Safe sand recommendations.

[PetsareGreat]

Hi,

Trying to find a bathing sand and having trouble finding a dust free, heat treated desert / reptile sand.

Can anyone recommend a brand I can get in the UK please?

[Albert the Dwarf Hamster]

Hello, I use this sand from Pets at Home. My hamster loves it.

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/desert-sand-5kg

[PetsareGreat]

Thank you.

I looked at that sand before on their website, can you confirm if it is sterile / it's been heat treated?

[Professor_Nibbles]

I use Niteangel desert sand, it is expensive for a bag of this in terms of size compared to probably other sands. But I use to use the tiny farms one till I heard it was not safe. Am from the UK but tend to just buy everything on the US amazon site as I find it slightly cheaper even with the conversion fees. But you can get it on the UK Amazon site, but just a bit more expensive. As I I tend to sieve out the sand it's a worthwhile investment. I trust niteangel as a brand, but obviously I can't guarantee it is fully safe, but it seems ok for me.
Amazon.co.uk

[Albert the Dwarf Hamster]

Here is a link to a YouTube video on what sand is safe for hamsters. All About Hamster Sand Baths! - YouTube

[Jeanbird7]

I'm in the US, but I use School Specialty....don't know if they send or sell it there. Non toxic and comes in colors.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Jeanbird7

I'm in the US, but I use School Specialty....don't know if they send or sell it there. Non toxic and comes in colors.

From what I've seen, you're significantly better off buying regular dye free play sand from your average hardware store like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. School Specialty's sand are unknown material(non toxic to humans doesn't always mean non toxic to hamsters or other pets). It's also insanely overpriced considering you could get a 50 pound bag of natural play sand at Home Depot for around $6 in the US.

Yes, play sand would mean more manual labor for the humans since you have to do all the sifting and rinsing and baking yourself, but it's completely worth it. No matter what your play sand says on a bag or anywhere else you'll always need to process it. You can do that in batches & just process enough at a time to last your hamster for a month, or even a few months at a time if you wanted.

You really don't want any kind of dyed sand either. Stick to completely natural dye free ones.

[Asterisms]

If they have it available in the UK, I use ZooMed Reptisand! It's quartz based, and I've read that's the good type to get hammies. I've also heard great things about good ol' regular play sand from hardware stores (like home depot, if they have those there!)-- like AmityvilleHams mentioned above, there's just some work that needs to be put in to make it safe for your hams!

[PetsareGreat]

Thank you everyone.

I found some JR Farm sand in the end.