think my cage is wrong

[Crayolalaura]

If you have the space then I'd go for the Alaska cage. Barney cage is bigger and bigger is always better but a little more expensive.
Bin cages are fab but I can never find a big enough bin cage tbh and it starts getting to the point where if you do find a bug enough bin that the price of that plus alterations means I'm better off just buying a cage lol!

Save for a cage might be your best option here

[AmityvilleHams]

Not really You might need to do alterations to bins but really if you're getting affordable bins and using a good amount of them to make a bigger cage than anything you could buy premade with no serious modifications necessary from any sort of pet store you're far better off.Even with alterations included your value for the floor space is better.The only way you could get anything nearly as big as a bin cage could go(square meter plus)would be using several cages directly connected or a modified guinea pig/rabbit cage which is nowhere near as cheap or simple.

It would more than likely be cheaper when you go by the actual floor space to make a square meter or larger bin setup rather than buying a Barney or anything like that,if not comparably priced but still when you get into the actual value and how much space you're getting you actually save money regardless of the initial investment.

[jency]

Thank you all for the advice i would love the alexander cage but i cant afford it. I decided to order the barney cage. Cant get a refund on the cage ratchets in now because its not law about cage size.

[Pebbles82]

A lot of people have the Barney I think Ratchet will like it. That's a shame about not getting the refund. No it isn't law about cage size - but you could say to them that the cage isn't suitable for your hamster because of the height, which is as tall as a rat cage and say you'll accept a partial refund. Worth a try?

I don't know what substrate you use but Fitch paper substrate works out cheap because you buy it in 10kg or 20kg bags - so you can pile loads into the cage and not worry about the cost so much. The more substrate in there the less often you need to do a cage clean. Added Erin's hamsters cage cleaning tips video below - it really helped me and our hammy and now I just spot clean, do a "partial" clean every 3 or 4 months and occasionally clean the toys and wheel in between. Using a litter tray helps as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww&t=302s

[Crayolalaura]

Agree with serendipity- the cage is technically dangerous, really, for hamster without adding in far more bits and bobs such as shelves and hammocks to make it somewhat safer. So you could also say that not only were you missold the item but that you weren't also told that you would need to buy additional parts to make it safe
I understand it's a hassle though

Good choice on Barney, it will do you well for other hamsters of all sizes in future too
Also recommend fitch! I bought mine off Amazon- slightly more expensive than getting it off the site but im more used to Amazon. You get so much in it which is handy because I've never known a hamster to love to burrow so much and I've owned a lot of hamsters lol! Maybe it's more of a dwarf thing heh.
I also use some carefresh on top just for additional colours *ahem*

Have fun setting it all up!

[jency]

thanks for link serendipity i have been cleaning his cage wrong as well. its a wonder he doesnt hate me. as soon as i have his new place set up i will try to put photos on the introduce your hamster section.
i use carefresh, wasnt sure if the colour one was okay for him. is it okay to put different substrate in. i have to put a lot because he likes to dig.

[Pebbles82]

I'm sure he'll forgive you But it can cause them stress being cleaned out too much and might be another reason for the bar chewing.

[Crayolalaura]

Don't worry about mistakes! I've had hamsters aalllllll my life and I'm over 30 which means for a good chunk of it we were doing some of it "wrong" LOL but every hammy I've had they've always seemed happy and playful, though this is my first dwarf and is very different to Syrians!
So long as you learn from your mistakes it's fine. It's just like parenting

Carefresh is fine as well, many people use this solely as their substrate. Fitch, personal opinion, is better and more value for money but some may disagree and that's fine too.
You can put in different substrates. I would try as best as you can to organise how you want the cage and what you want in it before hand so that you don't have to change much whilst he is adapting and then after a while you can start changing or adding some bits that he is comfortable with. All hammies are different. Yours may love the change or it may upset him. Little bits at a time I recommend
Mind you I've changed a shed load recently with my hammy so im a bit of a hypocrite there haha but it's staying like this now for at least a month. Unless she seems bored.

[Pebbles82]

I found it really helped to let our Syrian play in the cage a couple of times before moving him over. He had a very bad move the first time I upgraded him (I put him in the new cage cold turkey and he was very strange and shaky for about 10 days). So the next upgrade I filled the base with Fitch, put a couple of toys in and let him go in for a play. He was interested for a little bit then panicked and wanted to come out again so I popped him back in his old cage and he dived into his house. Then a few minutes later he came out again and sat at the door wanting to come out as if to say - I think I'd like another look! So I put him back in the new one again and this time he was in there for ages and explored every little bit of it! And enjoyed it. I left him till he was ready to come out again. I then left it a day and the day after, put him in his pet carrier up in the bedroom for a couple of hours while I moved everything over from the old cage to the new cage and got it all set up and ready. He settled in straight away.

It was a bit tricky having two blooming cages in the room for 2 or 3 days but the other members of my family tolerated me leaving the Barney on the table and eating of their knees for those 2 or 3 days

As Crayola Laura says, when you move him over, keep all his old substrate and spread it out on top of the new in the Barney cage. There won't be that much substrate from the smaller cage so fill the base of the Barney as deep as you can and spread the old on top of that so it smells familiar. The good thing about the 7mm bar spacing on the Barney is the substrate doesn't fall out through the bars I've had it piled a few inches up the bars in places and it doesn't fall out, so don't let that stop you filling the base to the top. It does take quite a lot of substrate, but that will last a long time.

Also try and put his familiar toys etc in a similar layout if you can and don't clean anything before moving things over. They'll be fine for a couple of weeks. I scattered some food around as well as that distracts them from feeling strange as they roam around pouching it. Try and save all his nest and pop it in the house. And have a huge pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper somewhere in the cage not far from the house so he can pouch it and rebuild his nest. I wouldn't bother moving any of his hoard over but maybe put a bit of new food inside the house as well as scattering and having a food bowl.

Then it's the same as when you first get them - leave him alone to settle in for 2 or 3 days. Unless he shows he wants to come out and play! And try not to disturb or clean anything for the first two weeks. Although adding the odd new thing is usually fine as long as you don't move things around while he's still scent marking so he can find his way around.

It's quite open in the middle so if you have a tube or tunnel or cardboard box to put in the middle of the cage that breaks up the open space

[jency]

thanks for the detailed advice i want ratchets move to be stress free. i have a tube that he likes and a box. i love watching him when i put strips of toilet paper in. i was told i could put my shredded papers in but they have ink so i dont think its a good idea.
waiting for the cage to be delivered.