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Old 10-10-2019, 06:28 AM   #11
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

And you could get two Alaska cages for the price of another Omlet! I think it would be useful to keep. I had an awful 3 tier rotostak thing at first and our hamster got lethargic and aggressive. I did some googling and upgraded him to an 80 x 50 cage and after a settling in period he was smiling I swear and happy as larry, leaping out of his wheel, digging and building mountains. It wasn't quite big enough for his large stuff though (he was a very large syrian) so I ended up upgrading him to a 100 x 50 which has always been just right.

Point being it really really hurt forking out for two cages but there was no way I was selling the rotostak for anyone else to put a hamster in so I kept a couple of the tubes and binned the rest. It just isn't suitable for a hamster to live in. The Omlet is better than the rotostak but not much!

If you are serious about wanting to become a breeder and looking into it all and getting the right stock, I would get two Alaska cages. Two 100cm cages would take up a lot of space. I bought a large console table recently so I could sit one underneath (on the photos) and one on top, so I could fit two 100cm cages but the table cost as much as another cage! Looks ok though and is space saving.

If you're only going to keep the one hamster I would seriously look to upgrading to a 100cm cage to fit a large wheel and plenty of enrichment and floorspace - either the Alexander, Barney, Marrakesch or maxi duna multy. The Savic Plaza is sold by pets at home and is £75 but to be honest I prefer the Barney or Alexander - they are easier to set up and already comes with a good shelf and house.
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Old 10-11-2019, 06:51 AM   #12
chloere93
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shannonmcn View Post
The lid is actually not hard at all. I managed a serviceable job with a blunt hand saw, some gorilla glue and a staple gun. If you have any favors to call in with friends who own a table saw you'll have it done in 20 mins! (Or if you can convince someone at B&Q to break the rules for you and cut the thinner wood sections to size.)

I absolutely get that feeling, that would be what would tempt me as well. I'm in Northern Ireland and we don't really have any established hamsterys here. I get my hams from the p@h adoption section and from gumtree in the exact circumstances you're talking about. I don't think the solution is necessarily to add more hamsters to that mix though. Not until you're a literal expert and can truly say you're breeding to improve the species. Which is a years long adventure.

If you're in Sussex you should join the Southern Hamster Club! Go to some shows, speak to some established breeders! We have a few on the forum too.

That's where all my hamsters have come from so far, adoption sections or gumtree haha, I just get so sad seeing them and knowing that people have just gotten bored of them. It saddens me to know I haven't got a great cage for him when it's advertised so well... I've utilised the space as much as I can and changed the wheel but I'm definitely going to be looking for something bigger now I know I can make his (and future hamsters) life better! I honestly forgot what great pets they were and how as an adult I have so much more time, understanding and patience for them.

Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely check out that link
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Old 10-11-2019, 06:56 AM   #13
chloere93
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
And you could get two Alaska cages for the price of another Omlet! I think it would be useful to keep. I had an awful 3 tier rotostak thing at first and our hamster got lethargic and aggressive. I did some googling and upgraded him to an 80 x 50 cage and after a settling in period he was smiling I swear and happy as larry, leaping out of his wheel, digging and building mountains. It wasn't quite big enough for his large stuff though (he was a very large syrian) so I ended up upgrading him to a 100 x 50 which has always been just right.

Point being it really really hurt forking out for two cages but there was no way I was selling the rotostak for anyone else to put a hamster in so I kept a couple of the tubes and binned the rest. It just isn't suitable for a hamster to live in. The Omlet is better than the rotostak but not much!

If you are serious about wanting to become a breeder and looking into it all and getting the right stock, I would get two Alaska cages. Two 100cm cages would take up a lot of space. I bought a large console table recently so I could sit one underneath (on the photos) and one on top, so I could fit two 100cm cages but the table cost as much as another cage! Looks ok though and is space saving.

If you're only going to keep the one hamster I would seriously look to upgrading to a 100cm cage to fit a large wheel and plenty of enrichment and floorspace - either the Alexander, Barney, Marrakesch or maxi duna multy. The Savic Plaza is sold by pets at home and is £75 but to be honest I prefer the Barney or Alexander - they are easier to set up and already comes with a good shelf and house.
Wow! Thank you so much for all of your advice and recommendation.
It's honestly made me so sad to think that I bought such a poor cage for my hamster, I started off with a really standard pets at home cage because I spontaneously adopted a hamster from the rehome section (they always look too cute and sad for me to not adopt them!!) then I saw the omlet so well advertised and ended up buying into that. As I've mentioned to someone else, I have changed the wheel and tried to utilised the space as much as I can, but I'm definitely going to be investing in some bigger furniture or a cage. I might even be able to use the wood from the omlet and get someone to help me assemble something from that, as you say - I don't want to sell it on to someone else.

