Doric Hamsters and Exotics

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Bedding Reviews

Finacard

RATING :-

Effectiveness - 5/5
Cosy factor - 4.5/5
Dust free - 5/5
Value for money - 4/5

A finely shredded cardboard bedding, Finacard has been used as small animal bedding for a number of years now. Since becoming finer in cut, Finacard is now much warmer to use with very small critters but can still be paired with a nice shredded tissue nesting material (which they also sell). A mid price range bedding, one maxibale lasts quite some time. A 17kg maxibale here goes around 50 small to medium sized hamster cages or 30 larger sized cages. it doesn't go up the hoover as easily as some other bedding but it also doesn't tend to get kicked out as much.

Pros:-

Affordable
Absorbent
Warm and soft
Can be used across a range of species
Can be used on all but the longest coats.
Natural odour control
Dust free
More compact so easier to store

Cons:-

Need nesting material
Not uniform size so bigger pieces may need to be removed for very small species


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Aubiose Hemp Bedding

RATING :-

Effectiveness - 5/5
Cosy factor - 3/5
Dust free - 4/5
Value for money - 4/5

Retailing at around £10 a bale for single bale purchases, this chopped hemp bedding is in the mid range pricing for small animal bedding and is aimed at horses. Cheaper to buy at your local horse bedding supplier, Aubiose can be difficult to find during long periods of wet weather due to the disruption to the hemp growing season. Most ideal for gerbils, it can cause eye injuries when used with mice and is best used in conjunction with shredded paper for nesting material. Do not use this bedding if you experience hay fever as it can cause a respiratory reaction in sensitive people.

Pros:-

Cheap to source.
Dust free for animals
Smells nice without added scent
Easy to clean up
Compostable
Stays dry on top

Cons:-

Can cause hayfever type reaction in people
Can be sharp on sensitive skin
Can cause eye injuries in some species

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Fitch Recycled Paper Bedding

RATING :-

Effectiveness - 4/5
Cosy factor - 5/5
Dust free - 4/5
Value for money - 3/5

By far one of the most expensive bedding brands around, and with prices continuing to go up, this is no longer a bedding that I can use with all my animals. We used to buy this on the pallet at 12-18 bales a time but I've had to source a cheaper alternative. However, Fitch is absorbent, largely dust free (you can see some fine particles if you use it for black animals) and can be used with almost all species. It's inert, easy to hoover up but it does get everywhere!

Recently Fitch has become less compact so that it doesn't go as far. 

Pros:- 

Inert
Can be used across many species
Suitable for dwarfs as well as syrians
Absorbent
Natural odour control

Large bales last a long time
Choice of bale size

Cons:-


Tends to 'snow' when animals kick bedding around
Expensive
Can suffer distribution delays
Can shed fine white particles on black show animals
Not suitable for long haired animals


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