Own Cage Progress

[jadalmation]

Hey, this is as far as i've got, done all the wood myself :) made sure it was untreated and that it was safe for small animals :p

annoying that my silent wheel is 8inch so it takes up a whole lot of space and has to be on bottom floor! which makes the top floor too small for the flying saucer. But Pongo will have a lot more floor space so he should be a happy boy :D hopefully.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7161/sam0125j.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/i/sam0125j.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Going to now make the gaps in the cage fence smaller :)

the bar spacing is 2.5cm is that too big?

Any ideas or suggestions welcome ;)

[Ellie]

I'm pretty sure it is too big - but to be honest my memory is rubbish so hopefully someone can come along and help you soon! :D

[Emzlou09]

The cage bars are too big so the defiantly need to be moded.. My old syrian hamster used to be able to fit through a hole the size of a 10p piece..

[amyXlovesXhamstersX]

I think the bars have to be 1cm for a syrian, but im not too sure! The cage looks great, im sure your hammy will love it :)

[jadalmation]

i thought they might be, so i'v spent the time adding some wire to it, doesnt look live a palace lol :( but hopefully the space makes up for it. The wire is really tight so i would doubt he could escape.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5188/sam0126f.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/i/sam0126f.jpg/)


What do you guys think?

[jadalmation]

Right here it is :D been working on it since 5pm!

Now don't judge lol reason i've got both types of soft bedding is to break him into the safe shredded stuff without stressing him out.

need to replace that bottle, and look for a few more toys.

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0139.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0140.jpg

what do you think?

decorations was the gf lol :P

[Camdenita]

You've done a good work jadalmation!
I really like the second floor!
But Im afraid that if your hamster try to squeeze through the bars, the wire will be easily moved (because it's not as strong as the bars etc)and he will finally manage to escape!
I suggest u keep an eye on him, at least for the first days...

[NuttyEmUK]

looks great! Love the amount of space, 2nd floor and your gf decoration! :)

I'd be a little worried about the bars, as Camdenita says, keep and eye on him for the first few days. If he does you could try fixing that square holed cage mesh to each side?

[shazzy]

I was just about to say the same about the bars, because that stuff is bendy and a determined hammy will easily climb through.

The shelf looks great though x

[Iluvhamsters]

I agree about the bars and there is a lot of places for little toes to get damaged, wire mesh from the garden centre would work really well. Cage looks great apart from that :)

[souffle]

I agree about the wire. It will be easily bent aside. Do you have a bath? If possible you could put the cage in the bath so if he escapes he cannot climb up the slippery sides. You can buy rolls of small square weld mesh in wilkinsons which would be better.

[jadalmation]

thanks people, will have a look at the square mesh :D maybe a stupid question but is there different size gaps for the mesh? and what would i be looking for :~

been keeping an eye on him and he's been okay so far lol its heavy duty wire, but i wouldn't be suprised if he managed to escape. Although He's always been fascinated with his wheel, it's all he does lol

[Hope]

1cm square mesh or smaller would be fine! :-)

Thats quite a task you are undertaking there - good lucK! He will be so pleased when its all done though :-)

[jadalmation]

Right changed the top of the cage to square mesh. See what you think? any suggestions, iv turned any sharp bits up so Pongo can't get the them, and flatted the green wire so it won't reach or hurt either Pongo or us.

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0141.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0143.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0142.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0144.jpg

Any tips?

Is electric tape safe for hamsters? or anything of the sort? I would still like the cover the sharp bits, because as i cut the wire mesh to the shape of the cage i have to cut it with pliers with produce Sharp ends lol

Thanks

[princess-rhi89]

Ive used duct tape (gaffa tape) on my bin carrier, which seems safe enough for them, just keep an eye on chewing as with anything if alot is ingested it could cause problems.
Its looking really good, are you going to cover the sides with the same mesh? As its from the side he will most likely escape. Brilliant job so far though, your hamster is very lucky xx

[jadalmation]

ye i am going to, about to do the front door now lol :D

then do the rest of the sides, ye i might think about using duct tape, will see how many bits of green wire i have in the end lol

[princess-rhi89]

hehe, I cant wait to see the finished cage, its a brilliant idea, I thought about it then remembered how many cuts I had from the wiremesh when I did my bin carrier which only used a piece of wiremesh about 15cm squared lol.

[jadalmation]

thank you :)

ye...but literally about 5 minutes ago found a way to get rid of the sharp edges from the side! instead of cutting them with pliers, grab them with pliers and use and up and down motion untill the sharp edge falls off. which means i'll have to redo the top :( but at least that way Pongo won't hurt himself.

