is this safe?

[chi0]

sorry to start two threads on the same forum topic in one day! i promise i'm not trying to rank up faster than i should be, i'm just curious c:

my question is: would this toy be safe for my syrian? i know it's advertised for birds, but i've heard that many bird toys can also be used for hammies. i've also heard mixed views on pumice, so i want to see if these would be suitable for sarge before i buy them.

she loves to chew, so the more things she can get her teeth around the happier she'll be!

[Cotton]

These are nice! I tend to be over-cautious with anything that has loops and clips because I'm worried about little paws getting caught, but I have seen people using them without problems. My first and current hamster were climbers, though, so that might be causing me to overthink potential dangers. Others with more experience will have good advice for you.

[AmityvilleHams]

Actually I'd say they're unsafe Mineral chews are really not a good idea for the majority of animals to begin with,especially hamsters,and can cause serious health problems as you're adding unnecessary minerals into the diet and this can cause a very serious dietary imbalance.Not only is that part unsafe,but there's also a tiny bell which is not a safe style for any animal(bells are also inappropriate for hamsters,as the noise can be very irritating to them).The hanging style would be very risky and from the photo alone I can see at least one potential place for injury.

As for pumice,that would be unsafe as well.It's a lot harder than some chews and could cause problems,plus it probably isn't the most digestible material unlike Whimzees or high quality dog biscuits(with no unsafe preservatives no matter how labelled including E&C approved antioxidants and such,no digest/derivatives/meat of any sort and bone meal/unspecified liver/etc,no artificial ingredients,etc).

[DennisJones]

I wouldnt for the reasons above, plus its from China so you wont know for certain what materials were used or where it was manufactured.

[AmityvilleHams]

That's an excellent point about Chinese products!I know they're terrible for dog and cat products,so I'd assume they'd be just as awful with other pet items due to their lack of appropriate regulation if any regulation at all

[AprilPearl]

Amity, when I bought Mushu from P@h they kind of forced me to buy this mineral powder called pro-c probiotic: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...robiotic-100gm I’ve been sprinkling it on his food because I assumed it would be ok, should I stop? Is this unsafe too?

[AmityvilleHams]

You'd be better off finding a higher quality probiotic with the same strains(actually you'll get more strains of bacteria with other probiotics)and no vitamin C.It also includes dextrose which is not a natural sweetener so it should be avoided in all but the most extreme emergency situations(as it is found in pedialyte I believe,but that is only acceptable as it would save a hamster from death otherwise do not use products with dextrose in them as it is unnecessary and relatively unhealthy).

[BorisPasha]

Originally Posted by AprilPearl

Amity, when I bought Mushu from P@h they kind of forced me to buy this mineral powder called pro-c probiotic: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...robiotic-100gm I’ve been sprinkling it on his food because I assumed it would be ok, should I stop? Is this unsafe too?

That is fine April, it's not the same thing. People tend to use the probiotics if there hamster is on antibiotics to help their immune system. I'm not really sure that you would need to be using it every day though but I'm sure someone with more experience will advise on that.

ETA after reading what Amity has said maybe it's not fine then. I have the same one as you and I used it when my rescue ham was on antiobiotics

[cypher]

As BP said Pro c is mostly used when hams are sick & during & after antibiotics, it certainly won't have been doing him any harm to have had it up until now but he shouldn't really need it & the vit c is too much to have on a regular basis really, I give mine probiotics (a different brand) once a week just for a bit of a boost but only use it daily if I have a sick ham.

[AprilPearl]

Thanks you all so much. I will stop giving it to Mushu immediately. Feeling quite annoyed that I was duped into buying all this stuff (also was directed to buy a mineral stone) and explicitly told to use the pro c daily. And it turns out these things would actually harm rather than help Mushu!! They actually said it would help to stop him gettinv wet tail! I am scared it could have hurt him now I didn’t feel like he needed these products at the time, having never used them for my past hamsters, but the shop assistant was so insistent and I got the feelinv she wouldn’t sell me Mushu if I did not buy them!