Hamster Nesting Material

Hamsters are avid nest builders and a good supply of nesting material is essential. This will allow them to build a warm secure and comfortable nest in a corner of their enclosure or in a nesting box. The nesting material is what he uses to make himself a soft bed to sleep in.

All hamsters are driven by a very strong "Nesting instinct," the Syrian hamster are solitary animals and are more so very protective of their nesting site. The nest plays a very important part of the hamsters environment and is just as important as their food and water. Their nest is a place they associate with safety and security. Care must be taken each time the nest is cleaned to avoid any behavior problems. See behavior.

Many varieties of nesting material are available on the market. Make sure they are safe to use for small rodents. It is not safe to use man-made materials like wool, nylon, cotton, or cotton wool.

The packets of fluffy nesting material that can be purchased from the pet shop is neither suitable or safe for small pets. Keeping your pet in this may look nice and snug, but there is evidence that this fluffy bedding has caused injury and death of many small animals. Unless it endorsed by, or carries the N.H.C logo (National Hamster Council) avoid using it.

There are various types of fluffy bedding sold in pet shops for hamsters that is supposedly sold as safe. However there have been numerous cases where this type of nesting material has caused injury and even the death of many a hamster. These fibres are strong and many a hamster has become tangled causing serious injury trying to pull free.
This material can also become lodged in the cheek pouches and be ingested causing internal blockages in the digestive system.

There is a campaign to try and get this type of nesting material removed from the market, you can help by not buying it.
The safest and cheapest nesting material to use is just an ordinary kitchen roll or toilet roll tissue, this can be torn into strips.Use plain white only with no print. If this is ingested by your pet it will break down naturally and pass safely through his system.