Is Critter Care A Safe Bedding for Hamsters?

Critter Care is one of the best options if you want safe bedding for hamsters. The characteristics that make it safe for hamsters are soft, comfortable, biodegradable, absorbent, and scent-free.

Therefore, if you get this bedding for your hamster in the USA, it’s probably one of the best choices you will make. But why is this so?

Read on to learn more about hamster bedding.

Why Is Safe Bedding Crucial for Hamsters?

If you are keeping a hamster as a pet for the first time, one of the most important things you must consider is filling its cage with the right material. The material you put in their cage greatly impacts their health.

Hamsters are natural burrowers that can dig up to 0.7m at times. They need a safe, comfortable, and adequate space to burrow into and make a nest.

If you don’t have a hamster yet, you can go to a pet store and look at a hamster to see how it digs in; it’ll give you an idea of how important good bedding is for them.

Moreover, hamsters have the habit of pouching materials in their cheeks while building their nests. Therefore, they often accidentally ingest small pieces of their bedding.

This makes it even more important to choose a safe material that can naturally pass through their digestive systems without causing harm.

Choosing the wrong material can not only harm your hamster but also create a problem of lingering smell around the cage.

Hence, you must ensure that their bedding material absorbs liquid waste and controls the smell.

Characteristics to Look for in a Hamster Bedding

Natural

Hamster bedding made from natural materials like wood shavings or recycled paper ensures your hamster’s safety, even if it accidentally ingests small pieces of bedding.

Absorbent

Safe bedding for hamsters should absorb liquid but not stay wet or stick to the bottom of the cage. Plus, it should lock in the smell to keep the environment fresh in and around the cage.

The best way to see if a material is suitable for hamster bedding is to put a tiny piece of that material in a water bowl.

Affordable

An important point to remember before buying hamster bedding in the USA is that you have to clean the cage often. Go for an affordable option that doesn’t put a huge dent into your budget every month.

Dust & Toxin Free

Animal bedding that is dusty or toxic can affect your hamster’s respiratory system and overall health. Hence you should avoid dusty or toxic materials, like pine shavings and cedar.

Types of Safe Bedding for Hamsters

Paper

Paper is the most common bedding for your furry friend, widely available all across the USA.

Paper bedding gives you the option of choosing the colors you like. In fact, you can make your pet’s cage funky and colorful by filling it with paper bedding of multiple colors!

But remember that paper can be a little pricier than Aspen (wood shavings). Plus, avoid choosing scented paper because it contains harmful toxins.

Toilet Paper

Toilet paper is a much cheaper alternative to paper. However, it has limited odor-control capabilities, which means you will have to clean the cage and change the bedding more frequently than if you use other bedding materials. Don’t go for this option if you want your hamster cage to always smell good.

Paper Pellets

Paper pellets are safe yet not sturdy enough for your hamsters. Hence, you can use them to supplement another sturdy bedding material, like Aspen or paper.

Paper pellets alone will not allow your hamster to burrow and nest properly.

Aspen

Aspen is the only wood bedding safe for hamsters; best if you want something affordable and effective enough to control odor.

Although Aspen tends to get stuck on hamster’s fur, especially on the long-haired Syrian species, it doesn’t harm your critter in any way.

In fact, you get a great chance to bond with your pet while brushing off the material from its fur regularly.

Aspen is easily available at most pet stores and websites at reasonable prices. But make sure you don’t confuse Aspen with Pine and Cedar, which are highly toxic to hamsters.

Soft Granule Blend

This compostable material also makes safe bedding for hamsters. But a major drawback of choosing this bedding is that it isn’t sturdy enough; your furry pet will be unable to dig tunnels and make nests.

It is better to use a soft granule blend as a supplementary material topped on either aspen or paper bedding.

Note: You might come across scented versions of soft granule blends in many shops across the USA. Make sure you avoid them at all costs.

Types of Bedding You Should Totally Avoid

Anything Scented

You might be tempted to try scented bedding for hamsters to eliminate the smell lingering in their cage. But hamsters have delicate noses that may be unable to tolerate any strong fragrances.

The synthetic fragrances in scented bedding put your hamster at risk of respiratory health problems.

Rather than using scented bedding for your hamster, you should control the unpleasant smells by frequently cleaning its cage.

Cat Litter

The burrowing nature of hamsters makes cat litter a highly unsuitable option for bedding. You can use cat litter as a bedding base to reduce lingering smells, but remember to adequately top it off with a safe and soft material your pet can dig into.

Make sure you don’t choose scented or clumping cat litter. If your hamster consumes clumped litter, it may cause blockages and even kill your furry little friend.

Fluffy Material

White, fluffy bedding may seem aesthetically pleasing, but it’s hazardous for your hamster. It is NOT a suitable nesting material at all!

Such fluffy material is made of artificial fibers that can cause internal blockages if your pet ingests even a small amount. Plus, it also puts them at risk of twisting their limbs.

Pine & Cedar Shavings

Bedding of materials like pine and cedar is a big no for hamsters. Such woods are sharp and result in bronchial irritation in your hamster.

Critter Care Bedding for Hamsters| Is It Safe?

Critter Care Bedding consists of 100% compostable and biodegradable paper fiber. It is specially designed to cater to the burrowing and nesting needs of small, furry animals like hamsters, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, ferrets, etc.

The material used to create this bedding is soft and keeps your hamster warm. Moreover, it has double the absorbing power of shavings.

It also has long-lasting odor-control properties to keep your home smelling fresh. The dust-free nature of Critter Care Bedding means you won’t have to clean it up very frequently.

Considering the factors above, Critter Care Bedding is completely safe and comfortable for your hamster.

It feels almost natural with its ideal combination of softness and size, keeping your pet healthy and encouraging it to engage in its innate, species-specific habits.

How Thick Should Hamster Bedding Be?

The hamsters’ bedding should cover the cage and provide them enough room to burrow.

The deeper the bedding is, the more your pet will love it! In fact, some hamster cages made in Germany have bedding depths of up to 50 cm!

Hamsters housed in cages with less bedding are likely to develop wire-gnawing and extreme wheel-running habits.

Moreover, proper size and depth of hamster bedding ensure better odor control; this is especially useful if you have an untrained hamster.

Tips to Maintain Safe Bedding for Hamster

A Dedicated Digging Zone

We advise constructing a special digging area for your hamster within its cage. Your hamster would then have a dedicated area to burrow and “deep dive” in. You can keep adding layers to the bedding until it resembles a mountain range.

Spice Up with Decorations

Try using a few party napkins to make your hamster’s cage look beautiful. They come in a variety of vibrant hues and designs and make excellent hamster cage decorations.

You can get these napkins at reasonable costs in most party supply stores and home/furniture retailers like Ikea. Shred them into smaller pieces to make them more manageable for your hamster to handle.

Select White Bedding for Better Cleanliness

Although there are several colors for hamster bedding, the HSS suggests using white. This is so that “potty stains” may be easily observed, making it easier to clean up and toilet-train your pet.

Dispose of Old Bedding

You don’t need to clean your hamster’s bedding; simply dispose of it properly (it may be composted) and start over.

Because hamsters occasionally hoard their food, discarding the bedding after each cleaning will prevent the cage from developing mold.

There is no set timetable for changing hamster bedding. Still, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) advises changing the old bedding at least once weekly to clear off feces and food.

Parting Thoughts

All things considered, picking the proper bedding for your hamster is crucial to give it a secure and appropriate place to burrow and nest to its heart’s delight. Hamsters with safe bedding remain happy and healthy!