[Pebbles82]

I just posted on your other thread xxx I also need to start planning for another hamster when we have to say goodbye to one - and I think it's great to start getting things right in advance. What is your budget? Silly question - none of us wants to pay too much. I'm asking because I have the Savic Mickey 2XL which I absolutely love as a cage and it's great for a dwarf hamster - not too big, not too small, and a lower height than most so safer for dwarf hamsters.

I originally got it for our first Syrian but found it a bit cramped as he was a very large Syrian and needed a 12" wheel, which took up too much of the cage. Even so he was very happy in it. I then used it for our Robo and felt it was an ideal cage for a Robo. It is basically the same cage as the hamster heaven, but has narrow bar spacing and no holes on top for tubes and penthouses (which is better I reckon). Has the same lovely big front door which really helps with interaction with tiny robos.

It is only sold by Amazon and is not cheap - the price is usually around £80. The Exo Terra mentioned above is also great - front opening and a good size.

Other options are the Ferplast Duna Multy. Robos vary in personality but are highly active, so even if it's a shy robo they often need a fair bit of space at night to be active in. But they also need plenty of overhead cover so they feel secure - so plenty of floor toys and tunnels and ideally a good shelf to provide more overhead cover. I even had a rat sputnik next to my shelf - huge for a robo but if you put bedding in it they like going in it and again it provides good overhead cover.

The Duna Multy's have a nice big door on top - however it is still top opening and it limits set up with hanging things from the roof. But is a very safe height for a robo and plenty of people use them for dwarf hamsters. Depending on how you set it up the standard duna multy might be big enough - but I personally think the Savic Mickey 2XL is a better size and quite a bit more floor area overall. I really wanted a 90cm or 100cm cage for our robo - the 80cm cage was a compromise as I already had a 100cm cage with a syrian Hamster in it.

But it really depends how much enrichment and what size of items you put in. You can still have a good set up with plenty of enrichment in an 80 x 50 cage or possibly a duna multy.

Anyway, my recommendation would be the Savic Mickey 2XL - it's the only cage that's low enough and with narrow bar spacing, that I am aware of (other than a 100cm cage from Germany called the Elmo which is basically the same size as the Maxi Duna Multy but does have a couple of small side doors.

I would also recommend the Exo terra if you can find a good second hand one because they are massively expensive new! About £180.

Or the maxi duna multy with platforms (you can make or buy platforms). But then it's difficult to see them from above through the top door with the platforms. Maybe one platform and a labyrinth house.

Think space for wheels as well. I had a 9" wood wheel for a robo plus a 6.5" flying saucer and he used both regularly. They are very fast and active and funny, but like all hamters, very particular about their nest and hoard and sorting things the way they want. They tend to ignore any houses provided and burrow down in the substrate - unless you give them something like a labyrinth house and they like that as it's dark inside and mimics an underground burrow with rooms (light doesn't go round corners).

It's difficult spot cleaning without destroying their burrow etc when they make one under the substrate, but not impossible. Our robo actually used a litter tray when I gave him a labyrinth house, but he regularly moved in and out between the house and his burrow so I was never quite sure where he was peeing - the good thing about that was I could just do one half of his cage at a time and he would just move to the other burrow!