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Old 03-29-2022, 06:17 PM   #1
arnoldshirl
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: USA
Posts: 88
Default Settled in

Update on Cinnamon Bun.
She is acceptance of her 20L gallon tank home. Yesterday, I changed her bedding from this old style Aspen Bedding to something new. My trip to Petsmart is where I found this Aspen Bedding by Full Cheeks. I placed it inside her place at the depth of 4 inches. I built a wall from Jenga Pieces and placed it in her home to prevent nine inches of the tank filled with repti-sand for her play area to merge with her aspen bedding.
I have to say I am pleased with this aspen bedding and so is she. Cinnamon Bun tunnels and burrows through this finer shavings then she ever done before! I tried to get assistance to inspect more of the paper bedding, but had no luck in even finding a sales person. I am curious on how soft these paper beddings truly are because in the thick packaging the substrate appears like popcorn texture. Is paper bedding popcorn texture or soft like tissue?

Here is a photo to show how she prefers her peanut home closer to the glass bottom then on top of the bedding. She wore herself out digging to the bottom and clearing out all the aspen bedding inside her peanut home.
Now before anyone gasps at how the depth of bedding isn't deep enough, do know that she prefers to sleep against the glass bottom. Rest assure she has plenty of aspen bedding in her place, just not where she sleeps. Her sandy play area is where we interact with one another mostly now too. I run my fingers through the sand as she digs wildly. I even slowly push the sand she is digging out back at her and this makes me laugh because she stops digging and looks around then starts digging wildly some more, wondering why she isn't reaching bottom?!

[IMG][/IMG]

here is a photo of her making another secret passage

[IMG][/IMG]

here she is exiting her secret passage
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Old 03-30-2022, 03:05 AM   #2
cloudy
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Default Re: Settled in

She is so cute! It is lovely to hear she is settling in and that she is enjoying her new bedding.
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Old 03-30-2022, 03:10 AM   #3
Ria P
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
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Default Re: Settled in

Glad she's settling in now. She looks happy.

The only popcornlike textured substrate i can think of is Carefresh but it's still soft.

Kaytee clean and cozy white is very soft and tissuelike. I prefer the more papery natural but can't get it just now.

I think that there are suitable, paperbased substrates available in the US but i can't remember the name of it.
You could have a look under Housing and there may be threads on different substrates.

I've never tried Aspen. It's expensive over here and i have a lot of hamsters so stick to Kaytee clean and cozy 85l bags. I'm not sure if i'd want to use Aspen as the entire substrate either. The Kaytee doubles as nesting material but they still like their mountain of plain toilet paper strips.
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Old 03-30-2022, 03:49 AM   #4
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Settled in

In the US we have Small Pet Select and Oxbow Pure Comfort for substrate made from actual virgin fiber paper, rather than cellulose pulp(Carefresh, very common for hamsters to have allergic reactions to that even if they don't happen right away and it tends to be extremely dusty) or recycled paper(Kaytee Clean and Cozy, which frequently has dusty batches, hard pieces, etc).

In the long run I would strongly advise switching over to children's play sand rather than continuing to use reptile sand of any kind. It's a far better economic value and while you do have to rinse, sift, and bake play sand it is completely worth it when you consider how much more sand you end up getting for far less than you'd pay for reptile sand.
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Old 03-30-2022, 07:33 AM   #5
Stanza
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Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Essex
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Default Re: Settled in

Your photos of Cinnamon Bun are so cute, great to hear she is settling into her new home, it looks cosy
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Old 03-30-2022, 06:17 PM   #6
arnoldshirl
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Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: USA
Posts: 88
Default Re: Settled in

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
Glad she's settling in now. She looks happy.

The only popcornlike textured substrate i can think of is Carefresh but it's still soft.

Kaytee clean and cozy white is very soft and tissuelike. I prefer the more papery natural but can't get it just now.

I think that there are suitable, paperbased substrates available in the US but i can't remember the name of it.
You could have a look under Housing and there may be threads on different substrates.

I've never tried Aspen. It's expensive over here and i have a lot of hamsters so stick to Kaytee clean and cozy 85l bags. I'm not sure if i'd want to use Aspen as the entire substrate either. The Kaytee doubles as nesting material but they still like their mountain of plain toilet paper strips.
I like using Aspen because it does provide odor-control. Using it as a bottom base substrate is what I am mostly doing with Aspen. After she finished digging and curled up inside her peanut home, I watched a movie while tearing strips from some toilet tissue rolls; ended up going shredding three rolls before I realized it. LOL Of course, she didn't wake up to that much because I placed half that amount on top of where she was. Buried her peanut home completely in strips of toilet tissue.

