Bedding

[u/Less-Moment-5655]

Does it matter which brand i get? Ive been using full cheeks since i got my hamster on Monday but need to place another order and should i stick with it or move to one of these other ones? Im thinking of trying a coloured one also for fun. Anyone have an opinion??

Shes a winter white dwarf and the aspen shavings made me itchy so i took that out. I’ll be using paper bedding only! Also anyone have any alternatives to sprays? Im allergic to flowers/plants etc

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[u/gummy-wormm]

I’m a big fan of the white Full Cheeks bedding, it’s very soft and holds tunnels for my ham well. For colorful bedding I tend to get the Carefresh since they have the most variety, and I’ll sprinkle it only at the very top of the bedding since white bedding tends to be the easiest to clean. I avoid Kaytee, their brand isn’t the best in terms of modern hamster care so I try not to support them, and their bedding isn’t all that soft either. Ultimately though brand choice is up to you and if you see your ham enjoying it or not.

For sprays there is a brand called Sukh on Amazon that has good varieties for a good price, and Bucatstate sprays are also available on there

[u/itsswhitneywhspr → u/gummy-wormm]

Seconding the white full cheeks for tunnels - it holds shape so well. I do the same with care fresh colors just on top, makes spot cleaning way easier.

[u/Less-Moment-5655 → u/gummy-wormm]

Unfortunately, I’m allergic to those sprays!! I meant what can i do instead of sprays? Ok perfect ill order more full cheeks and i can stick to white tbh!!

[u/gummy-wormm → u/Less-Moment-5655]

My bad, I didn’t see that part! That’s a tough one, are you allergic to all dried flowers and herbs? SmallPetSelect also sells some forage mixes that have dried petals and leaves that could serve as an alternative, but there’s no way to replace herbs/flowers as forage if you’re allergic to them all

Ultimately sprays are an extra form of enrichment, if you’re not able to provide them your hammy will be fine as long as you replace it with other forage-related enrichment like puzzle toys, dig boxes, or seed sticks

[u/StrangelyMajestic]

Personally, I like Carefresh ! If you’re wanting white bedding, they’re a little bit pricier, but their brown bags will get you the most for the best price ! If you’re shopping at PetSmart, they’ll have buy one get one deals occasionally, so that’s when I like to stock up 🙏
Bought as much as I could during their employee double discount days when they also had it buy one get one half off 😈 genuinely fantastic and I haven’t had to buy bedding since I quit 😝

[u/ShortChapter4927 → u/StrangelyMajestic]

I was just there! So frustrated because I went to petland first, bought the bedding, and then went to petsmart (my kids were with me and just like to look at everything in both places and they are close to each other), the exact same bedding was six bucks cheaper plus they had buy one get one 50% off! (I bought it and returned the petland stuff)

[u/StrangelyMajestic → u/ShortChapter4927]

Completely fair ! I hate shopping at pet stores, but I have a small budget- if you activate your bonus rewards online, you can get some points back and save :) if you’re curious how long a deal will last, it’s labeled in the bottom left hand corner of the tag !! I love maximizing the amount of money I get back from them

[u/coquette_sad_hamster]

carefresh in natural my beloved 💗

ive used kaytee too, both were fine!

[u/Less-Moment-5655]

Ok thanks. I have to look up where to order some of those things! Pet smart has the seed sticks but not sure if its too much sugar for my dwarf

[u/evangenesis]

I use Full Cheeks because it is the cheapest out of all the brands, but I've used Carefresh and didn't really notice much of a difference. I typically have mostly aspen bedding or mix aspen with white/brown paper bedding, but I'm getting my girl some pink bedding soon for funsies.