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Old 12-12-2016, 03:14 PM   #11
Bethany77
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Aah - the substrate thing The thing is - the more substrate you put in, the less you use, I find. Because most of it stays dry and you can just spot clean. When you only have 3" of substrate you end up having to chuck the lot usually and end up using more. Have added a link to Erin's Hamsters 8 cage cleaning tips video - it's very good - some excellent tips on substrate and cleaning. It made my life a lot easier.

The only other thing is - the Barney is quite a tall cage - about 43cm high internally. 3" of substrate would leave quite a height to fall from and not give much cushioning when they land. I think when you've seen Erin's video you'll be able to make your substrate last longer and be able to use more of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww
Thanks for linking the video - I'll watch it now :P
Yeah I do normally have to chuck out all of the bedding I put in every 2 weeks as it gets too smelly which I think is a waste but my dad still doesn't think hamsters need much bedding and he won't believe me when I say they do. I was a bit worried when I first looked at the cage because it looked very high up but the dwarfs haven't tried bar climbing yet. I'll try to get some hanging toys and put in some more bedding soon because I would hate for them to hurt themselves
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Old 12-12-2016, 03:36 PM   #12
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

Have a look on the Lets see your cages thread for set up ideas for dwarf hammies Hanging toys you need to be a bit careful with - I'd avoid anything with chains. Cypher may have some tips as she has dwarf hammies and large cages
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Old 12-12-2016, 11:20 PM   #13
cypher
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

The behaviour you're seeing now is Vanilla asserting his dominance over Coco, the problem with a larger cage for a pair is it provides more space to become territorial over so this behaviour could escalate into actual fighting & you will need to keep a close eye on that & make sure there are no enclosed areas like houses with only one entrance where Vanilla could trap Coco if a fight broke out.
Russian hams do like to bar climb but are hopeless at climbing down once they get up & very prone to falls but with a pair you can't really put any levels or ledges in to prevent this as again it may encourage them to become more territorial & fight.
I'm not sure what to suggest tbh, it is a great cage but maybe not the best choice for a pair.
Sorry if that sounds a bit negative but the general consensus among those who have succeeded in keeping pairs together seems to be that less space, no levels & a fairly basic layout works best.
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Last edited by cypher; 12-12-2016 at 11:31 PM.
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Old 12-13-2016, 01:13 AM   #14
Bethany77
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

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Originally Posted by cypher View Post
The behaviour you're seeing now is Vanilla asserting his dominance over Coco, the problem with a larger cage for a pair is it provides more space to become territorial over so this behaviour could escalate into actual fighting & you will need to keep a close eye on that & make sure there are no enclosed areas like houses with only one entrance where Vanilla could trap Coco if a fight broke out.
Russian hams do like to bar climb but are hopeless at climbing down once they get up & very prone to falls but with a pair you can't really put any levels or ledges in to prevent this as again it may encourage them to become more territorial & fight.
I'm not sure what to suggest tbh, it is a great cage but maybe not the best choice for a pair.
Sorry if that sounds a bit negative but the general consensus among those who have succeeded in keeping pairs together seems to be that less space, no levels & a fairly basic layout works best.
Oh I thought having a bigger cage would help them, can I put 6 inches of bedding so if they fall it wouldn't hurt so much? They have been getting along better since moving, Vanilla hasn't done the dominance thing since they have been in there and I looked in there this morning and they were sleeping together when they normally sleep in separate parts of the cage.
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Old 12-13-2016, 01:25 AM   #15
cypher
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

It would be lovely if they continue to get on well & all hams are different so of course it's possible, fingers crossed for you, it may be that they are adjusting to the new space still & put dominance issues on hold for now so do keep a close eye for any signs of falling out or getting territorial.

Deep substrate will definitely help with the possibility of falls but they can still hurt themselves & you need to be sure there's nothing hard anywhere they can fall onto which isn't easy when you have to have houses, wheels etc in there.
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Old 12-13-2016, 02:03 AM   #16
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

That's excellent news that they're getting on better It sounds like they are settling in well. The more substrate the better. I use hemp mat sometimes as well, as our Syrian is quite old and I was worried he would hurt himself if he fell (he can't climb now so it's not an issue any more). On top of his house, and you could put it on top of any hard floor toys as well maybe. It's not too expensive at £4.99 and it's a massive piece. You just cut pieces off it to the size you want.

