What cages do you prefer?

[Emma]

This is a topic I always like to here other hamster keeper's views on.



For many years I used Rotastak cages for Syrians, as that was what I was bought with my first hamster Rosie when I was quite little. I used standard wire cages with plastic bases for Campbell's.



More recently I've been using the wire cages for all Syrians, as I've grown up and come to the conclusion that systems like the Rotastak are far too much effort to clean out, easily escapable from, and the hamsters get just as much enjoyment out of a wire cage with the right accessories and toys.



My Roborovskis are housed in a wire cage designed especially for mice/dwarf hamsters, with narrower spaced bars. They have a wheel, lots of cardboard and wooden tubes and hidey-holes made from those crittertrail jigsaw things, which they use a lot. I'm considering moving them to an aquarium-type cage though as it would give them more opportunity to burrow, which my two like to do. And then the cage they vacate would be a perfect home for a Chinese....*schemes about getting more hamsters!*



As I'm only on a small scale I still prefer more aesthetically pleasing cages like the wire ones and aquarium types, although I think the expensive brand-name systems with lots of add-ons and accessories are a bit of a waste of time. If in the future I am able to set up a little hamstery, then I'd probably go for the adapted bin cages.



So what cages do others like to use?

[SnuggleHam]

I haven’t really owned to many hamsters yet, Back when I was younger and had my first hamster I had a plastic tube cage much like the habbitrail cages you see today only this was from a company called I believe Hartz.



I loved the cage; the starter was quite large and fit my syrian really well. The tubes were a bit fatter also and had tiny pinholes for air to come through for ventilation. I had a really great set up with tubes and another attach on house/condo thing. After my hamster I put gerbils in it and they chewed up all the plastic. :(



Iv seen the plastic tube cages here in the US, they always just seem to small and cramped though. I had a wire cage for butters but I still think that was too small. Honestly most the cages I have seen look to small and I don’t care for wire cages with floor that climb up either, and they are to drafty.



From now on all the hamster cages I buy will be large and long, Ill probably be making all bin cages now. I have one in the making but still need to do a few things first. I have heard of people buying long guinea pig cages for their hams and they seem to have enough space.

[babyboos]

The most important thing to remember when it comes to enclosures for our little ones is a) how much can you afford?

b) how many hamsters do you have (bearing in mind that Syrians are solitary by nature and must live alone. ONE SYRIAN HAMSTER TO ONE CAGE. Chinese and Dwarves (Campbells and Winter White Russian Dwarf Hamsters, and Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters) are more social and will generally live together but disagreements can occur and a spare back up enclosure should always be available.

Once separated and kept apart, either through death of a partner or fighting, a Dwarf or Chinese hamster will usually not tolerate a new hamster and attempt to kill any "intruder". Sometimes if you get them quick enough it is okay, but all new animals to your home should have a 2 week quarantine before being introduced to your existing pets, so by this time it is normally too late. If you do decide to go ahead and attempt introducing two new potential cage mates together always ensure this is done at a time when you can supervise for several hours and be prepared at the first signs of aggression to get your hand in there and split them up! You may well have to accept that your little one is now accustomed to living solo and will be quite happy with its own company from there on.)

Also if you keep mixed sexed groups of Dwarves or Chinese together, or intend to breed Syrians you will potentially need up to 13, maybe more, seperate enclosures (in the case of Syrians) from when the pups reach 10 weeks! With Dwarves and Chinese the minimum you will need will be an enclosure for the boys and another for the girls, unless you plan to pair these with their respective parents in two individual same sex enclosures, but bear in mind again some or all may not get on together once they reach maturity. And if you keep the Dwarf or Chinese parents together you will need these new enclosures every month!

c) and most importantly the suitability of the enclosure FROM THE HAMSTER'S POINT OF VIEW. Not how pretty it looks on your bedroom shelf or sideboard! However, as we cannot actually ask the hamster we need to use common sense and practibility.

