Hamster Central - View Single Post

Pebbles82 · 07-11-2019, 03:37 AM

Interesting timelapse video! It's so fast I had to watch it a few times to see the hamster lol!

Yes they do spend a lot of time in their wheel at night. I can see he is exploring the bookshelf set up, however mostly he is passing through it to get between his main home and his wheel. He is also testing the roof of the cage to see if he can get out. This could become frustrating over time. And it's why the large cages with continuous floorspace allow them to do everything in one large area - eg doze in the nest, dig and burrow, and run in their wheel - without having to leave the cage.

It is also the problem with rotostaks - people see the hamsters using all the tubes and think they're enjoying it, but actually they have no option but to use the tubes - to be able to get to something they need - eg wheel or food and water.

I think - if you replaced the Ferplast cage with one big enough to have everything needed in one larger area - eg wheel, nest, plenty of substrate, a good house, and food and water - he would very rarely leave the cage and stop exploring the bookshelf. Unless he was trying to escape. Any tube from the cage to the bookshelf would need to be very securely fixed in and even then hamsters can chew at them. External tubes can be a common escape route.

I think we all agree that the open area on the bookshelf is a hazard - especially when you have cats. It's important not to underestimate the determination of a cat to catch a hamster, or the determination of a hamster to escape and scale things or leap high to escape.

I think you could put mesh over the open gaps which would make the bookshelf safer and also still give ventilation. Although mesh doesn't look attractive but safety comes before beauty! I can't quite see the areas in the bookshelf well, but ventilation is very important in all areas. What is in front of the wheel section?

The burrow system you linked on the earlier page is understood for hamsters nesting and hoarding instincts, and Rodipet make large labyrinth houses with rooms for that very reason. The Germans are very big on hamster houses (ie nesting boxes) with "rooms" - eg separate areas for nesting, toiletting and hoarding. I have one of the large labyrinth houses and they do instinctively, nest in one room, hoard under their nest and in another room, and use a toilet in another room. It mimics the "underground burrow" because they do like to have a dark place to retreat to.

Their other instinct is to come out of the burrow at night and explore and run a lot and have exercise, but they also like to chill.

So my advice/suggestion would be - if you want to keep the bookshelf set up is:

Attach a large, secure, cage or tank style cage to it and in that large cage have a good sized house/nesting box - somewhere dark inside for building a big nest, his wheel, a platform and his food and water and the odd toy/tunnel. And then see if he still leaves the cage to explore the bookshelf. Generally they just stop bothering to leave the cage - because they have everything they need in there and more freedom of movement.

The way the current cage is, the house is on a shelf - not a good place for building a nest - he can't bury hoards under his nest and may pee in the house and it need cleaning out a lot and his nest removing. Maybe he isn't actually nesting in the house, I dont know - if the house doesn't meet their needs they will often build a nest under a shelf instead.

I am not wishing to knock your creativity - but safety comes first, and the ability of the hamster to be able to have normal behaviours.The normal behaviours are - nesting, foraging, digging, space to roam and have activity (open space), something to sit on or under, easily accessible food and water (and I would say wheel as well).

You could leave the bookshelf set up as it is - if it is secure and well ventilated - and add something like a 100cm cage with a large nesting box and another wheel and a shelf and some floor toys/tunnels etc.

Then at least he can do everything in one good sized area of space, and still use the bookshelf if he wishes.

If you're not keen on barred cages, then Zooplus sell the 100cm Skyline Marrakesch, which is a good sized cage for a syrian and has wood end panels so you could attach the tube entrance to one end by cutting a hole in one of the wood end panels. But whenever you add an exit tunnel to one end of a cage you are reducing the usage of space in that area of the cage which makes it a bit smaller in effect and you would probably not be able to fit a huge amount into it once there is a wheel and house. It is also not particularly tall, so a wheel will fit at one end with virtually no substrate and you'd need to have deeper substrate at the other end. In that case the position of the tunnel would need to be fairly high up the side of the cage to allow for substrate depth.

I really do think it is risky having the tunnel leading from the cage to the bookshelf when you have cats. Unless they are kept completely out of that room.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...es_wood/437277

Personally I think you'd be better spending the money on another Eco Habitat and scrapping the bookshelf idea.

