Introducing kenneth!

[Turrican]

Amityville thanks for that. I had no idea and feel absolutely awful now. I've removed it.

[dreamtree1234]

Yes, thanks Amityville for your last posting. I also unfortunately had no idea about the harm it could cause. Thankfully, Kenny shouldn't have been able to nibble on it much in this short amount of time.

[Turrican]

Luckily he was more interested in climbing on it! It's in the bin now!

[AmityvilleHams]

You're welcome!Sadly the dangers of rawhide aren't known by everyone Try not to feel bad about not knowing and instead feel good that you've learned something is not safe and,as responsible owners do,removed the dangerous item.

Also I wanted to add that even I have made mistakes in pet care.My mistakes are things I'm never proud of(feeding low quality foods to pets,improper housing for a betta,using unsafe treats including ones that seemed safe but were from a brand that after further research were not reputable),but with any mistake whether you made the mistake or someone else did there is always a place for learning and growing to become even better as a pet owner.

[Turrican]

I had no idea, I really didn't. Thanks for letting me know, in terms of chew treats, what would be ok? I know a lot of people on here give Whimzee chews but I'm not sure that we can get those in the UK.

[dreamtree1234]

I give Eros Whimzee chews. She loves them a lot. They probably sell them in the UK since many on HC from that area have pics with them enjoy it, too. If not, maybe you can purchase it from the internet.

[AmityvilleHams]

Whimzees can be found at P@H(make sure you're buying actual Whimzees though!).Dandelion root can be another good option,or hamster safe nuts in shell.

Dog biscuits with safe ingredients can be good,but the standards with any product(no artificial dyes,no artificial flavors,no vague biproducts such as digest/derivatives/meat and bone meal/biproduct meal/animal liver or animal fat or "liver",nothing from China or irradiated,no sulfur dioxide or propylene glycol,no corn/wheat/corn or wheat relatives/corn or wheat derivatives when shared with dogs,no unsafe preservatives aka BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin aka "E&C approved" antioxidants/preservatives/or similar)should be followed.

Unfortunately sourcing good biscuits in the UK can be a bit difficult,but I'd recommend looking for a specialized pet boutique of some sort or an independent manufacturer of high quality biscuits.Or if you could find a website that ships internationally that would be another good option(as you'd get access to at least some US products,and if I'm being honest as far as widely available high quality biscuits are concerned we're definitely better!).Just make sure nothing is from Diamond,Evanger's,or Scott Pet Products(dig deep for the last one,it may not say so on packaging!)if buying US things

[Turrican]

Ah yes, I can see that you can get Whimzees at Pets At Home. I've been reading up on the dangers of raw hide, how upsetting! I'm so glad that I now am aware of tbe dangers!

[Thin Lizzy]

AmiityvilleHams, thanks from me for that info.

Turrican, whimzees are a lot of fun for hams and so great for keeping their teeth trim. Stop feeling bad about the chew bone, you acted straight away.

[Turrican]

Can't wait to get him a Whimzee when I next get to Pets at Home! Just had a little play time with him and he was a bit cuddly tonight, I love stroking his silky fur! Hams are sooo soft! Aww.