What I've got so far

[Lilafernim]

I got a smaller brick for £1.50 I think in Jolleys pet store but I can’t find a link on there website for it. To be honest though I’ll probably just replace it with this one: https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...bre-brick-650g

Since this is the one I’ve seen a lot of people use and recommend. I’d advice watching a video on YouTube it’s very simple to do, just for silly people like me I got so excited that it puffed up so quick I didn’t realise you’re meant to wait and add more water xD I’ve not heard much about it being controversial personally but I know people have said you shouldn’t use it as a main substrate.

Also I see what Ria is saying, and I have heard kiln dried pine is fine. I’ve heard a lot of people say it can be dangerous but Ria you have a good point that a lot of people may have hamsters with genetic dispositions to certain illnesses. Personally though beyond health I do think Kaytee clean and cosy is a nicer substrate anyway, it’s much softer and seems to last longer. I was told it is bad so personally I just don’t like to take the risk, I’ve made mistakes in the past with certain things and now I’m a worrier over everything!

[Pebbles82]

It's well established that pine shavings give off phenols which are very harmful to hamsters. Kiln dried pine is better but there is no standard for kiln drying to be sure that the phenols have been removed - and they are never fully removed. Any pine shavings used need to be both kiln dried and dust extracted, and say so on the packet. Even then there's usually a fair bit of wood dust. Then it's supposed to be safer - but there are so many safe alternatives now it's better not to use them. It also needs to say exactly what wood is - it's no good if it just says "softwood" - it needs to say pine or spruce (spruce is better than pine and has less phenols).

If it just says "softwood" it could be a mix of anything, including cedar and cedar shavings are the absolute worst for being dangerous - very high levels of phenols. The phenols are that nice pine smell you get from the shavings - which is much stronger for a hamster's respiratory tract than ours.

If anyone absolutely wanted to use soft wood shavings then the Chipsi ones are probably the safest - theirs are a combination of spruce and pine. Spruce wood - (it's been tested) only has the same level of phenols as hardwood - but Chipsi don't say what proportion is spruce and what proportion is pine. However the Germans do have legislation for very good kiln drying. The Uk doesn't. It could be good or bad kiln drying and not guaranteed to remove most of the phenols.

It's only the Chipsi classic that is the good one. Some other Chipsi bedding is scented or not a mix of spruce and pine.

Chipsi Classic Pet Bedding | zooplus.co.uk

As amity said also, hamsters can actually be allergic to any type of wood - even hardwood.

Agree - I wouldn't use the Snowflake shavings.

[Pebbles82]

Originally Posted by MeganLouise

Hi everyone, I'm going to be getting my hamster hopefully sometime next week. I'm hoping to get a dwarf hamster! I just thought that I would make a small list of what I've got so far and use this as a chance to ask some questions, since I haven't owned a hamster in a long time I'm sure the standard for care has probably changed a fair bit haha.
The cage I'm going for is a bin cage the Wham 133l crystal box Ive ordered it but it hasn't arrived yet so I'm praying that it doesn't arrived cracked!
Some of the items ive purchesed so far
Food bowl, watter bottle
Flying saucer wheel
2x bendy bridge
Multiple different types of tunnels and hides
Chew toys and boredom breakers.
Cardboard boxes
Toilet roll / kitchen roll tubes
A platform and a bendy bridge ladder
Sand bath
Pet carrier
Pet safe disinfectant
Wire mesh and zip ties for the lid of the cage

I really want to add a sand bath I'm considering this one from argos Buy Children's Play Sand - 15kg Bag | Play sand | Argos I was wondering if any one here has used it and if they recomend it? I know with play sand people recomend you bake it before using it.
I was also hoping that someone could recomend me some bedding available in the uk I've tried to do research on my own but theres a lot of conflicting information out there about hamster bedding and I honestly don't have a clue what one is the best to use. Also any other toy recomendations are very much welcome Thank you!

As Ria said, an upright wheel is better No harm in having a flying saucer as well if it will fit in the cage - or you can use it in a playpen for out of cage time. If it's for a syrian it needs to be a 30 cm saucer though. For a dwarf the 6 to 7" saucer is fine.

The childrens play sand looks fine - I think that's the one souffle uses. But I believe it needs baking to sterilise it. I get this one from Zooplus - it's quite a big bag and lasts ages and not too expensive.

JR Farm Chinchilla-Sand Special | zooplus.co.uk

Do you have a house/nesting box? That is one thing that really helps them have natural behaviours and settle - a house that's big enough and dark inside.

[sushi_78]

I had that play sand from Argos. It's fine but as it comes damp in the bag it needs to be dried (e.g by baking) before use which I found tiresome so I mostly use chinchilla sand such as the JR Farm one from Zooplus.