Hamsters are the most commonly kept type of rodent in North America and Europe with there still being a decent gap between the popularity of guinea pigs who are in second place and hamsters.
Due to being such a popular type of pet, there are a seemingly endless number of questions being asked over and over again about caring for a pet hamster.
Thankfully, most of the questions that we see people asking within the hamster keeping community are not usually about potentially serious things but every now and then, they are and today’s article is about one of these topics.
In the last couple of weeks, a number of people have been reaching out and asking about using children’s play sand for hamsters due to a number of viral videos going over the topic for sand baths.
Is Children’s Play Sand Safe For Hamsters?
The short answer to this question is no, you should not use children’s play sand for hamsters in most cases.
The main reason why you shouldn’t use play sand for hamsters is due to the fact that it can contain a number of harmful chemicals and minerals that can be dangerous for your hamster if they ingest it.
While the chances of your hamster ingesting play sand are relatively low, it’s still something that you should be aware of as it can potentially cause some health issues for your pet.
Although these risks are low, the risk is there so we just wanted to make our readers aware of this even though there are a number of people out there who keep pet hamsters and do use children’s play sand without issues.
Why Do People Use Children’s Play Sand For Hamsters?
The most common use case for children’s play sand for hamsters is based around some type of sand bath.
There are some other minor use cases that people use children’s play sand but the majority of them is based around a sand bath.
The problem is, that even the use of sand baths for hamsters is up for debate and in some cases, they can actually cause problems in your hamster even if you do use the correct type of sand.
Can Children’s Play Sand Cause Impaction Or Blockages If Eaten?
There have been a number of reports from hamster owners that their hamster has become impacted or blocked after potentially eating children’s play sand.
The problem with this is that it’s hard to determine if the sand was the cause of the impaction or blockage as there are a number of other things that can cause these problems in hamsters.
The best way to avoid this problem is to just not use children’s play sand in the first place as there are a number of other types of sand that you can use that won’t put your hamster’s health at risk or just avoid using sand in your hamster’s cage altogether.
