Signs for an Upgrade???

[JLPrairie]

Re measured my bin cage, and, because of the tapering nature, it ended up being a little larger than 370 sq. inches. I've spent all my money on it, but since my b-day's coming up I was thinking of getting an IKEA Avdala and converting it into a cage. I sorta? know how to make the lid, but I'm wondering if the expansion's necessary. Titania doesn't climb the hardware mesh, no obsessive digging, no sticking her nose through the hardware cloth, no antagonistic behavior, and a normal weight of 40g (I think that's normal, she's about 7 months old, and a hybrid. I've been trying to build her up a little bit, just introduced some fatty mealworms to her diet.) I don't want to have two cages connected with a direct connection, since it seems more pricey than if I just use 1. Plus, my mother considers the bin cage an "eyesore," so she won't be any happier if I use 2 bins.

[AmityvilleHams]

Expansion certainly isn't a bad thing as long as you make sure to set the cage up appropriately!

For Ikea DIY projects,I'd say the Avdala wouldn't be the easiest nor would it be quite as much space as it seems.There's the Kallax(on its back with a melamine base added and lid),the new Eket(has a similar storage cube unit to the Kallax but with a solid back panel,same idea though),and the Bitrade(similar unit to the Kallax,solid back,different corner shape than the Eket as well as taller and slightly larger).The Bitrade is the cheapest of those,with the Kallax being the midrange choice and the Eket being a considerably more expensive option.The Eket is the smallest though,so it is worth considering that you're not getting quite half a square meter and at the price it is a bit silly.

There are definitely a variety of potential cages from Ikea if you keep size in mind and think creatively!

[Drago]

Like amity said, there's certainly nothing wrong with upgrading as long as your hamster seems confident enough that they'd handle a large space well Have you considered the detolf for her? This may be easier than getting a whole cage that you must alter and DIY (though detolfs will require SOME alteration) plus, the detolf can actually look super nice. If you want to skip DIY altogether, a 40 gallon breeder is a nice and fairly inexpensive cage, especially if its second-hand or from a dollar per gallon type sale! Though if your hamster doesn't show signs of needing to be upgraded, I wouldn't stress yourself out so much over the idea of upgrading. Remember that though lots of space is great, it's really no good without equal amounts of stimulation! An 800 sq in cage with tons of different climbing, digging, and hidey toys would be much more suitable than a near barren square metre cage! Best wishes

[JLPrairie]

Detolf...ugh, I'd DIE for a detolf. Missed my chance a month ago though at a garage sale where it was going for $30...And I'll never manage to get my mother to buy something that costs $60 for a "little beast."
EKET's out of the question. Like you said it's a bit silly considering the price and the space.
I'm not sure which Bitrade you're talking about, but I'll assume you were talking about the cheaper one, since...I'm broke I'm leaning toward the Bitrade, and the price is ok, but I'm wondering why I wouldn't get as much space with the Avdala. Subtracting that little weird stand-thingy I would still have around 900 sq. inches, right? (Or not, my guesstimating skills can be a little off, as shown by the bin cage situation...)
I'm trying to do DIY since there's a project as part of a school club that I'm in that needs do have something to do with creativity, workmanship, and our interests. And, of course, hamster cages fit all of those criteria.

[AmityvilleHams]

You wouldn't get the full space is what I meant!Sorry,that is a bit confusing with the wording

I'd definitely go with a storage cube unit that comes with a back just to keep cost minimal for modifying.I know Target have similar units but I'm not too certain on the pricing,plus they don't have the back panel unfortunately

[JLPrairie]

Why wouldn't I get the full space with the Avdala? Sorry, I'm a bit confused... I checked WalMart. The shelving units that do have backs are all overpriced.

[AmityvilleHams]

You'd get the space from the unit minus the bottom piece,which may make it a significant amount of space smaller than expected.Of course,with any of these they'd be at least a few square inches less than the dimensions in terms of floor space,but the Avdala would have more space compromised by the design.It may have more floor space though,but figuring out the internal dimensions is very important to account for any edges and such that would make a cage have less floor space!

[Pebbles82]

Would this be to lay it on it's back without the shelves? It does seem a bit shallow, either way, at about 10.5 inches deep. Upright it wouldn't really be deep enough. On it's back it would need extra height (but you could make that with a raised mesh lid, or have two of them - one stuck on top of the other. Which would mean it would cost about $40 plus the materials to make a lid and other bits and pieces. It might work out almost as cheap to have a detolf.

Or you could get a bigger bin maybe. This one is a 50 gallon bin and a good size. It costs $20 but the single units are out of stock online and they are selling 3 for about $60. But they may have single units in stock in a store near you.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite...Black/49527425

[JLPrairie]

....heh. Forgot to measure the height. I'm not getting the Sterilite, as the inner dimensions are 612 sq. inches. I'll probably get the Bitrade(you would, too, if your mother was constantly complaining about the eyesore, even though it's in the basement!)

[Pebbles82]

What's the Bitrade? Sounds interesting I think you should leave photos of natural detolf set ups in smart apartments lying around for your Mother to see lol. Then she might start saying "we should get one of these! Way nicer looking than that plastic bin".