Does this set up look ok?

[Jin]

Hi fellow hammy lovers. I got a beautiful syrian hamster about 3 weeks ago and she is lovely. Taming is going really well and I have fallen absolutely in love with her. Anyway, I'm a newbie when it comes to hamster care and this is my 1st post on here although I've been browsing the forum since I bought our little Pippin home.

So...... I purchased the savic heaven cage for her but she was being very unsociable and was basically living in the tubes 24/7 so I took them down and she's been a lot more sociable since. I've made a few other adjustments to the cage also as I realised the green platform that came with the cage was totally pointless and gave her less room to run around and burrow under the substrate etc. Anyway, the point to this rather long post is to ask if this set up looks ok to you more experienced people. Pippin seems pretty happy with it but what do you guys think?

https://imageshack.com/a/Kcwo/1

[Pebbles82]

I think it looks very nice Good move removing the tubes and green shelf! Just check the size of entrance holes on toys and houses. A lot of toys sold for hamsters have holes too small for Syrians and they can actually get stuck in a hole which is very stressful to deal with. Just wondering about the log at the front of the cage? Hole size for a Syrian needs to be 6cm or more really. 5cm might be ok especially if she's not a large Syrian (although some females do get very large!).

Where is she nesting? In the wood house? Under the shelf?

My only observation would be to maybe add the odd extra toy - hidey places or things that provide a bit of overhead cover. Doesn't have to cost much - they are quite happy with home-made toys I like the rat sputniks though, to hang next to shelf with some bedding in - somewhere else to go.

[Hammyloui]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I think it looks very nice Good move removing the tubes and green shelf! Just check the size of entrance holes on toys and houses. A lot of toys sold for hamsters have holes too small for Syrians and they can actually get stuck in a hole which is very stressful to deal with. Just wondering about the log at the front of the cage? Hole size for a Syrian needs to be 6cm or more really. 5cm might be ok especially if she's not a large Syrian (although some females do get very large!).

Where is she nesting? In the wood house? Under the shelf?

My only observation would be to maybe add the odd extra toy - hidey places or things that provide a bit of overhead cover. Doesn't have to cost much - they are quite happy with home-made toys I like the rat sputniks though, to hang next to shelf with some bedding in - somewhere else to go.

+1
What type of bedding do you use? Aspen shavings?

[Pebbles82]

Just meant to say welcome as well! Yes funny how we fall in love with them Our last Syrian was my baby!

[Jin]

I'm using wood shavings and soft strip bedding (Not the cotton wool type) and she has a nest in a house under the pink shelf. She can't for through the holes in the wood log as they are too small so o don't think she will get stuck as she doesn't use it. It's more for decoration and chewing purposes.

[Pebbles82]

Ok Sometimes hammies try and get through small holes and get wedged - that's the concern but obviously if they're really small they wouldn't even manage to get a head through. I'm a bit safety conscious Personally I would replace it with a different tunnel (or make the holes bigger!). I bet she is very happy in there though.

[Hammyloui]

Originally Posted by Jin

I'm using wood shavings and soft strip bedding (Not the cotton wool type) and she has a nest in a house under the pink shelf. She can't for through the holes in the wood log as they are too small so o don't think she will get stuck as she doesn't use it. It's more for decoration and chewing purposes.

Do you know what type of shavings? correct me if im wrong by all means xD I know that most pet stores supply woodshavings such as (cedar and pine)that are harmful to the respiratory systems of hamsters- these are usually in bags of generic wood shavings which dont label the type of wood used. however, I do know most of them stock aspen but that should be labelled on the bag.

[Pebbles82]

All pine shavings in the Uk have to be kiln dried by law, which removes most of the harmful phenols. There are varying views on whether kiln dried pine shavings are fine or not, but it's generally accepted they're ok. There are so many other substrates now though that most people don't use them I think. Fitch is very popular on here (recycled food grade paper) - partly because hammies love it and partly because it's dust-free and works out very cheap (you buy it in a bulk bag). It's a bit like carefresh but no dust and a bit nicer in my opinion.

In the US pine shavings are only kiln dried if it says so on the bag. And cedar is always a no no (I don't think you can get cedar shavings in the Uk).

How is your Syrian girl settling in Jin?! I bet she's enjoying her cage.

[Jin]

Oh I don't know. I bulk ordered 20k from Amazon and it doesn't say so I'm guessing not aspen? I did read on here though that it's different in the UK? Not sure how that works but I'm in the UK if it makes any difference?

[Jin]

Also, I've added the igloo roof back on to the pink shelf so she has another hidey hole and I've two more toys on the way.