Nerd cage recommendations for Houdini hammy

Caity · 03-12-2019, 05:39 AM

The most recent addition to my hammy family, Bynx, has escaped 2 cages in the past 2 weeks by chewing through wood and plastic (in the second cage).

At this point I'm unsure what to do about her housing. She is provided with 3 chews (of different kinds) and she does use them so I'm assuming she doesn't like the cage size? Her first cage was 110x65cm and the second was bare minimum size cause it's all I had at short notice.

If anyone has any cage recommendations, id really appreciate it cause I'm running low on options

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2019, 06:17 AM

Hi there. Are you in the Uk. She maybe chewed through the first cage just because she could! Because it was a good size - but if she's a chewer then wood is easy to chew through. She seems to be quite an expert chewer now! What is she in at the moment? Must be a bit stressful! A glass tank is usually the best option for avid chewers - however a glass tank of a decent size can be very expensive, and if she is superactive and cage size was an issue then something smaller wouldn't be great.

If you had plenty of time to look around I'd say look for a second hand 4 foot fish tank on ebay- they can be cheap, if mucky and fine if cleaned up.

But I also think as you need a cage right now - what some people have done is stuck it out with the wood cage and fixed metal corner strips to the inner joints and areas that can be chewed. It may be doable!

If you can give a few more details it would help - eg which wood cage is it? Which country are you in? (To say what cage options are available).

Caity · 03-12-2019, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Hi there. Are you in the Uk. She maybe chewed through the first cage just because she could! Because it was a good size - but if she's a chewer then wood is easy to chew through. She seems to be quite an expert chewer now! What is she in at the moment? Must be a bit stressful! A glass tank is usually the best option for avid chewers - however a glass tank of a decent size can be very expensive, and if she is superactive and cage size was an issue then something smaller wouldn't be great.

If you had plenty of time to look around I'd say look for a second hand 4 foot fish tank on ebay- they can be cheap, if mucky and fine if cleaned up.

But I also think as you need a cage right now - what some people have done is stuck it out with the wood cage and fixed metal corner strips to the inner joints and areas that can be chewed. It may be doable!

If you can give a few more details it would help - eg which wood cage is it? Which country are you in? (To say what cage options are available).

I'm in the UK, the original cage was the living world eco habitat in the largest size. She climbed onto her wheel and chewed through the wooden lid as well as making the corners very weak with consistent chewing. I tried fixing the lid by stapling chicken wire over it but then she chewed through the corners. I'll look into glass tanks and for the time being she's in her travel cage which isn't ideal cause it's very small

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2019, 07:08 AM

Ok so you'll need to sort something quickly and give her lots of out of cage time in a playpen area or she will go crazy!

I suggest you keep doctoring the Eco Habitat to give you time to think of an alternative.

I have seen somewhere (maybe on here - someone else might link it again) - how to cover the wood corner pieces with metal corner bracket type things that cant' be chewed through.

For the lid - if she can chew that she could chew any lid - even on a glass tank. How is she getting to the top to chew the lid? Some people reckon they use the vent holeson the side to get a foothold - those can be blocked off - stick a piece of metal or mesh across them with aquarium sealant. They aren't essential with the top ventilation. Is her wheel on a stand? It's a long way to the top of that cage even with a 12" wheel. As a temporary measure you could replace the wheel with a 12" flying saucer, until you can get the cage secure.

Has she ever been in a cage with bars? And if so did she chew the bars? It may be she doesn't like tanks and feeling enclosed. Or it may be the set up wasn't right for her to feel secure. Can you post a photo of her set up in the Eco Habitat? I think this may be solvable.

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2019, 07:12 AM

How are you with diy? A diy cage made of melamine board may be the cheapest option if you have to give up on the eco habitat. The melamine board is smooth and the edges aren't accessible for chewign (and can be covered). You could also use the plexi from the eco habitat in it possibly.

But if she has chewed through a plastic cage base then a cage wouldn't be an option either. How is she doing with the pet carrier? Has she managed to chew through that? If not then a thick plastic cage base may be good - I've not heard of a hamster being able to chew through a maxi duna multy base, which is thick good quality plastic.