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals

Basically it sounds like you just need to deal with the height so it's not too far to fall if they do climb - maybe show this thread to your Dad You can save a lot on cleaning and substrate by having it deeper and it's less stress for the hammies too. 6" is good (that's about the base of the Barney). But if you're going to put 6" you might as well put 8" Doing that you might only need to do a cage clean about every 2 to 3 months or even a bit more, by just spot cleaning (ie taking out the odd handful and replacing it with a clean handful). If they burrow down to the bottom to pee and the cage base gets wet, then you can still replace nearly all the substrate after removing it for a wipe down. Have you tried them with a litter tray? (You'd probably need a litter tray each). Although some hamsters use their sand bath as a litter tray - then you just replace the chinchilla sand (or scoop out the wet bit). Again two of everything is usually recommended for a pair, and that will fill up a fair bit of the space But if they have a current set up that works for them, best not to disturb things too much while they are settling in.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 12-13-2016 at 02:08 AM.
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Old 12-13-2016, 09:14 AM   #17
Bethany77
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
That's excellent news that they're getting on better It sounds like they are settling in well. The more substrate the better. I use hemp mat sometimes as well, as our Syrian is quite old and I was worried he would hurt himself if he fell (he can't climb now so it's not an issue any more). On top of his house, and you could put it on top of any hard floor toys as well maybe. It's not too expensive at £4.99 and it's a massive piece. You just cut pieces off it to the size you want.

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals

Basically it sounds like you just need to deal with the height so it's not too far to fall if they do climb - maybe show this thread to your Dad You can save a lot on cleaning and substrate by having it deeper and it's less stress for the hammies too. 6" is good (that's about the base of the Barney). But if you're going to put 6" you might as well put 8" Doing that you might only need to do a cage clean about every 2 to 3 months or even a bit more, by just spot cleaning (ie taking out the odd handful and replacing it with a clean handful). If they burrow down to the bottom to pee and the cage base gets wet, then you can still replace nearly all the substrate after removing it for a wipe down. Have you tried them with a litter tray? (You'd probably need a litter tray each). Although some hamsters use their sand bath as a litter tray - then you just replace the chinchilla sand (or scoop out the wet bit). Again two of everything is usually recommended for a pair, and that will fill up a fair bit of the space But if they have a current set up that works for them, best not to disturb things too much while they are settling in.
I will look into buying those mats but at the moment I was thinking of just putting extra bedding on top of the houses. They do use the sand as a toilet but one of them likes to wee elsewhere sometimes and they make this horrible popcorn ish smell around the cage which I'm guessing is their sent marking?
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Old 12-13-2016, 09:17 AM   #18
Bethany77
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

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Originally Posted by cypher View Post
It would be lovely if they continue to get on well & all hams are different so of course it's possible, fingers crossed for you, it may be that they are adjusting to the new space still & put dominance issues on hold for now so do keep a close eye for any signs of falling out or getting territorial.

Deep substrate will definitely help with the possibility of falls but they can still hurt themselves & you need to be sure there's nothing hard anywhere they can fall onto which isn't easy when you have to have houses, wheels etc in there.
I'll keep an eye on them but yesterday they seemed very close (grooming, sleeping and eating with each other) but as you said they could just be adjusting to the new space. I was thinking of putting extra bedding on top of the houses to help break the fall?
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Old 12-13-2016, 11:54 AM   #19
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

Extra bedding on top of the houses sounds good too If you find the "elsewhere" place on of them pees you could try putting another small dish of sand there - plastic margarine tubs are light and can be part buried in substrate.
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Old 12-13-2016, 12:32 PM   #20
Bethany77
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Default Re: Does anyone have the Barney cage?

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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Extra bedding on top of the houses sounds good too If you find the "elsewhere" place on of them pees you could try putting another small dish of sand there - plastic margarine tubs are light and can be part buried in substrate.
I think I'll put a small dish of sand in another corner too so we have two litter trays? I use the little plastic tubs from Chinese takeaway to hold the sand at the moment
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