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Old 02-17-2020, 06:38 AM   #1
Nakuzo
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Exclamation Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

Hello everyone.

This is Oscar's current bin cage


It was sold as a 60x40 bin cage, though the actual dimensions are something like 54x35 cm. I know it is below a safe recommended of 80x40, but it is really the only thing I can give him right now (due to limitations of my own apartment, since I am a college student and I live in a 20 sq meter apartment).

I saw some people add these paper folders to create a separate second floor and create more space, but to me, it looks like it made the cage look even smaller and I am a bit skeptical. So what can I improve to make the most out of the little place Oscar has? Do you think I should remove the paper folder thing? Oscar seems to prefer sleeping inside the folder and not in the wooden house.

P.s Oscar is a normal-sized winter white dwarf hamster
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Old 02-17-2020, 06:58 AM   #2
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

That's not a bad set up for the space available. Bin cages slope downwards and the more substrate you put in the more it increases the floor space. One of my dwarves also lives in a long bin cage and a second floor level that acts as a platform is a good idea. I'd leave the paper folder thing in but i'd cut a good part of the base out ( without affecting its stability) so Oscar can sink his nest into the substrate. You could add a long bendy ladder bridge leading onto the platform for extra space to run across.
I can post a photo of my dwarf's bin cage set up if you like but you may already have seen it.
I'dd add a meshed front window because hamsters like to look out and come to the window to ask for a mealworm or two.
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Old 02-17-2020, 07:04 AM   #3
Nakuzo
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
That's not a bad set up for the space available. Bin cages slope downwards and the more substrate you put in the more it increases the floor space. One of my dwarves also lives in a long bin cage and a second floor level that acts as a platform is a good idea. I'd leave the paper folder thing in but i'd cut a good part of the base out ( without affecting its stability) so Oscar can sink his nest into the substrate. You could add a long bendy ladder bridge leading onto the platform for extra space to run across.
I can post a photo of my dwarf's bin cage set up if you like but you may already have seen it.
I'dd add a meshed front window because hamsters like to look out and come to the window to ask for a mealworm or two.
Hello Ria and thank you for your reply. A photo of your bin cage would be really useful since I am not sure how to add a second layer in the cage.
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Old 02-17-2020, 07:46 AM   #4
sushi_78
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

That looks good, and I would leave the paper folder in because it creates a big dark space for Oscar to hide in. That's probably why he prefers it to the house. I wouldn't worry about the size unless he's showing signs of stress. If you did want to expand, you could consider stacking two bin cages, and connecting them with tunnels. The bottom cage would have to have mesh at the sides for ventilation. While one big space is preferable for hamsters, two stacked cages is obviously still going to offer more space, without increasing the footprint of the cage. I can see it must be tough in an apartment finding space for a hamster cage.
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Old 02-17-2020, 08:14 AM   #5
Nakuzo
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

Thank you for the reply sushi. 2 bin cages sound nice, but it is not possible in the apartment I live in. I could buy a single 80x50 bin cage, but that would basically take up all of my desk space. A 70x40 might have been possible but people don't sell in those dimensions. For now, this one should do.

I consider removing a bit of the front face of the paper folder so that Oscar can have a bit more uninterrupted floor space (as previously suggested by Ria). What do you think about that?
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Old 02-17-2020, 08:22 AM   #6
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

I didn't express myself too well. By second level i mean another level to go to like your paper folder. Oscar can go underneath it and on top of it so has two options. My dwarf's bin cage has submerged, large houses with flat, removable roofs on each end of her cage so creating a second level and platforms to place her wheel, sand and ceramic mushroom. Both houses are bottomless and filled with substrate and she sleeps in either of them.
The long bendy ladder placed over a coconut hide and cork log in front of her middle window is something you could add for an additional space to run along. Oscar's set up is similar to my dwarf Edwina's and she seems happy in hers.
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Old 02-17-2020, 08:40 AM   #7
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

I have added a tube along the front of the bin cage to give her another space to run along in which doesn't take up much space but enriches her habitat. She always runs through the tube and never sleeps, pees or hoards in it in which i would remove it. The tube comes apart for easy cleaning.
Millet sprays which are often found in the bird section is another enrichment you could add.
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Old 02-17-2020, 08:53 AM   #8
Nakuzo
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

The tube tunnel looks like a great idea which I might try out (though in the future because I currently don't have any tools to set the tubes in place).

I wanted to get some sprays for Oscar, but I struggle a lot to find any pet shop that sells them in Greece.

About the second level, I could add another paper folder on top of the other, but I think that the wooden house on top of the folders might be a bit taller than the height of the cage. I'll have to measure that later.

Thank you a lot for those wonderful ideas. If anything else comes to your mind, I would be more than happy to listen to you
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Old 02-17-2020, 08:59 AM   #9
sushi_78
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakuzo View Post
Thank you for the reply sushi. 2 bin cages sound nice, but it is not possible in the apartment I live in. I could buy a single 80x50 bin cage, but that would basically take up all of my desk space. A 70x40 might have been possible but people don't sell in those dimensions. For now, this one should do.

I consider removing a bit of the front face of the paper folder so that Oscar can have a bit more uninterrupted floor space (as previously suggested by Ria). What do you think about that?
I think the phrase "uninterrupted floor space" can be a bit misleading. What it really means is, you can't connect together lots of tiny cages and call it 4000cm2, and you also can't have a small but very tall cage with lots of shelves and call it a large floor space. It's fine to have areas of the cage that are bit higher, and I would argue this increases enrichment. For example, my Robo has half her cage sectioned off with deeper bedding. In your case, Oscar has the both the space underneath the paper folder where he can hide, and the space on top to run around on, and I think that's important when the space available is a little smaller to begin with. Personally, I would keep it as it is, but as you watch Oscar you'll get to know what he likes and doesn't like and you can make adjustments accordingly.
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Old 02-17-2020, 09:49 AM   #10
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage recommendations-improvements-suggestions

I wouldn't cut the front of the paper folder. I meant the bottom as in base of the folder so Oscar can burrow down a bit if he wants to (you may have done this already).

My diabetic dwarf lives in a 70x40 bin cage but the actual floor measurement is smaller and probably not that much bigger than Oscar's cage. I had planned to upgrade him but he seems happy where he is and displays no stress behaviours now (he was crazy when i got him) so i decided against it. The challenge i had was that he can't have wood because of his diabetes so i had to make things from plastic like the table/house under the mushroom and the platform with the ramp.

I think that you've done a really good job of Oscar's habitat and he's a lucky hamster to have someone like you who cares so much.
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