Syrian Ikea Samla HELP!!

[sarahraered]

Hi Everyone!
New member here :)

I bought my syrian yesterday and got the largest hamster cage that Pets at Home offer (which is not big enough!). I bought a 12inch Silent Spinner (as her current wheel that came with the cage is CRAZY SMALL!). But it doesn't fit in her cage. So I want to make her an IKEA Samla bin cage.

I was wondering if anyone has put a 12inch Silent Spinner in a IKEA Samla 180l bin and could share some pictures with me?

I don't have any tools as I live in a student house so I want to *ideally* have it open top or cover the whole top in mesh held down with bulldog clips. Would this be possible?

Here are some pictures of Cilla :)

[Tildauk]

Hello :)

I haven't got any help to offer on the semla front I am afraid, but your right I think that that wheel needs to be removed asap, she looks like she is going to snap in half :(

Could you not get the other wheel in there somewhere? What if you took the floor out or that little pink house thing or shuffled some stuff about? I think I would resort to a bin cage without any setup in the meantime to be honest if you can't wedge a wheel in there.

She is a real sweetie though :D

[Shannonmcn]

She would be better with no wheel than that wheel :(

If there's nothing to climb up then you might be able to risk a Samla with no lid but really a few days in the small cage with no wheel while you sort some quick mesh isn't going to hurt her in the long run and syrians are crazy escape artists at the best of times. If you get a stiff enough mesh you could fold into corners you could use wire or cable ties to hold the corner together and fit it over the top but yeah, it would need something to hold it down as it would be quite light. The handy thing about cutting the panel out of the bin lid is that it's not possible for hams to lift them up easily and they can be held down with clips.

A Stanley knife and a gas cooker ring would be enough tools to get a panel cut out of the bin lid if you're extremely careful. I haven't done it myself though, sorry, I've only heard others saying that's how they managed it.

[Piebald]

Yeah I'd remove and block the tube in favor of the Wheel.
There is a section on the forum for DIY I suggest you look there for Bin cage advice. One thing to think about is using the door from the useless cage for the bin.
Good for you for wanting to do what is best for you new furry friend. :) x

[Jen250]

I would take that wheel out immediately. I agree with the others. Try to fit the new wheel in without the shelf. If it still doesn't fit, just take her out and put her in a playpen for some wheel running time at night. Supervised, of course. I'd keep that small wheel out of there though!

[racinghamster]

Hi Sarah, I don`t blame you for wanting to have an Ikea Simla bin instead of the smaller cage as they are inadequate really for a Syrian. I you click on the `search` logo in the black bar at the top of this page and type in `Simla` into the first box, this should throw up some images or posts about this box, but I imagine a 12" inch silent spinner would fit inside as the Simla storage box is tall, but what you would need to do, is measure the height of the wheel on it`s stand and then measure the internal height of the Simla. If the box is taller, then it will fit, but allow for the lid on top to drop inside as the lids are usually an inch or so deep due to the way they are moulded. Although you say you want to use mesh over the top, which is also fine, but in all honesty, meshing the front panel makes a bin cage look better, the water bottle can be hung from the front too, which saves a lot of bother trying to stand it or hang it on the inside, but we can help you with that.

I`ll post a few images of bin cages just to give you an idea of what a good design looks like.

A front panel can be an old cage front, cut from a small useless hamster cage using simple wire cutters. These are great because they have a drop down door on the front, so eans you can access from the front or from the top.

[racinghamster]

Looking back at your photos, I can see how small those cages are (and the wheel) and shame on that `store` for selling such cages for such a large hamster. I don`t know how they get away with it...

Anyway, the Simla is a nice size, but there are large storage boxes online too that are 100cm in length. I googled a company selling a pack of two for £33.00. Although if you only wanted one, I`m sure there would be similar deals. x

Edited to add: Actually, once you get the Bin/storage box, I would take that cage back to Pets At Home for a refund. NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE. x

[Wanna Hamster]

I have the 34 gallon Samla bin and the twelve inch Silent Spinner fits fine. But, it does not fit in the next size down, the 12 gallon. I have the twelve gallon bin too, and the wheel does not fit. So, get the 34 gallon. Also, the 12 gallon is under the bare minimum of 360 square inches.

[racinghamster]

I would get the biggest one Ikea have. If you imagine a Syrian needs to have around 80cm x 45cm length/width floor space, this will be your guide. Anything smaller might seem cramped once you have some accessories inside or even a big shoe box for him to nest in! x

[Fluffagrams]

I don't have any tools as I live in a student house so I want to *ideally* have it open top or cover the whole top in mesh held down with bulldog clips. Would this be possible?

It's possible yes and I did it with a bin as a temporary solution for my little Chinese Hamster after her original cage cracked and I needed something rather quickly!

I folded the mesh over the sides and cable tied the corners to make a lid however I'd want to clip it to the bin as well with a Syrian. However, over time I found that the mesh stopped lying flat over time as I'd taken the lid off and on so it might need replacing every so often.

I can post some photos of what I'd done with the mesh lid later if you're interested.