HAmster bedding - can I use cotton wool? OR something else? Basically something that isn't that over expensive wadding stuff from teh pet shop!

[MamaG]

tia

Please don't use wadding!
Wadding isn't good for hamsters as it's too fluffy, and they can choke on it when they stuff it into their pouches. It's much better to use kitchen roll or toilet paper (value brand is fine ). In theory, the hamster will shred the paper, providing entertainment for the hamster, but we were soft touches and had lazy hamsters and we shredded it for them.

oh good - will buy a 4 pack of value loo roll for hamster's use. Thank you

We used to use the paper from the shredder, not sure if you are supposed to but it never caused a problem for mine.

Paper from your shredder. Is also recycling!
Tesco do a value sawdust, tis very cheap.

Paper from your shredder. Is also recycling!
Tesco do a value sawdust, tis very cheap.

We used kitchen roll and the hamster did indeed love shredding it. Must say it was cute to watch too.
As already said - cotton wool etc is dangerous.

Oh good, I'm glad we're not the only ones who used pre-shredded. Office paper is fine too, as it's not fluffy. We (as I said) were very soft and indulgent with our hamsters and so provided the soft stuff.

We got a horse bale of sawdust for about £7 (probably a bit more now) and it lasted us well over a year. This was instead of the small bricks from tesco that lasted a couple of weeks.

The only problem is storing it.

Don't use cotton wool - would not be good for hammy.
Shredded paper is fine.

Well I have chucked some torn up kitchen paper in there, will see how she goes with that. She seems to enjoy being busy, moving her food around etc so hopefully she'll get stuck in and make a new bed.

I think she's a bit of a weirdo though. She has this cage and sometimes makes her bed in the tube bit, sometimes in the house and sometimes in the middle of the cage, ont eh floor

When she isn't using teh house as a bed, she uses it for weeing in and poos in the tube!

Not weird at all! Or at least, in that case we have weird hamsters too. Our last used to wee in the little house - I think because it's a cosy safe place. We used to collect small cardboard boxes and put those in for the hamster to make nests. All our hamsters loved it. They would get a bit annoyed when we took the box out and put a fresh one in, I suppose that the new one didn't smell of hamster (and they'd just got it "right" ), of course as far as we were concerned, we were changing it because it smelled too much of hamster. Again, it's fun because it keeps them busy. Hiding little bits of food (unsalted peanuts/raisins/that kind of thing) for them to forage for is great too.
Can you tell that we like hamsters?

Yes we do the food-hiding as well - she loves to dig around for stuff. We put loo roll tubes in for ours, she loves them

Shredded paper. My neighbour and her DH have their own business and they just shredded a few years paperwork. My rats are set up for life!

ours have little houses, which they seem to use for sleeping and weeing in and in the morning there is a collection of poos thrown out the door

def no cotton wool for bedding, will block up their airways - we use sawdust and then get a huge bag of ready made paper bedding - ours are very papmered

i love hammies, they create such entertainment

Bung in the inner cardboard tube of a loo roll too - combined toy & shredded bedding

Our new one likes to burrow and fill Rotastack tubes, house & wheel with bedding. Then wonders why can't get anywhere

Second shredded paper/. We have rats and this is all we use for them. They make themselves nice little beds and it keeps them warm