Is Criceti 15 ok for dwarf?

[fuzzyfriendly]

Hi, I bought a Ferplast Criceti 15 cage, a bunch of tunnels, a flying saucer wheel and a bunch stuff for my hamster to chew on. I was planning on buying/adopting Russian dwarf hamster. Now I'm kind of scared that spacing between bars is too large. I think it's about 1cm, I measured it with a ruller. Do you think the hamster can go between bars? I know some breeders give away hamsters at 6 weeks of cage, I imagine they are quite small. I've managed to make contact with one breeder that has a bunch of 10 week old hammies. Will that be ok?

I may be overcomplicating things. I tried to put away all the cables in our apartment. So that if the hamster manages to escape, he wouldn't be able to get to them. But then there is the place under the fridge, that might not be safe, or us just stepping on him when he is supposed to be in the cage ... you know.

[Pebbles82]

I think I would be concerned about the bar spacing too - and I also went through the same things you did over trying to hamster proof the room (and yes ours went straight behind the fridge!) I decided our room wasn't possible to hamsterproof and made a playpen area instead. You could mesh the cage - or if you have only just bought it - maybe get a refund and get something else? Even playpens aren't hamsterproof and need using under supervision. Something with less than 8mm bar spacing or a solid sided cage/tank is probably best for a dwarf hamster (baby or otherwise). The Ferplast duna tanks are popular.

This is the smallest suitable size (about the same size as the Criceti)

Ferplast Duna Multy Cage | Pet n Pony

And this is the maxi duna multy which would also make a great home for a dwarf hamster - lots of space to make different areas for playing.

Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy Guinea Pig and Rabbit Cage, 99 x 51.5 x 36 cm, Grey: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

A slightly cheaper option than the maxi duna multy (although not as big) is the Kerry Terrarium - it has 7mm bar spacing on the top grid so ideal for a dwarf hamster. Sizewise it is about the same size (very slightly bigger floor area) as the standard Duna Multy

Hamster Cages: great selection at zooplus: Small Pet Terrarium Kerry

Although the criceti accepts tubes, tubes aren't the greatest things for hamsters and it's easy to have individual tubes as toys inside the cage, rather than a run of them. Connecting tubes can be an escape route, get blocked up by the hamster and cause cleaning and ventilation issues. It's better to have the floorspace in an enclosed cage unit and toys inside the cage. One of the best things you can give a hamster is plenty of deep substrate so they can dig their own tunnels.

If getting a refund for the cage isn't an option now, you could try meshing it (I wouldn't like to try this but people do it!) or sell it on.

[cypher]

1cm bar spacing is the max you want with a dwarf ham but as long as it really is no more than that it should be fine for a russian as they're a bit chunkier than the other dwarf hams.
If you get a ham from a pet shop the chances are it will be closer to something like 10 wks old & if you rescue or adopt even older so it won't be a really tiny baby & the same goes for the 10wk old ones the breeder has.
I've kept russian hams in cages with 1cm bar spacing with no problem, I've never seen any of mine try to escape but I doubt very much that they could tbh.
The overall size of the cage is maybe a bit small but not too bad.

[fuzzyfriendly]

Ok I've called a bunch of stores. Still waiting for a response about refund. The only cages they sell, that have bar spacing under 1 cm are:
- tank type cells (I am a very clumsy person and I can't even imagine how I would clean this type of cage without braking it)
- Duna mini (it's too small, I know and there seem to be some water bottle issues)
- Duna mini fun (spacing might be still too big, 9 mm in the middle)
- Skyline Barney (big enough, spacing is ok but I have issue with the doors. Where the place between bars is bigger once again, but mostly because my friend's hamster's foot got stuck between the doors and cage when he was climbing the cage. She took him to the vet and they had to actually amputate his foot. So I'm not a fan of these type of doors.)

I'm freaking out, tomorrow I'm adopting 4 and a half week old Russian hammie and I don't even have a suitable cage for him. So it seems.

