Playpen Material

OliverS · 04-30-2020, 03:01 PM

Hi guys,

My hamsters have a polyester playpen - sorry for the long link (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zacro-Light...dDbGljaz10cnVl) and I wondered whether anyone would know if Russian Dwarves would be able to chew through it. The one who uses it does have the occasional bite on it but I can’t see any signs of wear or damage.

I only put them in for a couple of hours a day with a ladder up to the cage so they can come and go as they please and one loves it; the other doesn’t bother with it at all as she’s usually active after I’ve gone to bed. I haven’t really wanted to use it at night because I don’t want them unsupervised in case they can chew through it but one of my hams has made a little bed in it and she seems to really want to go back now I’ve put her back in the cage so I’d love for them to have it overnight as well because it’s more exercise room and more toys for them

sushi_78 · 04-30-2020, 03:21 PM

They could definitely chew through that if they wanted to. Even if they can come and go as they please, I would still stay in the same room and wouldn't leave them unsupervised overnight. If one of the hamsters seems to want more exercise space you could consider a cage upgrade, but unfortunately I don't think leaving the playpen out all night would be safe.

Ria P · 05-01-2020, 12:33 AM

What kind of cage do they live in?

Maybe you could connect an extension/playpen cage to it. Vierville has successfully done that with two cages and i've done it with bin cages. See Hamster lockdown thread.

My dwarfs seem to enjoy permanent and safe access to their playpens. The playpen you have isn't escape proof and needs supervision.

OliverS · 05-01-2020, 03:20 PM

Thanks guys, I thought that might be the case, I decided today that I’d put the cage in there in the morning so she could go to her new nest and she seems to be content. They’re currently in a PicoXL but I’m in the process of making a new bin cage in a 138L storage box which I can’t do at the moment because I’ve cracked the box at the top and don’t want them to have any chance of hurting themselves and B&Q doesn’t have any of them in stock (bloody coronavirus) but I’ve got shelves, a lid and ventilation to go in when I can get one. I might make two cages and connect them in the future and see if I can negate the need for a playpen so I can finally have my living room back, it’s not like it’s used for playing to be honest. They have a hide and treat thing, a see saw tube, toilet roll tube and two chews in there and she’s been sat in her new nest all day not caring about them

sushi_78 · 05-01-2020, 03:38 PM

I believe connected cages aren't recommended with pairs. They can encourage each hamster to pick a cage as its own territory (if one hamster is spending a lot of time nesting in the playpen away from the other, I wonder if that could be already happening?) If you were to split them up you could certainly give each one as many connected cages as you want provided at least one is quite large (80x50cm or bigger is recommended) as they still need continuous space to move around.

OliverS · 05-02-2020, 06:49 AM

Thanks Sushi_78, I was worried about that but when the one who goes outside goes back properly at night, I take the top off the cage whilst they’re both in the bottom to make sure they’re alright together, they tend to have different active times from what I’ve seen so they’ve been fine, I might make two and connect them and then I could just block the whole if needs be