the bin so I know he likes to roll. I suppose I would have to use a larger dish if he doesn't use his?

The sand is expensive, the kind that cleans the fur compared to children's play sand which wouldn't clean their fur. So using large amounts os sand would be too costly.

I'll definitely buy a hermit crab scoop, hoping I can find one, will check Amazon too...

I think the Kaytee sand baths should work really well at least for a robo,maybe not so well for a larger dwarf hamster and definitely not a Syrian just for future reference

If they haven't experienced them it may take time,but just give it some time definitely!

It is definitely expensive to get the pet-specific sand,but really children's play sand should in theory work pretty well to do some cleaning anyways.I think you'd be able to get away with a relatively small dish for a robo at least and most dwarf hamsters in general compared to a Syrian,so that is something to keep in mind as well as how much less they would be using as well as the fact that you won't necessarily use every bit of sand every time you add more and you may only need a partial refill sometimes.

From what I've heard the hermit crab sand scoops do have smaller holes which are great for sand,which is why I recommend them.It might be possible to find them cheaper at a pet store such as Petsupermarket compared to online,or even a local pet store.I noticed Amazon sometimes overcharges for certain things,sadly

[Cinnamon Bear]

Amazon is expensive regarding hermit crab scoops, they were asking $10 compared to .99 cents at Pet Smart (edited post above )

This last order I placed, I had free $50 for opening up a credit card so I bought 2 small pet (hammie) carriers, 2 boxes of sand, a Kaytee sand bath for Madison & organic Coconut oil (supposed to curb appetite naturally?) So for all that I paid about $8

I got lucky with the free $50 though

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

Amazon is expensive regarding hermit crab scoops, they were asking $10 compared to .99 cents at Pet Smart (edited post above )

This last order I placed, I had free $50 for opening up a credit card so I bought 2 small pet (hammie) carriers, 2 boxes of sand, a Kaytee sand bath for Madison & organic Coconut oil (supposed to curb appetite naturally?) So for all that I paid about $8

I got lucky with the free $50 though

The free credit part is definitely good,and the shocking $10 is just too far!Petsmart,Petsupermarket,and Petco should all have the cheap plastic ones which work perfectly and I think most local pet stores that have reptiles would too.

Amazon can be hit and miss sometimes unfortunately and I would always recommend looking in an actual pet store if you have the option because I've found that some things are several dollars cheaper if not even up to a massive amount cheaper in store compared to online.

[Cinnamon Bear]

This is off subject but do you know what I fed 4 of my hammies last night? Seed mix, Mazuri 60/40, flax seed, millet, meal worms, almonds & cabbage. That's getting carried away lol

[cypher]

You can always use a fork to clean out the sand!

[Cinnamon Bear]

I can tell now that Cinnamon used his sand bath cause he's fluffy too!