I'll check under the housing thread. Thanks. I didn't see Kaytee brand of white in that Petsmart. I did see other colors but they were scented bedding, lots of those! I am not buying scented bedding. Thanks for letting me know that it's soft tissue texture, I will check around online for some.
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Old 03-30-2022, 06:23 PM   #7
arnoldshirl
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Default Re: Settled in

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams View Post
In the US we have Small Pet Select and Oxbow Pure Comfort for substrate made from actual virgin fiber paper, rather than cellulose pulp(Carefresh, very common for hamsters to have allergic reactions to that even if they don't happen right away and it tends to be extremely dusty) or recycled paper(Kaytee Clean and Cozy, which frequently has dusty batches, hard pieces, etc).

In the long run I would strongly advise switching over to children's play sand rather than continuing to use reptile sand of any kind. It's a far better economic value and while you do have to rinse, sift, and bake play sand it is completely worth it when you consider how much more sand you end up getting for far less than you'd pay for reptile sand.
Well I am in the US and I haven't seen those on the shelf in Petsmart. I'll definitely add these to the list to research online to find too.
Bake play sand? Really? I need the directions on that, if you don't mind sharing that info. I never knew play sand had to be baked, isn't is safe as is because children play in it?
I do agree on the repti sand not being a economic value. $15-$18 for a mere 10 LB bag is pricey. I'll check on play sand. Any particular brand of play sand?
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Old 03-30-2022, 06:25 PM   #8
arnoldshirl
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Location: USA
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Default Re: Settled in

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stanza View Post
Your photos of Cinnamon Bun are so cute, great to hear she is settling into her new home, it looks cosy
Thank you. Her happiness makes me happy. I need and always want her to be cosy, even if that means she needs to renovate her place her wild way.
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Old 03-30-2022, 06:29 PM   #9
arnoldshirl
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Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: USA
Posts: 88
Default Re: Settled in

Quote:
Originally Posted by cloudy View Post
She is so cute! It is lovely to hear she is settling in and that she is enjoying her new bedding.
Thank you. It was a nail biting beginning on getting her in this bigger tank. Has me wondering now if my future plans of making a bigger place is really wise. I could maybe keep her in this place and continue letting her stretch her energy longer in the play pen area. I don't want her or even myself to go through this stress of her even having a moment of unhappiness.
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Old 03-30-2022, 08:56 PM   #10
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Settled in

Quote:
Originally Posted by arnoldshirl View Post
Well I am in the US and I haven't seen those on the shelf in Petsmart. I'll definitely add these to the list to research online to find too.
Bake play sand? Really? I need the directions on that, if you don't mind sharing that info. I never knew play sand had to be baked, isn't is safe as is because children play in it?
I do agree on the repti sand not being a economic value. $15-$18 for a mere 10 LB bag is pricey. I'll check on play sand. Any particular brand of play sand?
Small Pet Select is online only, not in pet stores. Oxbow is carried by some places but I don't think it's been in store as much lately.

Soft Paper Bedding for Rabbits - 100% Unbleached Virgin Fiber - Small Pet Select U.S.
Unbleached White Paper Bedding for Rabbits | Small Pet Select - Small Pet Select U.S.

Some Small Pet Select products won't be safe though, such as the lavender version of the paper substrate they came out with recently which is extremely dangerous to some small pets especially rats & mice(lavender causes neurological issues in those - best to be on the safe side with hamsters too just in case, but at the very least it's very irritating to them anyways). I also wouldn't use their recycled paper pellets or pelleted litters in general, they're much harsher on paws and not very good for hamsters overall compared to sand.

As far as baking sand goes and the entire process, it is very important. Even "sealed" packaging isn't enough to keep out bugs and such so it really does matter for safety to take the time to prepare play sand!

For the baking itself, generally I've found most people tend to go for around 350-375f for around 30 minutes in a rimmed baking sheet. For specific brands, the main thing is to get one that isn't dyed and is just natural sand. I think a lot of people have just used the Quikrete sand for example, but I'd imagine different areas & stores will have different options.
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