Wood??

**Pompompoms** · 11-17-2011, 06:29 PM

Does anyone know which woods are safe for hams?

I am in the process of sorting out Lilly and Lola's cage, and want to go for a really natural; feel with everything. I was in P@H and found some lovely shaped and coloured drift wood in the aquarium section perfect for scurrying over and under.

I checked with a member of staff, and she informed me that hamsters can only have willow? Is this right? I'm sure not all of the hamster stuff they actually sell themselves is willow.

I also noticed that the gerbils all had this driftwood in their cages, so are they totally different from hams in terms of what they can have?

Demecat · 11-17-2011, 06:34 PM

Willow is the most popular, but fruit tree wood is good for them too.

I'm not sure about driftwood etch, I think it's ok if it hasn't been sand blasted? But don't hold me to that!

**Pompompoms** · 11-17-2011, 06:37 PM

It's Mopani root, so I have no idea!

**Hamtastic** · 11-17-2011, 06:49 PM

I've heard mopani is not safe. I've been using various kinds of driftwood and grapewood dried and cleaned for reptiles.

vanilla-yazoo · 11-17-2011, 06:50 PM

i have a piece of bog wood in my chinese set up, im not sure what type it is, i think 'drift' and 'bog' are safe, i dont know for mopani, but if fish/reptiles are ok with it, it 'should' be safe. dont take my word that it is!
any fruit bearing tree is fine, only pine and cedar should be avoided(killin dried is ok

)
maybe see if any local people have an apple tree that needs a trim? my nans house has an apple tree, i might well pinch a branch XD

WrexTheDragon · 11-18-2011, 02:47 AM

I have a big cherry tree in the garden and put a bit of branch in the cage. As soon as the hamster chews the bark off, she looses interest.

It's a good job that it's a big tree.

SnickersTheFirst · 11-18-2011, 05:13 AM

I think Mopani is safe? I know I was always recommended it by people on The Gerbil Forum so if it's safe for them, then it should be for hamsters.

emma and button · 11-18-2011, 06:47 AM

someone linked me to this site once when i asked about safe woods : Woods, Tree Branches & Twigs | eGerbil im guessing that as they are rodents what's safes for gerbils is safe for hams?

**Hamtastic** · 11-18-2011, 05:24 PM

I can't find any conclusive information about mopani wood. I've seen it not recommended a few times, but never anything to back up the claim, so I've been avoiding it unless proven otherwise. It would certainly be much better if the wood were okay, because it looks very nice and is easy to find in stores in interesting shapes. I would get a bunch then.

Has anyone researched it and found good information?

**Pompompoms** · 11-18-2011, 07:24 PM

Ah this is why it's so tricky, I would guess being ok for gerbils is ok for hams, but I'm not housing them with anything that's done on a guess. Thank you everyone, I think I might have to investigate further and see if I can come up with some solid answers to share for future reference.