Alaska setup ideas for a Russian hamster

[alpacassei]

Hi everyone! I just bought a new Russian hammie, a little boy called Mishka

His cage is the Alaska but I'm not sure how to set it up since I've only used Dunas and bin cages for dwarf hamsters before. Does anyone have examples of bar-cage setups?

Right now all his toys are at ground level and it's looking a little sad with all the un-used space above

[cypher]

I've only kept Chinese in the alaska because it's a tall cage bar climbing & the potential for falls is a concern with Russians so you need to try & arrange things so he can't climb too high without being able to get down (they tend to just let go & fall!) & also make sure if he can fall anywhere, even a short distance he will have a soft landing.
I generally use small ledges like lava ledges, small wooden bolt on shelves or the hazel/birch ledges from ratrations to make a series of steps around the bars so they can get around without being able to climb too much.
Make the substrate as deep as you can, fill the whole base really & if you're you have any flat hard surfaces you could try covering them with some hemp mat to soften any falls.
Are you using the shelf & house thing that come with it?
I never use accessories that come with cages & prefer to put in my own shelves, houses etc.
If you have a photo of his set up we might be able to make some suggestions.

[Pebbles82]

I go with reducing the height by having the substrate as deep as possible Even then they can still climb bars and get up to roof level, so from a safety point of view it would be better to have any hard floor toys under the shelf or have something hanging over them, so if they do happen to get up to the roof and drop they can only land on deep soft substrate.

You could even put a full level in, which would make it interesting and get rid of any height risks, but that would take a bit of diy.

Someone on here used one of those large trixie platforms which looked really good in the Alaska - covered a lot of the area. Have a look on "lets see your cages" for last year (2016 I think).

I also like the large cork logs and tunnels - when on top of a good depth of substrate they sit quite high up and aren't very hard to land on, plus they make an interesting texture to climb over and can also make a ramp up to a shelf and a tunnel to hide under or run through. Nugget loves his big cork tunnel. I think it makes him feel safe and not too exposed.

The difficulty with extra shelves or platforms is they can still fall between them and or catch themselves on the edges of platforms as they fall. I put hemp mat on my platforms.

I think if you don't want to make a full level, then something like the tall Trixie platform with a hemp mat on would be ok, and something like a large cork tunnel. They fill the cage up a bit as well and make it less exposed, but still plenty of floor area.

For Nugget's tank I got a platform from Getzoo. They have a good range in different shapes and sizes and two different heights. They cost a little bit more than the Trixie one but not much more. Also easier to put a hemp mat on as it's flat The taller ones work well (they're the same height as the Trixie one) because they sit above the substrate, so if you had 6" of substrate there is still a decent amount of space under the platform. I have the cork tunnel next to it so it's a ramp up to the platform and a tunnel leading underneath it. I have the middle one on the second row down.

https://www.getzoo.de/kaefigausstattung/etage.html

They also do a slightly longer one on the next row down, which, along with the existing shelf in the Alaska (butted up to it) would cover most of the floor area of the cage and leave some open space at the front. Then you'd have something similar to the way the Germans set tanks up with a kind of "racetrack" shelving along both sides and the back, which gives them something to sit/run under and along the top of. You'd just need to make sure the exposed area has nothing hard to land on.

The extra platform is also a good place to put harder items and toys such as a sand bath or food bowl etc. I think adding another platform would make it seem less tall and empty as well. Again if you're good at diy you could probably make something like that quite easily.

I'd be tempted to get this one - athough it costs about £16 and with postage more like £20

https://www.getzoo.de/getzoo-ecketag...-21-links.html

Ladders to platforms are things that can be hard to land on if they fall as well which is why I like the cork logs as a kind of ramp.

They also sell the hemp mats which are quite big and you just cut it to size and then have some spare if you need to replace it at some point.

https://www.getzoo.de/hugro-nagerfloor-standard.html

I also put some hemp mat vertically against the bars above a shelf in one corner in Newt's cage - makes it cosier and stops things falling out of the bars if you have a sand bath on the shelf eg.

This is the shelf and cork log idea in Nugget's Kerry tank, which is slightly smaller than the Alaska and not quite as tall.

Attachment 43456

Attachment 43453

This is the hemp mat against the bars above the shelf in Newt's cage

Attachment 43455

The cork logs can work out a bit expensive if you're getting a platform as well. I get the ones from Rodipet because they aren't too long and fit in hamster cages. The ones Zooplus and Amazon sell are huge. But Rodipet's postage is about £8 on top of whatever you buy. You could use some other kind of tube or tunnel as access to a shelf though, maybe one tied to the bars. I used a hyacinth tunnel once, tied to the bars with cable ties so it went up at an angle and stayed put, and they're nice and soft.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Bo...70_&dpSrc=srch

Another option would be to just have the cage as it is and have the end opposite the shelf as a deep digging end - eg put pieces of cardboard round the sides of the bars to stop the substrate falling out on 3 sides, and have really deep substrate at that end.

[alpacassei]

Thank you!! I'm going to put carboard around the edges so that he can't climb until I've added platforms and stuff. Once my fitch order arrives (currently low on bedding and using carefresh ) then I'm going to make a huge burrowing area! Right now I've just put the bedding low enough that he can't climb up to the bars and get hurt. I don't think he's even noticed the bars though haha. I really prefer tank style cages but I only have mini dunas free right now since my other bin cage needs a new lid.

Definitely going to get one of those platforms you linked, Serendipity! And some of those cork logs too!

Does anyone know where to get those really long bendy bridges from? Or are they just regular bendy bridges tied together somehow?

[cypher]

I forgot to mention free standing shelves/platforms but the cheapest option is to just get a piece of wood the size you want then buy some dowels for legs & glue them on, I've done a few of those & it's really cheap & easy.

You can usually get the long bendy bridges on amazon, not sure off hand but I think zooplus might do them too. Here's one on amazon but if you do a search for bendy bridges you should find others too.
Just had a look on zooplus & I think this is the same one.

[alpacassei]

I DIY'd Mishka's cage a bit and made her a temporary platform out of a cardboard box. It fits the dimensions of her cage perfectly but I wired it in place just to make sure it's secure. It's got over 3 inch sides so she can't jump or wonder off the edge and underneath the platform I've filled with deeper substrate and tissue for her to hide in. I've kept her wheel as a saucer because that's what she was used to in p@h but I'm gonna introduce her to an upright wheel soon. I also made her a huge egg carton maze which she loves!

23585205_1604055969682287_802135004_o.jpg

[cypher]

The maze looks really nice for her & the big cardboard platform looks good too, I would still be concerned in case she did get interested in the bars & try climbing though.

[alpacassei]

Originally Posted by cypher

The maze looks really nice for her & the big cardboard platform looks good too, I would still be concerned in case she did get interested in the bars & try climbing though.

Same tbh. I've put cardboard around the lower part of the cage but I'm going to add some cardboard around the platform too. It's there an easier way to add cardboard around the bars than just bending it through them?

[cypher]

Just make a small hole in each corner of the pieces of cardboard then fix it with cable ties.