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Old 09-03-2021, 04:53 AM   #1
Benefitsben
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Greater London
Posts: 136
Default reusing wooden toys after death

hello

if you've seen my previous thread, you'll know that my hamster was suffering from a upper respiratory infection and pneumonia when he unfortunately passed away. I'd like to reuse his old toys/hides etc if I get another hamster at some point, however most of his stuff is wood so I'm not sure whether I should use it.

obviously I will bake the stuff in the oven 1st or leave it in boiling water to be sterilised, but I wanted to be certain that it's safe to be reused. I'll be reusing plastic toys as they're easy to disinfect with warm water and vinegar/pet disinfectant and I'll be binning any cardboard stuff, I just wanted to be sure about the wood.

thank you :)
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Old 09-03-2021, 08:21 AM   #2
Ria P
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Location: Wiltshire, UK
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

No, i don't think i knew that the Boy passed away.
I am so sorry for your loss.

I reuse wooden toys and houses of hamsters that have passed away. I give them a good wash with washing up liquid, then rinse, then spray with petsafe disinfectant which i leave on for a while and then give it a good rinse.

The only time i wouldn't reuse wooden items is if the hamster died of a contagious disease or parasites that could get passed on via eggs embedded in the wood.

You could also freeze the wooden items for a week after cleaning and disinfecting.
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Old 09-03-2021, 12:21 PM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

I think it depends on the type of wood. Smooth wood things like shelves or houses, if painted with plastikote, can just be sprayed with pet disinfectant. It’s the rough bark wood items that are difficult to disinfect and yes baking is probably the only way to ensure any bugs are dead as the bark has such tiny crevices. After that, leaving them outside in sunshine and fresh air for a couple of days (when it’s not raining) helps naturally clean and remove any scents of the previous hamster.

Even with all that, the same items shouldn’t be used for at least 2 or 3 weeks after a hamster has died of an infectious disease (the same with a cage even if disinfected) or even in the same room for two or three weeks. To be in the safe side.

Personally, if it’s just a couple of bendy bridges, I tend to replace them. A lot less hassle and they’re not expensive items.
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Old 09-03-2021, 12:53 PM   #4
Benefitsben
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
I think it depends on the type of wood. Smooth wood things like shelves or houses, if painted with plastikote, can just be sprayed with pet disinfectant. It’s the rough bark wood items that are difficult to disinfect and yes baking is probably the only way to ensure any bugs are dead as the bark has such tiny crevices. After that, leaving them outside in sunshine and fresh air for a couple of days (when it’s not raining) helps naturally clean and remove any scents of the previous hamster.

Even with all that, the same items shouldn’t be used for at least 2 or 3 weeks after a hamster has died of an infectious disease (the same with a cage even if disinfected) or even in the same room for two or three weeks. To be in the safe side.

Personally, if it’s just a couple of bendy bridges, I tend to replace them. A lot less hassle and they’re not expensive items.
most of the wood stuff I have has bark on it so I'll be putting those in the oven - only a couple shelves have been platikoted and I haven't used them since I switched boy to a bin cage, which was months and months ago haha. and yeah I wasn't going to get another hamster for at least a month or so - I'm just starting a levels so with the extra workload I'm not sure I'll have the time to look after a hamster, I probably will though

Yeah I'll be replacing one of the bendy bridges as it's a bit broken, but I'll disinfect and keep my other ones
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Old 09-03-2021, 01:25 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

Exams not till next summer though maybe . I reckon you’ll be wanting another one soon! They do need a lot of attention Sheba they’re babies but another option is to adopt one that’s a bit older. I adopted Moo when he was a year old and he was so neat and tidy and in good habits! Very easy. Means they’re only with you for a year and a bit maybe though but it still seemed worth it.
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Old 09-03-2021, 01:37 PM   #6
Benefitsben
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Exams not till next summer though maybe :-). I reckon you’ll be wanting another one soon! They do need a lot of attention Sheba they’re babies but another option is to adopt one that’s a bit older. I adopted Moo when he was a year old and he was so neat and tidy and in good habits! Very easy. Means they’re only with you for a year and a bit maybe though but it still seemed worth it.
Yeah no exams for a while, but there's a lot more content to go over and a lot more revision to do for a level than I'm used to from gcse haha. and I'm already wanting another hamster, my house feels so empty with no furry friends anymore since my pet rabbit also died last month :(

I'm considering getting a robo cause I've wanted one ever since I started looking into hamster care, but I didn't feel experienced enough to get one cause they're so small and fast I was worried I'd lose them haha. also, if I get a robo then it s another spices I've owned as every new hamster I've had has been a different species (my 1st was a winter white/hybrid (never quite sure which one she was) and my second was a syrian as you know) plus I can use my old dwarf-sized stuff I haven't been able to use for years and it can stop taking up space in my drawers :D
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Old 09-03-2021, 01:47 PM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

A Robo would be a lot easier actually in my experience. They are more watch and talk to pets. Ours never was really hand tame and was better being left in the cage (providing cage big enough). He was in an 80 x 50 cage but I wanted bigger ideally. If you still have the Barney cage it would be ideal if you could make a full level (too tall for a Robo without the full level). 100cm and has the narrow bar spacing.

Ours used to be out more than a Syrian once he gained confidence a bit. During the day as well. Often for a bit in the morning and then in the afternoon. They are very entertaining to watch and ours would sit snd listen when I talked to him. Had quite a few long conversations. But he ran away if you tried to pick him up and was terrified of you trying to get him out of the cage. I only managed to hold him twice in his lifetime!
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Old 09-03-2021, 04:24 PM   #8
Benefitsben
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Location: Greater London
Posts: 136
Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
A Robo would be a lot easier actually in my experience. They are more watch and talk to pets. Ours never was really hand tame and was better being left in the cage (providing cage big enough). He was in an 80 x 50 cage but I wanted bigger ideally. If you still have the Barney cage it would be ideal if you could make a full level (too tall for a Robo without the full level). 100cm and has the narrow bar spacing.

Ours used to be out more than a Syrian once he gained confidence a bit. During the day as well. Often for a bit in the morning and then in the afternoon. They are very entertaining to watch and ours would sit snd listen when I talked to him. Had quite a few long conversations. But he ran away if you tried to pick him up and was terrified of you trying to get him out of the cage. I only managed to hold him twice in his lifetime!
Yeah I do still have the Barney, though idk if I can make a full level. I still have the shelf it came with plus a few other small shelves I could put in, and I can always make some hammocks out of fabric which would lessen the fall if they did (although I'd have to take them out and replace them with something else if they started chewing it). plus I'm planning on weaving cardboard through some of the bars to allow for more bedding which'll lessen the damage from any falls as well

the boy was never really out in the day either, he'd wake up at around 10pm and he'd be back in his burrow by the time I woke up in the morning - my dwarf(Mercury) was a lot more active in comparison, whenever the hoover was on near the cage she's always wake up to investigate the noise. as I've said earlier not being able to handle them would be no issue for me as my previous hams never liked handling either, Mercury I could tempt onto my hand with a treat and she'd stay there as long as she was eating, but the boy wouldn't even do that haha
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Old 09-04-2021, 06:24 AM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: reusing wooden toys after death

Yes that's another option - put cardboard inside the bars, have deeper substrate and effectively lower the roof height I was just very careful to make sure any hard toys were underneath something (eg a shelf or rat sputnik) so they couldnt be landed on and I had hemp mat on a shelf so the edges weren't hard if fallen onto.
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