Where do your hamsters live?

[strandedinaber]

Hi,

Having ordered Minerva a new cage, I'm now trying to decide where it should go. Her current cage is on a side table directly next to my sofa, which I like because it's where I sit in the evening and she very often comes to the edge of the cage and I talk to her as I'm on the computer or watching TV. But now that I've ordered the duna multy cage, it's much bigger. Practically, the best thing for me to do would be to move her cage into the dining area of the living room, where there's already a sideboard of the right size. But that area (although it's technically in the same room) is somewhat segregated from the rest of the living room, and I don't very often sit in there in the evenings. Or I can try and rearrange furniture to fit her in the living room in her new cage, but I'm finding it hard to get a sideboard or nest of tables of the right width and depth.

So, where do all your hamsters live? I know many of you have hamster rooms, but as I'm sticking to just Minerva I don't think that that's a solution for me And if any of you have the duna multys - what are they on top of?

[xbuttons94]

Our hamsters live in the bedrooms upstairs. Upstairs is warmer than our downstairs and our cat doesn't go upstairs so they are safer. We have sets of draws we put the cages on that we got from a charity shop. I think I am so used to hearing their wheels that they don't wake me up at all in the night, plus, their wheels are pretty silent. I sit upstairs in the evenings and spend time with them so they do get to see me

[racinghamster]

Hi. If you want the cage to remain where it is then you could make more space for it there by finding a suitable table/unit for it to sit on. But if the Duna cage is not barred like the one she is currently in, then moving the cage to a different location shouldn`t matter to your hamster, but I would say not to change all the substrate, bedding or switch her accessories to different areas as this may cause too much stress all at once. Basically move all her existing substrate/bedding/accessories into the new cage and just add a few handfuls of fresh and mix that in.

Am I right in saying the Duna Multi is the tank-style cage with the grill across the roof? If it is, good choice. x

[Amys_Mum]

Harvey is in my daughter's bedroom, there's nowhere else the cage would fit!

[strandedinaber]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Am I right in saying the Duna Multi is the tank-style cage with the grill across the roof? If it is, good choice. x

Yes it is - and thanks! Serendipity kindly recommended it to me It should be arriving any day now - am so excited! Definitely planning on keeping as much the same as possible. Lots of her stuff is attached to her current cage and can't be moved, so I've been putting toys in which can be moved and I'll keep all the same bedding and substrate. The tricky part will be getting her to stop interfering as I try and move things across!

I think I may have found a solution - possibly? Unfortunately there really isn't space for the cage right where it used to be, because I can't find any sideboards that are the exact size of the cage and no wider. I have found one that will fit in the corner though, by the window. The downside to that is that she would be by the window - however, the window is in the corner of the house (it's a terraced house) and the curtains are in the way, so they block her from being right next to the window and I'd put her house on the other side of the cage. There's a chair right next to it, so she would still be able to see me in the evenings if I sat there instead. I'm also planning on getting a radiator in that corner anyway as it is by the window and the stairs, which is my main concern.

I have put a thermometer in that corner now to see what the temperature is like. It's snowing today and the rest of the room is about 20 degrees. I don't think it's actually any warmer where her cage is now than where I think I need to move it to.

What do people think? The other option is the dining room, which is right by a door into the conservatory anyway, so probably not any warmer.

Thanks all for your comments! Sadly no space in the bedroom for her, and her wheel is incredibly squeaky so I would rather avoid if at all possible...

ETA: Thermometer is saying that it's 20 degrees in that corner.

[cypher]

Mine are in my living room, they wouldn't fit anywhere else but they are slowly but surely squeezing all my things out, it's more like a hamster room than a living room!
One of mine is quite close to a window, I tend to keep the curtain drawn a bit so it's not too bright for her, the main things with having them by a window is making sure there's no draught or chill from the window & also that they can't reach the curtain through any bars, not a problem with a tank style but still keep the curtains well away!

[strandedinaber]

Thanks cypher! The curtains are drawn anyway (they have to be; the window goes right up to the wall so there's nowhere else for the curtain to go!), so there's no space for draft to get through. The curtains are a bit chilly today as it's about -2 out there, but I'm going to get some extra lining for the curtains anyway. And there's a gap of about 30cm between the curtains and the cage. As it was 20 degrees, I thought I would move the cage into that corner to see how she reacts. She seems okay with it, and I've put a bunch of extra bedding in the cage which she's just ignoring.

[candice clews]

in my bedroom

[barley]

Mine are in my lounge. Joey's tank is on the stand it came with and Rupert's maxi duna is on a side table.

I couldn't have them in my bedroom as I'm a light sleeper and the lounge is the only room in the flat that I heat anyway, so they're best off in there. I also like being able to sit and watch them when I'm on my laptop of an evening

[HarryHamster]

Pablo's cage is in my bedroom, warmer and love listening to him at night