Newbie - cage question - tunnels

[Catja]

Hi as a newbie I have always assumed hamsters needed tunnels and the more you could provide the better but I notice on here nobody seems to use them. Have I just succumbed to Habitrail marketing.

For Algy we have the Ovo suite which he seems to really like but I am not so sure now. For Kretchers we have the Ferplast which she seems to like

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii131/catja_album/ferplast.jpg

[Jane]

Personally I don't think tubes are that important. They enjoy a tube or two inside the cage but they're not neccessary really. The most important thing is a large cage with a suitable sized wheel. I personally think a cage should be no smaller than about 60cm x 40 (ish), I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping them in anything smaller than that.

[souffle]

Is that all one cage Catya or is one on top of the other? Like Jane we prefer a larger running space to tubes. Tubes can get hot and steamy and some hammies jam themselves in then. They can make taming hard and also they are difficult to clean. I think the ovo is a bit small for a syrian. Pet shops hams are often quite small but if you are to get a breeder ham from Basia you will be surprised at the size of them I suspect.

[Catja]

Hi, it is a ferplast cage with two of their mini cages plus tubing. I ran upto measure it today after reading some of the other posts and my main cage measures 58cm x 35cm. Which the RSPCA says is too small :( My hammy seems happy in it but I'm worried now.

I was in pets@home today and they had the Cambridge and the Hamster Heaven which they didn't have before but they are a bit pricey straight after Xmas!

My Ovo is about 3ft long as it is made up of the suite, the maze and various pods etc, the baby hammy is happy in it at the moment and it has useful little pods that make it easy to get him out and provide a toilet area that he likes, but the more I look at it the more I think I am uncomfortable with it - now I've spent £100. Still you live and learn.

Will save up for a Savic may be.

Kretchers the silver grey is a large hamster and she can only fit down ferplast tubes. :D I think for a petshop hamster she has done remarkably well.

I want my next hamster to be a breeder hamster though and will get the largest cage I can. The mess by the way was because we were just moving the cages :oops:

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii131/catja_album/Ovo.jpg

[Holly]

I think your Ferplast cage with extensions looks fine - it gives a reasonable floor space and a few interesting areas and is a simillar size as several well recommended cages like the Imac Fantasy and Savic Cambridge. I have two "pet shop hams" who live in wire cage/modular combos linked with tubes and they seem really happy in them.

The Ovo I'm not a fan of, to be honest - sorry. I think it's a slick piece of marketing aimed at the owner rather than the animal and not large enough for a Syrian - it's all small "burrow-like" modules without a big area for the hamster to move around in. People assume that, as hamsters are burrowing animals in the wild, that's what they need in captivity - but Syrian hamsters run for miles and miles every night and the Ovo doesn't give them any large area to play in and explore.

[Catja]

Thats it, I assumed as they live in burrows in the wild then maybe this was the way things were developing and this was the future I hadn't understood.

Having got it now though I am really not happy and although my little boy is tiny at the moment, I am feeling claustrophobic for him and am off down the pet shop tomorrow, hang the expense to get a Savic Cambridge (the only one Pets@home have in at the moment.

[Basia]

I think you will like the Cambridge, it also fits a large wheel. My hamsters seem to be very happy in ours.

[Holly]

I was exactly the same, Catja - I read a bit about hamsters and went for the Rotastak option for our first two because of the burrowing/tunneling. They were fine in them as babies but it quickly became apparent that the cages and especially the wheels were tiny and cramped. My solution was to extend the Rotastaks by adding large wire cages linked by tubes. They are both still in them and happy I think - I have lots more hammies now and wouldn't use the same set up again because they take a while to clean out!

The Savic Cambridge is a wonderful cage - our Rolo lives in one and climbs all over it. As Basia says there's plenty of space for a large wheel without removing a shelf.

You could definitely sell your Ovo set up on ebay and probably recoup your money - it depends how you feel about selling on a cage you think is unsuitable. I don't see it as a problem as the person intent on buying an Ovo will do it anyway, they may as well have yours - some people on other forums might not think like me but hey! You could always USE the Ovo and add it to your Cambridge using a Fop adaptor.

These are my Rotastak/wire cage combos:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/Holly_Day/IMG_4880.jpg

Here's Rolo's Cambridge:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/Holly_Day/IMG_6192.jpg

If you only have P@H near you Tesco Direct sell the Imac Fantasy (there's also an extension) for twenty-five quid:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/Holly_Day/IMG_6092.jpg

This is our Minnie's Gabber Rex - very popular cage on this forum:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/Holly_Day/IMG_5918.jpg

[Catja]

Excellent photos. I went to Pets@Home today and they had a Cambridge but the door was loose, I was torn between that and the Savic Hamster Heaven as it had money off and so there wasn't that much in it price wise, but it does look absolutely enormous now I have got it home!

