zoozone 1 and sandboxes for syrian hamster

[tumbles]

Hi!

We just ordered a zoozone 1 for Tumbles, our 6mo female Syrian. We fell for the 'starter kit' at Petco and immediately realised it would be too small for Tumbles. It will take 18-26 days to get here but at least that gives me a bit of time to think about how to make it a safe and fun new home for her.

Will we need to add an extra layer of mesh to the top or is the bar spacing close enough to keep her safely inside? Also, we wanted to add a sandbox to her cage to encourage her to potty in one spot. That 'blue dust' stuff at Petco doesn't say if it is safe for Syrian hamsters, it just mentions Dwarf hamsters specifically. Can we use that or would it be better to look for some playground sand? Anything else we could use?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Hammielover]

I would definitely mesh it as you're better safe than sorry! Before I got my one meshed I had a syrian that easily managed to escape through the bar spacing.

[tumbles]

Originally Posted by Hammielover

I would definitely mesh it as you're better safe than sorry! Before I got my one meshed I had a syrian that easily managed to escape through the bar spacing.

wow, good to know. we'll definitely be meshing it then. thank you!

[Hammielover]

Originally Posted by tumbles

wow, good to know. we'll definitely be meshing it then. thank you!

Yep. Looking at the spacing now it still puzzles me how he managed to fit through it but you'd be suprised at the spaces they can get through!

[Bailey93]

Do not use any "dust" anything for hamsters. PetsMart sells Kaytee Chinchilla Sand. Go buy that to use, or get children's playsand (wash it, strain it, bake it). Dust is bad for hamster's respiratory system.

[tumbles]

Originally Posted by Bailey93

Do not use any "dust" anything for hamsters. PetsMart sells Kaytee Chinchilla Sand. Go buy that to use, or get children's playsand (wash it, strain it, bake it). Dust is bad for hamster's respiratory system.

thanks for the tip! i will look out for the sand at petsmart. children's sand is much cheaper but i have no idea where i'd store 50lbs of it

[Angie B]

I bought some chinchilla sand and Skittle loves to dig in it; goes quite bonkers actually, haha.

I'm actually after a deeper tub for him to put the sand in but so far have drawn a blank. He did have a tupperware tub but it was only shallow so I think I'm going to plumb for just a deeper one as it has to have high sides (we'll put him in and pick him out) else the sand goes everywhere!

[tumbles]

so after going to two different petsmarts and a petco, we haven't been able to find chinchilla sand, just the blue dust stuff that is bad for hammies. it is on amazon but i don't want to have to wait too long for it to arrive haha. i think we are going to try children's play sand after all, but we might end up being wasteful and only keeping a portion and throwing the rest out i do work at a daycare so maybe my co-workers will have some use for it...

[gellerbing]

I have a zoozone 1 and would definitely mesh it as the bar spacing is wide enough for a ham to get through, sandbox wise I use a salt pig which all my hams have loved so far