How Much Bedding Do Hamsters Need [+ Calculator] 

Hamsters are burrowing animals that dwell in advanced underground burrow programs within the wild. It’s pure for them to create networks of tunnels with nesting and meals chambers the place they sleep and retailer meals. They also have a devoted chamber they use as a rest room!

Wild hamster’s burrows are often between 55 and 65 cm deep (22-26 inches), and whereas it will be fairly onerous for us pet homeowners to have a cage giant sufficient to suit that a lot bedding, we are able to nonetheless do our greatest to supply sufficient bedding for burrowing.

Offering solely an inch or two of bedding gained’t enable your hamster to burrow. Right here’s how a lot bedding they want.

How Many Inches of Bedding Does a Hamster Want

The minimal depth of the bedding your hamster wants will depend on the species of your pet.

Syrian Hamsters

Syrians are the biggest hamster species we preserve as pets and so they develop between 13 and 18 cm (5 – 7 inches) in dimension, in order that they want loads of bedding. Ideally, they need to have 12 inches of bedding (30 cm) however don’t go underneath the minimal of 10 inches (25 cm).

Think about three hamsters stacked on high of one another. May you bury them within the bedding? In that case, it’s deep sufficient. If not, add extra bedding till the highest imaginary hamster is roofed.

Dwarf & Chinese language Hamsters

For smaller dwarf species and Chinese language hamsters, intention for at the very least 10 inches of bedding (25 cm), however by no means go underneath the minimal of 6 inches (15 cm).

By offering sufficient bedding, your hamster will have the ability to categorical their pure behaviors, dig and construct burrows which is crucial for his or her well-being. This may also lower their stress ranges and make them much less prone to present harmful habits, comparable to chewing the cage bars or frantically making an attempt to flee.

How Does Deep Bedding Profit Hamsters?

Much less Stress

Analysis has discovered that Syrian hamsters stored with 10 cm (4 in) deep bedding confirmed considerably extra wire-gnawing and the next operating wheel exercise than these stored with 40 cm (16 in) and 80 cm (32 in) deep bedding. In truth, Syrian hamsters with 80 cm of bedding didn’t gnaw on wires in any respect. All hamsters in 40 cm and 80 cm of bedding dug burrows.

So it’s evident that the extra bedding you possibly can present, the higher. Your hamster will fortunately use it to create a comfortable underground house.

It Fulfills Their Pure Have to Burrow

As burrowing animals, digging and residing in burrows come naturally to hamsters. Underground tunnels are their protected place to cover from predators and really feel protected. Despite the fact that there may be no predators at your home, your hamster doesn’t know that. In the event that they’re unable to dig and burrow on account of an absence of bedding depth, they’ll wish to escape the cage to discover a new place to construct burrows.

Think about being faraway from your home and positioned in the course of the woods so that you can dwell there with none shelter. That’s how hamsters really feel after they can’t construct burrows.

Your Hamster Cage Ought to Enable Burrowing

As you in all probability seen, small hamster cages you possibly can usually discover in pet shops don’t enable for a lot bedding. These small cages are unsuitable for hamsters and are usually not manufactured with the hamster’s well-being in thoughts.

I wrote in regards to the minimal moral cage dimension for hamsters and a few really useful cages that match the factors right here. In case your present cage is just too small and might’t match sufficient bedding, I extremely encourage you to change to 1 that may. Your hamster shall be quite a bit happier.

A steel barred cage ought to have a deep base of at the very least 6 inches (though extra can be higher) to permit for the minimal quantity of bedding. You too can add a deep digging field to compensate for the dearth of bedding on the backside of the cage.

For those who’re going to make use of an aquarium or a plastic bin, these can maintain loads of bedding however ensure the bin is excessive sufficient to suit a big sufficient wheel on your hamster on high of the deep bedding.

For those who’re utilizing a protracted however quick cage, such because the DIY Ikea Detolf cage, you possibly can fill one facet of the cage with bedding to the highest and go away the opposite a part of the cage for a wheel and a sand tub.

What to Use as a Bedding

We’ve gone into extra element in regards to the several types of protected bedding you should utilize in our hamster bedding submit. An essential factor to recollect is that not all bedding sorts are protected or optimum to make use of.

Be sure that the bedding you employ is:

• Non-dusty
• Non-scented
• Protected for hamsters (protected if ingested, no toxins and so forth.)
• It could possibly maintain burrows properly and gained’t collapse when your hamster is digging.

Protected and hottest choices for hamster bedding are:

You too can use paper bedding and aspen shavings collectively to supply two totally different textures.

I like to recommend additionally offering a ‘booster’ on high of the principle substrate within the type of long-strand comfortable hay. Hamsters love to make use of it for nesting.

Bedding sorts to keep away from:

• Cedar and pine shavings – most of these wooden include harmful phenols. Though producers began warmth treating pine to take away the damaging phenols, it’s nonetheless greatest to keep away from it since hamsters are in such shut contact with their bedding and spend hours burrowed in, particularly with so many higher and safer bedding choices.
• Fluffy cotton bedding – there’s a danger of inside blockages in case your hamster ingests a few of the bedding, and hamster’s limbs can simply get entangled in such a bedding.

Supplies which can be protected however not appropriate as the principle bedding:

• Paper pellets – pellets shouldn’t be used as the principle bedding as they don’t maintain burrows.
• Delicate granule bedding – this may be added to your hamster’s cage so as to add selection however shouldn’t be used as the principle bedding because it additionally doesn’t maintain burrows.
• Bathroom paper – rest room paper is a good nesting materials however doesn’t present odor management, so it’ll have to get replaced day by day.

Easy methods to Calculate How A lot Bedding You Have to Purchase

Now that you understand how a lot bedding you want on your hamster, it’s time to do some math so you will get the correct quantity of bedding. When wanting on the product packaging, it may be onerous to determine how a lot bedding precisely you want on your cage, particularly when it’s compressed inside.

Right here’s how one can calculate how a lot bedding you want:

1. First, calculate the dimensions of your cage in sq. inches by multiplying cage width by cage size. For instance, your cage is 36″ x 18″ which comes all the way down to 648 sq. inches.
2. Now, multiply the sq. inches of your cage by the wished depth of your bedding, for instance, 10 inches. That’s 648 (sq. inches) x 10, which makes 6480 cubic inches.
3. Since bedding dimension is displayed in liters, you must convert cubic inches to liters. To try this, multiply the cubic inches by 0.016387. The end result provides you with the variety of liters you want to have the ability to fill your cage with 10 inches of bedding.

I’ve created a calculator under to make it simpler for you.

Hamster Bedding Calculator

Enter cage width and size and the specified bedding depth in inches or centimeters and let the calculator present you what number of liters of bedding you want.

Deep Bedding = Happier Hamster

Deep bedding is an important a part of your hamster’s cage and probably an important one. It permits hamsters to precise their pure behaviors of digging and constructing burrows, whereas offering them a sanctuary the place they really feel protected. This side of hamster husbandry is vital for each their bodily and psychological well being.

In case your hamster is exhibiting indicators of stress, gnawing on the cage bars and continually making an attempt to flee, rethink your cage setup and bedding depth. Present your hamster with at the very least 10 inches of bedding (12 inches for a Syrian hamster), if no more. If the minimal quantity of bedding can’t match inside your present hamster cage, meaning the cage is sadly unsuitable on your pet and ought to be upgraded to one thing larger.