Best wheel for Tamburino cage?

[xosunflowerox]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I am also not a fan of hamster balls for out of cage time but it's very useful to have one for safely transporting them from one room to another (ie carrying them in the ball) especially when they're not tame. In that case the size doesn't matter and the 7" would be fine but too small for running in. The problem with the 12" rat balls is the slits are too large and they can get injured by getting a toe caught while running. Of the 12" rat Balls the Savic one is the only one that has smaller slits and not sure if that is available in the US. I am still a bit iffy about that one though.

I would put a litter tray where she pees now - they will only use it if you put it in the place they have chosen. It is possible she may move her pee place if you put the wheel there, but also very likely she will just pee under the wheel or in it! Is there another place you can put the wheel? I think it would fit at one end (ie against the short side facing the other short side) and still leave room in the corners for a pee place - assuming she is using a corner, which they often do.

The bendy bridges stay up on their own because you bend them curvy and that gives them their own support - so like an s shape bend. You'll probably need two overlapping as the s bend makes them shorter effectively. You don't want the really wide ones or the fence is so high it's an issue getting back over it! So the 10cm wide ones should be fine - you can still have substrate a bit deeper than 10cm by sloping the substrate up away from the fences towards the other end. I think for a Syrian I would just use lower substrate on the other side of the fence and have sand in the litter tray. Syrians don't really need a sand bath so having sand in a litter tray is good. Enough for them to mess about with and pee in It needs to be Chinchilla bathing sand (not "dust").

Mineral chews aren't really necessary and I have yet to meet a hamster who enjoys the wood sticks so a treat stick with some tasty food stuck on the outside should go down well - and help keep the teeth trim. Ideally sugar free though. Also whimzee mini toothbrush dog chews are very popular with hamsters - also come in different shapes like alligators. I like the toothbrush ones because you can stick sunflower or pumpin seeds in the bristles sometimes as an extra treat and they enjoy wrestling the seeds out!

These are the whimzee chews - vegetable based. They only seem to sell enormous boxes on Amazon when you can get them in packs of four or singly so you might want to look in a pet store for them.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Whimzee&ref=nb_sb_noss

I get these Rosewood naturals ones although they cost about $11 for two with shipping in the US presumably because imported. They're sugar free.

https://www.amazon.com/Rosewood-Bore...ateway&sr=8-26

These are good too but seem a bit expensive (maybe imported too)

https://www.amazon.com/Vitakraft-Ham...ateway&sr=8-10

When looking for cage items and hamster toys, here are a few pointers. Any round entrance holes need to be at least 6cm diameter. Any wood items need checking for splinters (since having a hamster I now keep a sheet of sandpaper handy!). With wood items also check for protruding nails.

Actually I have always really liked this little extra hide! Not big enough as a main house but they like other hidey places to visit and sit in and it has a flat top so they can climb on it too. It's only sold in the US I think. The entrance will be fine as it's open at the bottom, so if on the substrate they can easily get in and out by burrowing down a bit if necessary. I have a similar little hideout with a flat top in my cage and always put an "extra" or treat on it, so our hammy knows where to go for food, where to go for his veg and where to go for his extra - keeps them using the whole cage.

I put his bit of daily veg in a different place to his hamster mix and his "extra" (varies between half a walnut, half a pecan nut, a small bit of apple (no pips) or a blueberry eg somewhere else again.

https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Natura...y&sr=8-83&th=1

Scattering a bit of food as well as putting it in the food bowl means they enjoy foraging for it and stimulates them. Sometimes I'll scatter a few pumpkin seeds instead - they adore those.

If you didn't know already, it's good to supplement their main hamster mix with a bit of fresh veg daily and they really love fresh food. At first you just want to give it every 3 day so their stomachs adjust to it. After a week you can go to every other day then after another week, to every day.

Just a very small piece though - eg a tiny broccoli floret the size of your thumbnail or 1cm cubed size piece of carrot etc (doesn't have to be square! - that's just for size).

I tend to alternate between what I usually have in the fridge that keeps a long time, which is broccoli, carrot, baby corn, cucumber - they keep much longer in the fridge. And fresh spinach if I'm treating them as a bag only lasts a couple of days when open. There are many other safe veg as well and some unsafe, but the ones above are all safe.

An occasional bit of apple (apple pips are poisonous though so it needs to be cored) similar size no skin, or a blueberry or bit of banana are ok as well.

What hamster mix are you using? Syrians aren't prone to diabetes like dwarf hamsters but it's still good to use a sugar free mix as they can get toothache and dental decay like humans when they're older!

Ok, I won't get her a ball.

I think I may be able to keep her pee place where it is. I won't know until I have the wheel, though. For now, I ordered the litter tray.

Good to know about the sand. Can I just use one bendy bridge to section off some of the higher substrate? Or do I need two?

I will go to the pet shop to check out these chews you've suggested. I know I have seen a couple of the ones you suggested.

I like the idea of the second, smaller hideaway. I saw a peanut shell one the other day at the pet store that I thought was cute. It was similar to the tree trunk one.

