Syrian hamster hideaways!?

[coco2002]

hi everyone, recently i have got my new hamster Truffle she is a brown and white syrian hamster.
from my dwarf hamsters i have some left over hideaways ive kept but not many and was wandering which ones are the best.
i like the hamster igloos as i think from what ive learnt about her she will like them!
if you have any hamster hideaways that you think Syrian hamsters will like or if you have any of your own please share them and if you can buy them in the UK

thanks
coco x

[Hamsterita]

I had the Trixie Hanna House for syrians



Mine wasn't very impressed with it and he barely used it, but I think that it could work for other syrians as it was fairly big (I think it was 22x14 or something like that). There are other sizes for bunnies and guinea pigs, I think that mine was the smaller one.

I think you could get it very easily in the UK (try amazon or another stores that sell trixie things)

[chesca_27]

Shoe boxes with the base cut out and a door tend to be popular, cheap houses because they are quite big. Bendy bridges are also good and can be very affordable and easy to find. A lot of Syrians also like labyrinth houses. Rodipet sells a huge range of different labyrinth houses sold towards Syrians. They are expensive, but worth it.

[AmityvilleHams]

Making DIY houses with popsicle sticks,wooden dowels,and other safe materials(using Elmer's glue ideally,as other glues are questionable and may use things that are definitely not good to be using)is always a great idea.It isn't convenient like buying something premade,but it can be more cost effective and the biggest benefits would be knowing exactly what is used to make something.For example if you use any dyes(stick to natural ones,nothing storebought but actually making your own using fruit and such that is hamster-safe)you know exactly what was used to make that dye which is much safer than something artificial or sourced from who knows what!

I'd definitely avoid plastic items though,as even igloos with holes in them would be prone to causing respiratory problems through moisture buildup and poor airflow if there is any airflow at all(compared to highly breathable wood materials,when not painted of course as painted wood isn't that breathable and in a way defeats the purpose of using wood).Plus if plastic items get chewed which you may not notice especially if it is underneath on edges,this will cause serious health problems over time including blockages as plastic is not a digestible material.

Bendable bridges like in Hamsterita's picture are one of the good storebought hideouts if not dyed.Luckily they also tend to be fairly cost effective!

If you can find a large terracotta/clay pot with no hole in the bottom(this can be an attractive chewing place,which can become dangerous)then that can be a good hideout as well.

[Thin Lizzy]

My hams have all had an igloo in their cages at some point. The igloos come with ventilation strips on top. Harvey did have a wooden house but it got really smell and stained and I decided to give him the igloo which he loves.
Plastic toys like any other toys can be chewed but it's down to you to do checks.
Bendy bridges are great but, can be easily chewed. Also you can bend them into shape.
Another great hideaway is ceramic flowerpots which poundland & poundworld both sell. Mine do love the sputniks.

[SabreRose]

My Syrian seems to perfer guinea pig sized hideaways.
She's got a few large hamster ones (not sure of the brands sorry) but even still she's sleeps and uses the guinea pig ones more.
Have a look in the guinea pig section of your pet shops and I'm sure you'll find something suitable

[DennisJones]

Dennis-Sama just sleeps/hides under one of the platforms snuggled into a corner. You can see him when he is sleeping and also see his food stash

He had a plastic house that came with his first cage and he had no interest whatsoever in it, just emptied his bedding out and slept under his wheel. Which was funny as whenever he did his workout he would ruin his house and have to rebuild, still he persevered! :P

He does however have some cardboard packaging, cardboard rolls and a hay hideaway from Pets at Home which he uses occasionally. By far his favourite hideaway are the clear plastic tubes that came with his first cage, he is always in here when i am cleaning or feeding him, he has even blocked up one end with substrate.

[AmityvilleHams]

Plastic tubes are not exactly the best thing to have,like any other plastic item.I know plenty have tiny holes in them but with plastic items the overall ventilation isn't really improved much if at all due to this,so ventilation will always be a problem especially when a hamster blocks them up with substrate or anything else(which happens most of the time).

[Pebbles82]

I second the Rodipet houses. They're not that cheap - but they're not that expensive either and there is a good range with lift-off roofs, The expensive bit is the postage - it adds £8 onto the cost.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-granit/

Labyrinth houses (I had the Davinci one for our Syrian - you need a lot of cage space to fit it in). He did use the rooms as intended - one for nesting, one for his toilet and hoards in the others. Until he got quite old that is.)

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-labyrinth/

A good basic house on the Rodipet site (apart from the granite topped ones) is this one - it's about the same size overall as a guinea pig house.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/...-duoporta.html

The theory is - if they have a bigger house with "rooms" they will use one room for their toilet corner. I found this happened and our hammy moved his pee corner into the house - the houses are big enough to fit a potty litter tray in.

[Thin Lizzy]

Harvey loves his sputnik houses, he has the rat size ones, he also loves his ceramic flowerpot.