Plospan bedding?

[envidianthine]

Hiya everyone! Haven't posted here in a while - hope everyone is doing well!

I have already posted about this on Hamster Hideout, so I hope you won't mind me just copy pasting that here:

I've been trying to do research on Plospan bedding, as that is a brand we have in my country, and this is what I've found so far:

On their website, they state the following:

"Plospan’s bedding materials are not harmful for pets; there is a strict protocol from procurement to sales. Plospan only uses clean and untreated wood."
"Plospan’s wood fibres are manufactured from pinewood that comes from a species of spruce."

Now, my first instinct is to assume that this bedding is not safe, as it's made from softwood (spruce). But, I know that many European countries, Germany especially (and we all know that they're considered to be the best when it comes to hamster care) use the brand Allspan, which states that their bedding is also made out of softwood - spruce. To quote their website:

"ALLSPAN wood fibres are the ideal litter material. They are made of 100%-natural timber from untreated, Scandinavian light spruce, and contain no chemical additives."

Or, even their horse bedding: "Allspan wood shavings are produced only from carefully-selected raw materials consisting of 100%, guaranteed untreated softwood."

Essentially, Plospan and Allspan seem to be identical in terms of what wood they use for their bedding. The only part that confuses me is the Plospan mentions "pinewood" that comes from a species "of spruce" - I'm not too knowledgeable about trees and flora, but aren't pine and spruce two different types of wood?

So, to wrap this up, I suppose my question is: would Plospan bedding be considered safe for hamsters then? If Allspan is so highly praised in countries such as Germany, and they're essentially the same thing?

[Ria P]

I just had a look here and Plospan is described as dust extructed and suitable for poultry which has sensitive eyes and lungs. There is no mention of rodents though which is probably because woodshavings specifically marketed for rodents are readily available.

Plospan and Allspan appear to be dust extracted woodshavings. If you can't get paperbased substrate in your country then you'll have to use woodshavings i suppose and give your hamster additional nesting material like plain toilet paper.

It has always puzzled me that Germany uses woodshavings instead of paperbased substrate and they believe that kapok fibre is ok for hamsters.

Maybe you could get some information on the German hamster forum Das Hamsterforum. Someone on rhe continent may know if those two products are the same and possibly marketed under different names in different countries.

Sorry i can't be of any real help.

[envidianthine]

Originally Posted by Ria P

I just had a look here and Plospan is described as dust extructed and suitable for poultry which has sensitive eyes and lungs. There is no mention of rodents though which is probably because woodshavings specifically marketed for rodents are readily available.

Plospan and Allspan appear to be dust extracted woodshavings. If you can't get paperbased substrate in your country then you'll have to use woodshavings i suppose and give your hamster additional nesting material like plain toilet paper.

It has always puzzled me that Germany uses woodshavings instead of paperbased substrate and they believe that kapok fibre is ok for hamsters.

Maybe you could get some information on the German hamster forum Das Hamsterforum. Someone on rhe continent may know if those two products are the same and possibly marketed under different names in different countries.

Sorry i can't be of any real help.

It's alright! I still appreciate your feedback! From what I understand, a lot of people in the US also use wood shavings, just aspen instead of other wood-types. Wood shavings supposedly hold burrows the best, so I think it's why people tend to go for that. I'll definitely always be giving my hamster shredded kitchen paper as well, as it's soft and warm.

But also, I actually ended up sending a message to Plospan through their "ask a question" form on their website, and I got a response! Here it is:

"Good morning [my name],

Thank you for your e-mail. Please note that the spruce is family of the pine, I understand that it’s a bit different but it does belong to a large family of pine. And with this email I can tell you that our products are safe for your hamster. We sell our product a lot and a lot of clients are really have with our products. Also people with hamsters etc. So you don’t have to worry and you can buy and use our products safely if you want.

Best regards,

Niels de Leeuw
Accountmanager
Plospan BV"

I'm willing to trust them on this as I don't believe a company can or should lie about this stuff, seeing as how it could potentially get them into legal trouble (if, for example, someone's hamster died because of their bedding and then that person sued them). Hopefully this can help anyone else who might come across this thread! ^^