Moving to a bigger cage

[Poozle]

Serendipity - thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate all the detail!

With the substrate, we are currently using the woodshavings we got at pets at home - is that ok? We could move to fitch in the new cage, but would we be able to mix it with the woodshavings from her existing cage to keep her scent? How deep should it be?
Thanks
Poozle
x

[cypher]

The substrate should be as deep as you can make it so with a barred cage fill the base up completely.
You could use mostly fitch then scatter a layer of wood shavings from her old cage over the top to keep her scent then gradually remove that & change over to just fitch as you do partial cleans over time.

[Bellatrix]

I was in exactly the same situation as you. PAH gave my parents the sort advise when they buying me a hamster for my birthday three weeks ago.

They advised them to buy the smallest cage I've ever seen, she's a dwarf hamster so their policy was, the smaller the animal the less space they need.. rubbish!! The cage was a 24-18 plastic thing and I was mortified when I saw this poor creature in such cramped conditions. My parents being totally uneducated on the subject of hamsters, trusted the staff at PAH and was told to buy all the wrong things, wrong food, wrong bedding, wrong cage, it was a mess.

I've since rectified all the issues and I too was worried about the cage change, I need not have been. I took all the advice from people here and filled her new cage with new bedding but added her old (poop and all) on top along with her old toys and wheel (silent spinner). Within half hour, she was totally comfortable in her surroundings. I've since upgraded her again to an even bigger tank and again, she was perfectly fine.

Don't sweat it, as long as you mix the bedding and keep her scent over everything, she'll be all good.

[Poozle]

Thanks Cypher, I'll do that.

[Poozle]

Originally Posted by Bellatrix

I was in exactly the same situation as you. PAH gave my parents the sort advise when they buying me a hamster for my birthday three weeks ago.

They advised them to buy the smallest cage I've ever seen, she's a dwarf hamster so their policy was, the smaller the animal the less space they need.. rubbish!! The cage was a 24-18 plastic thing and I was mortified when I saw this poor creature in such cramped conditions. My parents being totally uneducated on the subject of hamsters, trusted the staff at PAH and was told to buy all the wrong things, wrong food, wrong bedding, wrong cage, it was a mess.

I've since rectified all the issues and I too was worried about the cage change, I need not have been. I took all the advice from people here and filled her new cage with new bedding but added her old (poop and all) on top along with her old toys and wheel (silent spinner). Within half hour, she was totally comfortable in her surroundings. I've since upgraded her again to an even bigger tank and again, she was perfectly fine.

Don't sweat it, as long as you mix the bedding and keep her scent over everything, she'll be all good.

It's crazy isn't it! You would think it would be in their interests to sell the larger cages! New cage should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday though, so she won't have to suffer much longer. Glad to hear your hamster took to her new surroundings so well! I hope Nibbles does too.

[Pebbles82]

Yes you can mix Fitch and wood shavings - either now or later I did that for quite a while. You could also just keep using the wood shavings for now and gradually add Fitch if and when you get some and when spot cleaning.

[AprilPearl]

Originally Posted by Poozle

It's crazy isn't it! You would think it would be in their interests to sell the larger cages! New cage should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday though, so she won't have to suffer much longer. Glad to hear your hamster took to her new surroundings so well! I hope Nibbles does too.

I reckon they think that if they say a hamster needs a big cage, not so many people will be prepared to buy hamsters (and therefore also cages & accessories, food etc). They are in it to sell to as many people as possible, not to ensure the animals they sell are treated properly. Sad, but true.

[sophiedoe]

I did just what Serendipity is describing when changing cages and substrate -I started out with wood shavings but changed to fitch after hearing about it here. I would really recommend fitch over wood shavings. It is so much softer, nicer for both the hamster and the person cleaning them out!

[Poozle]

Originally Posted by sophiedoe

I did just what Serendipity is describing when changing cages and substrate -I started out with wood shavings but changed to fitch after hearing about it here. I would really recommend fitch over wood shavings. It is so much softer, nicer for both the hamster and the person cleaning them out!

Great, I think that is what I will do as Fitch is on order and due to arrive soon!
Thanks!

[Poozle]

So, the new cage has arrived! I've been having a bit of play with different layouts to see what works best as I want to fit the big wheel in too, and so far the best layout seems to be something along the lines of the attached pics. Feedback welcome!

I know she could probably do with a better way up/down from the lower shelf than the hidey hole toy. There is a wood bridge in her current cage that I was thinking of fixing from the side of the cage next to the wheel and down to the other side at the front.

Also, I'm a bit worried that the higher of the 2 shelves is too high as there is nothing to stop her falling off the ledge - should I be worried? I do intend to put lots of woodshavings and fitch (when it arrives) in before she uses it, just wanted to get layout right first!

Finally, do you think she will try to climb on to the top of the wheel from either ledge and is she likely to hurt herself if she does?

This cage really is huge compared to the old one! I was going to see if I could temporarily link the two by tubes later to give her a chance to explore so will try and remember to get a picture of them stacked!