Bedding is an essential expenditure when it comes to small pets like hamsters. It serves many purposes, including keeping your pet comfortable, absorbing odors, and providing enrichment opportunities. Unfortunately, choosing the best bedding for your hamster isn’t as easy as it should be. There are many options, but not all are safe for your small pet to use.
Today we’re going to look at the 10 best hamster bedding options to help you choose the most suitable and healthy substrate for your pet. So, keep reading to find our reviews and learn what to consider when choosing the best bedding for your hamster.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024
Image | Product | Details | ||
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Best Overall | Small Pet Select Premium Paper Small Animal Bedding |
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Best Value | Brown's Naturally Fresh! Aspen Small Animal & Bird Bedding |
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Premium Choice | Vitakraft Fresh World Ultra Strength Litter Box & Cage Small Animal Be |
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RentACoop Premium Hemp Bedding |
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PETSPICK Uber Soft Paper Pet Bedding for Small Animals |
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The 10 Best Hamster Beddings
1. Small Pet Select Premium Paper Small Animal Bedding
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 178 liters |
The Small Pet Select Premium Paper Small Animal Bedding is a paper bedding that most hamsters adore thanks to its soft and comfortable underfoot feel. It’s made with all-natural paper, meaning it has not gone through a bleaching or printing process at all. It’s moderately absorbent, which can help keep your little pal dry and comfortable. Small Pet Select’s product is the best overall hamster bedding because it’s made in America without chemicals or additives.
The 178-liter bag is huge, but it doesn’t expand as well as other paper bedding products.
2. Brown’s Naturally Fresh! Aspen Small Animal & Bird Bedding – Best Value
Material: | Aspen |
Scented: | Unscented |
Size: | 24 liters |
Pet owners working with a tight budget need the best hamster bedding for the money. Brown’s Naturally Fresh! Aspen Small Animal & Bird Bedding is an affordable answer to the budget-savvy hamster owner. This clean and comfortable bedding is fluffier than other similar products, providing the perfect nesting material for your pet. The kiln-dried aspen is 100% biodegradable and free of any aromatic oils. It’s almost entirely dust-free and is very absorbent.
The aspen particles can be very inconsistent in size, and some may have a drier and harder texture.
3. Vitakraft Fresh World Ultra Strength Litter Box & Cage Small Animal Bedding – Premium Choice
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 35 liters |
The Vitakraft Fresh World Ultra Strength Litter Box & Cage Small Animal Bedding is our premium pick due to its smaller bag size and slightly higher price. This hamster bedding can provide up to two weeks of odor control, though we found it doesn’t quite live up to those expectations. It’s made of 100% recycled paper, providing a soft and cozy material for your hamster to nest and burrow in. The manufacturer claims its bedding is 99.5% dust-free, though we found it a bit dustier than other paper options. Since the paper can expand to three times its original size, it’s very absorbent, providing reliable moisture control.
4. RentACoop Premium Hemp Bedding
Material: | Hemp |
Scented: | Pine |
Size: | 300 liters |
RentACoop Premium Hemp Bedding is a highly absorbent and quick-drying option for your hamster’s cage. It lasts longer than other types of bedding and is grown without pesticides or insecticides, so it’s perfectly safe for your pet. The 300-liter bag weighs around 33 pounds and should provide several months’ worth of bedding.
This bedding is highly dusty and doesn’t hold burrows very well. We recommend mixing it with another type of bedding if your hamster loves to burrow.
5. PETSPICK Uber Soft Paper Pet Bedding for Small Animals
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 36 liters |
The PETSPICK Uber Soft Paper Pet Bedding for Small Animals provides hamster owners with a food-grade, virgin shredded paper perfect for nesting. It has no chemical additives to keep your hamster safe and can absorb up to six times its own weight. Additionally, it can expand three times its size to ensure your hamster stays clean and dry. Since it grows so well, a little goes a long way.
This bedding isn’t as odor-absorbent as other paper options and can get smelly fast.
6. Kaytee Clean & Cozy Small Animal Bedding
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 85 liters |
The Kaytee Clean & Cozy Small Animal Bedding is an affordable option that’s ideal for burrowing or nesting. It’s super soft and not as dusty as other paper bedding. There are no added scents to irritate your or your hamster’s respiratory system. This bedding expands to three times its size, so a little will go a long way when filling your hamster’s habitat.
The paper pieces are quite light, so they can easily find their way to your floor and onto your clothing. Additionally, this bedding isn’t as odor-controlling as other options, so you’ll need to be attentive to your pet’s cage upkeep to keep odors at bay.
7. Carefresh Small Animal Bedding
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 60 liters |
The Carefresh Small Animal Bedding is a paper-based option that is designed to be more absorbent than wood shavings. It’s made with the company’s signature “comfy-fluff” material, a reclaimed paper fiber that’s both biodegradable and compostable. It’s low on dust and odor. This bedding fluffs up quite a bit, so a little will go a long way.
There isn’t much in terms of odor control, and because it is so lightweight, it can scatter across your home easily.
8. Oxbow Pure Comfort Small Animal Bedding
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 72 liters |
The Oxbow Pure Comfort Small Animal Bedding is a soft, expandable option perfect for digging burrows and nesting. It’s made with 100% virgin paper for a hygienic and safe environment for your hamster. In addition, this bedding can absorb up to 800% of its weight in moisture to make clean-up a breeze.
