Me and Buttons are new here!

zoocrafted · 02-06-2019, 07:29 AM

Hello there!

my nick name is zoocrafted and i recently bought a roborovski dwarf hamster, who i am in love with! i want to make sure i can give her the best life possible, and make sure she enjoys every day

i am very crafty and try to make all her toys myself, as well any anything else. i hope i can learn a lot here about taking care of my hamster, and giving her an enriching life

thank you to everybody who helps and gives information to us new hamster owners!

P.S. heres a pic of buttons

Charlie Dunn · 02-07-2019, 04:00 PM

Welcome to the forum! Buttons is super cute and such a good name. I can see why you are in love! x

mangoandmimi · 02-07-2019, 04:03 PM

Welcome, Buttons is a beautiful robo & I look forward to hearing more about her

Quicksilver · 02-07-2019, 04:34 PM

Welcome Buttons and Zoocrafted. Buttons your such a cutie !! Adorable ! Look forward to seeing all your crafty hamster creations too

cypher · 02-07-2019, 10:15 PM

Hi & welcome to you & Buttons

Buttons looks adorable!

alpacassei · 02-07-2019, 10:28 PM

Hi, welcome to HC! Buttons is a very cute pittle hamster and I can’t wait to read all about her hamventures!

Unfortunately the cage she’s in is very small, robos need atleast 80 x 50 cm of space to run and burrow. The cage will be okay while she’s a baby since robos are shy and she’ll still be used to the tiny pet shop tanks but you’ll want to ugrade her soonish still. This site has a lot of great resources on appropriate hamster cages and tanks!

Its not your fault, pet shops shouldnt be selling inappropriate cages still.

Pazzie · 02-08-2019, 12:51 AM

Welcome and what a super cutie hamster Button’s is.

zoocrafted · 02-08-2019, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpacassei

Hi, welcome to HC! Buttons is a very cute pittle hamster and I can’t wait to read all about her hamventures!

Unfortunately the cage she’s in is very small, robos need atleast 80 x 50 cm of space to run and burrow. The cage will be okay while she’s a baby since robos are shy and she’ll still be used to the tiny pet shop tanks but you’ll want to ugrade her soonish still. This site has a lot of great resources on appropriate hamster cages and tanks!

Its not your fault, pet shops shouldnt be selling inappropriate cages still.

i got her cage from pets at home and was assured it was the right cage, then when i got home and did some research i soon found it just barely made the required minimum of 50cm x 30cm. i will be most likely be making my own cage next

thank you!

alpacassei · 02-08-2019, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoocrafted

i got her cage from pets at home and was assured it was the right cage, then when i got home and did some research i soon found it just barely made the required minimum of 50cm x 30cm. i will be most likely be making my own cage next

thank you!

P@H is notorious for selling unsuitable cages. Though they have released their own 70x40cm cage (good minimum for a Russian dwarf, and possibly a Chinese hamster?)so I’m surprised I havent seen it in store much and that theyre still encouraging people to buy the smaller cages.

There’s a lot of resources online for making DIY ikea hack cages! 50 x 30cm is very small though, hamsters really need atleast 80 x 50cm of continuously floor space (especially robos since they’re so fast!)

Pebbles82 · 02-08-2019, 11:59 AM

Hello and welcome - Buttons is gorgeous

I have a robo too. He is in an 80cm by 50cm cage with narrow bar spacing, and it's a good size - although I would rather he was in a 100cm cage (but already have a huge cage for our Syrian). I am also in the North East.

This is a good cage for a reasonable price. It's basically the same as the Barney cage from Zooplus, but lower - so much better for a little Robo. So there are no fall risks from a height.

https://www.amazon.de/PETGARD-M%C3%A...lmo+k%C3%A4fig

They ship to the Uk. There are very few 100cm cages of a low height. The cage I have is this one (with the metal grid shelf removed) but it's expensive and only sold by Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savic-Micke...ic+mickey+2+xl

It's basically the same cage as the Hamster Heaven but with narrow bar spacing).

If you like tank style cages then the maxi Duna Multy is a good one but also expensive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Ma...axi+duna+multy

The 100cm ones may sound large for a little robo but it means you can give them lots of enrichment - platforms, hidey places, tunnels, a good house/nesting box and lots of substrate/different levels.

80cm by 50cm is absolutely fine though, but there are very few narrow bar cages.

If you don't mind some diy then you could make a bin cage. This RUB bin is a good size.

Go Shopping - Really Useful Boxes - 145 litre Really Useful Box

The pets at home large cage could be useful to keep as a spare cage for when you're doing a clean in the main cage, or as a holiday cage if you ever have to take her wiht you on holiday (not for travelling in but smaller to transport and set up at the other end for a week's holiday eg).

However, some people have been successful in getting a refund from Pets at Home even after the cage has been used, saying it's not suitable or too small - helps towards the cost of any new cage you get.