The guy at Pets@Home wanted to know how many I was keeping in it and I said one Syrian and he said he didn't know who Savic had made it for as it was far too big. I said the RSPCA say the cages have to be 80cm (is this right?) anyway he said they know nothing!

I really liked the Cambridge but it had no way to attach tubes and my hammy likes her tubes. Have I done wrong again do you think? :(

Funnily enough another couple were in at the time and they were debating too and eventually bought the other Hamster Heaven for their school hamster.

Anyway my plan is to move Kretschmer my older big hamster into the the Savic tonight and my little baby hamster into her old cage which is 60cm x 35cm once it is thoroughly cleaned. I do not think Algy will grow to Kretchers size anyway.

My aim is to have a properly bred hamster from a breeder in the New Year (when I have located one - Basia might be having some possibly) who will be bigger anyway and I will need a new cage for them, and so advice is always welcome as I want to have the happiest hamsters I can. :D

[Catja]

By the way what is a FOP adapter also what type of wheel is it that you have in your cages, they look more enclosed than the usual ones, is this better, if so where do you get them?

Cheers

Pics of the Hamster Heaven to follow once I've set it up

[Holly]

Oh brilliant you got the Hamster Heaven 8)

I've been dying to see close up pictures of one of these cages and hear how it is for a hamster, they look fantastic! I've been sorely tempted to get one since I first saw them - it's just they are so big, with as many hams as we have I just don't know where I'd put it. I'm sure Kretschmer will love it!

The RSPCA "recommended" minimum size for a hamster cage is 80cm by 40cm - it doesn't mean manufacturers have to make cages that size but someone on another forum was refused a hamster by the RSPCA as her cage didn't meet the minimum size requirement.

By the way what is a FOP adapter also what type of wheel is it that you have in your cages, they look more enclosed than the usual ones, is this better, if so where do you get them?

A FOP adaptor is the orange coloured plastic tube adaptor I have in my first picture - it allows you to remove a wire cage door and fit a tube to it.

The wheels are Wodent Wheels - the best hamster wheel there is IMO:

http://www.hamstercentral.com/forum/vie ... php?t=2393 (http://www.hamstercentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2393)

I'm doing another order if you, or anyone else is interested :)

HTH

[DonnaB]

I love the floor space of the Gabber Rex and prefer to use cardboard tubes and things inside, I always imagine Habitrail stuff a real pain to clean....and now I have a fabulous Wodent Wheel from Holly.... my Syrian, Luna, is the happiest I've ever seen her, though I think she may be addicted to the wheel already! :lol:

[Catja]

Well its 11:46pm and Kretchers is finally in her new home and baby hamster is just about to go into his once OH has rigged up the water and we are all cream crackered!

Tomorrow will take photos of new house and write a little bit on the pros ans cons that I've found tonight

TFFN
Catja

[souffle]

Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the cage. I do not think a cage can ever be 'too big' what nonsense the staff told you.The more space you can offer the better for the hamster I think. I am sure she will jsut adore it. The wheel which comes with the HH is a Savic Jumbo rolly on a stand which is big enough for a large syrian for sure. We have a couple on stands but do find them a bit noisy and quite easy to tip but if it suits her it will be OK I think as long as it is the Jumbo version at about 8in diameter.

[Holly]

I agree with souffle - I've just re-read your bit about the P@H assisstant:


The guy at Pets@Home wanted to know how many I was keeping in it and I said one Syrian and he said he didn't know who Savic had made it for as it was far too big. I said the RSPCA say the cages have to be 80cm (is this right?) anyway he said they know nothing!


Unfortunately some P@H staff sadly seem to prove again and again that they know nothing. We were all delighted when Savic brought out the Hamster Heaven - a cage specifically designed for hamsters that was actually big enough for them! Just look at some of the tiny horrors P@H sell as hamster cages and be thankful that you know better and your hamsters are going to have a wonderful life with spacious cages they can be happy in.

The only reason all of mine aren't in Hamster Heavens is that I have so many hamsters (14 with an extra one lodging here at the moment as well) and I just couldn't accommodate that many 80cm cages. If I had two hamsters only two Hamster Heavens would be top of my shopping list.

In fact, I'm seriously thinking about having a hammy in my bedroom again where I could accommdate a HH. I moved Mocha out after a few months 'cos his constant bar chewing was keeping me awake :roll: ....if I could put a non bar chewer in a HH in my room.......hmmm....there's a thought :P

Looking forward to the pictures :)