Hamster cage bedding materials

Hello! My twins have asked a hamster for their 13th birthday and I have started preparing a nice home for our new family extension. Bought a cage with a house, a wheel, tunnels and different bedding materials, but cannot remember explanations I got at the shop why I need 2 and how to use them. Both of them are wood chips, only one is in bigger size and the other one is in smaller with Premium descriptor. Can someone advice?

Hello and welcome Which country are you in? The second bag looks like a bale of paper bedding and the first one looks maybe like hemp? Pet stores don't always give the best advice so ask anything you want!

Is this for a Syrian hamster or a dwarf hamster, and what type of cage is it? It isn't really necessary to use two different beddings/substrates in the entire cage, but it can be good to have a couple of different substrates in dig boxes, for environment variety. For the main bedding, the main thing is that it is a safe one and ideally one that will hold tunnels and burrows in shape, as hamsters like to dig.

Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on deciding to become a hamster mom together with your kids, very exciting

Maz said:

Hello and welcome Which country are you in? The second bag looks like a bale of paper bedding and the first one looks maybe like hemp? Pet stores don't always give the best advice so ask anything you want!

Is this for a Syrian hamster or a dwarf hamster, and what type of cage is it? It isn't really necessary to use two different beddings/substrates in the entire cage, but it can be good to have a couple of different substrates in dig boxes, for environment variety. For the main bedding, the main thing is that it is a safe one and ideally one that will hold tunnels and burrows in shape, as hamsters like to dig.

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I live in Switzerland, actually both bedding materials is spruce chips from the same manufacturer, only one is finely chopped. I was told by another hamster owner that the bigger wood chips go in the bottom for burrowing and the other fine wood chips is on top to be used for nesting. Does it sound right?

Zhanar said:

I live in Switzerland, actually both bedding materials is spruce chips from the same manufacturer, only one is finely chopped. I was told by another hamster owner that the bigger wood chips go in the bottom for burrowing and the other fine wood chips is on top to be used for nesting. Does it sound right?

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You could do that, but for nesting they love paper which is softer So you could also add a nice big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper in a heap somewhere, and the hamster will take some for their nest or burrow. Or you could mix the spruce bedding with a paper based bedding if there is any available where you are. Kaytee clean and cosy is one option.

With the smaller wood chips I would just check that they aren't scratchy or have sharp bits. Another option would be to just use the large bale for the main substrate, add some paper nesting material as above, and then use the smaller wood pieces in a separate dig box (and see if the hamster actually likes them! If they are not sharp).

Socks' Mum said:

Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on deciding to become a hamster mom together with your kids, very exciting

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Thank you! Happy to find this community, I will be coming back for advice now and then

Maz said:

You could do that, but for nesting they love paper which is softer So you could also add a nice big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper in a heap somewhere, and the hamster will take some for their nest or burrow. Or you could mix the spruce bedding with a paper based bedding if there is any available where you are. Kaytee clean and cosy is one option.

With the smaller wood chips I would just check that they aren't scratchy or have sharp bits. Another option would be to just use the large bale for the main substrate, add some paper nesting material as above, and then use the smaller wood pieces in a separate dig box (and see if the hamster actually likes them! If they are not sharp).

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Thank you Maz! This is clever idea, I will try both materials fine chips and paper and let the hamster to choose its own

I know requirements are much better in Switzerland than in some countries so I'm sure your cage is good, but before you go putting all that bedding in, it might be good to check it's big enough?

Maz has given you some excellent advice about bedding. It does sound strange when we are sold pre prepared bedding but I can underline how much all hamsters love torn up strips of plain white toilet paper. No fancy variety needed!
Let your twins do the hard work of tearing them up and putting the pile into the cage and the pile will be taken off to make a very comfortable sleeping area. That is very satisfying for a young owner. It also makes soiled bedding easy to remove and fresh strips put in the cage without a huge clean out.

Maz said:

I know requirements are much better in Switzerland than in some countries so I'm sure your cage is good, but before you go putting all that bedding in, it might be good to check it's big enough?

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Hi Maz! It seems quite big for the dwarf kind L75xW45xH55 cm but do please let me know.

That is a very nice looking cage with a nice glass base We can't get those in the Uk - there are more options for glass based cages in Switzerland and Germany usually.

It is not a bad cage at all. It is a little small and a bit tall really. But really not bad. The size was seen as perfectly fine for a dwarf hamster about 5 years ago - these days, 100cm cages are the norm. I love the way you have the bedding done with a space underneath for the hamster Is he already living in the cage? I'm not suggesting you change it but you might want to think about upgrading him later, or you might decide it's fine for him. He has lovely deep bedding and a very nice set up and he'll enjoy that.

It is quite tall for a dwarf hamster, but probably not too tall if you have 20cm of bedding, which it looks like you have As that effectively reduces the final height.. It's a clever design with the sloping side bars, so he couldn't climb those. There is a possibility that he might climb the bars at the front or back and get to the roof and monkey bar across. So that would be my main concern, as if they do that, they tend to just drop and he could land on a hard ladder.

So I would suggest losing the second shelf on the left and the ladder leading to it, and just keeping the shelf on the right. And then you can stick some hemp mat onto the ladder on the right shelf, so if he did happen to climb and land on it, it would be a softer landing.

He has a nice set up in there - nice wheel and house He might enjoy some sprays as well

Also just checking - in the cave at the front underneath the bedding - just checking that isn't "fluffy bedding" in there. Or maybe it's kapok? Fluffy bedding (synthetic fluff) is quite dangerous and can cause digestive blockages if they swallow any after pouching. The kapok is natural and there are varying opinions on it - in Germany it's seen as perfectly safe and in the Uk people are more cautious about it

Hi Maz, thanks for such detailed explanations, really! We have not got hamster yet, he is under 3-days quarantine. The space underneath is a pre-made tunnel we got from the shop for hamster to play. For a place to live we have got a tiny wooden house on the right side of the cage, but we'll see where he chooses to sleep. Thanks for warning about bars, I will lower both bars and stick a mat for safety. As for fluffy bedding, indeed it is kapok and you are absolutely right, it seems like a danger for hamsters, I am very surprised why would the shop sell those? Anyways, I am so very grateful for such a great onboarding and that you share your experience and knowledge with me as I am an absolute beginner