Rotostack and Habitrail of old were usually of solid plastic construction with air holes for ventilation. Habitrail at least have move on a little and now incorporate some wire to allow better ventilation. I have nothing personally against these type of enclosures and I know many people who use them with no mishap. Indeed I myself remeber quite vividly (though we are talking a good 15 years ago now :oops: ) campaigning for months to convince my parents to get me a Habitrail for Christmas and then bugging my brother for weeks to get me the maze for my birthday! I still have it, and all the additional components, though I also tried a pair of gerbils in it and sadly there are rather a few too many teeth marks on it now from them to make it useable. I really must clean out my attic...

Wooden and solid metal cages are now very rare, but the rot and rust issues they experienced can be seen in some shelves of modern commercial enclosures. Care must be taken to ensure no sharp edges/corners are present for the hamster to rub or fall onto/against. Open shelves are quite common in commercially available cages and these should be avoided as little legs can fall through them and get trapped, similiarly with runged wheels, solid surfaces are best. And even just from a general comfort point of view you would prefer to walk on an even surface without huge cavernous gaps between paving stones wouldn't you?

You find cage bottoms made of open wire mesh to allow waste to fall through in Chinchilla enclosures for example and I have seen this in some hamster intended cages too. Apart from the walking discomfort they allow the hamster no opportunity for digging and burrowing a past time they greatly enjoy mimicing their wild existence. For this same reason I am totally opposed to the new Revolution cage :evil: :evil: :x :evil:

I personally feel it is important that whatever enclosure you choose it has a nice deep litter layer, and therefore if going for an open wire affair it needs a good deep plastic base. That way litter is not as easily kicked out onto your carpet, or yucky I know, but it does sometimes happen - urine sprayed out of the corner :shock:

If you are considering making your own enclosure old fish tanks/aquariums or large storage bins are probably best although wire cages are possible and the main thing you need to bear in mind here is mesh size. Compare the size of your hamster to the bars - are the gaps narrow enough to prevent your hamster squeezing through and escaping? This is also a consideration when making roofs for tanks and bins. 1 cm squared (approximatley 0.5 inches squared) mesh is universally suitable for all hamster species. I would try as much as possible to prevent your Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters from getting in contact with the mesh as they seem to get through the tiniest gaps!!! Syrian hamsters especially like to think they are Tarzan and monkey bar walk around their enclosure roof, therefore it is essential if using a tank or bin it is stable enough to support this activity.

I personally prefer large, wire sides and ceiling cages for Syrians for this very reason. The majority of mine are currently in Ferplast Rainbow Cages as these are a nice generous size, have two solid levels, with solid rampways and a nice solid curved bridge to walk on, a lovely, extremely deep plastic base and lots of doors for me to get them out to play! The wire allows me to attach toys and treats and a lovely comfort wheel each - Wodent Wheels just wont fit unfortunately, unless you remove the bridge in the middle which is easy to do as it is designed to come away. The Syrians are able to dangle without dragging their feet on the ground BUT they don't have too far to fall either which is another important consideration. Certainly over 6 inches for height from floor to ceiling is ideal but no more than 12 or you may experience some problems. Bear this in mind when building bins and tank enclosures - if the hamster can get to the roof how far does it have to fall down?

All of my Dwarves and Chinese hamsters are in Duna style enclosures, and large bins are starting to creep slowly in as my skills with a Dremmel are improving!!! Ventilation has always been my primary concern with these type of enclosures. We are quite fortunate to have an air-conditioning unit in the hamstery which my partner got from his work when they were upgrading. Please always keep an eye on condensation levels in your tanks and bins especially as enclosures made from glass or plastic can become quite stuffy and humid in hot weather and damp in cold weather. This is also important in terms of sleeping quarters. I have quite a few Ferplast igloos - they come with the cages - and they do seem to condense up unless the bedding is changed frequently something our little ones are not too keen on as it disturbs their hoards!!! My Roborovski have coconut shells with three holes drilled in one end and a one inch circlular opening in the other - thanks to my partner for making those! Or they sleep behind their wheels in an enclosed area created by the special level which comes with the Duna to hold their sand bath/potty and food dish.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/robo.jpg

The Chinese and most Winter Whites just have lots, and lots of bedding material which they pile up into large nests.



