Soil?

hamtarokid · 08-16-2016, 03:49 AM

So rhinoceros beetles are popular pets here in Japan and I often see beetle products for really cheap. The other day I saw a big bag of soil for putting in a beetle cage at the pet store. I'm planning on expanding Ambrose's cage after we move and I thought it might be fun to put some soil in the new cage, maybe half the cage or something, so he could enjoy some variety. But is there something I need to be looking out for with the soil? Are some soils not hamster safe? I would appreciate some opinions on this.

cypher · 08-16-2016, 06:39 AM

It depends what you mean by soil really, sterilised peat is safe enough but most soils are a bit dubious, it's very impractical too, holds a lot of moisture so is hard to dry out & if it gets peed on you can't always see as it's quickly absorbed, if it does get damp you may have problems with humidity of condensation & it's possibly that it may cause mould in the cage too.
It's one of those really nice ideas that rarely work in practise!

hamtarokid · 08-16-2016, 08:17 AM

Ohh I see. :/ Too bad. Maybe I'll just add some other kind of substrate to give diversity, then. Thanks for the advice!

Pygmypuff · 08-16-2016, 08:22 AM

Sterilized sand or chinchilla bathing sand (make sure it's sand, and not dust) adds a nice bit of texture, variation and somewhere to bath/poop in a tank or cage, and is perfectly safe for hamsters!

hamtarokid · 08-16-2016, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pygmypuff

Sterilized sand or chinchilla bathing sand (make sure it's sand, and not dust) adds a nice bit of texture, variation and somewhere to bath/poop in a tank or cage, and is perfectly safe for hamsters!

He has a glass jar with chinchilla sand right now. :3 I'll give him a second sand bath once I have the space.

Pygmypuff · 08-16-2016, 08:28 AM

Awh lovely! Sounds nice!

cypher · 08-16-2016, 08:48 AM

Different types of substrate could be nice if you can get things with different textures.
You can add some dried leaves & flowers too, make sure they're safe ones & I tend to avoid any flowers like lavender or rose that smell really strong or just use a tiny bit.
I put anything like that in the freezer for a few days just in case of bugs!