Hamster bedding traces the underside of your pet’s cage. It supplies a tender floor, gives burrowing alternatives, and even acts to catch and include pee and poop. Getting the proper bedding is necessary. There are business bedding choices accessible, together with sawdust and shredded paper merchandise. However, whether or not you are attempting to avoid wasting a couple of bucks, or you’ll be able to’t all the time get quick access to the bedding you purchase, there are selfmade alternate options that you need to use.
Beneath, now we have listed six selfmade hamster bedding choices, most of which use available supplies that you must have the ability to lay your palms on.
The 6 Kinds of Do-it-yourself Hamster Bedding
1. Shredded Paper
Shredded paper hamster bedding gives a step up from newspaper, however it is advisable to take care when selecting the paper. It must be unbleached and unused. And the softer the paper, the higher. Napkins, kitchen rolls, and bathroom paper make cheap choices.
The paper will take in urine nicely, and your hamster can dig round in shredded paper, however it isn’t that comfy and in case you’re shopping for paper for this objective, it may well work out fairly costly.
Most individuals have kitchen rolls and bathroom paper spare
Soaks up urine nicely
Unbleached, unused paper shouldn’t trigger irritation
- May be costly in case you don’t have a continuing paper provide
2. Newspaper
As a one-off, final resort, newspaper can be utilized as a short lived answer. In case you want bedding and may’t get to the store till the following day, newspaper is viable. Nonetheless, the ink can run and should irritate your hammie’s pores and skin. It additionally will get sodden with urine and it doesn’t supply any burrowing or digging alternatives.
It’s available, although, as most of us have some mendacity round the home, even within the type of free leaflets and newspapers that come via the door. In case you do want to make use of newspaper, put down a couple of layers and exchange it as quickly as attainable.
Cheap
Available
- May cause pores and skin irritation
- Can’t be used for burrowing or digging
- Will get sodden when moist
- Solely an emergency, short-term answer
3. Hay
You probably have any outdated hay that has gone too stale to feed your hammie, you’ll be able to nonetheless use it. Pull the hay aside slightly so it isn’t a strong block and use it to line the bottom of the cage. Sure hay, like Timothy hay, is tender so it’s comfy. And, in case your hamster chooses to nibble on its bedding, it’s completely protected. Nonetheless, hay might be dusty which may trigger or exacerbate respiratory issues.
It might additionally entice mites and turn out to be moldy. Not all kinds of hay are appropriate, both, so you’ll need to verify earlier than utilizing.
Great way to make use of up outdated and unused hammie hay
Comfy and heat bedding
- May be dusty
- Can entice mildew and mites
4. Shredded Cardboard
Shredded cardboard is an efficient choice for individuals who obtain a number of parcels. Take away any sections which have tape, adhesive, or ink on them, after which shred the remainder of the cardboard. Ideally, you’ll need to shred it by hand to forestall sharp edges and shield your hamster. And it may be troublesome handy shred the paper all the way down to an inexpensive dimension.
Though cardboard does take in urine, it takes longer than tissue paper and it received’t do a lot to carry poop.
Smart way to make use of up cardboard
May be free
- Takes numerous work to hand-shred cardboard
- Not nice for accumulating poop
5. Material Scraps
Material scraps are reusable as a result of they are often washed, and they’re particularly helpful bedding throughout the chilly winter months when they are going to hold your hamster heat and comfortable. Use fleece or scraps from knitted garments. Make sure that the scraps are minimize in order that they’re too massive to slot in your hamster’s mouth and make sufficient to cowl a couple of inches on the backside of the cage.
In case you make additional, you’ll be able to exchange half when you clear it. To scrub the bedding, take away solids, put the bedding in a laundry bag, and place it in sizzling water. Dry it out and hold it till you subsequent do a partial clear.
Fleece makes heat bedding for chilly winters
May be cleaned and reused
- Cleansing means additional work
6. Paper Pulp
Pulping paper removes ink and every other undesirable impurities, due to its screening course of. Making it’s a considerably labor-intensive course of, however when you have a number of paper that you’d in any other case discard and don’t wish to pay for business paper pulp bedding, it’s a good different.
Rip pc paper into small items.
Add to sizzling water and stir the combination to take away ink.
Squeeze all the paper into a big ball and drain to do away with extra water.
Put the paper again within the bucket and repeat the method a number of instances to make sure all of the ink is gone.
As soon as the ink has gone, create balls roughly the scale of tennis balls and soak them for a couple of hours.
Break them down into smaller balls.
Enable the balls to air dry.
Pulping removes ink and prevents irritation
Good use of undesirable, used paper
Continuously Requested Questions
Do Hamsters Want Sand?
Hamsters profit from having the ability to have common sand baths. It helps keep them clean and it mimics their wild behavior of rolling in sand to do away with mites and different nasties. Present a sand tub: even when your hamster by no means makes use of it, its presence received’t hurt them.
Do Hamsters Want Bedding?
Hamsters use bedding for a number of functions. First, it supplies a tender layer on prime of the arduous cage flooring. It additionally encourages burrowing or digging, which is a natural behavior for hamsters. Lastly, it additionally helps take in urine and collect poop in order that it’s avoided your hamster’s physique. Each hamster cage ought to embrace bedding, and it must be usually changed or cleaned.
How Deep Ought to Hamster Bedding Be?
The depth of bedding will rely, partially, on the scale of the hamster cage. A perfect cage will probably be 2 ft tall. A cage of this dimension will want not less than 6 inches, and as much as 8 inches, of bedding on the underside of the cage.
Can I Use Soil As Hamster Bedding?
Any soil you employ must be unfertilized, untreated, and utterly freed from any chemical compounds or different components. It also needs to be dried. Normally, it’s an excessive amount of of a danger to make use of soil so it’s best prevented as a bedding materials.
Conclusion
Hamsters are fairly inexpensive and low-maintenance pets. However, whereas they don’t take as a lot care as another pet sorts, they do have sure necessities that have to be met. A kind of necessities is the availability of a protected and clear bedding materials. Hamster bedding serves a number of functions that profit your hamster and it additionally makes your life simpler by absorbing urine and accumulating poop.
There are business bedding choices accessible, however in case you’ve run out or are on the lookout for an alternate choice, the selfmade hamster bedding choices above can show helpful.
Featured Picture Credit score: Stanislaw Sulica, Shutterstock
