Alaska Cage Questions

[floppy91]

I recently separated my Russian Dwarf hamsters.

I ordered the Alaska Cage for Thunder, it came yesterday. I know that this cage meets the minimum space requirements according to the RSPCA, but can anyone vouch either way as to whether this cage is really big enough. Thunder did seem happy when I put him in it, however he's spent a few days in "prison" (Ferplast Duna).

This is Thunder in the Alaska Cage:



My main concern with this cage is the bar spacing at the edges of the cage. They look pretty wide, would an adult dwarf squeeze through that? (or hurt himself trying?) I do have some cable ties although I'm not sure what would be the best way to fix this? Would they need to be all the way alone those gaps on every bar? (Nightmare!)



Is the proximity of the two dwarf hamster cages a concern? Thunder spent a few minutes sniffing across to the other cage. I thought maybe he thinks "Hey, that was mine!" I don't know? He will forget soon if he did think that right? Or will settle and be happy in new cage? Will it be okay to have both the cages side by side or cause stress?



All comments and feedback welcome. I appreciate all tips and hints!

[Fluffagrams]

Different hamsters will have different requirements as to what space they require and whereas some hamsters may be happy in a particular cage, others may need less space and others will need more. The Alaska meets the cage size guidelines that were previously published by the RSPCA so this should be fine for most hamsters but your hamster's body language will give you a better insight into that.

As I haven't seen the Alaska myself, I couldn't say about the bar spacing but I know that some people have used them for dwarf species before so they would be better placed to advised on this.

As for the close proximity of the two cages, this is again a matter of individuality. If they're used to each other, then they might be fine and I keep my Chinese in adjacent cages without problems. I occasionally see them at the mesh of their cages appearing to 'talk' to one of the other hamsters but they don't seem bothered by this and soon go about their business. Again body language is a key to understanding how they feel about this but if they're becoming obsessed with the side of the cage closest to the other hamster then they may need a bit more space between them.

[AprilPearl]

I have just bought an Alaska for my Syrian hamster, so if it isn't big enough for your dwarf then I feel really guilty! Thing is, the Alaska is the absolute biggest cagevmy mum would allow me to keep in the house and that is only because I showed her the RSPCA minimums.

Don't want to hijack your thread, but if anyone could reassure me on this that would be great.

[cypher]

I would say the size is fine, I've had a couple of extremely active Chinese in them (not at the same time!) & although one moved on to a larger cage they were really happy in there with plenty of space for things to do.
The main concern with the alaska is the height, you do have to be careful that you set it up so they can't fall if they decide to climb the bars which they often do.
Some of the gaps between the bars are a bit big, should be fine for a Russian unless he's really small but to be safe I used cable ties to fill the gaps.
Having cages close together shouldn't be a problem but as Fluffagrams said you need to just watch & see how they get on.

[floppy91]

Thank-you everyone for the replies I will monitor the behavior of both hams

Cypher, what would you suggest for preventing falls? I worry about putting hammocks or spuntiks in their cage incase that would encourage them to climb up. Both DO climb the sides of the cage but they only seem to do it when I am sitting directly in front of cage, I assume it's like "look at me! give me treats!". Just because I haven't seen them climbing doesn't mean they won't though!

[AmityvilleHams]

You'd want wood platforms rather than hammocks or sputniks.You could put seagrass hammocks or timothy hay hammocks over platforms though(not standard fabric ones,as if chewed those are dangerous,also make sure they've got a digestible hanging material).

Just watch out for any obsessive behavior and signs of the enclosure being inappropriate.This isn't limited to bar chewing,but can come in the form of obsessive pacing,obsessive corner digging(not like normal digging behavior),corner chewing,etc with an emphasis on the behavior being obsessive of course.

[cypher]

They can be a bit sneaky about climbing bars when you're not looking, or they don't think you are
I generally use small ledges like lava ledges, degu shelves, small cork shelves/ledges or hazel ledges, staggered kind of like little steps around the cage at varying heights so there's nowhere they can climb too much & it's easy to get back down if that makes sense.
You could try putting a shelf full width or full length along one or two sides too, Ranch house cages on ebay do a good range of small shelves & ledges.
I do use hammocks with my Chinese but have only used fleece with a Russian I was sure wouldn't chew it.
If there are any areas where you think they're most likely to climb just be sure there's nothing but substrate to fall on if they do but ideally try not to leave any areas where they can climb high.

[floppy91]

Originally Posted by AprilPearl

I have just bought an Alaska for my Syrian hamster, so if it isn't big enough for your dwarf then I feel really guilty! Thing is, the Alaska is the absolute biggest cagevmy mum would allow me to keep in the house and that is only because I showed her the RSPCA minimums.

Don't want to hijack your thread, but if anyone could reassure me on this that would be great.

I was having a look through the most recent Let's See Your Cages thread, and a lot of people have used the Alaska cage for a syrian. I don't think you have anything to feel guilty about, well-done for convincing your Mum to let you upgrade to a bigger cage! It sounds like you love your hamster and are doing a great job looking after your hammy.

I've also seen some great examples of the ledges mentioned by the other posters in that thread. Thanks for the links by the way! I'm definitely going to try something with the ledges and platforms!

Hopefully the OP doesn't mind me reposting their pictures (stop me if this isn't allowed?), I thought this was a good example!

Clumsy Pianist's Alaska: