Have you looked into using River Sand?

[Chesterspal]

I have been using play sand sourced from the home improvement store for my hamster's sand box. He spends a great deal of time in there each evening and early mornings.

I washed it 3 or 4 times and I baked it for at least an hour. However, I still noticed that when pouring from one container into another there was a good deal of sand dust kicking up.

That has been bothering me a great deal since if my hamster is splashing around in it, he is also kicking up sand dust and, if follows, breathing it in.

Sand (or silica which is what it is) dust is deadly. Once in the lungs it is there forever.

In humans... they call it silicosis... and there is no cure.

So, I have been on a quest for something better and the idea of testing river sand came to mind. I knew of a spot near the Connecticut River, where the boats launch, where I could easily scoop up a small bucket of the fine sand that the river has been washing over and over for ages.

I washed it 3 or 4 times and I baked it for at least an hour. Then, I strained it several times.

No dust at all. None!

I have now switched to using river sand.

[Ria P]

Wouldn't there be any residue in this sand from the boats like fuel, oil, chemicals etc or pollution in general?
I know that a hamster wouldn't eat it but what about breathing it in or the possibility of it causing skin irritation?

I've never looked into using any other sand but sand produced for rodents so river sand used for hamsters is not something i'm familiar with.

[Chesterspal]

Originally Posted by Ria P

Wouldn't there be any residue in this sand from the boats like fuel, oil, chemicals etc or pollution in general?

Well, if there was, it was burned off at 400 degrees. I don't think this is an issue and certainly no where near the one of breathing in silica dust every night.

I've never looked into using any other sand but sand produced for rodents so river sand used for hamsters is not something I'm familiar with.

Just what is sand produced for rodents?

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by Chesterspal

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Just what is sand produced for rodents?
[/SIZE]

That's the one i use.

[sushi_78]

Silicosis happens to people who work with fine silica dust over many decades. Quartz sand as sold for pets or as play sand is technically the same material as silica but a larger particle size. It's like the difference between sawdust and wood shavings.

However I do understand the concern and there's definitely a lot we don't know about hamster care. It's one of the reasons I prefer to use sepiolite chinchilla sand (e.g JR Farm, Tiny Friends Farm). It's a softer material so possibly less likely to cause irritation if a little bit is breathed in. A while ago when I looked into this more closely I found some studies that suggested that when sepiolite was deliberately introduced into the lungs of animals it did less damage then quartz.

I also find that sepiolite controls odours better than quartz (whenever I use play sand with my gerbils the cage smells awful after about two days) and some people say that quartz damages fur on a microscopic level due to its roughness.

[AmityvilleHams]

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that many forms of toxic chemical waste and other harmful(whether short or long term) pollutants would NOT be simply removed at such a low temperature as 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

There's also no telling what composition the sand actually is, something that is even more harmful since you could potentially have clay content which can lead to serious life threatening digestive blockages if any sand were consumed. Using sand from the outdoors like the river sand is honestly setting yourself up for problems whether now or in the long term.

Your play sand is the safest option, far safer than river sand actually despite your understandable concerns. Perhaps you haven't processed it enough to remove more dust? It can be a bit of a challenge to get as much as possible out, but once it is done properly & thoroughly it is still the safest & most economical hamster sand option.

Anything dusty that gets in the lungs can be very harmful and even deadly though, after all humans nor animals should be inhaling dust. That's part of why dusty substrate for example is so dangerous, but even things like food dust could potentially cause problems if your hamster inhaled enough over time. You also shouldn't cut, drill, or otherwise do things to wood around pets either and it also should only be done with extremely good ventilation or outside - that also produces hazardous dust. Plastics produce fumes when cut, burnt, drilled, etc as well as potential dust too, and that obviously isn't going to be good for humans or animals either. There are lots of things that can be safe if handled & used properly, but that doesn't stop them from being dangerous under certain conditions. It's easy to get paranoid over that aspect of safety but ultimately if we completely banned ourselves from using things that are unsafe under specific conditions, handled certain ways, not processed certain ways, etc we'd have very little to actually use with hamsters despite how safe those things can be when used properly!

[arnoldshirl]

You are absolutely right!! I have noticed this play sand I purchased earlier this week IS DUSTY! It's the Quikrete Premium Play Sand. I did the same thing, baked it like I was suggested too do and when I was pouring it inside a clean container I saw dust!

River sand...what a clever discovery on your part.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by arnoldshirl

You are absolutely right!! I have noticed this play sand I purchased earlier this week IS DUSTY! It's the Quikrete Premium Play Sand. I did the same thing, baked it like I was suggested too do and when I was pouring it inside a clean container I saw dust!

River sand...what a clever discovery on your part.

I'd rinse & bake more. As I've said it can be difficult to get the dust out of play sand and sometimes people end up not getting enough out.

Ultimately again, river sand is NOT safe.

[arnoldshirl]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

I'd rinse & bake more. As I've said it can be difficult to get the dust out of play sand and sometimes people end up not getting enough out.

Ultimately again, river sand is NOT safe.

I bought four 10 lb bags of this sand thinking it was safe for my hamster! Use the Play Sand not the Reptile Sand and I took this to heart of my Roborovski Dwarf Hamster's NEEDS! She needs sand to bathe herself. How many times do I need to rinse and is there a specific way to rinse that I am obviously lacking in knowing the 'How-To'.

I'm frustrated right now.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by arnoldshirl

I bought four 10 lb bags of this sand thinking it was safe for my hamster! Use the Play Sand not the Reptile Sand and I took this to heart of my Roborovski Dwarf Hamster's NEEDS! She needs sand to bathe herself. How many times do I need to rinse and is there a specific way to rinse that I am obviously lacking in knowing the 'How-To'.

I'm frustrated right now.

I think the fish keeping community has adapted some really good ways of rinsing gravels and sands and such that would be of use here, particularly the bucket method. That's just basically putting some of the sand in a bucket, adding enough water, stirring it, and allowing anything to float to the top including dust and then tilting just enough to get that part out or alternatively scooping it out(cheap plastic cups for example could work for that) - then rinse and repeat until everything is cleaned.

Another option for rinsing(or an additional rinsing step) would be using a pillow case. This is a pretty simple method, similar to the bucket method but a pillow case is acting as a sort of mechanical filtration. You'd still add sand and water then stir to get rid of the foreign objects, dust, etc.

As far as how many times, there's not going to be a specific number because there'll be variation in just how much dust etc is in each batch you're rinsing. The focus is removing foreign objects, larger particles, dust, etc - rinsing until the water runs completely clear is essential and you don't want cloudy water at all.

Any sand used will end up having at least a very small amount of dust. However, properly prepared play sand would have a very minimal level. It's fine if it sticks somewhat to containers for example and that is completely expected to some extent regardless of the type of sand used due to the nature of what sand is. Of course, you wouldn't want it to have dust clouds puffing up when it gets moved around and such(again a tiny amount isn't really concerning but the full blown clouds of dust are a sure sign the sand wasn't fully cleaned).

I think we might not have a ton of information here on the rinsing aspect of preparing play sand if I'm honest. At this point in time, I think the easiest way to find more ideas to clean sand and remove things like dust, particulates, etc is going to be looking into things done by people who keep fish just because of that lack of thorough information we seem to have here.