I bought my dwarf hamster pine bedding??

Question

I didn't realize it was bad until I looked online earlier. I thought it was only cedar, as that was all the petco paper that came with him said was bad. But he's been having the pine bedding for almost three days now, and he's still energetic as ever and doesn't seem to be hurt in anyway? We can't find any other bedding anywhere, every store around here is cedar and pine, and pine's better than cedar, right?

My question is, is pine ALWAYS bad?

Answer 1

Kiln dried pine is okay but it is still dusty and can be sharp. Hamsters burrow and can get sick from it.

Carefresh is usually pretty easy to find. That's safer.  

Answer 2

No, PINE IS THE BEST POSSIBLE BEDDING FOR YOUR HAMSTER. Cedar is the worst. I had a hamster alive for 4 years, and she lived in Pine bedding. My sister has had a hamster for 3 years so far, and she's living in pine bedding.

My hamster got Carefresh in her eye, and had to get a $30 medication to cure it. The vet trip was $15. We have gone through almost every Paper bedding on the market, and my hamster had respiratory problems with that. We tried Aspen, which is also SAFE, but it has a smell that not all people find pleasant. Pine is odor-less, oil-free, and non-dusty. Please stick to pine. Your hamster will live long with it, unless she has bed genes or gets sick from something else. But pine is as natural for a hamster as it gets, so please stick to pine or aspen. NO CEDAR! Good luck!

P.S. I was just told that because Carefresh is large and chunky, hamsters can suffocate or choke if they put that in their mouths.

Also, don't believe what the internet says. People just want their issues to be known, but they aren't scientists. Pine was proven okay BY SCIENTISTS! ^o^ Good Luck! Best Wishes!  

Answer 3

If I were you I would just keep away from pine completely. You said that you can't get anything until your next paycheck gets in but one thing that is as good as anything is un scented toilet paper. Put a few strips in and let your hamsters have the fun of ripping it up. They can burrow and sleep in it. It's cheap and not bad for your hamsters and mine love it! Good luck

:)

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Answer 4

Obviously, pine is not used anymore for hamsters (though it is still missold in shops) because they can cause wheezing in hamsters.

It has been proved ample times that pine bedding is not good to the hamsters due to the following reasons -

1. Hamster urine can react with compounds in pine shavings to give rise to phenols which can be toxic to hamsters in the long term and shorten their life span

2. Pine shavings have high quantity of dust in them and hamsters can get respiratory infections or allergy by inhaling the dust

Aspen shavings and Carefresh are tried and tested as hamster safe.You can also use ripped toilet paper. Make sure that the toilet paper is untreated, unbleached and non fragrant. Don't throw away the empty toilet roll tubes, give them to your hamster as they make good toys for the hamsters to play and gnaw.

You can use the pine until next Friday but the sooner you shift out of it, the better. I would suggest you use ripped toilet paper (safer option) until you can buy another better bedding for your hamster.

Answer 5

Yes. It is bad for your hamster. Both cedar and pine will cause respiratory problems for your hamster! Try unscented toilet paper, or ask the pet store owner if they know of any other bedding.