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sand bath and sand for dwarf hamster

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Hi all,

At the moment i use Beaphar chinchilla bathing sand,this one;
www.drdknaagdierwinkel.nl

Beaphar Chinchilla Badzand 1,3 kg kopen | DRD Knaagdierwinkel®

Beaphar Care+ Badzand 1,3 kg voor chinchilla’s, degoes, gerbils en hamsters. Grovere structuur, minder stof. Specialist sinds 2011.
www.drdknaagdierwinkel.nl www.drdknaagdierwinkel.nl
but it has sepeolite (or something like that ) in it, and i have read it could be harmfull.

What sand can i buy for my dwarf hamster that is completly safe for her health and good for her fur?
I have read something about komodio reptile sand. is it this one? and why is this a better option? https://www.amazon.nl/gp/product/B071L2JTX9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A17D2BRD4YMT0X&th=1

I am alos looking for a good sandbath for her, she now throws out a lot when she is digging, so i was thinking about something like this, but is it big enough?

i have a Rodipet sandbath for her now: https://www.drdknaagdierwinkel.nl/nl/rodipet-easyclean-luxe-zandbak14-cm.html
 
I use Komodo sand and I really like it. I would not buy the plastic sandbath because it looks too small to me. I am not keen on plastic though and other members will have their own ideas.

I like the Rodipet sandbath you are currently using. :)
 
The Komodo sand is fine. I had been using JR Farm sand for years which apparently is also sepiolite. Most of the sands sold in Germany are. However I'm aware most rescues consider sepiolite sand shouldn't be used. It's one of those things that has changed quite recently as I believe German owners still use it so there are varying thoughts. I have to say though I switched to one of the calcium free reptile sands recently and I did notice that the sepiolite sand used to weld itself to a ceramic toilet when wet and leave stuck on residue which was very hard to remove. But have never had an issue with it with a hamster. I think it is up to you but many people are using the Komodo one and find it fine. The concern among some people now is that if a hamster ate sepiolite sand, it could turn hard inside them. I can't see why a hamster would want to eat sand and I know many people also use sepiolite sand without issue. But switching to Komodo is a good option.

The plastic sand bath is a bit small for a sand bath, but would make a kind of separate toilet. If she's kicking it out a lot (which they do!) then a covered sand bath helps a lot. Or a deeper one. I'm not sure which rodipet one you have right now, but Getzoo do one that is quite deep with a half lid.

It works well on a platform.

www.getzoo.de

Getzoo Ø 21 cm Sand Bath XS (round lid)

Plenty of space & safety for bathing fun With a diameter of 21 cm and a height of 6 cm, the Getzoo Sand Bath XS is the perfect size for your pet's…
www.getzoo.de www.getzoo.de
 
The exo terra sand should be fine too, they’re a good brand.
 
I use sepiolite sand too and I think it's okay. It was the default sand people used for years without problems until a handful of people had issues with some batches of one particular brand of sand.

The idea that because it's clay-based, it will turn hard inside a hamster, I think is one of those ideas that people started saying without proof because it "sounded right" but it doesn't actually make sense. It doesn't turn hard when wet. It clumps but the clumps crumble easily. Also in a constantly moving digestive system there's just not enough time for it to turn hard.

I also prefer clay-based sands because they smell much less when peed on and I think the natural absorbency of the grains means they clean coats better.

Quartz-based reptile sands like the ones already recommended are fine too of course!
 
Sorry, I just saw the rodipet one you have is linked above! I have that one which I find is robo sized and maybe a little on the small side for a russian dwarf, which may be why the sand gets kicked out a lot.
 
I somehow missed the bit about the Rodipet sand bath too, I have some of those, they are a little on the small side maybe so sand gets kicked out but I’ve had both Russian & Chinese hamsters use them happily enough, big enough to roll in. The sand bath doesn’t really need to be that big.

Daisy said:
I use sepiolite sand too and I think it's okay. It was the default sand people used for years without problems until a handful of people had issues with some batches of one particular brand of sand.

The idea that because it's clay-based, it will turn hard inside a hamster, I think is one of those ideas that people started saying without proof because it "sounded right" but it doesn't actually make sense. It doesn't turn hard when wet. It clumps but the clumps crumble easily. Also in a constantly moving digestive system there's just not enough time for it to turn hard.

I also prefer clay-based sands because they smell much less when peed on and I think the natural absorbency of the grains means they clean coats better.

Quartz-based reptile sands like the ones already recommended are fine too of course!
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Daisy, I use sepiolite sand too & have for years but having been off line for some time never figured out why it was suddenly thought to be bad! It’s worked for me with no problems.
 
I think there was a Facebook post where someone did an experiment and thought it turned hard.
 
That explains it then, the joys of social media!
 
I'm on the fence about it. I do find that the ceramic toilets get the sand welded to them. The wet sand itself seems ok. But it took vinegar to get the sand off the ceramic toilet.
 
Maz said:
I'm on the fence about it. I do find that the ceramic toilets get the sand welded to them. The wet sand itself seems ok. But it took vinegar to get the sand off the ceramic toilet.
Click to expand...
It might depend on the specific brand then. I use ceramic sand dishes and the sand I use doesn't stick much. I buy a generic sepiolite sand in big 20kg sacks.

Perhaps I should do some experiments with different brands.
 
Yes it could be different brands. I've just used the JR Farm one and the tiny friends one (haven't used the tiny friends one for a few years now) and both did that. At first I thought it was just the ceramic had worn away in the back corner and got stained, it wouldn't wash or scrub off. But after spraying it with vinegar it dissolved and the ceramic was fine underneath.
 
Maz said:
Yes it could be different brands. I've just used the JR Farm one and the tiny friends one (haven't used the tiny friends one for a few years now) and both did that. At first I thought it was just the ceramic had worn away in the back corner and got stained, it wouldn't wash or scrub off. But after spraying it with vinegar it dissolved and the ceramic was fine underneath.
Click to expand...
Now that I think of it, I wonder if it could also be the type of hamster? Syrians tend to shed calcium in their urine which leaves a residue even without sand. Combined with sand I could see how it could turn rock hard. I haven't used sepiolite much with Syrians but mostly with dwarf/Chinese hamsters and gerbils who don't excrete calcium.
 
That is a really interesting point. Yes I've only found it with Syrians - my robos haven't used the toilets as much - just occasionally. And Syrians pee quite a lot too.
 
Never having kept Syrians I can’t say about that but it may be the brand too, I used Tiny friends unlit it changed years ago but not for a long time & not the current type of sand, I did try JR farms at one time but never liked it, I’ve been using one from Rodipet for a long time & never had any issues like it sticking or anything.
 
I think for now i continue with the Beaphar. maybe when i finished it i will try Komodo. I ordered a bigger sandbath form Getzoo, the S size. will see how she likes that.
 
I think she'll like that :-) Do you have a platform for it to stand on ? Or you could just glue dowel legs underneath it.
 
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