Robo Vs. Syrian and Hamster Proofing - Page 2

AmityvilleHams · 04-06-2016, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

A 40 gallon tank would be great for a Syrian! Set up can make the most of floor space as well. I think Syrians can be cuddly, if you get a lazy one lol! It's a bit of a big generalization but girls tend to be more active than boys (unless you have a yellow one apparently and they're supposed to be a bit wild!) Taming really helps and it is probably easier to tame a Syrian. I would love to have a Robo and a Syrian - best of both worlds.

Amityville - lots of people make diy cages and they are a great option, but we all have different preferances. Some people would only ever use cages, some prefer tanks, some prefer diy cages.

I think the level of tameness and ease of taming does depend on individual hamsters and all different factors!Things like where they came from,how often they were handled when young,was there any positive reinforcement to their taming,etc can all impact that as well as general personalities in some hamsters.

Preferences are a huge waffle-able topic and honestly one could go on for ages over cage types and all that,but ultimately in this particular situation a 40 gallon breeder is best.There are tons of different factors in cages but as long as the hamster is provided with enough space and stimulation cage type isn't a big deal.

oddlyoblivious · 04-06-2016, 11:30 PM

Good to know about the yellow ones! And I've heard Syrian taming is much easier, at least I remember it being that way. As for Robo's, In theory... I could go that route, since I will still have my bin cage. I need to get around to making a dig tower for Sirius's playtime. gosh this is worse than pokemon, at least there aren't 150 species.

AmityvilleHams · 04-06-2016, 11:39 PM

Syrian taming would certainly be easier than robo taming,unless you get an odd exception of a hamster but most Syrians should tame after no more than a month or two.

Robos are lovely little fluffy balls of cuteness,so there's always a good reason to give one a home even if they aren't tame

If you want confusing amounts of variation get into ball pythons!There are over 3,800 different morphs or variants of ball pythons,and some of which cost over 1,000 dollars to purchase!

Pebbles82 · 04-06-2016, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddlyoblivious

Good to know about the yellow ones! And I've heard Syrian taming is much easier, at least I remember it being that way. As for Robo's, In theory... I could go that route, since I will still have my bin cage. I need to get around to making a dig tower for Sirius's playtime. gosh this is worse than pokemon, at least there aren't 150 species.

Lol! It certainly is a bit addictive when you fall for them. Try and curb the spending though lol! The main thing is getting a good set up to start with as they don't like a lot of change. With the 40 gallon tank or bin cage you can have a good depth of substrate so a digging bin could come later. Main thing is getting the right sized wheel and a good house/nesting box for them to build a nest in (or make one out of a shoebox) and some toys/tunnels for enrichment and enough 'cover' so they have things to hide under and not feel too exposed (tunnels and tubes count as 'cover').

Have a look at Jenibelle's tank set up

She made a lovely shelf for hers.

Bernie (Aka: Bubbe) came 1 year and 4 months early!

AmityvilleHams · 04-06-2016, 11:52 PM

PVC pipes are extremely affordable and do not get destroyed!Also they can be found in Syrian sizes so they make awesome additions to cages or even as toys for playpens and things like that.

The normal things like cardboard tubes and wooden chews and all that are definitely a must,but like with most pets try to get a variety of textures and materials and even different types of wood like apple and willow and such.Definitely a huge variety of toys,some simple ones and some elaborate ones of course.DIY platforms are a great idea and can add even more stimulation,which is awesome

oddlyoblivious · 04-07-2016, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Lol! It certainly is a bit addictive when you fall for them. Try and curb the spending though lol! The main thing is getting a good set up to start with as they don't like a lot of change. With the 40 gallon tank or bin cage you can have a good depth of substrate so a digging bin could come later. Main thing is getting the right sized wheel and a good house/nesting box for them to build a nest in (or make one out of a shoebox) and some toys/tunnels for enrichment and enough 'cover' so they have things to hide under and not feel too exposed (tunnels and tubes count as 'cover').

Have a look at Jenibelle's tank set up

She made a lovely shelf for hers.

Bernie (Aka: Bubbe) came 1 year and 4 months early!

My grocery budget says thank you. XD

I've got a ton of cardboard left over from my petstore raid. They keep looking at me funny about the boxes, but it really does make cheap hides and the like if you know what you are doing. I'm glad graphic design school was good for something.

I ADORE her set up. Eventually that's what I'd like my tanks to look like, rather than the cardboard boxes everywhere. Also why I'm going to start using aspen as it's much cheaper than the critter care I have. The big tanks are my last major purchase, for a while, but honestly at only 40ish bucks, it was impossible to pass up.

AmityvilleHams · 04-07-2016, 12:19 AM

Themed cages always look so nice,especially natural ones.The annoying part of living in the US is that wooden things that are actually Syrian sized are so ridiculously expensive

I'm waiting to buy a solid wood hide from a local pet store at the end of the month,but that's Syrian sized and it still will be costing around 35 dollars.Seems like a Trixie product but I'll double check

Definitely clay pots for hideouts,your budget will love you even more when you use clay pots especially if you have a Syrian!Plastic igloos for Syrians can easily cost over 5 dollars,but a Syrian sized pot cost around 2 dollars which is a much better price however dwarf sized pots are even cheaper

oddlyoblivious · 04-07-2016, 12:33 AM

I have to be careful with the weight of things as I keep quite a bit of substrate in the tank for burrowing. My wheel is actually strapped to the top of the cage as a result, but on upper levels that would work really nicely.

AmityvilleHams · 04-07-2016, 12:45 AM

Maybe some light wooden houses and such on the bottom,and upper levels with clay pots and other heavier things then!I think the Planet Petco Bend-a-Bridge should be light enough for the bottom level,as would most wooden bendable bridges that aren't very bulky.

oddlyoblivious · 04-07-2016, 10:29 PM

I think I'll go with a Syrian this time unless a Robo steals my heart the way Sirius did. My fiancee loves Syrians, and was a little disappointing when he discovered Sirius was a dwarf. It could very easily happen. It's so hard to choose. But I really love the idea of hamster proofing the house so that I can let them run loose once tamed and under supervision. It's not a huge apartment, and I can get some playpen fencing to fence off the kitchen area entirely.