Above all I would recommend you get the aboslute biggest enclosure you can afford, space for toys, for sleeping, for eating, for digging, for climbing, for drinking, for wheeling, for living...

[hammydude]

Currently I'm using the crittertrail2 attached to a 10 gallon Aquarium. I've had no problems, but only wish the crittertrail had more "floor" space.I don't think that it would be a good cage for an adult syrain because of the tubes.I think they would be to small.Candace, do can you share some tips for building bin cages?

Thanx!

*Chris*

[babyboos]

Hello again Chris. If you want to be really adventurous when making bins I recommend you invest in a Dremmel type handheld cutting/grinding/polishing/carving/router tool. You will find it invaluable creating ventilation holes for example in the plastic.

[hammydude]

Well I already have a Dremel and all attachments except the bandsaw.I just got plenty of information on bins on the PetWebSite forum in a new topic by afishcalledwanda.

[babyboos]

That is so wierd, I was just going to PM you her email address as Wanda's bins are great, and she has even decided to try making them for other people now. Best of luck Wanda. If you check the Articles section on Hamster Central (http://www.hamstercentral.com) you will see a great guide (http://www.hamstercentral.com/binarticle.htm) by that very special lady!

[afishcalledwanda]

Wanda's here!

[SnuggleHam]

Welcome Wanda!! are you going to post us a little Intro.. By the way, I love the signature quote, is that from one of the guys on Myth Busteres, I saw it said on that show once, but Im not sure if it originates from some place esle.



Made me laugh though :P

[babyboos]

Hope you are going to show of some of those great bin enclosures you have made Wanda :?:

[lil_panda]

Honey (my only hamster, and my first) lives in a bin from Walmart. The lid of the bin is ventalated, as well as some of the side. The bin I got her is pretty shallow so I'm planning on adding an extension.

[SnuggleHam]

gotta love those bin cages!

[babyboos]

Hi there Lil-Panda

Do you have any pictures of Honey's enclosure?

[peanut25]

Bear started out with a ten gallon tank with a tank topper and it seemed that he kept on hurting himself. I didn't want to take the topper off and ruin all the room that he had so I upgraded his home to 30 gallons. This allows him to have plenty of room for everything plus he comes out and plays with me at night. He usually gets up after 9. I wish I was able to sleep like them but my clock in my head won't let me sleep past 6 no matter how late I go to sleep.

[babyboos]

I often think I was designed to be a hamster - sleep all day, play all night :!: :lol: :!:

[SnuggleHam]

I finally got my bin cage finished except a gerbil ended up in it. I think they are great and I really love mine, tons of room in there! I’m going to add a small second level soon too.



http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/orlandobin.jpg http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/orlandobin2.jpg http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/orlandobin3.jpg



My Roborovskis are in a 29 gallon tank that I think works great! and has plenty of room, more then enough for their tiny bodies.



http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/robocage.jpg



I think that most cages sold in pet stores are generally to small for the rodent its designed for, and they charge allot to!! :evil:

[babyboos]

Oh wow Candace it looks great I am SO impressed :!: :D

Wonder how it will stand up to Orlando the gerbil's teeth :?

Great locking lid :lol:



I really do need to get more adventurous with my bins - all mine have is a wire mesh inserted roof at the moment... :oops:



I really like the tank for the Roborovski Dwarves too - loads of space and the water bottle holder is neat. Did you make it or buy it :?:

[SnuggleHam]

Thanks!! I’m really pleased with the bin.. When I was watching them in the cage at the store one started chewing the bars of the wheel and I remembered how much of little chewers they were.. Their igloo in the pet store cages was all chewed up so I’m wondering how the bin cage will fare to.



I guess Ill find out lol.



The water bottle I bought, you can bend it to hang over tanks, but it turned out my 29 gallon was to high so I ended up taping it on and also using Velcro to help it hold. The hams cant reach the tape its to high, they have a hard enough time crawling into their food bowl LOL!!

:oops:

[hammydude]

That's a great looking bin Candace! I too agree that the store bought cages are too small, So in the next week or 2 I'm going to start making a bin for Biscuits.

[SnuggleHam]

Thats great! I got mine from walmart, be sure to make sure it long and deep enough and preferably with the locking handles like mine.



