Natural cage theme - substrate and wood

[Jennie F]

Hi everyone,

So I will be upgrading "mouth" into a new cage in the next month or so and I am already getting little bits and bobs ready for the new cage. I'm half way through making her a stilt platform using those wooden ikea organiser things (very technical term used there) with lollipop stick fencing and little ramps. She also has her new little hammy hut ( or 2) I got from Amazon and I will be making her a lolipop stick barn for her sandbath. I'll be adding some cork tunnels and using bendy bridges, so you may have guessed im going for a natural wooden type look.After debating the pros and cons of both the Barney and the Detolf, I am swinging more towards a detolf cage for her, so she has no bars to chew and plenty of space for my creations haha.

Ive been looking at detolf set ups FOR HOURS/DAYS to get some inspiration. I was thinking of getting fitch for the substrate, as I believe its great for burrowing and very cost effective. But Ive also seen Erinsanimals on youtube uses Aspen, which would tie in more with my theme. So I'm now weighing up the pros and cons of fitch vs aspen

*what size bags can you get of aspen in the Uk and how cost effective is it compared to fitch?
*would I have to change it more frequently than fitch? (There would be the same amount of both, so could I still get away with changing the top 3rd?)
* which is best for odor control?

Sorry for all the questions ( these are only of the few things going through my mind about this bloody upgrade haha) but I would appreciate if any of you lovely lot could give me some feedback or opinons.

Thank you in advance!

[cypher]

Have you considered hemp? I use hemp & fitch together which works really well, you can get large bales of hemp from zooplus but I found it a bit sharp & dusty compared to the smaller bags (not that small though!) of Hugro hemp which I use.
I've never used aspen so don't know about size available but I believe odour control isn't so good as with either fitch or hemp so it may require more cleaning.

[Jennie F]

Originally Posted by cypher

Have you considered hemp? I use hemp & fitch together which works really well, you can get large bales of hemp from zooplus but I found it a bit sharp & dusty compared to the smaller bags (not that small though!) of Hugro hemp which I use.
I've never used aspen so don't know about size available but I believe odour control isn't so good as with either fitch or hemp so it may require more cleaning.

Thanks Cypher I didnt think of hemp. I'll look into it. If it is dusty is it safe for hammies?

[AmityvilleHams]

Any dusty substrate would be a problem for hamsters,due to their respiratory systems being so delicate.

Fitch on its own would be just fine.I wouldn't use wood,since wood substrate can and often does cause an allergic reaction in hamsters(even if not immediately,constant exposure over time is generally prone to causing an allergy).Hemp is usually less allergenic than wood though,but there's no need to add hemp.

[cypher]

The Hugro hemp isn't dusty at all & no safety issues to worry about.

Amity wood shavings (here in the UK at least) really aren't a problem for most hams & people have used them safely for years, not the best substrate maybe but then that's a personal choice as much as anything.
You've probably never used hemp but it's really good stuff!

[flowerfairy]

I use hemparade from zooplus for my guinea pigs litter tray and it is wonderful. Nice and soft too.

My hamsters all have fitch.

[Drago]

I agree that a mix of hemp and Fitch would work excellently! Hemp isn't readily available in the US so I don't have any personal experience with it, but I have heard it's a very good substrate and works quite well for burrowing. I think hemp looks really nice in natural themed cages, and I know that it's a highly praised bedding by many German hamster owners as well. I don't think you'd need to change it any more often than you would another substrate, it's probably better if you don't anyways! I used to use aspen, but I've switched off due to the odor. It's okay odor control wise, but it's got a very particular smell when dampened by urine. I would describe it as how a horse stall smells in all honesty! It all comes down to personal preference in the end really

[worldturns]

if you want ideas for cage set up I used pintrest and there are hundreds on there of what people have done. just search for hamsters and it should come up. hope this helps xx