Question on Substrates

[Engel]

I've tried megazorb, aubiose, fitch, kaytee, carefresh, aspen, various sands and even Coco coir in my hamster set ups. Megazorb is great at holding burrows but can be dusty. I like to mist water over it to keep dust down. Not so it's damp though. Have you tried aubiose (hemp)? Can be lovely in a natural themed enclosure, only downside is that it's not great at holding burrows so will need something else like hay (I recommend a soft meadow or orchard hay or soft cut timothy). You can mix megazorb with the aubiose and that's fine, not too dusty.

Just a note that megazorb is also ok to use for skinnies the only problem is its a nightmare to get off fleece cozies. So should you rescue any, it can be used for them, it's one of my favourites for piggies.

I didn't find kaytee too bad although it's been a few years since I've used it. Lovely and soft but you need a lot of it and it's expensive. I do have a habit of dumping bedding into a storage box and fluffing it outside to disperse most of the dust anyway so that may be why.

All sand, and rocks in general, contain silica so it's not a bad thing. What people worry about is the size of the granules. The finer the sand, the more dust, which means more silica is inhaled. There's links with cancer and people who are exposed to large amounts over a long period of time can develop lung issues. As hamsters have a fast metabolism, this can causes problems much quicker. There have been reports of hamsters and gerbils getting really poorly really quickly as well as long term chinchilla owners falling victim to the effects. I like the pets at home desert sand (reptile) and I'm yet to have an issue with dust, so maybe try that and see what you think?

[heidii]

Have just used aubiose for some of Neptrs and pretty much all of the current fosters cage. I found even hay isn't good at making it hold burrows well, but it was really ideal when I had multiple rescues at any given time because of its price. Definitely something I will go back to if rescuing picks up again (right now I am content with 3 hamsters, so until the one foster goes, definitely going to slow down on taking hamsters in).

I definitely will not be rescuing/rehoming guinea pigs in the near future. It was more of a "look what we found, you like animals, here you go!" type of thing. They were rehomed to someone on the guinea pig forum, so I do get to see loads of photos of them in their own room whenever I go and check

Thanks for the info on silica. I think in my head I had it gathered like those silica gels that come in food that say "do not eat" lol. Definitely didn't know much about silica, so that was really helpful. I'll pick up a bag of that desert sand as it is something I've been meaning to try and I am getting a Savic anyway I think

[Engel]

Originally Posted by heidii

Have just used aubiose for some of Neptrs and pretty much all of the current fosters cage. I found even hay isn't good at making it hold burrows well, but it was really ideal when I had multiple rescues at any given time because of its price. Definitely something I will go back to if rescuing picks up again (right now I am content with 3 hamsters, so until the one foster goes, definitely going to slow down on taking hamsters in).

I definitely will not be rescuing/rehoming guinea pigs in the near future. It was more of a "look what we found, you like animals, here you go!" type of thing. They were rehomed to someone on the guinea pig forum, so I do get to see loads of photos of them in their own room whenever I go and check

Thanks for the info on silica. I think in my head I had it gathered like those silica gels that come in food that say "do not eat" lol. Definitely didn't know much about silica, so that was really helpful. I'll pick up a bag of that desert sand as it is something I've been meaning to try and I am getting a Savic anyway I think

I did see your threads on the gp forum a while back. Shame you couldn't keep them after all the effort you put in. They do seem very happy and their new owner is constantly talking about the 'goblins' and their antics.

Sorry, a savic?

[heidii]

Savic Plaza, sorry lol.

I definitely have more interest in hamsters, mice and rats than guinea pigs. I think their interesting little guys, but definitely not an animal I can have at this current time. Maybe in the future, but at the minute their off the table. I also knew NOTHING about guinea pig care, so for them to be sprung onto me, it was incredibly stressful. Felt like I couldn't research fast enough since they were already in my bedroom. Not to mention they were skinnies, so there was even more to caring for them. I am glad they went to that person, all in all. You rarely get updates when you rehome an animal, so I love being able to just go and check whenever I fancy checking on them.

[NanaBeaver]

Advice please. Which is the best kind of substrate for burrowing? At the moment I use Kaytee clean and cosy but I also have Tiny Friends Farm Eco Bedding. Which is the best to hold burrows, please?

[heidii]

I always found Kaytee to be quite decent for burrowing, at least the white one. I have heard good things about carefresh. I usually use a massive blend for all my larger cages, with hay, birch, aspen, hemp, fitch, kaytee, etc. That seems to have worked for me, but mine aren't massive burrowers.

[sushi_78]

I found Eco Bedding too loose for burrowing, also very dusty. Kaytee is definitely better.

[NanaBeaver]

Thanks for advice. I will stick to Kaytee for now then. She seems to like it anyway.