Afishcalledwanda posted an article about how she makes her bin on HamsterCentral here http://www.hamstercentral.com/articles.htm



I plan on adding one of my own soon to the articles page, just talking about how I made mine :)

[carefresh]

I have read both of the articles on hamstercentral, but i still have a question for whoever has built their own bin cage. How did you attach your wheel. oh ya i almost forgot, i will need to attach it either through wire mesh or through the plastic If anyone knows how to attach the wheel, it would be much appreciated.

[SnuggleHam]

If your using wire from an old hamster cage on the sides you can attach it that way if it has a mounting thing on the back that you turn to hold it on. If you don’t you could by mesh and just cut out a piece of the metal to make one large rectangle that the mounting bit can fit thought to turn it.



If not then get a wheel with a stand. Gerald my Syrian has large comfort wheel thats on a stand.



thats what I would do

[carefresh]

thank you. it had never even crossed my mind to just make the square bigger to get the wheel in ! duh ! i'm so stupid :lol:

[Emma]

About the bin cages - can anyone give me the dimensions of the ones they use (ie width x length x height)? The volumes given don't mean much to me especially when they're in quarts or gallons (silly imperial system :P!)



I found out the other day my dad has several old glass tanks in his loft that he can't use for fish any more so I'm welcome to them, so next week when I visit I'll be getting them out and probably yoinking one, or several!

[carefresh]

again i hate to be so stupid but i didn't quite get how you attach two cages with a tube ? Afishcalledwanda explained it in her article, but i still didn't get it ! sorry for being so slow ! :cry:

[SnuggleHam]

Mine is 30"long but about 16 inches wide and 15 deep. My other bin cage for Gerald the gerbil is a bit smaller only about an inch length, width and depth.



I’m thinking about putting Gerald in the big bin, just because I hat added any bars to the smaller bin sides yet and those little gerbil buggers like to dig their bedding into piles all over the place and it gets pushed out :P

[SnuggleHam]

Carefresh, I looked at Afishcalledwandas article and that part also seems unclear to me.



I would think you just cut out a whole where you want the tube attachment as small as you can get it but still being able to push the tube in. You wouldnt want any gaps that the rodent would get ahold of the bins plastic and chew their way out.

[carefresh]

ok that makes sense. Is there any way of fitting the tube attachments from the Habitrail cages on the bin cages ? (like the little rings that attach the tubes) I dont think it's possible but I just wondering if there's a way.

[SnuggleHam]

I couldn’t say I would have to look at the plastic rings. If it looks like you can take it apart and put it back together on either side of the plastic bin and have it secure enough to hold.



You don’t need to do that though. If you have a long enough bin and maybe add another level in there it should be just fine. Maybe you should PM Afishcalledwanda and ask her to elaborate more on attaching external tubes.

[ajade]

Currently I'm using the Crittertrail2 attached to a 10 Gallon Aquarium. I've had no problems, but only wish the Crittertrail had more "floor" space. I don't think that it would be a good cage for an adult Syrian because of the tubes. I think they would be too small. Thanx!

*Chris*





I have mine in a 10 Gallon Aquarium right now and I plan on getting one of the Crittertrails too. How do I go about connecting the two?

[hammydude]

hammydude wrote:

Currently I'm using the Crittertrail2 attached to a 10 Gallon Aquarium. I've had no problems, but only wish the Crittertrail had more "floor" space. I don't think that it would be a good cage for an adult Syrian because of the tubes. I think they would be too small. Thanx!

*Chris*







I have mine in a 10 Gallon Aquarium right now and I plan on getting one of the Crittertrails too. How do I go about connecting the two?



Ajade, you have to buy the Crittertrail tubes (check them out at PetSmart.com - type in "Crittertrail accesories" and they should show up). You have to run them (the tubes) from the hole in the side of the cage (pop out the little piece that covers the connector hole) up the side of the aquaruim then down to the inside of the aquarium.



If you need me to clarify this some more feel free to email or privte message me.



Hope this helps!

[Coco1]

Chris do you have any photos of this set up so that maybe others could also see what you did? Sometimes photos say more than words!

