Hamster Central - View Single Post - Hamster behaviour in multi-chamber house

Pebbles82 · 10-04-2020, 06:54 AM

Hi. I use multi roomed houses for our hamsters and yes they pee in one room and nest in another room so I put a corner litter tray in one room for the pee and just take the roof off the house to empty it twice a week. They tend to hoard under the nest (if there is substrate under the nest - if there isn’t they tend to hoard in a room).

A lot depends on the layout of the rooms. They will choose the darkest one to nest in and the one next to it to pee in (usually). So the labyrinth houses work well as light doesn’t go round corners. Hamsters do vary in their habits but can be trained a bit in the house. Eg one of our Syrians decided to use his potty room to hoard in so I moved the potty to the room he was peeing in.

Poops - they do that everywhere, nest, hoard, all over the cage - but they’re not a problem unless they start taking over then just spot clean them. Hamsters actually eat their poops sometimes which is normal- they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops.

Cardboard is a good idea

. With the wood houses most people paint them with plastikote enamel paint which makes them wipe clean. That’s for smooth wood but wouldn’t work with rough bark wood houses like the trixie one. If it’s for a Syrian the trixie Leif house is a bit small inside but it can work if you knock out the middle compartment to make one big room
In the middle - and knock out the bit of floor under the entrance- so there is just substrate underneath it.

I have a Rodipet one which is great but it is expensive and it’s large too so needs a 100cm cage at least.

If you make one out of cardboard you could design it how you want. The Rodipet design is good. Because they always nest on the front left room which is the darkest bit round a corner after two entrances and they pee in the middle back room next to it. The right side is more of a run to the top entrance but can be used for hoards sometimes.

If a bit did get pee soaked you could just replace that bit of cardboard though

. They need a lift off roof ideally so you can leave the house in place and the nest stays in tact. But none of mine like you lifting the roof when they’re in it. So I do it when they’re out if the cage to empty the toilet.

10-04-2020, 06:54 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Hamster behaviour in multi-chamber house Hi. I use multi roomed houses for our hamsters and yes they pee in one room and nest in another room so I put a corner litter tray in one room for the pee and just take the roof off the house to empty it twice a week. They tend to hoard under the nest (if there is substrate under the nest - if there isn’t they tend to hoard in a room). A lot depends on the layout of the rooms. They will choose the darkest one to nest in and the one next to it to pee in (usually). So the labyrinth houses work well as light doesn’t go round corners. Hamsters do vary in their habits but can be trained a bit in the house. Eg one of our Syrians decided to use his potty room to hoard in so I moved the potty to the room he was peeing in. Poops - they do that everywhere, nest, hoard, all over the cage - but they’re not a problem unless they start taking over then just spot clean them. Hamsters actually eat their poops sometimes which is normal- they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops. Cardboard is a good idea . With the wood houses most people paint them with plastikote enamel paint which makes them wipe clean. That’s for smooth wood but wouldn’t work with rough bark wood houses like the trixie one. If it’s for a Syrian the trixie Leif house is a bit small inside but it can work if you knock out the middle compartment to make one big room In the middle - and knock out the bit of floor under the entrance- so there is just substrate underneath it. I have a Rodipet one which is great but it is expensive and it’s large too so needs a 100cm cage at least. If you make one out of cardboard you could design it how you want. The Rodipet design is good. Because they always nest on the front left room which is the darkest bit round a corner after two entrances and they pee in the middle back room next to it. The right side is more of a run to the top entrance but can be used for hoards sometimes. If a bit did get pee soaked you could just replace that bit of cardboard though . They need a lift off roof ideally so you can leave the house in place and the nest stays in tact. But none of mine like you lifting the roof when they’re in it. So I do it when they’re out if the cage to empty the toilet.