Best Hamster and Gerbil Bedding of 2021 – Reviews and Where to Buy
It’s important to provide the necessary items for your beloved pet. Hamsters and gerbils need bedding in their cage to have a happy and healthy life.
What are some UNSAFE beddings?
It’s important to know which beddings are safe but you should also know which ones are unsafe. Not all beddings advertised for hamsters/gerbils are suitable for them.
Some stores sell pine and cedar shavings but do NOT use these. Pine and cedar can brake and splinter into sharp pieces, which can hurt your hamster or gerbil. Both of these woods can also react to your their urine and produce a toxic fume.
Pet stores may also sell “fluffy bedding” People often want to buy it because it looks soft and cosy. However, fluffy bedding is made out of artificial fibres that are hard for hamsters and gerbils to digest if they accidentally eat it. Plus hamsters have cheek pouches and they may put it in their cheeks. The fluffy bedding may get tangled in their teeth, as well as around their little feet, which can lead to injuries.
You should also try to avoid…
- Cat litter- difficult to digest
- Corn cob- can get mouldy
- Newspaper- ink can be toxic
- Any scented beddings- contains chemicals and can lead to breathing problems
Why do They Need Bedding?
In the wild hamsters and gerbils create complex burrows and tunnels underground. Even though some hamsters and gerbils have been domesticated, many of them (if not all) still have that instinct to dig. These tunnel systems also allowed them to quickly escape predators when needed.
Bedding also creates a comfortable surface to walk on…or fall on if your pet happens to accidentally fall off something in their enclosure. Bedding also soaks up liquid, such as urine or spilled water.
Try to provide at least 5-6 inches of substrate to provide a sufficient amount of bedding for burrowing.
SAFE Beddings include…
- Almost all paper-based beddings (except scented)
- Aspen shavings
Comparisons Up-Close
CareFresh
Carefresh bedding is made from natural, reclaimed paper fiber and is 3 times more absorbant than wood shavings. This bedding is not only great for your pet but is also good for the environment too as it is biodegradable and compostable. Carefresh is designed for burrowing, which is great for your furry little friend.
Pros- Highly absorbant, comes in a variety of colours, compacted and can expand 2X its volume when fluffed, good for burrowing, soft, good for the environment
Cons- Expensive, have been quality control issues–>some batches are dusty, some users complained about it being smelly
You can buy some on Amazon here…
- Small Pet Bedding: Our beautiful blue natural paper fiber bedding makes the softest, driest most comfortable home for small pets
- Pillowy Soft: Comfyfluff natural paper bedding made from scratch is gentle on sensitive feet with perfect texture for burrowing, tunneling, nesting, or creating a hamster hideout; ideal rat, mice or guinea pig bedding, rabbit litter or for small pets
- Exceptional Odor Control: Ideal for use as hamster bedding, guinea pig habitat lining, or bunny bedding, our pet-safe, proven odor-control formula suppresses ammonia odors for up to 10 days
Kaytee Clean and Cozy
Kaytee Clean and Cozy is another good choice! It is soft and ideal for a nesting material. It comes in different quantities, each priced differently. It is cheaper than some other paper-beddings but it is good quality. It comes in white, natural (brown), blue and a few other colours. White is the easiest for spot cleaning because you can easily see where your hamster or gerbil goes potty. Unfortunately, Kaytee Clean and Cozy also sell scented beddings so please try to avoid those. It is pretty absorbant but not as absorbant as Carefresh.
(Image credit= Youtube->AleiaAnimalLover368)
Pros- Soft, ideal for nesting, cheaper than Carefresh, mostly dust free, comes in different colours and sizes, decent odour control, 2 times as absorbant as wood shavings,
Cons- Not as absorbant, some are scented, quality differs in some packs
Aspen Shavings
Aspen shavings is one of the few types of shavings that are safe for your small pet. They are great for people who are making a natural themed cage or for people who just prefer using shavings. Aspen shavings pretty soft and won’t injure your pet like other shavings
Pros- decent odour control, looks nice in cage, economical, decent absorption, range of sizes, pure natural wood-> no unnecessary scents or treatments,
Cons- not as absorbant as paper based beddings, can be dusty,
Why Not Try a Combination?
Here’s an enclosure using Kaytee Aspen, Kaytee Clean & Cozy (white) and Crittercare (blue). Possibilities are endless. This can also help you find out which bedding your hamster or gerbil likes best as nesting material….
TIP: The best gerbil bedding is a combination of hay, aspen shavings, and paper-based bedding. This mixture helps gerbils build sturdy tunnels. This tip can also work for hamsters 🙂
COMPANIONS TO BEDDING
Sand
Sand is a good option for a portion of the cage but not for the full cage. It is a great option for themed cages and non-themed cages. Sand helps clean hamsters and gerbils coat without any harm being done. Often times, your hamster or gerbil may decide to use it as their potty place, which can make spot cleaning that much easier (all you need is a sieve)
Timothy Hay
Timothy hay is a great companion to bedding. It can help make their tunnels and burrows stronger as. On top of that, timothy hay can also help maintain a healthy digestive system, promote dental health, and regulate weight. While it isn’t exactly necessary, timothy hay should be offered anyways because it does have it’s benefits.
Cardboard/Paper-towel rolls
Hamsters and gerbils are natural chewers. Gerbils specifically, will quickly demolish any toilet paper tube. When they shred it up it becomes part of their bedding and nesting material. Cardboard shreds can help improve the structure of tunnels and burrows as well.
We hope you got some great ideas for your rodent cage bedding! Want to get more cage ideas? Read this article called Natural Homemade DIY Cage Toys and Hideouts.
