Hello everyone. I'm Carol and I'm obsessed with Ikea hacks & DIY hamster projects. I wanted to share this Ikea hack hammy house with you - I haven't seen anything similar to this yet, so maybe this will give you some inspiration for your own DIY projects. I got the idea from one of my many hammy shopping/Ikea hack idea gathering trips. I really like round hammy homes made of natural materials and I needed something lighter-colored to go with the aesthetics of my all-natural Detolf cage. There was nothing for sale that fit the bill so when I saw the sets of Freyken woven boxes at Ikea it got my wheels turning
.
I designed it so that the house would sit on stilts, but that's only because this was going to be going to be sitting on about 25cm of burrowing substrate and I didn't want the house to fall over if the hammies decided to make a big burrow underneath. So having the stilts is completely optional (but so cool!! Which hammy doesn't love climbing or burrowing
)
The top portion of the house fits snugly over the bottom and is entirely removable for easy cleaning. Adding a few layers of soft fabric on the lid makes it super snuggly for your furry friends. The material it's made of (rattan) is very breathable, making this a perfect summer house if you live in hot weather
Materials for making the house:
- 2x 6inch diameter round hamster-safe wood pieces (available at craft stores)
- 1x IKEA Fryken woven box (largest size of the 3 sold in IKEA)
- 2x popsicle sticks
- Non-toxic wood glue
- Old cotton shirts/pants etc cut into 6inch diameter circles
- Pencil
- Electric drill with small drillbit
- Scissors
- Plastikote
Steps:
1. Glue 2 pieces of circular wood together to make an 8 shape. Leave to dry with weights on top for 30 minutes
2. Glue the Fryken lid top side down on one of the circles. This is the base. Leave to dry with weights on top for 30 minutes
3. Flip the Fryken box upside down and draw the size and shape of the entrance you'd like to make. Be sure to NOT cut all the way down to the lip of the container, you want the lip intact or else it wont snap back on the lid!
4. Soak popsicle sticks in hot water, leave it there
5. Using electric drill, drill holes along the line you've drawn for the entrance hole, then using scissors, cut along the line to remove the entire bit. The edges along the cuts will be very pokey at this stage
6. Dry off the soaked popsicle sticks and gently and slowly bend them so that they can conform to the inside of the entrance - this is the trim that will cover up the pokey entrance to the house. Cut the popsicle sticks to just the right length to fit inside the entrance – it should jam into the entrance snugly, this will help with the next step
7. Glue the curved popsicle sticks to the edges of the entrance, leave to dry for at least 30 minutes.
8. Plastikote all the horizontal surfaces, including the bottom 1/4 of the upside-down Fryken box and leave to dry and cure for 24 hours.
9. Line the bottom of Fryken lid with the cloth and pop the upside-down Fryken box on. You're done!
As for the stilts, it's very simple - wood + wood glue, allowing the glue to cure overnight. Hope you enjoyed this Ikea hack!