sand for sand bath

[ra]

Yesterday I ran down to the Petco to pickup some appropriate Degu treats. Bought all kinds of yummies. This morning I began cleaning their condo and realized I hadn't bought any sand for their sand bath! I don't like the Chinchilla dust as well as I do the sand. It was advertised as dustless but of course none of it is truly dustless. It is a great deal better than the dust however. Anyway from what I could tell both products are from volcanic ash/rock.

I have some clean, sterilized white playbox sand for children's sand boxes. The sand is a bit damp so I spread it out and dried it under a heat lamp. Both girls seem to enjoy rolling in it.

I intend to get more Chinchilla sand but does anyone know if there is any harm in the regular playbox type sand? I don't know if it cleans the oils as well as volcanic material but I can't see how it would harm Degus who dig tunnels in the earth etc.

I guess I'm just looking for some re-assurance here that I'm not doing something that could potentially harm my girls.

[diet otaku]

i don't imagine it would harm them... regular sand is just silica, so as long as they're not eating it i don't see why it wouldn't be okay.

i actually prefer the pet scentsations dust that petsmart sells, because the "dust-free" sand was TOO dust-free... it wasn't cleaning their coats at all because it wouldn't stick to their fur. i've found that finer dusts keep their coats less oily.

[Sunshinemeg]

If it is only a temporary measure, I personally cant see the harm, but wouldnt use it as a long term alternative.

Actually someone reading this thread may be able to offer a solution to a question I have. When I clean out the cage I tip the old sand out of the bowl onto the floor before taking the bowl out. When I do this, it lands in a heap under the ramp that gives access to the bottom section. The boys come running down to investigate, and roll on the ramp in their excitment to get to the sand. Any ideas why they roll not actually in the sand?

[Aimeelou]

Ooer! never seen mine do that! That realy does sound odd! Mabe they dont want you to take it away?

[Sunshinemeg]

the stranger thing is when I put it back in fresh, Gromit doesnt wait to roll in the bowl, he will just roll about in front of it!

[ra]

Mocha does that too. She'll roll around the bedding that has dust mixed in it from the coming and going in the sand bath. I thought it a bit pecular too.

I haven't noticed the girls' coats getting oily. I do leave the dust house in their cage all the time. I change it at least once a week. The "dustless" I bought still has dust just a bit more coarse and less in the air.

[Aimeelou]

That realy is odd! Am i right on imagining a Degu rolling about in front of the sand bath?

[Sunshinemeg]

yep. i thought it either an instinctive reaction to smelling the sand, or the madness of degus!!

[Aimeelou]

Yeah, sounds more like the latter! They do some crazy stuff, but thats just the biscuit!

[Sunshinemeg]

how did the sand work in the end ra?

Im curious as to its success, as if its good, its a good idea if anyone else gets caught short so to speak!

[Bosley]

LOL...well, it's nice to know I'm not the only one with crazy degus! Mine will also roll in areas around the sand bowl, especially Mama. What a hoot! It's like they can't wait to get to the bowl and start rolling on the way; my daughter thinks it's absolutely hysterical!

[roz]

admin said:

how did the sand work in the end ra?

Im curious as to its success, as if its good, its a good idea if anyone else gets caught short so to speak!

Hi. I also "got caught short" one time, and ended up using the sand that we give the birds in our aviary. The degus loved it! The most interesting thing though, is that this sand has little bits of oyster shell in it (good for the birds) and the degus pick these bits out and eat them as well as enjoying a good old roll!

They've been doing this for 2 months now, and they seem healthier than ever, with lovely clean glossy coats

[worthym]

I only just noticed this thread - but this discussion came up a while ago on the gerbil forum that I post on, and I thought you might be interested in some of the advice that was given...

I would be wary about using quartz sand or playsand that is mined from quartz quarries, as it has a much higher powdery silica content than beach, or river sand etc, and has been proven to be hazhardous longterm. So much so that in California, quartz sand now has health warning labels on it .

www.safesand.com/information.htm

beach sand once cleaned and baked is ideal. The sand is also smoother than quarried sand because of the action of the sea.

Theres also the problem of exposure to a substance called tremolite asbestos from the same mined sand,

store.yahoo.com/safesand/trasfiinchpl.html

To be honest i only use playsand for a few species, and i can usually get bags of stuff similar to this,

www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Universal&op=ViewItems&vid=4

It's pretty good stuff, but as i said, any beach or river sand is much safer than mined sand from quartz quarries.

Hope this helps a bit.

[Anna]

My bigger degu likes to wait for the sand to get like out of the little glass thing I have for them and he'll roll around on his back on the table or where ever the sand is. My small one just jumps in there and starts rolling around. Sometimes they will both try to do it at once close to the same area.

[ra]

Meg, the washed and sterilized play sand for children's sand boxes seemed to work just fine as an alternative in a pinch. I put about two inches in their dust house. They both spent lots of time rolling about and burying treasures. I dumped it out and sifted through it once before my order of Chinchilla Sand came in. They rolled in the sifted sand like it was something new and different! When I finally got my order and put the "dustless" Chinchilla Sand in their bath house they rolled about like they always do and of course had to bury treats etc!

I was very careful to use washed & sterilized play sand. I was concerned about using unwashed sand for fear the fine silica dust could cause silicosis (a serious lung disorder) as it does in humans and of course I would only use sterilized sand. Who knows what unwanted bacteria etc might lurk in our native sands.

The Degus in their natural habitat dig and burrow through various dirt, sand etc but that would be dirt, sand etc indiginous to their area. You wouldn't think any dirt or sand would cause them grief but much better to be safe than sorry.

I ordered extra boxes of the dustless Chinchilla Sand to have some on hand at all times.