07-11-2019, 03:37 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: DIY homemade cage attempt Interesting timelapse video! It's so fast I had to watch it a few times to see the hamster lol! Yes they do spend a lot of time in their wheel at night. I can see he is exploring the bookshelf set up, however mostly he is passing through it to get between his main home and his wheel. He is also testing the roof of the cage to see if he can get out. This could become frustrating over time. And it's why the large cages with continuous floorspace allow them to do everything in one large area - eg doze in the nest, dig and burrow, and run in their wheel - without having to leave the cage. It is also the problem with rotostaks - people see the hamsters using all the tubes and think they're enjoying it, but actually they have no option but to use the tubes - to be able to get to something they need - eg wheel or food and water. I think - if you replaced the Ferplast cage with one big enough to have everything needed in one larger area - eg wheel, nest, plenty of substrate, a good house, and food and water - he would very rarely leave the cage and stop exploring the bookshelf. Unless he was trying to escape. Any tube from the cage to the bookshelf would need to be very securely fixed in and even then hamsters can chew at them. External tubes can be a common escape route. I think we all agree that the open area on the bookshelf is a hazard - especially when you have cats. It's important not to underestimate the determination of a cat to catch a hamster, or the determination of a hamster to escape and scale things or leap high to escape. I think you could put mesh over the open gaps which would make the bookshelf safer and also still give ventilation. Although mesh doesn't look attractive but safety comes before beauty! I can't quite see the areas in the bookshelf well, but ventilation is very important in all areas. What is in front of the wheel section? The burrow system you linked on the earlier page is understood for hamsters nesting and hoarding instincts, and Rodipet make large labyrinth houses with rooms for that very reason. The Germans are very big on hamster houses (ie nesting boxes) with "rooms" - eg separate areas for nesting, toiletting and hoarding. I have one of the large labyrinth houses and they do instinctively, nest in one room, hoard under their nest and in another room, and use a toilet in another room. It mimics the "underground burrow" because they do like to have a dark place to retreat to. Their other instinct is to come out of the burrow at night and explore and run a lot and have exercise, but they also like to chill. So my advice/suggestion would be - if you want to keep the bookshelf set up is: Attach a large, secure, cage or tank style cage to it and in that large cage have a good sized house/nesting box - somewhere dark inside for building a big nest, his wheel, a platform and his food and water and the odd toy/tunnel. And then see if he still leaves the cage to explore the bookshelf. Generally they just stop bothering to leave the cage - because they have everything they need in there and more freedom of movement. The way the current cage is, the house is on a shelf - not a good place for building a nest - he can't bury hoards under his nest and may pee in the house and it need cleaning out a lot and his nest removing. Maybe he isn't actually nesting in the house, I dont know - if the house doesn't meet their needs they will often build a nest under a shelf instead. I am not wishing to knock your creativity - but safety comes first, and the ability of the hamster to be able to have normal behaviours.The normal behaviours are - nesting, foraging, digging, space to roam and have activity (open space), something to sit on or under, easily accessible food and water (and I would say wheel as well). You could leave the bookshelf set up as it is - if it is secure and well ventilated - and add something like a 100cm cage with a large nesting box and another wheel and a shelf and some floor toys/tunnels etc. Then at least he can do everything in one good sized area of space, and still use the bookshelf if he wishes. If you're not keen on barred cages, then Zooplus sell the 100cm Skyline Marrakesch, which is a good sized cage for a syrian and has wood end panels so you could attach the tube entrance to one end by cutting a hole in one of the wood end panels. But whenever you add an exit tunnel to one end of a cage you are reducing the usage of space in that area of the cage which makes it a bit smaller in effect and you would probably not be able to fit a huge amount into it once there is a wheel and house. It is also not particularly tall, so a wheel will fit at one end with virtually no substrate and you'd need to have deeper substrate at the other end. In that case the position of the tunnel would need to be fairly high up the side of the cage to allow for substrate depth. I really do think it is risky having the tunnel leading from the cage to the bookshelf when you have cats. Unless they are kept completely out of that room. https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...es_wood/437277 Personally I think you'd be better spending the money on another Eco Habitat and scrapping the bookshelf idea.