I love animals so much and I wouldn't want to ever be seen as irresponsible. Hamsters are amazing little creatures and I love getting mine out and even have a little silicone comb to brush him! (My partner thought I was mad when I bought that) so I do care a great deal for him, I was just a bit naive in caging- as you say there's not a lot sort of enforced around it like there is with reptiles requiring very specific cage sizes and such.

Again, thanks for all your advice and recommendations, I'll be sure to look into these and as soon as I have the money make some changes to his accommodation
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Old 10-11-2019, 07:14 AM   #14
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

I think what speaks for itself is your ability and willingness to take on advice and keep an open mind when it comes to being told something isn't a good idea or even something like needing a different cage size. Unfortunately, not everyone is so understanding and open minded when it comes to these wonderful creatures and many other pets.

I can definitely agree on cage size being in some ways more difficult to figure out with hamsters compared to some other pets, but I do know that any kind of pet store can and often will sell horribly unsuitable habitats(along with online businesses and such doing the exact same thing). A great example you're probably aware of being involved with reptiles are those awful turtle lagoon type enclosures and similar ridiculously tiny "turtle" enclosures, or another less obvious example some people may not quite understand are even the largest "iguana" enclosures sold by pet stores which would never comfortably accommodate a full grown iguana(and are riddled with other issues that I'd best avoid to stay on topic).

Perhaps something you could look into if you ever have the money and time along with the space would be setting up even a very small scale hamster rescue. It wouldn't fix all the problems, but it would at least mean that some more hamsters could have a safe stop along the way to a proper permanent home. I know with other species(and most likely hamsters as well) that having established rescue groups and even individuals who can take in some animals can be very helpful in keeping individual animals out of the worst case scenario situations like being abandoned or put into a more questionable rescue facility, so even if you still eventually did want to go into breeding when you have more genetics knowledge and general crucial knowledge you would also have the advantage of potential rehoming through an established network for example in the event that someone did buy a hamster from you but has to move somewhere pets are not allowed and you just didn't have enough space for another hamster.
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Old 10-11-2019, 10:15 AM   #15
chloere93
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams View Post
I think what speaks for itself is your ability and willingness to take on advice and keep an open mind when it comes to being told something isn't a good idea or even something like needing a different cage size. Unfortunately, not everyone is so understanding and open minded when it comes to these wonderful creatures and many other pets.

I can definitely agree on cage size being in some ways more difficult to figure out with hamsters compared to some other pets, but I do know that any kind of pet store can and often will sell horribly unsuitable habitats(along with online businesses and such doing the exact same thing). A great example you're probably aware of being involved with reptiles are those awful turtle lagoon type enclosures and similar ridiculously tiny "turtle" enclosures, or another less obvious example some people may not quite understand are even the largest "iguana" enclosures sold by pet stores which would never comfortably accommodate a full grown iguana(and are riddled with other issues that I'd best avoid to stay on topic).

Perhaps something you could look into if you ever have the money and time along with the space would be setting up even a very small scale hamster rescue. It wouldn't fix all the problems, but it would at least mean that some more hamsters could have a safe stop along the way to a proper permanent home. I know with other species(and most likely hamsters as well) that having established rescue groups and even individuals who can take in some animals can be very helpful in keeping individual animals out of the worst case scenario situations like being abandoned or put into a more questionable rescue facility, so even if you still eventually did want to go into breeding when you have more genetics knowledge and general crucial knowledge you would also have the advantage of potential rehoming through an established network for example in the event that someone did buy a hamster from you but has to move somewhere pets are not allowed and you just didn't have enough space for another hamster.
Yes! Commercial pet shops are generally quite bad with accessories they sell for their animals, it seems to be just a quick and easy route to make sales.. not that I think the staff are completely negligent obviously someone told them "this cage goes with that animal" and that's what they advise you to do. Reptile enclosures is a big one, I have 3 snakes and each of them have their own vivarium for their maximum size requirement plus some extra, so many people keep their snakes in RUBS or racks and this is a massive debate constantly seen on reptile forums as I myself think its cruel and others deem it fine due to the belief that certain animals lack the emotional range to 'care' about space... I guess people make the same error with small animals! Mine being "it's an expensive and well reviewed product, it must be fine" nope, I really should have considered my hamster no differently to my reptiles and really thought about space. It's why forums like this are great to be honest, everyone learns something.

