OK! Bedding Reviews!

Bedding reviews

- Any beddings that contain raw percentage of phenols will not be reviewed here as I do not recommend them at all. If anyone's wondering, phenols are hydrocarbons that are released by softwoods such as pine and cedar that can promote liver, lung and intestinal problems when housed on. Pets such as hamsters, rats and gerbils can be severely affected by such hydrocarbons in a very short amount of time due to their high-metabolism and oxygen intake.

If you find it hard to imagine, then take disinfectant or lysol, drench a cloth with it, then sleep on it. This is exactly what's happening to your beloved pet. The germicidal properties from disinfectant is commercially extracted from pine and cedar sap. Imagine what it can do to their sensitive lungs and liver.

- Absorbency > To rate how good the absorption and odour control is.
- Cleanliness > To rate whether it's messy or neat.
- Dust content > To rate whether the dust content is high or low. A higher rating means lower dust content.
- Appearance > To rate whether it looks presentable, dull or just plain ugly.
- Advantages > Self explanatory.
- Disadvantages > Self explanatory.
- Status > Comments and recommendation.


10 = A must try
9 = Very good
8 = Quite good
7 = Good
6 = Okay
5 = Satisfactory
4 = Not so good
3 = Not good
2 = BAD
1 = Caution. Try at own risk.
0 = You have been warned

Kaytee

Aspen
- Absorbency > 6
- Cleanliness > 5
- Dust content > 6
- Appearance > 7
- Advantages > Economical, does not contain phenols(safe), good for building nests.
- Disadvantages > A little dusty, absorbency is rather average and due to absence of phenols, inspection for any mites is advised before purchase.
- Status > Neutral

Pine
- Absorbency > 6
- Cleanliness > 6
- Dust content > 7
- Appearance > 6
- Advantages > Economical, contains minimal phenols due to being kiln-dried.
- Disadvantages > Should be changed regularly as it does not contain the phenols that help suppress the smell of defacation. Will release a rather pungent odour if not changed regularly.
- Status > Neutral

Kaykob
- Absorbency > 4
- Cleanliness > 7
- Dust content > 9
- Appearance > 7
- Advantages > No phenols(safe).
- Disadvantages > Will turn moldy when exposed to humidity or when not changed regularly. Can attract mites. Can be very noisy when dug into due to it hitting the tank walls.
- Status > Recommended for low-urine producing pets. eg. Gerbils.

Chloropyhll pine
- Absorbency > 7
- Cleanliness > 7
- Dust content > 7
- Appearance > 7 (I like the appearance)
- Advantages > Minimum phenols due to being kiln-dried. Absorbency slightly better than the regular Kaytee pine.
- Disadvantages > Should be changed regularly as it does not contain the phenols that help suppress the smell of defacation. Will release a rather pungent odour if not changed regularly.
- Status > Neutral

Breeder Celect & B2N (Back2Nature)
- Absorbency > 8
- Cleanliness > 9
- Dust content > 9
- Appearance > 5
- Advantages > Clean and neat. No phenols at all. Enviromentally friendly (Made from recycled newspaper) Good absorbency. Easy to clean.
- Disadvantages > More expensive. Dull appearance.
- Status > Recommended

Woody Pet wood pellets
- Absorbency > 10
- Cleanliness > 8
- Dust content > 8
- Appearance > 7
- Advantages > Very good absorption.
- Disadvantages > Rather heavy due to high compression. Quite hard, but can be seasoned by sprinkling water introducing pet. Strong woody smell.
- Status > Recommended for high ammonia producing pets. eg. Syrian hamsters, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, stinky male sugar gliders.

Sluis comfort bedding
- Absorbency > 5
- Cleanliness > 5
- Dust content > 1
- Appearance > 3
- Advantages > I don't see any.
- Disadvantages > Extremely dusty. I had trouble breathing when i used it.
- Status > Not recommended.

This post has been edited by Reanne: Mar 20 2007, 11:40 PM

Quite a few of us have been using the burners for hideouts and food bowls a long time ago.

Burners are too small for syrians. They're good for wws and campbells.

Nope. But make sure you wash it properly to remove any traces of pesticides.

This post has been edited by Reanne: Mar 1 2007, 01:44 PM

Iceberg lettuce is actually very bad to be fed to hams.

About the soaking in water, it's a method to help remove most, if not all the traces of pesticides. The salt will form free radicals in the solution which attracts the pesticide chemicals. So, soak the veggie completely in water, then add some salt and leave it for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the veggie and wash it again. It'll be quite clean already.

Another method is as Hun stated, get the holey veggies from pasar malam. LOL

This post has been edited by Reanne: Mar 2 2007, 07:38 AM

Well, this was taught to me by my chemistry teacher in A levels that holds master degrees in mathematics, physics and chemistry. He did say if possible, get the holey veggie. Less trouble.

lol
Get the silent spinner or put some lubricating oil on the axle of the wheel.

Why do you want them to be fat? Don't think of just making them fat. As long as you feed them a good balanced diet, they will eventually gain weight. That's what's happened to most of my hams so far, that's why they look so chunky.

Winter whites.

Panda hamster has 2 meaning when used in pet stores. If it's a syrian, it's a black banded or black dominant spot/recessive dappled. If it looks like a dwarf, then it's probably a sp black campbell.

lol. Then it's a white and black campbell.

I would say pet safari maintains their hams better than PW, BUT PW has more space for them compared to PS.

3 pieces a day is quite a bit leh. Should try to feed every other day. Too much protein is also not good.

POst a pic, maybe I can help ID the colour for you.

Oh... The syrian in the middle picture right? That's a normal long haired syrian.

Golden syrians have slate blue under colouring

Yea, I use it.

Gasp! You're not keeping Egi and Mickey together are you? O.o

I still have some syrians for adoption la.

Their still nervous, but won't bite if you know how to handle. Then again, every hamster won't bite if you know how to handle.

Both also bite hard when they really bite. I got bitten by both before.

This is Perlee.

She's darn small for her age.



This post has been edited by Reanne: Mar 19 2007, 04:52 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

lol
Thanks. He's lookin' goood. Is the last pic him as well? I haven't been keeping track of the threads. eheh