Hamsters are burrowing animals that are living in complicated underground burrow techniques within the wild. It’s herbal for them to create networks of tunnels with nesting and meals chambers the place they sleep and retailer meals. They also have a devoted chamber they use as a rest room!
Wild hamster’s burrows are most often between 55 and 65 cm deep (22-26 inches), and whilst it could be beautiful exhausting for us puppy house owners to have a cage sufficiently big to suit that a lot bedding, we will be able to nonetheless do our very best to offer sufficient bedding for burrowing.
Offering simplest an inch or two of bedding gained’t permit your hamster to burrow. Right here’s how a lot bedding they want.
How Many Inches of Bedding Does a Hamster Want
The minimal intensity of the bedding your hamster wishes depends upon the species of your puppy.
Syrian Hamsters
Syrians are the most important hamster species we stay as pets they usually develop between 13 and 18 cm (5 – 7 inches) in dimension, so they want a large number of bedding. Preferably, they must have 12 inches of bedding (30 cm) however don’t pass beneath the minimal of 10 inches (25 cm).
Believe 3 hamsters stacked on best of one another. May you bury them within the bedding? If this is the case, it’s deep sufficient. If now not, upload extra bedding till the highest imaginary hamster is roofed.
Dwarf & Chinese language Hamsters
For smaller dwarf species and Chinese language hamsters, purpose for a minimum of 10 inches of bedding (25 cm), however by no means pass beneath the minimal of 6 inches (15 cm).
By way of offering sufficient bedding, your hamster will be capable to specific their herbal behaviors, dig and construct burrows which is very important for his or her well-being. This may occasionally additionally lower their pressure ranges and cause them to much less more likely to display damaging habits, corresponding to chewing the cage bars or frantically looking to get away.
How Does Deep Bedding Receive advantages Hamsters?
Much less Rigidity
Analysis has discovered that Syrian hamsters saved with 10 cm (4 in) deep bedding confirmed considerably extra wire-gnawing and a better working wheel process than the ones saved with 40 cm (16 in) and 80 cm (32 in) deep bedding. In reality, Syrian hamsters with 80 cm of bedding didn’t gnaw on wires in any respect. All hamsters in 40 cm and 80 cm of bedding dug burrows.
So it’s obtrusive that the extra bedding you’ll supply, the easier. Your hamster will thankfully use it to create a comfortable underground house.
It Fulfills Their Herbal Wish to Burrow
As burrowing animals, digging and residing in burrows come naturally to hamsters. Underground tunnels are their secure position to cover from predators and really feel safe. Even if there could be no predators at your own home, your hamster doesn’t know that. In the event that they’re not able to dig and burrow because of a loss of bedding intensity, they’ll wish to get away the cage to discover a new position to construct burrows.
Believe being got rid of from your own home and positioned in the midst of the woods so that you can are living there with none safe haven. This is how hamsters really feel when they are able to’t construct burrows.
Your Hamster Cage Will have to Permit Burrowing
As you most likely spotted, small hamster cages you’ll continuously in finding in puppy shops don’t permit for far bedding. The ones small cages are incorrect for hamsters and don’t seem to be manufactured with the hamster’s well-being in thoughts.
I wrote concerning the minimal moral cage dimension for hamsters and a few really useful cages that have compatibility the factors right here. In case your present cage is simply too small and will’t have compatibility sufficient bedding, I extremely inspire you to change to 1 that may. Your hamster will probably be so much happier.
A steel barred cage must have a deep base of no less than 6 inches (even though extra could be higher) to permit for the minimal quantity of bedding. You’ll be able to additionally upload a deep digging field to catch up on the loss of bedding on the backside of the cage.
In case you’re going to make use of an aquarium or a plastic bin, the ones can hang a lot of bedding however ensure that the bin is top sufficient to suit a big sufficient wheel to your hamster on best of the deep bedding.
In case you’re the use of a protracted however brief cage, such because the DIY Ikea Detolf cage, you’ll fill one facet of the cage with bedding to the highest and go away the opposite a part of the cage for a wheel and a sand bathtub.
What to Use as a Bedding
We’ve long past into extra element concerning the several types of secure bedding you’ll use in our hamster bedding publish. A very powerful factor to keep in mind is that now not all bedding sorts are secure or optimum to make use of.
Be certain that the bedding you employ is:
- Non-dusty
- Non-scented
- Secure for hamsters (secure if ingested, no toxins and so forth.)
- It might hang burrows nicely and gained’t cave in when your hamster is digging.
Secure and most well liked choices for hamster bedding are:
You’ll be able to additionally use paper bedding and aspen shavings in combination to offer two other textures.
I like to recommend additionally offering a ‘booster’ on best of the principle substrate within the type of long-strand cushy hay. Hamsters love to make use of it for nesting.
Bedding sorts to steer clear of:
- Cedar and pine shavings – a majority of these wooden include bad phenols. Despite the fact that producers began warmth treating pine to take away the harmful phenols, it’s nonetheless very best to steer clear of it since hamsters are in such shut touch with their bedding and spend hours burrowed in, particularly with such a lot of higher and more secure bedding choices.
- Fluffy cotton bedding – there’s a possibility of interior blockages in case your hamster ingests probably the most bedding, and hamster’s limbs can simply become involved in this sort of bedding.
Fabrics which are secure however now not appropriate as the principle bedding:
- Paper pellets – pellets must now not be used as the principle bedding as they don’t hang burrows.
- Comfortable granule bedding – this will also be added on your hamster’s cage so as to add selection however shouldn’t be used as the principle bedding because it additionally doesn’t hang burrows.
- Rest room paper – rest room paper is a brilliant nesting subject material however doesn’t supply scent keep an eye on, so it’ll must be changed day by day.
How one can Calculate How A lot Bedding You Wish to Purchase
Now that you understand how a lot bedding you want to your hamster, it’s time to do a little math so you’ll get the correct quantity of bedding. When taking a look on the product packaging, it may be exhausting to determine how a lot bedding precisely you want to your cage, particularly when it’s compressed inside of.
Right here’s methods to calculate how a lot bedding you want:
- First, calculate the scale of your cage in sq. inches by way of multiplying cage width by way of cage period. For instance, your cage is 36″ x 18″ which comes right down to 648 sq. inches.
- Now, multiply the sq. inches of your cage by way of the sought after intensity of your bedding, as an example, 10 inches. That’s 648 (sq. inches) x 10, which makes 6480 cubic inches.
- Since bedding dimension is displayed in liters, you want to convert cubic inches to liters. To do this, multiply the cubic inches by way of 0.016387. The end result gives you the selection of liters you want with the intention to fill your cage with 10 inches of bedding.
I’ve created a calculator under to make it more uncomplicated for you.
Hamster Bedding Calculator
Input cage width and period and the specified bedding intensity in inches or centimeters and let the calculator display you what number of liters of bedding you want.
Deep Bedding = Happier Hamster
Deep bedding is an very important a part of your hamster’s cage and most likely a very powerful one. It lets in hamsters to precise their herbal behaviors of digging and construction burrows, whilst offering them a sanctuary the place they really feel secure. This side of hamster husbandry is significant for each their bodily and psychological well being.
In case your hamster is appearing indicators of pressure, gnawing at the cage bars and repeatedly looking to get away, reconsider your cage setup and bedding intensity. Supply your hamster with no less than 10 inches of bedding (12 inches for a Syrian hamster), if now not extra. If the minimal quantity of bedding can’t have compatibility inside of your present hamster cage, that implies the cage is sadly incorrect to your puppy and must be upgraded to one thing larger.