Where this product lacks is odor control. Some batches also have random pieces of blue tape that need to be picked out as they’re not safe for small animals to chew on or accidentally eat.
9. Small Pet Select Small Pet Aspen Bedding
Material: | Aspen |
Scented: | Natural scent |
Size: | 113 liters |
Small Pet Select’s Small Pet Aspen Bedding comes in a huge 113-liter bag that’s affordable for the size. The kiln-dried log shavings haven’t had any chemicals added to them and are made from 100% natural aspen. The natural absorbency of aspen is a perfect pick for hamsters, and because this bedding is recyclable and compostable, you can feel good about using it.
Though no scents are added to this bedding, it has a strong natural odor that may be too much for scent-sensitive folks. Unfortunately, it isn’t the softest option, and it can be pretty dusty, too.
10. Kaytee Clean & Cozy Extreme Odor Control Small Animal Bedding
Material: | Paper |
Scented: | No |
Size: | 65 liters |
The Kaytee Clean & Cozy Extreme Odor Control Small Animal Bedding is great at neutralizing odors to keep your hamster’s cage smelling fresh and clean. It’s very absorbent and doesn’t get wet or soggy fast like other bedding options. This bedding is mostly soft, making it perfect for nesting and burrowing, though it does get a bit dusty if it’s jostled around too much. We say it is “mostly soft” because there are reports of some bad batches that are harder and much less cozy. The company claims this bedding provides 14 days of odor control, but our experience shows it’s more like six or seven days.
Buyer’s Guide: Factors to Consider When Buying Hamster Bedding
Type of Material
As you’ve likely noticed from reading our reviews, we recommend two main material types for hamster bedding: paper and aspen.
Paper is a soft choice that hamsters especially like for nesting and burrowing purposes. It’s typically compostable, making it a great option for pet owners who care about the environment. However, paper can be inconsistent with its quality and isn’t the best at controlling odors. In addition, when paper gets wet, it can get smelly fast.
Aspen doesn’t produce harmful dust like other wood types. It’s quite absorbent and is often better than paper at odor control. However, it can be dusty, which may wreak havoc on your and your hamster’s respiratory systems if you are sensitive to such things.
Hemp bedding gets an honorable mention as it’s highly absorbent and natural. However, hemp doesn’t hold burrows very well, so we wouldn’t recommend using it alone in your hamster’s cage. Instead, mix the hemp with hay or other bedding to provide your pet better environmental enrichment.
Odor Control
Aside from giving your hamster a cozy place to put its feet, your bedding serves another purpose: mitigating odors. The perfect bedding can reduce the smells that tend to accompany pet cages. Each bedding type has its own way of controlling odors; some are better than others. For example, some companies add baking soda to their bedding to keep odors at bay, while others rely on the material’s natural absorbency properties.
Cost and Value
It’s not enough to look only at the cost of the product when making your buying decision. You need to factor in the size and expansion capabilities of the bedding in question to get the most value from your investment. Remember, most of the paper bedding options on our list expand and fluff up to some extent, providing more value for your dollar.
How Much Bedding Should I Put in My Hamster’s Cage?
Hamsters love to burrow, so it’s best to provide a deep layer of bedding to give your pet plenty of time to engage in enrichment activities in its cage. At least ten inches is recommended for larger hamsters to provide enough space to imitate their natural burrowing behaviors.
Some bedding materials are better at allowing proper tunnels to hold up. You may need to mix and match different beddings to find a combination that is comfortable, absorbent, and great for burrowing. You can add layers of hay between your bedding layers for additional tunnel stability, too.
How Often Should I Change My Hamster’s Bedding?
There is no hard and fast rule for how often your hamster’s bedding should be changed, so you’ll need to play this by ear. You should do a spot clean every day to get rid of soiled litter. This will keep your hamster’s habitat more hygienic and reduce odors in your home.
The bedding will need to get changed sooner if you have more than one hamster or if your single little guy or gal is particularly messy.
A good rule of thumb is to completely change the entire batch of bedding at least once a week. Additionally, your little buddy’s entire habitat should be thoroughly cleaned once a month.
Can I Make My Own Hamster Bedding?
If buying bedding for your hamster is proving to be an expensive endeavor, you can try your hand at DIY’ing your own bedding. Shredded cardboard and shredded paper can be great, affordable bedding alternatives.
Conclusion
For the best overall hamster bedding, we recommend Small Pet Select’s Premium Paper Bedding as it is made in America without any harmful chemicals and feels soft on your hamster’s sensitive tootsies. Hamster owners on a budget will appreciate the value in Brown’s Naturally Fresh! Aspen Small Animal & Bird Bedding as it’s highly affordable, low dust, and biodegradable. As for the Premium Choice, Vitakraft Fresh World Ultra Strength Litter Box & Cage Small Animal Bedding is the way to go, but you will get a smaller bag for a slightly higher cost than the other choices.
Of course, you can’t go wrong with any of the products in our above reviews. However, you may need to do some trial and error to find the best bedding for your hamster’s needs and may even need to mix and match to find the perfect combination.
Featured Image Credit: metalboy25, Pixabay