Hamster bedding traces the underside of your pet’s cage. It offers a tender floor, provides burrowing alternatives, and even acts to catch and include pee and poop. Getting the suitable bedding is essential. There are business bedding choices accessible, together with sawdust and shredded paper merchandise. However, whether or not you are attempting to save lots of a couple of bucks, or you may’t at all times get quick access to the bedding you purchase, there are home made options that you should use.

Under, we now have listed six home made hamster bedding choices, most of which use available supplies that you need to have the ability to lay your arms on.

The 6 Sorts of Selfmade Hamster Bedding

1. Shredded Paper

Shredded paper hamster bedding provides a step up from newspaper, however you want to take care when selecting the paper. It ought to be unbleached and unused. And the softer the paper, the higher. Napkins, kitchen rolls, and bathroom paper make affordable choices.

The paper will absorb urine nicely, and your hamster can dig round in shredded paper, however it isn’t that comfy and should you’re shopping for paper for this objective, it could work out fairly costly.

2. Newspaper

As a one-off, final resort, newspaper can be utilized as a short lived resolution. In case you want bedding and might’t get to the store till the subsequent day, newspaper is viable. Nevertheless, 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 by means of the door. In case you do want to make use of newspaper, put down just a few layers and change it as quickly as potential.

3. Hay

In case you have any previous hay that has gone too stale to feed your hammie, you may nonetheless use it. Pull the hay aside somewhat 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 secure. Nevertheless, hay could be dusty which might trigger or exacerbate respiratory issues.

It will possibly additionally appeal to mites and turn into moldy. Not all sorts of hay are appropriate, both, so you will want to test earlier than utilizing.

4. Shredded Cardboard

Shredded cardboard is an effective choice for many who obtain numerous parcels. Take away any sections which have tape, adhesive, or ink on them, after which shred the remainder of the cardboard. Ideally, you will want to shred it by hand to stop sharp edges and defend your hamster. And it may be troublesome handy shred the paper all the way down to an inexpensive measurement.

Though cardboard does absorb urine, it takes longer than tissue paper and it gained’t do a lot to carry poop.

5. Cloth Scraps

Cloth scraps are reusable as a result of they are often washed, and they’re particularly helpful bedding in the course of the chilly winter months when they may hold your hamster heat and comfortable. Use fleece or scraps from knitted garments. Ensure the scraps are lower in order that they’re too massive to slot in your hamster’s mouth and make sufficient to cowl just a few inches on the backside of the cage.

In case you make further, you may change 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.

6. Paper Pulp

Pulping paper removes ink and another undesirable impurities, due to its screening course of. Making it’s a considerably labor-intensive course of, however you probably have numerous 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.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

Do Hamsters Want Sand?

Hamsters profit from with the ability to have common sand baths. It helps hold them clear and it mimics their wild behavior of rolling in sand to do away with mites and different nasties. Present a sand bathtub: even when your hamster by no means makes use of it, its presence gained’t hurt them.

Do Hamsters Want Bedding?

Hamsters use bedding for a number of functions. First, it offers a tender layer on prime of the laborious cage flooring. It additionally encourages burrowing or digging, which is a pure conduct for hamsters. Lastly, it additionally helps absorb urine and collect poop in order that it’s refrained from your hamster’s physique. Each hamster cage ought to embrace bedding, and it ought to 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 great cage shall be 2 ft tall. A cage of this measurement will want no 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 threat to make use of soil so it’s best averted as a bedding materials.

Conclusion

Hamsters are pretty cheap 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 type of necessities is the supply of a secure 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 gathering poop.

There are business bedding choices accessible, however should you’ve run out or are on the lookout for another choice, the home made hamster bedding choices above can show helpful.

Featured Picture Credit score: Stanislaw Sulica, Shutterstock