Oh, hi there!

[Lilac]

Hello to everyone reading!

First of all, thank you for all the info that is available as a non-member! I have found a lot of ideas and advice but now I am hoping to get more specific recommendations.

A little about me:
I would say I am a beginner because I had one hamster about 6 years ago (honestly too long ago!).
My hamster then was called Lynette and is also in my profile picture. I had a DIY cage for her that was three stories of 100cmx50cm on the inside (that's 39inx19in or 775sqin for one level).
For all of my animals I had then, I tried to be as generous as I could be but looking back, I would have done some things differently.

Why I am here - I would like to learn more about how to provide the best life for my future hamster while staying within my means. While I had plenty of access to tools and space with Lynette, I am now in a much smaller living space (London apartments are obviously tiny and expensive) and have little access to tools, so I won't be able to provide a large DIY cage as I did then.
I am currently looking into building a bin cage, though I am struggling to settle for a box with less than 775sqin or 0.5m².
Of course I will set up everything before adopting my new companion, so I hope to learn a lot here!

Thank you for reading!
-Lilac

[Ria P]

Hello and welcome!

Sometimes we have to make the best out of the space available and with a will and some imagination it is possible.

You can always bounce your ideas off this friendly forum and i'm already looking forward to see your future set up and hanster.

[Lilac]

Thank you, Ria P!

I am gathering some examples of my ideas for a thread.
In the meantime, I found an idea on how to connect bins horizontally and can't wait to discuss the idea and get some feedback

[AmityvilleHams]

Cut the sides and zip tie them together. As long as there's no interruption between them like tubes or holes and they're set up in that sort of way, you can create incredibly large cages without having to spend tons of money or make huge heavy cages.

I think the best part of cutting sides and zip tying bins together would be that you can also expand gradually, but you will need to be able to cut the bins outside due to fumes that come from heating plastics and also plastic dust. It's a good idea to make a play bin or travel bin anyways or if you want to save yourself the time you could just buy and use a small travel sized cage while you're cutting the bins.

I don't know if there'll be much to go on for examples of this style of bin setup, but it's the best idea of modifying bins since it can allow for an actual increase in floor space rather than just throwing on another small compartment. You could even try to find a way to potentially create a setup of bins that manages to allow a whole square meter of floor space if possible if you did get creative with your bin layout and such.

[Lilac]

Thanks for the ideas and feedback!
I will draw up some diagrams and open a proper threat in housing soon.