Is nesting fluff ok for gerbils?

[aj2013]

I recently bought a chew toy that came with free "nesting fluff". The fluff is just sort of like a big cotton ball but a little softer. I was wondering if it's okay for my gerbils because I had heard about someone who had a hamster that ate some of it with very bad effects - would this be a problem for my gerbils? Any thoughts or advice are appreciated.

[jgl]

I would advise not using it. (You could probably use it fine but in my mind the risks out way the benefits.) If it is just the standard that I have seen it would be very easy to catch a foot in, as for eating it I have never heard of that happening before but that doesn't mean it couldn't. If you are looking for soft bedding options I use unscented tissues paper and toilet paper. It is up to you though, you should probably look at what it is made out of (see if it looks tasty for gerbils) and maybe play with a little bit your self to see what it's like .

[theia]

I would also remove it personally, most soft bedding carries the risk of twisting around limbs/toes and hurting them or being swallowed and hurting them.

If you want to give them something soft and warm to line their nest with I use this stuff (mainly in/for winter) www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-bedding/rosewood-naturals-soft-n-safe-bedding-20g it's taken from Kapok Pods and is all short fibres (that apparently carry antibiotic qualities and also biodegrades) it's very unlikely (maybe impossible) for it to twist and get caught around them and shouldn't do any harm if ingested. You can also just straight up buy them Kapok Pods themselves, which gives triple benefit as they love to eat the seeds (of which there are many), they can take the fluff for bedding and the pod itself is great to chew on! Just make sure you cut/break one in half first before giving it to them if you get them one, one of our girls hurt her nose (at the pet shop before we adopted her) because she was trying so hard to get into an unopened pod!

[aj2013]

Thanks so much y'all! I can see after what you said that it would be easy for my boys to get caught in it, so I will throw it out. The kapok pods sound like a great idea - I'll definitely look into that!