Would my Syrian use external tubes?

Caaaaaarrrrrrl · 01-12-2013, 12:14 PM

I currently have my Syrian hamster 'Alan' in a small ferplast cage. He seems happy enough and I try to have him out a lot (in his ball or climbing on me), but I don't want him to start getting bored stuck in there. I've been looking at bigger cages and also tube systems. I can't buy a cage that's a lot bigger width wise but I found a nice cage that's taller with two large shelf floors so he has more room to run around and has some tubes coming off it that I could attach to my old cage as well. The guy in the pet store round the corner told me that my hamster wouldn't use the tubes though, however the people at pets at home told me to buy plenty tubes for him to run through.

Alan runs around all the time and climbs a lot and also loves it when I put a toilet roll tube in his cage, and my friends syrian uses his tubes even though he's quite lazy.

So I'm wondering who has a Syrian? and does he/she use their tubes?

Caaaaaarrrrrrl · 01-12-2013, 12:18 PM

I forgot to mention, the shelf floors are proper plastic ones not bars and they overlap each other so he can't fall a long way if he jumps off the top one

I'd post a picture but I forgot to take a photo and the shop doesn't have a website, but the tubes were similar size to the ferplast ones.

The Hamster's family · 01-12-2013, 12:21 PM

Listen to whoever isn't trying to force you to buy... With tubes, it's a matter of how big the tubes are... and how buy your syrian will get. So you are better off with a bigger cage at the base with a level reacheable from the inside by a ramp or something... You would have to find the biggest tubes... Savic arer bigger than Crittertrail ones (that was easy to do) and I think that the Ferplast ones are also bigger and connectable to the Savic ones... What is the model of the cage you are looking at ??

The Hamster's family · 01-12-2013, 12:22 PM

Try to find the model on Google Image (That's what I always end up doing !! loll)

Trixafena2 · 01-12-2013, 12:23 PM

My syrian Vitae likes climbing through the tube I laid on the bottom of her cage because she's small enough to fit still and just likes running through it I guess o.O Otherwise I don't think they use them if they don't have a purpose to
Asami only uses the tubes because she sleeps up in a house attachment I bought for her and Arhi last year, otherwise she uses her ladders I have hooked up near the holes where the tubes are suppose to go xD

You can see the ladder on the first and second level. The cage not including the tube is around 48 inches tall so I'd imagine imac is around the same

For the new cage thing you were talking about, maybe an Imac fantasy? It has tube's (I think? xD;; Im in the US.) and it's levels. I have an american version of it which looks pretty much the same (picture above) and I keep my Syrian's in them. I'm not sure how much the Imac fantasy is but my leveled cages were 50$ each for two levels per cage, which you can buy more levels for for a lower price.

GhostsInSnow · 01-12-2013, 12:24 PM

Syrians will use tubes but the problem is, a lot of the tube systems marketed for hamsters are ofeten too small. A syrian will struggle through them but they are not ideal. A Syrian also needs at least 70cm x 40cm running floor space rather than height. The only real exception to this is the Imac fantasy as it has complete shelves (each one is the same space as the floor space) but even then some Syrians aren't happy in them. What is the biggest you can go length and width wise?
Please don't be fooled into buying anything like rotastak as these aren't good for Syrians.
Is your cage big enough to house an 11/12 inch wheel/ as this is also the size wheel a fully grown Syrian needs.

Not trying to pick apart what you have, just suggesting what Alan really needs.
P@H and other stores will sell you unsuitable cages as it's just money to them. It's worth checking out the cages thread on here for ideas

EDIT:

The Hamsters Family has given you some sound advice there

Zebbie · 01-12-2013, 12:29 PM

In my experience Syrians love tubes, but full-grown Syrians (especially females) can find it tough to fit into them!

I sometimes use Rotastak tubes as toys for my young hamsters/smaller males inside their tank cages and they use them easily and enjoy whizzing about in them and exploring, but the adult females cannot use them at all (even if they can fit inside, their palms are kept too close to their bodies to be useful to climb). Even at two months old, it was no longer possible for any of my Syrians to turn around inside these tubes.

My females do fit inside the straight Savic tubes of the Hamster Heaven cage, but cannot deal with the right-angle corners (even if they manage to force their way round one by climbing up into it forwards, they are then reluctant to do another and don't seem to be able to reverse round one or do one that would involve bending themselves backwards at all).

So my conclusion would be - tubes good, but relying on tubes to get around a cage, esp for an adult female bad.

The Hamster's family · 01-12-2013, 12:51 PM

I have few of those cages and sadly, they aren't big enough... (Lily almost went into depression in there). The best thing would probably be to get something bigger that you connect to the ones you have right now... The ones like we have are a lot smaller than the Imac Fantasy, unfortunatly. You probably were told that it was suitable, just like I was... There's more choices for you in the States than for me, in Canada. There is a thread called Cages in the USA where you could have a look. Abbaseed.com has nice FOP cages that would be connectable to the one you have there. That really is your best bet since they really do need the space... I went though the same thing...

GhostsInSnow · 01-12-2013, 12:53 PM

When my Syrian was in the Imac Fantasy, she had both options. She had the tubes going up to the next level and I also put ladders and bendy bridges in as an alternative and after a few weeks she favoured the ladders and bridges over the tubes

Caaaaaarrrrrrl · 01-12-2013, 01:05 PM

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hamster's family

Try to find the model on Google Image (That's what I always end up doing !! loll)

The name was in Chinese but I googled "3 teir cat head hamster cage". It was similar to this cage except the tubes were only on the front so I could hook ladders on, the wheel it came with looked too small but I can use his existing one or get a bigger one. The dimensions on the box were 45cmx30 excluding tubes, which is the same as what he currently has but with the extra floors and tubes.

Sadly the maximum size that I can have is 50x35cm width wise, height isn't an issue within reason. I like the look of the cage @Trixafena2 has posted and I'm gonna have a look at the Imac Fantasy and the cage thread on here.

Thanks

Edit: I live in the UK if it makes a difference for shops and cage names etc.