I gave her a piece of carrot the other day and she liked it a lot! I will slowly add more fresh food to her diet.

I have hamster food from the breeder which I am feeding her right now. It's called Mazuri.
I bought these two foods and planned to give her half and half (I googled what hamster food to buy and it suggested I mix two like these ones). Right now, I feed her sunflower seeds from this mix as treats.
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Forti-...e+hamster+food

https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Forti-...e+hamster+food

[xosunflowerox]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Are you using the long wood house that came with the cage or have you removed it? If it's been removed then they need somewhere dark to go to feel secure and a house big enough to build a large cosy nest in. So a house that's dark inside and a good size is needed really. The built in one is ideal as it's space saving and also large and dark at one end and makes a bit of a shelf to put a food bowl on etc.

With those built in houses I put a thin layer of substrate inside it so it's not bare plastic underneath and they build a nest on top. They like to bury hoards under or near their nest usually and snack in bed

You can also have the substrate deep enough that it almost covers the entrance an then scoop a bit out where the house entrance is, and then it mimic an underground burrow.

I am not using the house that came with it, but maybe I can switch to that one. Right now, I am using this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My hamster has piled a lot of substrate in front of the house and inside it. The window is completely covered and she has a hole burrowing down inside. I gave her some toilet paper pieces last night and she added it inside the house. Most of the time I can't see her in there, but if I look closely, I see the substrate moving as she breathes.

[cypher]

That ball pit might be ok as a playpen but you would have to watch very carefully for chewing with that kind of plastic I would think.

You don't need to quote each post btw, it makes the thread very long & harder to read through, if you want to reply to someone specifically just use their name.

[Pebbles82]

To be honest I wouldn't use either of those foods. The first one - the main ingredient on the list is corn. You would be better just using Harry Hamster or Hazel Hamster (the formulas are identical although the percentages etc on the packs are slightly different as one has to meet Uk labelling regulations and the other has to meet US labelling regulations - for the way they are expressed). But the formula is identical. Some will say it is not the best food - but it does provide everything the need, is sugar free and the pieces are a good size for a Syrian. Plus they tend to take all of it.

With changing food though it needs to be done gradually. If she is still on the Mazuri I would gradually mix in a bit of Harry (or Hazel) Hamster during the first week, then half and half the second week then 2/3 HH the third week then switch over to HH. I wouldn't use either of the Kaytee ones - can you take them back for a refund?

House looks fine so if she's happy with that best to leave her for now. Just check that the round window is big enough - hamsters can get seriously wedged in round holes that aren't big enough. Ideally it needs to be 6cm diameter. 5cm might be ok depending how big she is - anything smaller than 5cm diameter is a risk - so then the window would need blocking off with a bit of wood glued over the top of it with pet safe glue.

Also it will give you more space in the cage to add other things and she is peeing outside the house which is good. Adding a platform of some kind would be good and will help her feel secure and come out more (because they like to have something overhead they can sit under - exposed space above can make them feel nervous.

Tricky to find free standing platforms that fit well. Do you have a photo of the current cage layout? After seeing that, may be able to suggest whether or not it would be good to put the long built in house back or not (as well as existing house). She may move into it if it's put back and it makes a bit of a level - but without it you have more scope for setting up the cage.

[xosunflowerox]

I won't quote anymore, sorry. ;;;

I ordered the ball pit. It should be here tomorrow. I'll be closely watching her to make sure she doesn't start trying to chew her way out.

[xosunflowerox]

I can return one of the foods, as it's unopened. I'll try to do that today. I ordered the Hazel Hamster mix on amazon, it should be here tomorrow. I'll slowly start incorporating that into her diet.

Her cage is pretty bare right now. I just got the wheel in the mail today. It is pretty big and takes up quite a bit of space. My hamster is sleeping right now, so I didn't want to disturb her too much by moving stuff around a bunch. I think if I could attach it to the cage instead of having it on the stand, it would take up less space. I'm not sure if you can do that with the CSBW though.

[xosunflowerox]

This was the layout I had before I got my hamster.


This is it now that I've put the new wheel in. I'm thinking the wheel may look better against the long wall in the corner. I may have to move her hideaway. I'm not sure if she'll get stressed if I do that or not... For now I am leaving everything else alone. I'm planning to go get some toys for her cage today. Also, I'm not sure if having the bendy bridge exposed is dangerous. I noticed metal on the sides of them. I was thinking I could make a fence out of popsicle sticks instead if that's safer.

[Pebbles82]

It is a fairly deep wheel but I would leave it where it is for now rather than move her house. It looks fine

[xosunflowerox]

Thank you, Serendipity! She is awake and has been running on the wheel. I was worried she would have a hard time with it since she has never had a wheel before, but it looks like she is picking it up! It looks like her back is straight when she runs as well.

I also picked up some of the things you recommended today. I got a whimzee chew, the Vitakraft chews, and the tree stump hideaway. Once she was awake, she went right into the new hideaway.

Thank you so much to you and Cypher for your help!

[Pebbles82]

Sounds good - she sounds like she's having fun exploring and enjoying her new toys and chews