Are sand boxes safe?

[Floppysquirrel04]

Hi y'all I've been wanting to keep ace's mind of his fur and so I was wondering if I could make him a sand box? I've just gotten an aquarium set up so I have a ton of extra play sand. I know all other rodent like it and so what about flyers? I would've put this on the other thread about cages and stuff but nobody goes on it much :/

[stepnstone]

Hi y'all I've been wanting to keep ace's mind of his fur and so I was wondering if I could make him a sand box? I've just gotten an aquarium set up so I have a ton of extra play sand. I know all other rodent like it and so what about flyers? I would've put this on the other thread about cages and stuff but nobody goes on it much :/

Personally I would not consider the use of sand, the granular substance can become lodged in their eyes, ears, nose, etc.
We do have members that have supplied sterilized dirt boxes for their squirrels to dig and play in.

[cava]

I was so afraid of contaminated dirt that last winter I bought playground sand and made mine a sandbox. They were kind of into it sometimes, but for the most part, ignored it. I think they want the dirty dirt.

[Floppysquirrel04]

Ok, thanks! I'll try coco fiber then.

[Nancy in New York]

I posted this before and thought I'd post it again. :)


I bought a plastic kiddy pool and filled it with Carefresh bedding.
I figured the bedding has to be safe, and Coral LOVES it!
Their playroom is the garage. :)

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-ghVwqN2/0/S/i-ghVwqN2-S.jpg
Here's a short video of Coral playing with hubby in the "pool".

CLICK ON LINK

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-5TWXN9B/0/640/i-5TWXN9B-640.mp4

[Floppysquirrel04]

lol I've seen that before. I love the video it's halarious. Ace has never liked carefresh that much, but that's ok.

[Jen413]

I used organic potting soil and Sammy digs in it all the time. I even plant bird seed in it from time to time and Sammy loves that too. I just can't put it in his cage because he buries his veggies in there and it starts to mold. I have a bucket of care fresh in his cage that he's always hiding stuff in.

[Diggie's Friend]

PLEASE NO COCOA fiber! It contains higher levels of caffeine, and theobromine that is toxic to dogs.
It is also very high in Oxalates, that can cause the throat to swell up in rodents.

Sand is a big NO, as it has a high level of dust, and contains silica an little else, that can scratch the cornea of the eye, and even get stuck in their nostrils.