Right now - can you set up a secure playpen area? If so you could set up a temporary cage in a plastic storage bin with no lid on it and leave the bin inside the playpen area, so if she does get out of the bin somehow, she can't escape.

If the Kerry Terrarium was bigger, I'd say get that - no wood at all and it's all glass. But it's on the small side and she sounds like she needs something bigger.

Caity · 03-12-2019, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

How are you with diy? A diy cage made of melamine board may be the cheapest option if you have to give up on the eco habitat. The melamine board is smooth and the edges aren't accessible for chewign (and can be covered). You could also use the plexi from the eco habitat in it possibly.

But if she has chewed through a plastic cage base then a cage wouldn't be an option either. How is she doing with the pet carrier? Has she managed to chew through that? If not then a thick plastic cage base may be good - I've not heard of a hamster being able to chew through a maxi duna multy base, which is thick good quality plastic.

Right now - can you set up a secure playpen area? If so you could set up a temporary cage in a plastic storage bin with no lid on it and leave the bin inside the playpen area, so if she does get out of the bin somehow, she can't escape.

If the Kerry Terrarium was bigger, I'd say get that - no wood at all and it's all glass. But it's on the small side and she sounds like she needs something bigger.

I have tried to fix the eco with the suggestions, it really should be replaced though considering the damage. I'll look into the diy option and I may be able to use the base and plexi from the front of the eco and make a really cute cage. She started at the travel cage so I took her out of it and put her in the fixed eco and she hasn't been able to undo the changes.. only problem is I can't fix the lid which is what she originally broke out of by climbing on her wheel so she hasn't got a wheel for the time being. She'll have to deal with it until I can get stuff to build her new cage but I guess it's better than the stuffy travel cage.

Thanks for the suggestions, this was really helpful.

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2019, 01:26 PM

No problem. I think she will go crazy without a wheel. I had this as a stopgap wheel once and they really enjoy it - I still use one for out of cage time. It's not too expensive, so might be a good solution until you can get a cage sorted. I think she needs a wheel or she'll get very stressed. Once they can't get out they tend to give up trying

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Runn...TFB0YZ3D1BHHXR

Caity · 03-12-2019, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

No problem. I think she will go crazy without a wheel. I had this as a stopgap wheel once and they really enjoy it - I still use one for out of cage time. It's not too expensive, so might be a good solution until you can get a cage sorted. I think she needs a wheel or she'll get very stressed. Once they can't get out they tend to give up trying

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Runn...TFB0YZ3D1BHHXR

Oh my goodness, I didn't even think about that, I have one too. Just put it in and it's adorable watching her try to figure it out haha

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2019, 01:57 PM

She looks lovely - very fluffy. The saucer is too small though unfortunately - really too small for a Syrian. They can't run on it properly. I know it's a pain having to spend more money on a wheel or saucer when you have one - could your old wheel just be on the base of the cage with lower substrate in that area, so she can't get to the top if she climbs on it? With a standard wheel 8 to 12" diameter is ok - ideally about 11" diameter, but with a saucer it has to be 12" as they run differently on it.

Actually one reason hamsters try and escape is if something isn't right in their cage - eg wheel stuck or too small, or if they feel a bit exposed - they need a dark place to retreat to like a large house that's dark inside or a good depth of bedding to burrow down in. So maybe tweaking a few things in there may help her settle so she doesn't want to chew her way out.

Caity · 03-12-2019, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

She looks lovely - very fluffy. The saucer is too small though unfortunately - really too small for a Syrian. They can't run on it properly. I know it's a pain having to spend more money on a wheel or saucer when you have one - could your old wheel just be on the base of the cage with lower substrate in that area, so she can't get to the top if she climbs on it? With a standard wheel 8 to 12" diameter is ok - ideally about 11" diameter, but with a saucer it has to be 12" as they run differently on it.

Actually one reason hamsters try and escape is if something isn't right in their cage - eg wheel stuck or too small, or if they feel a bit exposed - they need a dark place to retreat to like a large house that's dark inside or a good depth of bedding to burrow down in. So maybe tweaking a few things in there may help her settle so she doesn't want to chew her way out.

Ah man, I used it for my dwarfs when I had them. I tried putting her normal wheel just on the bottom but she covered it.

Guess I'll have to get a new wheel, that sucks. Should I take the smaller saucer out?