That actually sounds like a wonderful idea! I've taken the advice from others on this thread about looking at certain ikea furniture and have gotten a lot of inspiration from converted furniture like bookshelves which would be great for setting up a rescue I hadn't really thought of persuing it that way, so thank you for the inspiration!
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Old 10-11-2019, 12:49 PM   #16
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

I know the commercialisation costs pet owners. I thinknstores can sell these cages saying they are suitable because- they might be ok as a starter cage but not for life. Although some cafes are just awful and not suitable at all. It’s how most of us learned - the hard way! But there is real joy in seeing the change in a hamster and their behaviour when they’re in a great habitat. You clearly love your hamster very much, and that is important too.
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Old 10-13-2019, 12:21 PM   #17
RenK777
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

I'm decidedly against breeding for a number of reasons...first, there are already so many animals in need of homes out there and second, there are already experts in the area breeding that have learned trough years of dedication and experience what's necessary to do so correctly and limit the potential for eyeless hamsters and other conditions that could possibly rise up. However, I have a suspicion that hamsters' lifespan is greatly connected to quality of environment, feed, water, etc. We adopted our girl from a woman that clearly loved her animals based on the cleanliness of her cages but they were small and she was feeding the cheapest boxed Walmart food available Perhaps the cages were the result of her scrambling to find individual housing for hamsters she wasn't expecting when she adopted a female. But the food....and the tap water in her area is renowned for being an issue. THat said, our girl was only 8 weeks so I figured that on our GMO free/organic diet with filtered water, she'd do okay. So I'm not really interested in adopting an older hamster because I fear heartbreak could result so much sooner if it's sick from decisions I had no part of. I prefer younger animals. And I don't know of any breeders in my immediate area. We no longer want to support buying from Petstores since we learned of the breeder utilized by Petsmart and Petco and others and the horrendous conditons they are raised in. (Though I talked to my local Petco and they are aware of the conditions in that facility and say they are now receiving pets to sell from a facility in CT? called Fishnet? I have to look it up to confirm. It's why they no longer offer live rats). Anyway, my kids are rather upset at the expected life spand of hamsters and want to breed our girl/boy so that when they pass one day, we have children from then. Can't say I dont't share the sentiment. But even if we had room for another, I'm digging my heels in and saying no. Mainly because private breeders have invested in breeding and have a following...they most-likely have homes reserved before hamsters are ever born. And those that take the time to locate a quality breeder typically make better homes. Not always...but they're not the people buying an animal on a whim. They're the people spending a lot of time and energy to prepare a space and then pay money to reserve a pet before it's even born. If I were to breed my 2...tempting as it is...I could end up with 20 hamsters that I would need to find separate housing for and place. And what are the odds that each person interested would truly provide not just an acceptable home...but one where the pet would thrive? I would encourage anyone reading this to really consider why they want to breed and outside of the cute/fun factor and experience, how the lives of the hamsters they created would be? There is a lot of misinformation out there and it's not the 'breeders' that suffer. It's the pets. I'm currently stalking sites for larger aquariums and measuring furniture to see if we can somehow fit 2 detolfs in our home. We can't yet...but I'm working to that goal now that I better understand what hamsters require. I also read up on genetics and if my boy (black eyed) is an ivory, then he is not a match for our white belly gened banded cinnamon. If he is a cream, then I believe he could be. THat's interesting to know. But I still don't want to breed. Because I can't know the number of offspring nor guarantee the offspring would have good lives once they leave my care. I just don't see a reason to breed unless you're able to sort of learn under an expert that can teach and guide you through the process and determing genetics and locating quality homes...
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Old 10-14-2019, 11:14 PM   #18
Nancy's Hamsters
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Default Re: Cohabiting Syrians

Hi chloere93,
May I suggest if you wish to raise Syrians to locate a Hamster rescue and foster care for a female who came to the rescue already pregnant? Rescues always need foster homes and it would allow you to help the rescue open up a space for another in need Hamster. You can have a litter of Hamsters and help the pups become hand tame and more adoptable while not adding more pups into the pet world. A Win win situation. You get to have baby Hamsters, you get to help raise tame and healthy Hamsters and help the public have a way to buy without aiding the for profit breeders of Pet Stores. The Mama hamster gets to enjoy one on one attention, and learns love, her Pups start life on a happy note, and everyone wins. Just a suggestion for you.
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