How to make bedding for a hamster – To prepare the comfiest bedding for your hamster, you should ensure that it is clean, comfortable, hygienic, and free of dust. Moreover, you should also keep a note of the bedding material you are using.
What are the Best Homemade Beds for Hamsters?
Homemade hamster bedding can be an effective and inexpensive alternative to commercial bedding materials available in pet stores. When you opt for homemade hamster bedding, you are doing good to the environment as well.
Hamsters are known to enjoy digging and burrowing into their bedding while preparing the sleeping area. It is recommended to cover the bottom of the habitat of your pet with around two inches of bedding. Here are some options:
Paper
The softest paper-based options for hamster bedding are toilet paper, unscented facial tissues, paper towels, and napkins. These are perfect materials for absorbing urine. You can also make use of unused computer paper or paper bags.
Cardboard
The cardboard helps in providing clean and absorbent bedding material for the hamster. Greeting cards, shipping boxes, egg cartons, paper towel rolls, and toilet paper are some of the acceptable bedding materials for a hamster. You can tear the cardboard into smaller pieces to cover the bottom of the pet’s cage.
Paper Pulp
Paper pulp-based bedding is an absorbent material for keeping your habitat clean and dry throughout. It might be time-consuming to prepare the same, but it is worth the overall efforts. You can use computer paper –even the printed ones. This is because the pulping process will require several steps of rinsing. It will remove all the ink eventually. As the paper becomes completely dry after the pulping process, it is perfect for the habitat of the animal.
How to Make Hamster Bedding with Paper?
Paper-based bedding is the ideal material for your pet. For preparing the bedding out of paper, you need to ensure that the tissue or paper you choose is dry, colorless, and unscented. You can then chop the paper into smaller pieces. This will ensure comfortable and warm bedding for your pet.
Toilet paper can be a great option. It is quite soft. For large breeds, like Syrian Hamsters, you should ensure large-sized paper cutting. Also, make it a point to change the bedding at regular intervals. This is because dirty and unhygienic bedding can cause harm to the animal.
How to Make Hamster Bedding with the Help of Paper Pulp?
For preparing paper pulps, you can use soft white paper for turning them into molded paper balls with the help of water. It is quite an easy process to create paper pulp. Here are some steps to follow:
- Tear paper into smaller pieces. Then, dissolve them into hot water at a warm temperature setting. Blend the entire mixture well. The mixture should become mushy. Then, convert them into smaller balls. Keep blending the mixture for another 10 hours.
- Once you have dried them, you can break them apart as per your needs. After this, you can lay out the mixture on a flat surface for allowing it to dry completely. As the pieces get dry completely, you can use the same as bedding material for your lovely pet. The paper pulp will serve as a comfortable bed for your pet. This is because it will absorb the urine and other wetness of your pet while imparting a warm feeling throughout.
How to Make Hamster Bedding with Aspen Wood Shavings or Cardboard?
The given variants of wood-based materials are recommended for hamster bedding. This is because cardboard and aspen wood shavings are relatively softer and more comfortable for sleeping upon in comparison to other wood-based materials.
When it comes to preparing your hamster bedding, you should not compromise on the overall quality of wood shavings. You should aim at avoiding dusty and rough shavings at all costs. This is because these can turn out to be harmful to your pet’s breathing patterns. You should also emphasize the absorbing capacity and odor-control ability of the materials you use.
How to Make DIY Hamster Bedding?
Before you start over with preparing the homemade hamster bedding, here are some important factors to consider:
- Focus on the dryness of the bedding, as wet bedding will make your hammy ill.
- Avoid making use of dirty or colourful paper for bedding. The colours or inks could be harmful to your pet.
- Keep the bedding away from your pet’s food.
- Ensure that you are cleaning the bedding and the cage regularly.
Conclusion
As you design the bedding of your hamster, make sure that your pet is comfortable on it. Select the best material to deliver optimum comfort and ease of living.
FAQ
Some of the popular alternatives to typical hamster bedding are newspaper, paper pulp, hay, shredded paper, and shredded cardboard.
If you plan on making a homemade bed for your hamster, you can come across several materials like paper, cardboard, and wood shavings to prepare the same.
Hamsters love being comfortable in their cages. Therefore, you should make use of the softest and the most comfortable materials for bedding. Some options are paper towels, napkins, tissues, and paper pulp.
Bedding is crucial for keeping your hammy comfortable. Moreover, it also helps in keeping the cage of the animal clean and well-organized. In captivity, these animals require bedding to replicate their natural habitats.
It is unlikely to lead to any problems if your hamsters are not provided with proper bedding. However, you should not make it convert into something longer as it might play with the overall health and comfort of the creature.