Thanks! :D

[motherofthree(hamsters)]

Floor space is important - they need a place to run around, and hamsters can squeeze through tiny things (like narrow tubes) but not too tiny. Maybe use your fingers to make a hole the size of the tube and see if he fits.

[Emma]

Although - beware hamsters like to turn around in tubes, so it has to be bigger than what they can just squeeze through. A lot of the tubes on Crittertrail/Rotastak type cages seem too small for many Syrians to me. But Syrians vary in size - perhaps for your average pet shop hamster they'd be just big enough.

I did have a hamster get stuck trying to turn round in a tube once, and the cage had to be dismantled and the hamster helped out (and then transferred to a normal wire cage, where he couldn't get into any more mischief).

[hammydude]

Sorry, I can't show a picture since I have "dismantled" my Crittertrail and I didn't take any pictures of it while I was using it.

:cry: Again, sorry.

[carefresh]

I went shopping yesterday at the home depot, and I finally bought a bin to make my bin cage ! It's a beautiful bin... *wipes tear from eye* :oops:

[SnuggleHam]

Yes!!!! May we all join to the force of the bin and get rid of all those lame Crittertrails and Habitrails!!

[carefresh]

It's height is 13.25", length is 21.5", and it's width is 13.5"....is that an appropriate size ?

[motherofthree(hamsters)]

It all depends on the size of the hamster which will be living in it. I currently use a cage I got at Petco. I can't remember the name of it, but it has a SPACE theme. But I wouldn't recomend it because it is a little on the short side in terms of floor space. I had to connect two of them... And oh *cries a little as shes prepares to type this* I'm not going to change my username but I'm now Mother of TWO WAAAAAAAA :cry: My third hamster died on March 21. He was 2 1/2 years old, so he had a long life, but I got him on Valentines Day!!! I so sad :cry: I'll have to move on but the really sad part is that I'm not allowed to get another hamster at the moment. At one point I had 16 and now I have 2 (we had Wet Tail and then a mystery disease epidemic) so I'm cut off from getting anymore hamsters. I can't take it - I NEED HAMSTERS... and soon my 1 year old hamster will die, and then my 6 month old will be all alone :cry: OK get a grip motherofthree (or two :( ). It will be ok, so there's my advice and story, I'm done now BYE

[babyboos]

Sounds like it may be a Habitrail Space Station motherofthree?



I am very sorry about the passing of your little elderly hamster. It is always heart-breaking when one of our precious furballs departs, maybe you would like to leave a little tribute to him on our Memorial Page (http://www.candacebell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=185)? Rest in Peace little one.

[SnuggleHam]

Carefresh it sounds like the bin is more deep then long? I measured it compared to the bin cages that I have, my Syrian being in the largest which is 30" long by 15" wide and 15" high. I think it would be OK for a Syrian but if it were me I'd probably want something larger and use that bin for a dwarf sized hamster. But I don’t think it's bad, it's probably still better then most store bought hamster cages. Plus you can always add levels inside the bin. I just had a level added into my gerbil cage to help keep their sand bath and food away from the bedding.



Here are some picture examples. This bin cage is just a few inches smaller than my Syrian's and houses two gerbils for now.

http://hamstercentral.com/images/misc/bincagelevel.gif



Motherofthree

I'm so sorry to hear that one of your hamsters passed away :( At least he lived a long life. I think it's always sad when a pet dies, but somehow I always felt it wasn’t so hard when you knew they passed on because of old age. At least you know they were able to live their life to the fullest.

[Coco1]

Motherofthree So sorry to hear of your loss. :cry:

[carefresh]

Sorry for your loss motherofthree.



I am going to add a second level, and it's not deeper than it is long... Maybe I put the wrong measurements up...hmmmm. Ok, I just went and checked my bin again. It's 21.5 inches long, 13.25 inches high, and 13.5 wide.

[babyboos]

Sounds nice and roomy - can't wait to see the finished article :P

[hammydude]

Sounds nice and roomy - can't wait to see the finished article :P

YepYep :wink:

[carefresh]

I can't wait for it to be finished as well, because then I might be getting a hamster really soon ! YAY ! :D

[hammydude]

Awesome Carefresh. How far have you gotten on your bin so-far?

