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Pebbles82 · 09-28-2019, 05:14 PM

It's a great cage - I have it. It sounds like you need more substrate in it. 3 to 4" deep is the minimum recommended, but 5 to 6" would be better - especially for a dwarf hamster as it means less height to fall from if they climb to the top and more to dig in.

The beauty of the narrow bars is the substrate doesn't fall out if you fill the base

It might sound like a lot of substrate - and it will use a lot, but the more you have, the less often you need to do clean outs - and that's better for the hamster as cleanouts can stress them as it removes all their familiar scent. Instead you can "spot clean" - ie take out the odd handful of soiled substrate and replace it with a new handful and mix it in a bit. The bottom half should stay clean and dry mostly. With spot cleaning you can easily go 6 to 8 weeks or more in a large cage, before needing to change the substrate.

So if you fill the base, the water bottle shouldn't be too high. It's still good to have a shelf though as they like some overhead cover. Ranchhouse cages on ebay make some good shelves and they come with the fittings, washers etc to attach them to the bars.

The coloured bendy bridges they do are good too, as they can screw to the bars to make a ramp. Bendy bridges are good toys generally - they can make a ramp or tunnel.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_s...Shelf&_sacat=0

I also used a flat roofed house as a house/nesting box/shelf in that cage.

This house is good - it fits together like a jigsaw so no nails or glue, and it means the roof can be lifted off to check inside, so you don't need to take the house out (stops their nest falling apart). It's called a guinea pig house but far too small for a guinea pig and a good size for a nesting box/shelf for a hamster.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Gu...y&sr=8-2-fkmr0

This was my set up in that cage for our robo. The last photo was the set up for our Syrian (so wheel is larger).

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09-28-2019, 05:14 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Shelving/ladders for dwarf hamsters It's a great cage - I have it. It sounds like you need more substrate in it. 3 to 4" deep is the minimum recommended, but 5 to 6" would be better - especially for a dwarf hamster as it means less height to fall from if they climb to the top and more to dig in. The beauty of the narrow bars is the substrate doesn't fall out if you fill the base It might sound like a lot of substrate - and it will use a lot, but the more you have, the less often you need to do clean outs - and that's better for the hamster as cleanouts can stress them as it removes all their familiar scent. Instead you can "spot clean" - ie take out the odd handful of soiled substrate and replace it with a new handful and mix it in a bit. The bottom half should stay clean and dry mostly. With spot cleaning you can easily go 6 to 8 weeks or more in a large cage, before needing to change the substrate. So if you fill the base, the water bottle shouldn't be too high. It's still good to have a shelf though as they like some overhead cover. Ranchhouse cages on ebay make some good shelves and they come with the fittings, washers etc to attach them to the bars. The coloured bendy bridges they do are good too, as they can screw to the bars to make a ramp. Bendy bridges are good toys generally - they can make a ramp or tunnel. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_s...Shelf&_sacat=0 I also used a flat roofed house as a house/nesting box/shelf in that cage. This house is good - it fits together like a jigsaw so no nails or glue, and it means the roof can be lifted off to check inside, so you don't need to take the house out (stops their nest falling apart). It's called a guinea pig house but far too small for a guinea pig and a good size for a nesting box/shelf for a hamster. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Gu...y&sr=8-2-fkmr0 This was my set up in that cage for our robo. The last photo was the set up for our Syrian (so wheel is larger). Attachment 49075 Attachment 49076 Attachment 49077 Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-27-2022 at 06:46 PM.