Hello

[SandyTheRussianHamster27]

Hi,

Ive had my hamster for just under a year now, and this Christmas she is getting a new cage!!! And I want to fill it with a lot more toys

I was wondering also what toys hamsters enjoy the most as there are so so many on the market, so what experiences have you had with certain toys.

I was wondering what your views on care fresh against wood shavings.

Especially in the winter, which keeps them warm, and which they prefer

[chesca_27]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

What cage are you getting her? We can advise on the best cage to get, if you haven't bought it already. I recommend 80cm by 50cm as a guideline, just make sure this is one single piece of floor space measuring that, excluding any shelves or attachments.

There are plenty of toys you can give, depending on your budget. Homemade toys go down well, but there are a couple of things I know my dwarf, Larry-Jasper, loves.

Wooden climbing toys are good, but nothing with metal, rope or anything too tall. Jasper has a piece of cork, which he loves to sleep under. I also have a loofah car from Pets At Home, which a friend on the forum kindly sent me and Jasper loves to sit on that. A few new houses or a large nesting house might be appreciated.

If you tell us roughly where in the world you are, we can give more specific toys (i.e. in U.K. or US).

I don't recommend any wood shavings apart from aspen or kiln dried pine shavings. If you are in the US, then aspen is the only safe shavings. Some pine shavings in the UK are safe, but I don't trust any of them because I can't find anything that specifies the wood and if it's kiln dried or not. Never use cedar as this is toxic to hamsters. Make sure it is dust-extracted and soft enough.

Carefresh is fine to use, although most don't like the Naturals one (including me) so Ultra, Confetti or Colours is much better. I have found the Naturals one has a weird odour and isn't nearly as soft.

Some US users also use Kaytee Clean and Cosy, but I don't live in the states, so I can't advise too much on the that.

If you are in the UK, then Fitch is another great alternative. It is almost completely dust free, very soft and great value for money, if you have the storage. The 20kg is so cheap. For £22 I can have three months worth of weekly guinea pig cage cleans PLUS my monthly hamster cage cleans.

Wood shavings won't keep them as warm as the other bedding I have mentioned. Another way to keep them warm is with the Snugglesafe heat pads.

Good luck with your hamster , and I hope this helps answer your questions. I am more than happy to help if you have any more. I recommend having a nice browse through the forum as it might answer some other questions you have, but if in doubt, ask!

[AmityvilleHams]

I would strongly recommend avoiding wood substrate.While it isn't often toxic as long as you're using a hamster safe wood,that doesn't really account for other issues like allergies and discomfort especially when dealing with horse grade shavings which can be extremely rough and pokey to the point of possibly causing eye injuries and such.

On the note of toys,avoid things like wood ladders with gaps or toys with chains,as well as hanging climbing toys without setting them up with appropriate hanging material(not chain,use sisal or hemp or jute as this will not cause injury and can be safely chewed).I would especially be cautious if not outright never using chain,since it is a very good way to get tiny claws trapped and there have been situations where small animals end up losing toes because of chain toys or inappropriate toy hanging clips.

Substrate depends on where you are in the world,but the main focus is that the substrate is non toxic,has little to no dust,and is appropriate for burrowing as well as that it will not become an injury risk.

[cypher]

My dwarf hams mostly enjoy the simple things that you can get almost anywhere & some come for free like egg boxes (none of them would be without an egg box!), coconut hideouts, cardboard tubes, small terracotta flower pots are all big favourites.
If you buy wooden climbing toys take care they aren't likely to fall so nothing too high & any bridges should always be solid bendy bridges not open rung bridges.
If you ham is already a year old I would concentrate on floor toys for foraging & exploring rather than climbing toys.

If you are in the UK then wood shavings are fine as a substrate, both wood shavings & carefresh can be a bit dusty & (only in the UK) Fitch is another really good, almost dust free & economical option.
There are other paper based substrates available in the US but I can never really remember what's what sorry!