Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Housing

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-12-2017, 02:06 PM   #11
Stealers Wheel
Newborn Pup
 
Stealers Wheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Darlington UK
Posts: 43
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

28cm is a big wheel but we could manage it. It seems it has to be facing away from us so she will use it. The silent spinner is facing us but goes unused. The little red one she loves and is facing away from us so we can't see her when she runs. She's odd like that lol. Oh and the wheel doesnt have to be silent because she's not in our bedroom.
Stealers Wheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2017, 02:20 PM   #12
Stealers Wheel
Newborn Pup
 
Stealers Wheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Darlington UK
Posts: 43
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

How about a rat wheel? Theyre bigger than so called hamster wheels
Stealers Wheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2017, 02:33 PM   #13
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

It might the the size. The red one looks a bit bigger than the Silent spinner ? The silent spinner is way too small and probably uncomfortable for her. An 11" or 12" wheel is a rat wheel really Rat sized toys and wheels are a good size for Syrians.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2017, 02:44 PM   #14
Stealers Wheel
Newborn Pup
 
Stealers Wheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Darlington UK
Posts: 43
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

No the silent spinner is a bit bigger. We've swapped them around and now she's in the silent spinner. She likes to run incognito
Stealers Wheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2017, 03:20 PM   #15
Drago
The Hamtologist
 
Drago's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Southern United States
Posts: 2,855
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

I have to agree with all that's been said above, for Syrians, both floorspace and height are crucial. What cage is your hamster in currently? It looks a bit on the small side to me, but it's hard to determine from a photo. How many sq in is it in total? Syrians do best in cages that are 1,000 sq in+, but 450 sq in is the widely regarded minimum. The cage looks to be full of enrichment which is excellent, very good job on that! Serendipity gave good suggestions regarding the toys that may need attending to if you get the chance. How deep is the base of the cage? Syrians should have a minimum of 8-10 inches of bedding- with 12 inches or more being much more preferable.

Like serendipity said on the wheel, the silent runner is definitely the best out there! Though it's pricey, it will last you years and can stand quite a lot of abuse so I'd certainly recommend it if you can get hold of it. Other good wheels include the wodent wheel senior, wodent wheel wobust, Trixie wheel, and the CSE Good luck with your new hamster and if you have any other questions, please ask!
Drago is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2017, 01:00 AM   #16
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

I noticed on your other thread you said she had been bar chewing as well. This can be caused by a number of things including cage stress, if it is a bit small, and if something isn't right in the cage for them - eg wheel too small, not enough bedding, nowhere to build a nest where they can feel protected or in the dark, or too much cleaning out. It can be to try and tell you there's a problem. Or it can be just she wants to get out because she's going stir crazy and needs more exercise and to do more hamstery things like digging. Although pet shops tell you to clean them out weekly, that isn't necessary.

I think I would look at upgrading the cage and the wheel. A popular combination that doesn't cost too much is an Alaska cage and a 28cm Trixie wheel. If you can afford more then the Silent Runner (not spinner) is definitely worth getting. I particularly like it screwed to the bars as you can then have it at the height you want (ie higher up) and still have floorspace and substrate underneath it, which makes it easier to have a good level of substrate.

The Alaska cage is about £33. The Barney costs a bit more at about £45, but it does come with a good house and an 8" wheel which would do for starters (although I think the wheel is maybe a bit flimsy so might not last that long), so you only then need some toys (plus bedding food bowl and water bottle of course which you will already have).

The Barney is 100cm cage though - it's quite large but can fit on top of a chest of drawers - it doesn't matter if there's a bit of overhang at the sides/front as long as it's stable.

Other options are the Hamster Heaven, which costs a bit more. It's 80cm by 50cm but a bit lower than the Alaska and Barney. Most people end up removing all the plastic shelvses and tubes and penthouse to be able to fit an 11" wheel and because hammies block up the tubes.

If you have the space, a popular tank style option is a detolf hack It's an Ikea glass cabinet tipped on its side with the door left off. It costs £40 so is a good price for such a special kind of cage! It does need two lids making out of wood pieces and mesh though so needs some diy before it's ready. It also needs something to stand on really, which can add to the cost if you don't have anything long enough to stand it on. A lot of people use a couple of the small, four hole Ikea kallax units to give storage under, or a couple of Ikea lack tables which are much cheaper (about £8 each I think).

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Ha...w=1366&bih=608
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2017, 02:58 AM   #17
Stealers Wheel
Newborn Pup
 
Stealers Wheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Darlington UK
Posts: 43
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

The cage chewing we alleviate to some extent by adding enrichment in the cage and giving her lots of stuff to chew on. The cage is about the biggest we can fit in our house having 2 cats and a dog! What we realise now is we should have got a russian hamster but I thought they had to be in pairs. We are off to pets at home today to look for a bigger wheel, but a 28cm won't fit in the cage
Stealers Wheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2017, 03:10 AM   #18
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

A Russian would still need a bigger cage & wheel believe it or not!
P@H isn't the best place to find things for hams, it would take a bit longer but you'd probably do better to have a look online, Zooplus are good.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2017, 06:25 AM   #19
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

Amazon sells the Trixie wheel at a good price I don't think you'll find much in the way of wheels at pets at home. Would the 28cm wheel fit on the right hand side under the second shelf, standing on the floor?
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2017, 09:06 AM   #20
Stealers Wheel
Newborn Pup
 
Stealers Wheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Darlington UK
Posts: 43
Default Re: Cages. Height vs floor space

Our cage mesaures 30cm wide, 58cm long and 45cm high. Looks big but coud do with bigger. Mind you the cages at P@H are worse! Barely suitable for a mouse and no good sized wheels. Most are 6 inches with one whopper at 28cm. Too big for our cage. Makes me think of all the hamsters sold with inappropriate equipment!
By the way we bought ours from Jollyes
Stealers Wheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cage, good, hamsters, syrian, tall, space, floor, height, cages

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:21 AM.