[carefresh]

I've cut out two out of four holes ! YAY ! I also already have everything I need to finish it ! I just need the time !

[hammydude]

Yeah you really need time when making one, especially your first bin. It took me 4 hours a night for 2 nights to finish mine. But when I make my second one soon for the dwarf hamsters I plan on getting. I am not sure what type probably Campbell's Russian Dwarves... I was going to get Winter Whites but I couldn't find any local breeders. Hopefully it will be done in about 2 hours.

[carefresh]

Awesome ! Mine probably wont be done till the weekend, because I have lots of time on the weekend but I'm really busy during the weekdays ! So I can't wait till the weekend ! :D

[hammydude]

Will you be able to take any pictures?

(don't remember if you have a camera or not)

[carefresh]

Yeah I will be able too ! I am the proud owner of a digital camera since christmas ! That was one of my favorite christmas presents I've ever gotten because I LOVE taking pictures ! I'll take a picture of almost anything, but animals are best ! That's why the zoo is absolutely awesome !

[hammydude]

Well, I look forward to seeing your bin cage and the hammy that will one day call it home. :P

[motherofthree(hamsters)]

Thank you all for your support - I am feeling a bit better now. Does anyone know of any diseases that cause a hamster to loose energy and just move vvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy slowly. It killed 6 of my other hamsters I do not know what it is so does anyone have any ideas :?



That cage sounds nice and I can't wait to see it. This place feels like a family and I love it *GO HAMSTERS* okay see you all later

[SnuggleHam]

The only thing I really know about is old age and Wet Tail... but there are usually a few more symptoms showing in hamsters with Wet Tail than just slow movement. You should check out the Ailments page that Emma wrote and see if anything there mentions slow movement as a possible symptom to a certain illness.



http://www.hamstercentral.com/hamsterailments.htm

[Coco1]

welcome back mother of three, glad you're feeling a little better now. Look forward to hearing more from you too :D

[motherofthree(hamsters)]

Thank you everyone I am so sad again because that slow moving illness finally killed her also. I found somthing that described her symptoms but I don't remember the name of the condition just now - but I'll post it later. My hamster Cinnamon was a Libra so I'm wearing a Libra symbol now (although I'm a Sagitarius). Now I am motherofone wa wa wa :cry:



My emotions at the moment-> :( sad my hamster died, :? confused about what it was, :x mad she died, :oops: and embarassed for telling you all

[Coco1]

Oh please don't feel embarrassed. Hopefully by talking freely about it it will help you and maybe also we'll be able to figure out between us just what was the problem. You must be absolutely heartbroken right now I'm sure.

Have you spoken to a vet about this problem? Maybe they would be able to find out what is causing it?

Take care, We're thinking of you.

[carefresh]

I'm so sorry for your loss ! :cry: I worked on my bin cage tonight, and with a few minor cuts and scratches managed to cut all the wire mesh for the ventilation holes ! YAY ! :P

[Coco1]

Mother of three, sorry, I just read one of your other posts regarding how your vet doesn't help hamsters. Sorry I bought it up.

I hope you can locate another one to help find out why this has happened? Unfortunately I have no idea.

[babyboos]

I'm so sorry for your loss ! :cry: I worked on my bin cage tonight, and with a few minor cuts and scratches managed to cut all the wire mesh for the ventilation holes ! YAY ! :P





Hope the cuts were not on you :oops: Make sure you clean them well if they are.

When cutting plastic or wire it is sometimes helpful to apply low-tac tape (masking) to the area first - this stops the item being marked if you slip slightly and helps to protect you from sharp edges.

[carefresh]

Yeah the cuts were on me, but they weren't that bad, I'm used to getting scratches and cuts all the time because I'm rather clumsy ! :P

[babyboos]

You will have to show us how you got on soon please :oops:

[carefresh]

I will, I just need to add the second level, cut out the 2 other holes in the side of the bin, and the hole in the lid, cut out the mesh for the lid, and attach all the mesh... Quite a lot of work left, but it won't take too long !