[racinghamster]

Simple, but a Zoozone 1 tank. Ideal size, around £31.00 online, VERY safe and even though the grill across the top has wide-ish bar spacing, it won`t need meshing unless you have a cat or worry that the hamster could reach the grill, but unless you have accessories in there that are too tall, I can guarantee you, it will be fine. I use a Gabber Rex (google it for images) and these are roughly the same size as a Zoozone 1 and I never have the grill on mine and I have a Russian hybrid male. It`s housed four different dwarf hamsters to day with no problems whatsoever.

Hope this helps. The Zoozone 2 is 100cm long, but the smaller version (Zoozone 1) is fine for a single dwarf hamster. Don`t be tempted to get a pair though as chances are they will fall out and you will need a spare cage! x

[racinghamster]

Here you go. Pet Planet has the Zoozone 1 for £30.00 in pink or blue. But look around for deals.

[fuzzyfriendly]

And now I read that they might be even a bit too young for them to already go into a new home. The breeder told me that they eat and drink by themselves and I didn't really question her on the age part.

I can order Zoozone from where I live, but it will probably take a couple of days :S. I'm half way to calling a breeder and telling her to wait till next year.

[cypher]

If the breeder is a responsible experienced breeder they won't be letting a ham go before it's old enough, if you're unsure I would give them a call or visit them before you decide what you want to do.
If you do get one I don't think you need to worry about the cage, so long as the bar spacing is no more than 1cm as I said before, if you do want to order a different cage I don't see that you'll get one before Christmas anyway.

What's it going to be like at home over Christmas? Bearing in mind that all hams need a good few days of quiet with little interference to settle in if it's going to be busy with lots of people around or noisy in the house you may want to think about waiting until the holiday is over.

[flowerfairy]

I went through cage panic when my two teeny roborovskis had to be separated. They have both been fine. One cage has 1cm spaced bars, the other slightly smaller spacing.

4 and a half weeks sounds on the young side to me, not that I am any kind of expert. Perhaps the breeder would keep one aside for you (a girl could mabe still be with her mum if thats what the breeder does)?

Sounds like you are in the USA so dont have any advice re; available cages but there are many on here who do.

[Pebbles82]

I'd get the Barney if it's available locally. It'a a great cage. Your hamster would have a lovely big habitat and lots of substrate and places to explore. You'd need the substrate deep to prevent falls from a height and make sure anything hard (like ceramic or wood) is under a shelf, or sputnik so the ham can't land on anything hard if climbing to the top. I know what you mean about the gap on the doors - you could sort that quite easily by just sticking a small piece of wood or perspex on the inside of that part of the door with some aquarium sealant. The gaps round the edges are a bit bigger than 7mm but they're ok and not too big. If you have a plastic six inch ruler handy you can cut it in half and use one half for each of the two doors. Or are you talking about the top door? There'll be a way round making it safe anyway. I'd go for the Barney!

The Zoozone RH mentions is basically the same size as the standard Duna Multy but the Duna Multy has smaller bar spacing on top. Either would be good.

As for timing - maybe organise it for just after Christmas when the madness has died down, as Cypher says. No need to leave it until the New Year as long as the hamster is ready. But I'd time it so you have got your cage and have it all set up and ready for when you bring the hamster home. The Barney is easy to set up as it already comes with a shelf and a good house, and a wheel that would do for now. All you'd need is substrate, hamster food, plenty of torn up strips of white toilet paper - put a pile in the cage somewhere and your hamster will take it to build a nest somewhere they choose - and a couple of toys for now - a cardboard tube from a kitchen roll - or one of the tubes you've already bought, as a floor toy, and a ceramic mug on its side or something. The flying saucer is a bonus. And I think the Barney is probably the only cage you'd have space for it as well as a wheel (they do need a wheel really).

Anyway, you could have it set up in an afternoon and could maybe add the odd thing later.