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Old 05-06-2018, 02:43 AM   #1
MCHamster
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Default Another quesiton about Robo cages

Hello,

I notice I joined here awhile back but haven't posted for some time. It seems the last time I posted was about a Robo I was expecting to rescue (which never materialised as the lady dropped off the face of the earth. I can only hope the little guy went to a good home.)

Anyway, on to my current situation. As of yesterday, I have taken in 3 6wo Robos. I have them temporarily in a mini Duna but of course I'd like to upgrade them as soon as I can.

My current favourite cage for little rodents is the Alaska, which I keep my adult mice in with no trouble. I like it because it stacks (meaning I can access the cage for feeding, handling, etc without having to un-stack cages), I love the size of the doors, and it's really good value for money.

Would an Alaska be suitable for adult robos? Or will they end up a bit smaller than mice and likely escape?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-06-2018, 02:58 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

The bar spacing would be ok but as you have the alaska you'll know there are bigger gaps at the top & corners, when I kept a Chinese ham in the alaska I used cable ties on those larger gaps just in case!
I think the biggest problem with this cage for robos is the height as they will try to climb the bars & there's a fall risk so I wouldn't really recommend it.
There isn't really another option as cheap as the alaska but there is the Savic mickey large, it's very much like the Hamster Heaven cage with a lovely big door but with narrower bar spacing & doesn't have the useless penthouse thing! You can't use the metal shelf that comes with it but then most cage accessories are pretty useless so I don't think that's such a big deal.
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Old 05-06-2018, 03:18 AM   #3
MCHamster
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

Thank you. I tend to put in extra levels in case of falls for hamsters, but I'm not 100% committed to the Alaska.

I like the idea of a zoozone (with mesh over the barred door) but it's not very stackable and doesn't really flat-pack so it could prove somewhat obstructive.
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Old 05-06-2018, 03:40 AM   #4
hellobg
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

There's always the Barney, if you want. It's also 7mm bar spacing. As cypher said, there's also the Savic Mickey, also most Skyline cages pretty much have 7mm bar spacing if you ever get your hands on one of them.
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Old 05-06-2018, 06:09 AM   #5
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

I know this goes against popular trends but several people have found that pairs/groups live together best when they are housed in smaller cages as there is less for them to become territorial over.

With them still being very young, I would leave them where they are for now and I personally would not want to be introducing wheels until they were a bit older because babies have been known to become too obsessed with wheels if they are given them at a very young age when they really need to be saving some of that energy for growing.

I have found that my robo has been far more receptive to handling in smaller spaces so depending on the kind of pet you want, a smaller cage may be a suitable option for them.
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Old 05-06-2018, 07:21 AM   #6
MCHamster
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

Thank you. It's certainly given me something to think about.
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Old 05-06-2018, 12:57 PM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Another quesiton about Robo cages

I went through all this with our Robo I thought he'd be safest in a glass or perspex tank but couldn't get on with it and he is now in the Savic Mickey 2XL which has 7mm bar spacing - isn't too tall (about 36cm internally), has a nice big door on the front and no door on top and isn't too big or too small in my opinion. I'd have been happier with a Barney cage for him but already had the Savic cage and it's fine.

But he's a single robo so there isn't the issue of them falling out. There are varying opinions on space for pairs or groups of hamsters. I've heard it said that if there is too much space that can encourage territorial behaviour, but the same if there isn't enough space. I think about 70 by 40 is seen as a reasonable size for a pair (eg standard duna multy) but it depends how much stuff you want to put in it. You wouldn't want any levels (due to territorial behaviour) but would need at least two wheels and two houses (is it 2 or 3 you have - can't tell from post) - ie a wheel each and a house each, so three of each if you have 3 hamsters. Which means a smaller cage may not be big enough to fit those in without it being cramped.

I think the 80 x 50 Savic cage is fine - a 75 x 45 duna multy would also be fine - I wanted front entrance as robos are hard to tame and top entrance only can be a bit scary I reckon. Depending on how amenable they are to humans!

I think the 100cm Barney could be fine too but you would need plenty of enrichment in it and not too much open space - it would provide a lot of variety then. I know of people who've happily had a pair in a Barney cage for quite a long time but it was quite an enriched set up with lots of substrate, larger houses etc.

The tricky thing is the Savic Mickey 2XL is expensive - about £80. I think it's worth it because I love the cage - the front opening door and narrow bar spacing and low height. But the Barney is only £50 and bigger.

You could take the top off the mini duna and put the whole cage base inside the new cage (all set up around it) and let them explore out from there, to help with the transition. I like the barred savic cage as well because you can fix wheels to the bars. I have a 9" wheel and a 7" flying saucer in the Savic Mickey 2XL for our Robo.

Just read back that you have 3 robos. I'd go for the Savic Mickey 2XL or the Barney - 3 x 8" wheels and a flying saucer and 3 houses (each with more than one entrance - cardboard boxes eg tissue or shoeboxes - with holes cut in would do), three water bottles and scatter feed.
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