Hamster Play Pen

[Gemma_xo]

Hi

Zak has an Ikea Samla Bin cage type thing, but I wanted to get him a play pen so he can run endlessly if he felt like it (I'm worried about the constant crash, donk, bang and even more donk noises when he's in his wheel trying to run around), I need one with a floor but the ones I can see on Amazon are either for small puppies, rabbits & guinea pigs and have nowhere to "tie" a water bottle to, and the ones I have seen for Hamsters don't have any "floor" type material.

Ideally I would like a wire cage type play pen so I can attach a water bottle but also a tarpaulin floor.. Am I living in a fantasy world where this just doesnt exist or am I looking in the wrong place?

I'm not completely anti DIY, (although not very DIY savvy!) I don't mind getting a tarpaulin to fit and attach it somehow (if anyone has done this and would like to share their expertise, please?), I'd just like the easy life & have a play pen with a floor already included to save Zak waiting longer to get his run around time.

Thank you muchly!
Gemma
x

[cypher]

I use the metal play pens from zooplus which don't have a floor but are perfectly safe for all my dwarfs, none have ever escaped & there's lots of room for plenty of toys, wheel etc.
Metal Run for Small Pets | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!
I also have one of these nylon playpens too which has a detachable floor (attaches with velcro) which makes it quite easy to clean, you do have to keep an eye out for any chewing though & I found the hole for the water bottle spout to go through too big so blocked it with card but other than that it works well too.

[peasypea]

I've never had a dwarf but I got one of those metal ones and my syrian took about 2 minutes to work out how to climb over it! Probably not an issue with dwarfies though?

[cypher]

lol! no it's not, they are just a bit smaller! They might give it a go but they can't get a grip & reach the top horizontal bars so have nothing to climb on, you do have to be careful not to put tall toys or houses anywhere near the edges though!

[Gemma_xo]

Yeah, Zak's a dwarf, only reason I need a floor is cause I've only recently moved into my flat & the carpet was brought by my Dad and his wife and they will both hang me out to dry if I let Zak pee all over it.
Thanks for the help though!

[cypher]

I just put an old duvet cover or sheet or something similar that they won't chew on the floor.

[Gemma_xo]

With the Nylon play pens is there actually somewhere for a water bottle to sit then? I can't see anywhere in the pictures.
I need to buy something that my friend's cat (who is spending a week at mine soon) can't get to Zak with, so I'm looking at the Nylon play pen because it's got a cover and a floor, and would work for him for the week if I had to keep him in there due to his cage not being properly equipped to be cat proof just yet, but a vital part is water bottle access needs to be already incorporated.
Thanks.

[cypher]

There is a hole & attachment for a water bottle (I haven't had it out for a while so can't remember exactly how it works!), I wouldn't say the cover is cat proof though, having a cat & a ham in any kind of playpen in the same room really doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I'd only have the ham out if the door was very firmly shut & someone was keeping the cat well away, the playpen wouldn't be suitable for unsupervised time either, it is only nylon & Zak could quite easily chew his way out if he chose to!
Do you have a room where the cat could be kept out that you could put him in? Just having a cat close by could be very stressful for him & accidents happen so easily it might be worth thinking about.

[Gemma_xo]

Yeah. Zak's going to be in my bedroom and Casper (the cat) doesn't go into his owners bedroom, he's not a 'bed' cat, but the door will be shut anyway. Also Zak will be supervised the entire time in the play pen, his bin cage has been kinda adjusted so hopefully by the time Casper comes to stay my friend will have modified Zak's cage for me (he's more DIY savvy)