Just want to ask

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

Erm...i have sawdust in my cage but also paper shreddings. Is that ok? And can anyone give me some ideas to entertain my hamster because it might start to get a little bored. Humbug is 5 months now and shes pretty healthy and very cute! For a dwarf hamster in a tank cage, she can easily find different ways of doing things...upside down! Getting bigger now and likes to explore aspects of her cage despite being alone. I don't think it bothers her. Anyway about the questions it would be lovely for someone to help me. Thank you! :)

[ratbrat21]

by sawdust what do you mean? I'm not trying to be rude in any way but if that means you use pine i would stop. Aspen and carefresh are the more popular kinds of bedding to use and not bad for the little pets. As for toys, i would put toilet paper tubes in there. Um at pet stores you can buy alot of different things such as houses hidey holes, just things in general to play with.

[Punkygirl0101]

What type of sawdust? Pine and cedar are BAD for ALL small animals! The only safe sawdust/wood chips are aspen, and thats it! If its not aspen, remove it!

Does she have a wheel?

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

Agree with everyone about the bedding! But hamsters can play with a number of things! Small boxes wich they can chew or hide in, paper rolls, napkins or toilet paper! You can also get her a run-about ball! Hamsters love it! Hamsters need a lot of exercise, so a wheel is a must-have! In my opinion it is the most importand accesory!

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

Lol! I should have been more clear when talking about the sawdust. I have always used aspen but when we get low on supplies and we arent going to the pet shop for another week we put in paper shreddings. Is that ok? Plus, Ive put in for christmas this big dried corn-on-a-cob which it cant stop chewing at lol!

[onebunnywuv]

I thought corn was bad for hamsters, especially dwarves? aren't they prone to diabetes??

[Punkygirl0101]

Yes, corn is VERY bad for hamsters, especially Dwarves/ You need to remove the corn now.

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

It is okay if corn is served as a treat every now and then, but better skip it anyway! Oh, and newspaper is a good and fun to play with nesting material, as long as the paper is untreated and the ink is organic! Trrreli
loves kitchen paper because it is much softer than newspaper!

[TiaMaria]

Yes, corn is VERY bad for hamsters, especially Dwarves/ You need to remove the corn now.

you make it sound liek it's life or death. Corn is bad because of the sugars in it and dwarfs are generally prone to diabetes, though some lines are not. Syrians can eat the corn easily and it doesnt effect them generally and I have had no problems with my syrians eatting corn..hell all of my hamsters have lived past the age of 3 years..basically its your decision weather you leave the corn in or take it out.

[Amanda427]

Sawdust is very bad, It is small so it can get into their noses, And cause irratition, And into their eyes.. Use aspen its alot better!

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

right...now ive seen all the posts, ive looked at the cob i gave it and a third of it is gone. The good thing about this is that there is a mountain of sawdust in the corner which means Humbug is mostly hoarding food, not eating it as the food bowl is also empty. Its not a matter of life or death is it? Youre getting me seriously worried, you know. Plus, sawdust? Bad? Have I missed something?

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

Sawdust is dangerous because can cause serious problems to their respiratory system! It doesn't have to do with them eating it or not! So it would be better if you replaced it with much safer bedding materials, like the ones mentioned before! In my opinion some corn now and then is not such of a matter, but sawdust can even cause death!

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

wait...isnt sawdust what anyone puts in? i mean, it comes in different variations like, aspen, pine and cedar. i use aspen and ive had my hamster with it for 5months now and i havent seen any problems with respiratory systems at all.

[TiaMaria]

Sawdust is very different from aspen, pine and cedar...sawdust is tiny, dusty and harmful to hamsters much like pine and cedar bedding, it causes respitory infections. Aspen is a nice safe bedding, along with carefresh, so dont mistake them all for just "sawdust"

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

lol i think i may have confused my definition of sawdust with the right definition which is yours. My mum bought the other day some aspen bedding the other day but its lemon scented. (smells horrible) But i dont know if anything like that can cause any breathing problems with my hamster?

[TiaMaria]

lol i think i may have confused my definition of sawdust with the right definition which is yours. My mum bought the other day some aspen bedding the other day but its lemon scented. (smells horrible) But i dont know if anything like that can cause any breathing problems with my hamster?

I dont think lemon scented aspen is good for them...to be lemon scented it needed chemicals added to it. I would just get regular aspen bedding because that could infact cause breathing issues with your hamster.

[pixibubbles]

If it's the scented stuff my mom bought (seems to be a mom thing lol) it was by fernplast and i did use it a couple of times when i was too disorganised to remember the other stuff (hammie comes with me when i visit mom and dad still!)

i didnt have any issues with it but dont buy it personally... but then i dont put pot pouri in my house either. in theory i suppose it could cause issues... anything strongly scented could in theory but i;ve never heard of any issues from it.

[cdljafdkcjdskrm]

well...ill try to avoid it in the future, but up to now it hasnt caused my hamster any problems at all in the breathing department. Thanks for the advice and i will take it on immediately :).