Obsessive

katiekay · 02-28-2017, 12:29 AM

So I have had my Syrian hamster for a couple of months now and we are getting along really well, except that she can be quite a handful and full of vinegar sometimes. She is in a 40g breeder tank which equals 648 sq".

I have noticed she really likes to climb, so I built a 2nd story for her. However, whenever she can climb on anything that gets her sort of close to the top of the cage, she becomes very obsessed with getting out.

I had the 2nd story up for about 20 mins before I had to take it down because she was trying to climb on the lid upside down, gnawing at the lid, and digging at the lid to try and escape. She was becoming so obsessed with this, and drove herself to the point of being really annoyed that she couldn't get out so her teeth started chittering.

She absolutely loves being out of her cage, roaming around on me or on my bed because she loves to explore and climb things. She also has a ball that I put her in and collectively throughout the day she is out of her cage for about an hour and a half, not all at once though.

She has 5 or 6 chew toys, 3 or 4 hiding places, a 10.25" wheel, plenty of bedding to burrow in, and a Kaytee Puzzle Playground but she hardly plays with any of those except for her wheel.

I also bought supplies to build her a digging tower.

Do I need to get a bigger tank for her?

It's gotten to the point where I'm frustrated because I buy her all these things to play with and use but she doesn't use any of them. And I can't hang anything from the lid or make a 2nd story because she becomes obsessed with trying to escape.

Please help ):

AmityvilleHams · 02-28-2017, 01:29 AM

Sounds like the cage is too small if you've done everything but it doesn't help.It doesn't have to be a tank by the way,you can make a cage far cheaper than any tank will end up costing you and still get more floor space(which would be a lot better for her).

katiekay · 02-28-2017, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Sounds like the cage is too small if you've done everything but it doesn't help.It doesn't have to be a tank by the way,you can make a cage far cheaper than any tank will end up costing you and still get more floor space(which would be a lot better for her).

I've had my eye on the Ikea Detolf shelving unit, which isn't too expensive.

What else could I use to make her a cage? My only issue is that it needs to fit on my dresser because I don't have any floor space for the tank.

Do you think if I get her a bigger cage she will be more willing to play with her toys and such?

AmityvilleHams · 02-28-2017, 01:48 AM

Could you move things around instead of putting it on the dresser?I know it might seem weird,but the Detolf is really narrow for a Syrian and wouldn't be as big as you'd want to go(plus being really expensive compared to some other options).

4 Lack tables to make one cage around a square meter

You'd just need to make a lid and get some sort of melamine sheet(cut to size for each panel,depending on the shape of the cage formation you do)along with a few pieces of acrylic for the front panels.It isn't difficult,and it is a better value for the size than the Detolf(along with being able to have a better Syrian-sized width).

The cage is extremely important,even if it means rearranging your room to provide the space needed for it.

cypher · 02-28-2017, 01:57 AM

Climbing is often just natural curiosity as much as anything & having found something interesting to explore it's not really so surprising she's getting a bit obsessed with the top of the tank.
I would leave out the second level, make the substrate as deep as the tank allows, maybe bury some tubes & other things (including some of her food) for her to find & explore, I don't think the puzzle playground does much for hams really, experiment a bit with cardboard boxes & tubes she can destroy if she wants too!
She might want more time out of the cage & you could try making a play pen with lots of things to explore for her to give her plenty to do.

katiekay · 02-28-2017, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Could you move things around instead of putting it on the dresser?I know it might seem weird,but the Detolf is really narrow for a Syrian and wouldn't be as big as you'd want to go(plus being really expensive compared to some other options).

4 Lack tables to make one cage around a square meter

You'd just need to make a lid and get some sort of melamine sheet(cut to size for each panel,depending on the shape of the cage formation you do)along with a few pieces of acrylic for the front panels.It isn't difficult,and it is a better value for the size than the Detolf(along with being able to have a better Syrian-sized width).

The cage is extremely important,even if it means rearranging your room to provide the space needed for it.

I could definitely try moving my room around, but it would be really hard because all of my furniture is up against all my walls so it would require alot of thinking and planning to see if I can do it. Yeah I've seen the Detolf tank in person and it is quite narrow.

The lack table from Ikea, right? I just looked online and wow the price for that is really cheap! (:

katiekay · 02-28-2017, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Climbing is often just natural curiosity as much as anything & having found something interesting to explore it's not really so surprising she's getting a bit obsessed with the top of the tank.
I would leave out the second level, make the substrate as deep as the tank allows, maybe bury some tubes & other things (including some of her food) for her to find & explore, I don't think the puzzle playground does much for hams really, experiment a bit with cardboard boxes & tubes she can destroy if she wants too!
She might want more time out of the cage & you could try making a play pen with lots of things to explore for her to give her plenty to do.

She does have a couple tubes in there, one leading to her nest which is underneath a bendy bridge and another one I move around in the tank here and there (:

I had a couple of Kaytee tubes in there but she wanted nothing to do with them! I'll have to get more cardboard for her to play around in.

Yes I know she loves to climb, but it's just too obsessive for her personally seeing as she drives herself to the point of annoyance unfortunately. I would love to let her climb all over!

I will also look into getting her a playpen as well, that's a good idea!

AmityvilleHams · 02-28-2017, 02:50 AM

Yes,the Lack table from Ikea!They are incredibly cheap,so cheap that the minor cost of getting a bit of melamine and acrylic don't make a massive difference.

You can get a 4 ft x 8 ft sheet of melamine at Home Depot for $30 and get it cut in store!It's much cheaper than buying premade shelves(which can also get cut)because you'll probably have leftover but still spend less.

I'm not too sure on the best way to get acrylic,since bulk wouldn't be the best choice in this case

There should be various independent distributors though,which you can probably find with a simple search for your own area and go from there figuring out who has the best prices and such!

katiekay · 02-28-2017, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Yes,the Lack table from Ikea!They are incredibly cheap,so cheap that the minor cost of getting a bit of melamine and acrylic don't make a massive difference.

You can get a 4 ft x 8 ft sheet of melamine at Home Depot for $30 and get it cut in store!It's much cheaper than buying premade shelves(which can also get cut)because you'll probably have leftover but still spend less.

I'm not too sure on the best way to get acrylic,since bulk wouldn't be the best choice in this case

There should be various independent distributors though,which you can probably find with a simple search for your own area and go from there figuring out who has the best prices and such!

Have you done this DIY cage before, and if so around how much did it cost you?

Yes, acrylic can be kind of expensive, but you're right, the price of the tables helps balance that out.

The biggest issue I'm facing with this tank right now is space.

Do you happen to know the measurements of this tank once it's all set up?

AmityvilleHams · 02-28-2017, 03:00 AM

Personally no,but it's completely doable.People have made half-sized versions(800 square inches,so not worth doing it that size)and it is not expensive.It's the same exact DIY just on a larger scale,so there's no reason why it would be any harder than a standard Lack DIY

Measurements depend on the shape,roughly 40 inches x 40 inches in the rectangular shape but you could make it a corner cage instead.That gives two sides at 40 inches x 20 inches each,thus 1,600 square inches(meeting and exceeding the ideal of Germany,which is excellent)without accounting for the tiny amount taken up by the table legs.Those are only a few square inches each though,still keeping it above a square meter no matter what.The 20 inch height is great,while not the best it can still allow for good substrate depth and an appropriately sized wheel.