[princess-rhi89]

awww thats a shame, can you not do that with the ends on the top part?

[jadalmation]

I suppose i could lol will finish the cage off before i decide whether to replace the top :)

[princess-rhi89]

good plan, your hammie is one very lucky and spoiled hamster, hope he appreciates it :)

[Emzlou09]

Looks a lot safer now it has the wire mesh :D Your hammie is going to be very happy with all that space :)

[jadalmation]

Right here it is :D :D thanks for all the help people, if you think that it needs anything else then please let me know lol i know it needs a few more toys so i'll be ordering them in the morning :D :D :D :D

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0161.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0162.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0163.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0166.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx245/joseandrade1989/SAM_0168.jpg

[NuttyEmUK]

Looks brilliant :D Hamster palace.

[Iluvhamsters]

Looks much safer now :)

[fluffymunchkins]

Only just saw this thread!
Wow thats really brilliant, i'm glad you changed it to mesh in the end (the determination of hamsters never ceases to amaze)

What cage is it? I assume its a rabbit/guinea pig brand.

[jadalmation]

heya, ye its a ferplast guinea pig cage! lol, i think its appalling that pets at home sell the recomended hamster space for guinea pigs! and for hamsters they only sell cage half the size. Unless you buy online of course.

It took a lot of effort :( lol but was worth it in the end. Just moving from a small cage to big one, and now big cage looks so empy :)

[cheekycheeks]

Wow that looks great! And I think it looks much nicer as well with the mesh on it! I love that one whole side of the cage opens up as a door too, very convienent! I just have a question about the wood level, how are you going to clean it. I know a lot of people have wooden cages or levels and I've always wondered this? Because since it has to be untreated what happens when he pees on it and such?

[jadalmation]

hey, thanks :)

well i've got a spare one ready incase it becomes too damaged, but hopefully i would expect he wouldnt choose the wood as a peeing corner, and if he does, then just wipe if with a slightly damp spundge.

I used to have guinea-pigs with my dad when i was younger, and we used to breed them, so wed have potentially 30 guinea pigs in one MASSIVE cage seperated in three, and the floor on them was wooden, but we never had a problem with higein, we'd wipe it away every week and it was fine.

I might be wrong lol :P and if i am i'll find out soon enough...

Hope thats of help :D

[jadalmation]

and i mean massive lol dad was gardener and he has a spare room, so we converted it into a guinea pig house !!! was amazing, but now i'm in no position to get a guinea pig :(

[cheekycheeks]

wow that so kewl, what happened to all the guinea pigs? My firend when i was young, well her uncle had a bunch of rabbits they lived in a humungous pen. But one day as there was the mall parking lot on the other side of his backyard, where the pen was the all escaped out of the pen somehow and went under the fence. So there was actually a mall parking lot that had rabbits all over it! Luckily they were all found, and fine, but it was crazy lol. I used to have guineas too and because of the pets i have now and little space left in my room I am not in a postition to get a piggie either, so thats why i got my hamster. but i have never had one before and have had mine for about 2 yrs and they do make such nice pets as well:)

[jadalmation]

haha the image of rabbits in mall parking lot lol

we kept selling the babies, then when we called it a day, we gave the older ones to respectable friends. I loved em, so cuddly and huge!

But hamsters are amazing, i've had 10, unfortunately i only have 5 now, (not ten at once), two syrians got wet tail :( but that a risk i take buying them from the adoption centre in pet store. and the others just died (took all of the to vet, and he coudn't say what was wrong with them).

but my bunch at the minute are healthy :D and the best thing is there all different, all have there own personality :)

[Camdenita]

Aha!! Now it's perfect!!!
I like the fact that the cage's door is actually the whole side of the cage!
Bravo!!!

[jadalmation]

WARNING



if you wish to do this to a cage etc, bear this in mind. As you can see from the photos i didn't cover the squares on the corners, they looked too small for pongo to escape out of! well last night i was happy watching him when he suddenly decided to try and escape out of them! to get his head stuck!!!! i have never panicked so much, i was resigned to thinking i was going to have to sit there and watch him pass. he was frantically trying to get free, and i coudn't do anything, bars are too strong.

Luckily he managed to free himself! i gave him a cuddle ! :D and then immediately blocked up the corners! and easy thing to do, so just a warning better safe then sorry.

It was something i should have done, but just never thought that it was possible.