Cage choice quandry

Bertiebobbins · 10-20-2015, 06:11 AM

Sorry I'm going on again about what new cages to get!

We have Nibble the plus size syrian, who currently lives in a zooplus Alaska, which is 84x44 cm floor space or something like that. On Thursday we will be getting a winter white dwarf ham, who of course needs a new cage of her own (she will be starting off in a little savic tank style cage I think it's 55x30 cm not ideal but it fits her 8" wheel and all the bits and bobs she needs for now and she'll be in quarantine from Nibble anyway so I'd like to keep her portable for the first ten days or so).

I had planned to upgrade Nibble's cage firstly to get him more space and secondly because the alaska isn't great quality and falling apart already. I was going to order him the 120cm borneo cage from Germany.

I had settled on the riviera verraze XL mouse cage for Glowy but today I've been looking at bins the same size as that and I feel mean as it's not big enough (it's 70x40 cm floor space).

So here's my quandry - In order to fit in a bigger cage for the new dwarfie I would need to get Nibble a 100cm cage rather than 120, then I could fit in a Duna Maxi Multy (it's the width thats a problem, the space for the new cage is long but only 45 cm wide accounting for Nibble having the 120 cm cage). I have a bee in my bonnet that Nibble needs a big cage because he is big and new ham will be fine in smaller as she is small, but is this true? Should I just get them both 100cm cages and be done with it? Help!

cypher · 10-20-2015, 06:37 AM

I think the Borneo L would be fine for Nibbles, the XL is really huge, remember they're tall as well as having plenty of floor space so you can create more levels or lots of things to climb on, when I got sent the XL by mistake I tried getting in it myself & had room to spare it's that big lol!
Being a small ham doesn't mean that dwarfs need small cages, they enjoy the space just as much as syrians do provided they have lots of toys & hidey holes.
I think you might regret it if you get Nibbles the Borneo XL then find yourself worrying that Glowly doesn't have a big enough cage & you won't have space to upgrade.

Golden_Syrian_Hammmies · 10-20-2015, 06:38 AM

Lol Bertiebobbins! I know exactly how you are feeling. Takes for ages planning and researching what cage would be best for our hams! For a Syrian 100cm I've heard is a good size so your sorted there - I'm getting the Barney cage would love the Alexander but it is a bit expensive atm. Someone else here may be able to advise you on the dimensions for a dwarfs accommodation size. So you basically just need to have room to fit the cages beside each other? I would get them all fairly good sized cages prob for a dwarf 80-85cm would be pretty big?

cypher · 10-20-2015, 06:57 AM

Something around 80x50 isn't a bad size but you might be surprised, once you've got a house or two, a wheel, sand bath, litter tray, maybe an egg box & some cardboard tubes or something like the seagrass tunnels which they love there isn't much room to move!

velma · 10-20-2015, 07:14 AM

I'd agree with Cypher, get the two 100cm cages.

Bertiebobbins · 10-20-2015, 07:26 AM

They're going one either end of the sofa, I did think about stacking them and making some kind of shelving unit but then one of the cages will be too high for my daughter to see into as I'd need to use the space underneath for toy storage (or I could throw all her toys out?!

)

I think you're right Cypher, I will get the guilts and then have no choice if I get Nibble the huge cage and Glowy a small one. Lol at you getting in the huge cage! TBH Nibble is totally happy in his current cage, if it wasn't slowly falling apart I'd think twice about replacing it. Maybe having too much more space will freak him out anyway, and he comes out twice a day for playtimes. I'll get them both 100cm cages. This also means I have more £ to spend on the German website to pimp them!

racinghamster · 10-20-2015, 07:28 AM

I would go with the Ferplast Multi for your new dwarf, they are fantastic cages and don't allow for climbing high or bar chewing but have ample floor space for good digging, so two issues you wouldn`t have to worry about. Very height cages are fine as long as they are reconfigured inside with full shelves and ramps as hamsters are not climbing rodents but always will if given the opportunity and can lead to falls and injury. This can be easy once you buy the plywood and tools to fit the shelves inside, but personally, I would always chose a tank-style cage for all hamsters these days as they are universal, safe and suit all hamsters. Barred cages can have their advantages but for me, they just cause issues that can be avoided by choosing a Perspex cage. x

Shannonmcn · 10-20-2015, 07:39 AM

Always go bigger than you think you're going to need, it really does fill up quickly! What a terrible dilemma to be in Bertie, having to buy more cute fun things to spoil the wee dotes!

I like the look of the Maxi duna myself, would definitely look into it the next time I'm buying a cage.

Bertiebobbins · 10-20-2015, 07:40 AM

Yes I'm really keen on a tank style cage for the dwarfie for that reason Racinghamster. I'm happy with the barred cage for Nibble as he isn't inclined to climb (he's so very bad at it lol) or bar chew, but he adores his sputnik network and I could't do that in a tank style cage. I'm going to put perspex round some of the bars in the new cage and fill it right up with substrate to make a digging area.

Pebbles82 · 10-20-2015, 07:52 AM

I would go with two 100cm ones as well rather than a smaller one for the dwarf. Do you have any flexibility on depth? Because rather than a 120cm cage you can get some 100cm hamster habitats that are deeper than the standard 50cm and get more floors space that way. I know the Living World Eco Habitat is quite deep and also because it doesn't have a curved base, has more floor area generally, being a tank style with square corners, but it is quite expensive. The 100cm is the medium one on Zooplus and it's £129.99. Plus the top could do with meshing really due to the 2cm slits. Just a thought - but it's a floorstanding thing rather than something to go on a table as well. But really any 100cm cage would be a great size for a syrian. The extra height of something like the Borneo can be good because it means you could have the wheel on a platform so it doesn't reduce the floor area (ie there would be substrate under the platform) but then it would need a few shelves to break falls and sort out the height issue. There are some good adjustable wood shelves on german amazon too!