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Old 06-05-2018, 10:59 AM   #1
WretchedCake
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Default Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

Hello, my hamster is a Winter White Dwarf and I'm afraid of its cage being too cluttered of toys ( 430 square inches), what do you guys think?

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Old 06-06-2018, 12:17 PM   #2
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

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Old 06-06-2018, 10:55 PM   #3
Baron
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

Personally I don't think its too cluttered. Your hamster does seem to have enough space to move around in.

But maybe he or she could use a bit more bedding for digging holes in the glaspart?
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Old 06-06-2018, 11:00 PM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

I don't think your hamsters cage is cluttered at all, in fact it looks quite empty to me!
That style of cage can be quite dangerous for a tiny ham due to the risk of falling from high shelves, without much substrate in the base your ham could suffer an injury from falling.
It's not the ideal type of cage as hamsters do better with just one large area rather than levels like this but you could make the most of the cage you have if you don't want to buy another by completely filling the bottom section with substrate right up to that first level then lowering the upper level if possible to avoid any falls.
Your hamsters house should be on the layer of substrate (no base to the house) so your ham can dig & make a nest underneath.
You could then add more toys, you don't have a lot of space but you could use things like toilet roll tubes & egg boxes (cardboard ones only) for hides & places to explore.
I would find a box or dish that is a little deeper than the tray you have at the moment to make your ham a really nice sand bath, they love to dig & roll in the sand so it needs to be deeper than that.
If you can get a whimzee dog chew for your ham that would be enjoyed more than just the sticks you have now.
Hope that helps.
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Old 06-07-2018, 04:29 AM   #5
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I don't think your hamsters cage is cluttered at all, in fact it looks quite empty to me!
That style of cage can be quite dangerous for a tiny ham due to the risk of falling from high shelves, without much substrate in the base your ham could suffer an injury from falling.
It's not the ideal type of cage as hamsters do better with just one large area rather than levels like this but you could make the most of the cage you have if you don't want to buy another by completely filling the bottom section with substrate right up to that first level then lowering the upper level if possible to avoid any falls.
Your hamsters house should be on the layer of substrate (no base to the house) so your ham can dig & make a nest underneath.
You could then add more toys, you don't have a lot of space but you could use things like toilet roll tubes & egg boxes (cardboard ones only) for hides & places to explore.
I would find a box or dish that is a little deeper than the tray you have at the moment to make your ham a really nice sand bath, they love to dig & roll in the sand so it needs to be deeper than that.
If you can get a whimzee dog chew for your ham that would be enjoyed more than just the sticks you have now.
Hope that helps.
Thank you for answering!
Unfortunately I can't lower the first wooden platform, as it's bigger than the glass tank and it has to sit on top of it, and so if I were to fill completely the bottom section the bedding would go everywhere everytime Miller would decide to dig (he likes to completely hide his wooden house's entrance in bedding)!

I don't know if it's because I'm using corn cob as bedding (I didn't know better when I bought it), but he seems to like digging, but he doesn't nearly burrow at all (I make sure to give him some shred toilet paper every once in a while, so he can stuff his nests).

About the bathing sand, do you think it would be better if I were to use the bendy bridge in a corner of the cage sidewise and use it as a separator, filling the corner with the sand?
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Old 06-07-2018, 04:44 AM   #6
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Baron View Post
Personally I don't think its too cluttered. Your hamster does seem to have enough space to move around in.

But maybe he or she could use a bit more bedding for digging holes in the glaspart?
Thank you!
Yeah, I'll try to add some more, but there is alredy quite some bedding inside!
Miller moved it all to the back of the cage, that's why in the photo it looks like there isn't much
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Old 06-07-2018, 04:50 AM   #7
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

I didn't mean to lower the first level just the higher one, with plenty of substrate the lower level would be ok.
Corn cob bedding isn't really good to use, depending on which country you are in there may be much better alternatives & ones that won't spill out through the bars so much ( a little coming out & making a bit of a mess is all part of having a ham ) digging & burrowing is all good natural behaviour so it is important that the substrate is deep enough for that, covering the door to the house is normal too, you could put a bendy bridge in front of the door to make it darker.
I would use a container of some sort for the sand rather than just using a bendy bridge to block off that area or sand will just get everywhere & it would be very difficult to sieve out any pee or just change the sand without doing a whole cage clean which you definitely don't want to do.
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Old 06-07-2018, 05:25 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

I agree with Cypher. It's a lovely cage but there are safety risks for a small hamster like a winter white.

It looks like the Mayfair Gerbillarium which is about 40cm tall. With that height of cage for a dwarf hamster you ideally need a full level. But as Cypher says you can get round this by having the higher shelf lower and having the substrate up to the top of the glass. Maybe to within a cm of the top of the glass - and yes some may end up falling out - alternatively you could stick some cardboard or perspex inside the bars for about 2" just above the base and have the substrate to the top and then it won't fall out. May look a bit funny bit it'll be safer.

Hamsters are ground dwellers really and do better with more floor space and less height. They will climb bars and can even monkey bar across the top looking for a way out but they don't see well and tend to just let go and drop -if they fall from a height more than 25 to 30 cm and land on something hard (eg the edge of a shelf or one of the wood sticks at the bottom, they can break bones or die from injury or internal bleeding.

So when looking at the safety aspect you have to think of the worst case scenario, which is the hamster getting to the top and dropping, falling through the gap between the shelves and landing on something hard on the bottom. If you have nice deep substrate and nothing hard to land on (hard items can go under shelves) it cushions their fall. But there is still a risk they can hit the edge of a shelf and bounce off on the way down.

To get round all of this there's a need to reduce the height - either by making the shelves into a full level or having substrate as deep as it will go, or a bit of both.

The other thing they can land on is the wood ladders. So really the set up needs tweaking. Off to have another look at your photo to make some suggestions
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Old 06-07-2018, 05:27 AM   #9
WretchedCake
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I didn't mean to lower the first level just the higher one, with plenty of substrate the lower level would be ok.
Corn cob bedding isn't really good to use, depending on which country you are in there may be much better alternatives & ones that won't spill out through the bars so much ( a little coming out & making a bit of a mess is all part of having a ham ) digging & burrowing is all good natural behaviour so it is important that the substrate is deep enough for that, covering the door to the house is normal too, you could put a bendy bridge in front of the door to make it darker.
I would use a container of some sort for the sand rather than just using a bendy bridge to block off that area or sand will just get everywhere & it would be very difficult to sieve out any pee or just change the sand without doing a whole cage clean which you definitely don't want to do.
Thanks again, I'll add more substrate as soon as possible then!
I'll change bedding type as soon as I'll end the one I currently have (at least here in Italy I can only find corn cob or wood chips, so I'll try that) and do as suggested!
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Old 06-07-2018, 05:56 AM   #10
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Default Re: Do you think my hamster's cage is too cluttered?

You can get hemp substrate from Zooplus, the hugro hemp is the better brand I've found, it would definitely be better than corn or wood chips.
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