Please take a look at the following items and let me know if you feel they are safe or not. These were not found in the small animal section, most were found in the reptile section. I'm just not sure if the materials are safe if they choose to nibble it?
The fourth one - Basking reptile dish looks good, and so does the last one - wood reptile ornament. I don't think the moss and moss stone would be a good idea because hamsters chew. Also moss can create humidity and mould. I'm not sure about the cactus reptile dish. The dish is nice but depends what the cactus is made of, again because hamsters chew and swallow things. The first two - I would probably go for a real wood equivalent - because wood is good to chew to keep their teeth short, and a bit more natural. Plus the resin equivalent could be quite heavy and not so grippy to climb.
Cork is also very light and looks similar, and is safe to chew. Plus it has that mossy look without the live moss!
I'm not up on suitable plants - I think Cypher is. Reptile sand is calcium sand so supposed not to be good for hamsters I believe. Yes the Chinchilla sand is more expensive, but maybe you could have just a small sand area and use two or three different types of substrate in the cage to give variety of texture.
Thank you for the input! I'll have to look into this cork stuff.
Also, I am planning on using kiln-dried pine bedding for the majority of the cage. I would like to also have a good sized sand section, but I can tone it down if the chinchilla sand is the way to go
You might not need too much sand anyway. Some hamsters like it, others dislike it and others just see it as something to wee in (ie potty material lol). Ours dislikes sand and I gave up giving him a sand bath as he just kicked all the sand out and filled it up with paper to make it cosy lol! He just has sand in his potty now - kicks some out and leaves some in to wee on. Sand needn't work out too expensive as you can leave it in for a fair while and just scoop out the soiled bits. Aspen is also a good substrate for digging - less issues than pine as no phenols, but some brands can be dusty - on the other hand it can usually be one of the cheapest bought in bulk at a reptile store. A small area of cork bark could be another texture, and paper or cardboard bedding too.
As long as the pine is kiln dried it's okay to use for smalls At least that's how it is for piggies, and what my reading has told me for hamsters as well. Also I know the boyfriend reacts well to it (he's allergic to a looot of things).
Are these items safe for hamsters?
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