There are many different types of bedding materials for hamsters, with common ones including wood shavings, paper-based bedding, and cat litter. Regardless of which bedding you choose for your hamster, quality is important. If you’re using wood shavings, make sure to select clean ones without any strong odors. Let me take you through more details about hamster bedding.
1. Types of Hamster Bedding
1.1 Wood Shavings
Wood shavings are highly absorbent, which helps eliminate or reduce your hamster’s odor and decreases humidity in their environment. Additionally, wood shavings provide insulation, making them great for winter use as they help keep the cage warm and prevent your hamster from getting cold. They are also quite affordable, which is why many pet owners opt for wood shavings. However, wood shavings aren’t great at controlling odors in the summer, and because they’re soft and fluffy, hamsters love to burrow in them, scattering the shavings everywhere.
1.2 Paper-Based Bedding
Paper-based bedding has better absorbency and odor control compared to wood shavings, and it’s also more comfortable and warmer, making it suitable for winter. However, it costs several times more than wood shavings. When using paper-based bedding, spread an even layer in the cage—add a bit more in the winter and keep it thin in the summer. While paper bedding has many benefits, it needs to be changed frequently. You should regularly remove any wet parts and completely replace all the bedding about once a week. In hot summer months, you’ll need to change it even more often. Due to the higher cost and the need for frequent changes, only pet owners with a bit more budget tend to use paper-based bedding for their hamsters.
1.3 Cat Litter
Cat litter can also be used as hamster bedding. It’s very absorbent, excellent at controlling odors, helps keep the cage cool, and is easy to clean. However, larger hamsters might crush the litter into dust, and there’s a risk they could ingest it. It’s best to choose low-dust cat litter to prevent respiratory issues in your hamster.
You can choose the bedding based on your and your hamster’s specific needs, but no matter which type you go with, make sure to change it regularly. Even the best bedding will develop odors and bacteria if not changed, which can harm your hamster’s health. So, don’t skip on regular bedding changes!
2. Bedding Suitable for Summer
Hamsters don’t like the heat, so when temperatures rise, make sure to keep them cool by using bedding that doesn’t retain much heat. Here are a few options that are great for summer:
2.1 Cooling Sand
Cooling sand is essentially the common bentonite cat litter. You can easily find bentonite cat litter online, and it’s relatively inexpensive.
2.2 Tofu Cat Litter
Tofu cat litter costs a bit more than cooling sand, but it doesn’t clump at the bottom and produces very little dust, making it a cost-effective option. However, it does have a drawback—it smells nice, which might tempt your hamster to chew on it. To prevent this, you can use small treats to distract your hamster and teach them not to chew the litter. If you can’t stop your hamster from chewing, it’s best not to use this type of litter.
2.3 Wood Pellets
Wood pellets are more expensive and don’t cool as well as cooling sand or tofu cat litter, but they produce almost no dust, making them the least irritating option for your hamster.
That’s all about hamster bedding! You can choose the right bedding by considering your hamster’s needs, your situation, and the weather.
