Barred cages for Chinese?

[racinghamster]

Hi Everyone. I`m just picking your brains just now really as I don`t have the space for another cage at the moment, but would love to have a Chinese male one day when I do have the space. I realise there are Duna`s, Rody`s and various other `tank style` cages out there that would be great to house a single Chinese in, but my main focus is to find out what (if any) barred cages out there are suitable and what the actual bar spacing needs to be for a Chinese? I have my syrian in a Mickey 2XL, but although the bar spacing on this is 9mm, I also have a Pennine Rat Starter cage that could (I think) eventually become a nice cage for a Chinese. The cage is 22" long x 11" wide by 18" tall and has a full upper shelf inside which I adapted into it. I realise taller cages are a non-starter normally, but I`ve read that Chinese hamsters do love to climb aswell as dig, so pondered whether this cage would be a suitable candidate, or whether I should just ditch the idea of using it and concentrate on something lower, but still has bars.

Any info you can give me would be great. I only want to hear from members who have Chinese specifically and which barred cages they have tried and tested, or which cages they know are safe but are not huge! :mad:

Many thanks. x

[Quedos]

I've just bought a cage for one of chinese hammies ( they came in rotastak cages - i do not like them)

Pets at home- Savic Mickey cage. The bars are closer together and so far all seems well and Squeak (not my chosen name) hasn't escaped.
My only concern is the platform is not solid but that was not making any difference to her last night - think she was jst glad to get out of the round thing and be able to dig.

This is it here (http://www.petsathome.com/shop/mickey-max-dwarf-hamster-cage-by-savic-15953)

[racinghamster]

Hi Quedos thanks for posting. :) I know about the Mickey cages and they do have the narrow bar spacing, but I was thinking about something a little bigger in size. The cage my syrian is in is the Savic Mickey 2XL (same company that makes the smaller Mickey Max!) but even if I was to use it someday for a Chinese ham, I feel it might be too large? Don`t get me wrong I like large floored cages, but peole say Chinese hams are quite shy (or ca be), so I would`nt want to overwhelm the poor wee thing! :mad:

I agree with you on the Rota`crap` caging! ;) I put a hammer through the space command my syrian arrived in. It must have cost £50 but I took great leasure demolishing it. :cool:

Edited to add: If your hamster does`nt seem to like walking on the barred shelf in your cage, you can cover it with a few things:

Straw mats
Lino off-cuts
Thick newspaper layers

The ladders? Well just lie a small flat fiddlestix logs over it and use a couple of cable ties to secure it to the ladders. I don`t this with a set of metal ladders in my syrians cage and it works a treat and gives them something natural to step on.

[SnickersTheFirst]

I don't have experience with barred cages but I do have a Chinese?

I know Bailey would be terrified in anything that size, plus they LOVE to dig in deeper bedding so bars isn't the best if you want to keep your floor clean! Dwarfies seem to like the comfort of a tank style cage and I've heard they are not massive bar climbers either. I know Bailey loves climbing on natural things like sticks and rope. His Mini Duna is crammed full with toys so he's not scared, you'd need an awful lot of toys to fill the XL. :mad:

[racinghamster]

Thanks Snickers, that`s what I thought! I do have a Savic Rody that I keep spare, but in the past I kept two Roborovskis (one in a tank each) and a winter white male in a Ferplast Duna and although the cages were easy to access and done their job, I always felt they were on the small side where leg-room was needed, even though the hamsters all had decent silent spinner wheels.

Maybe I just felt guilty back then because I had other animals at the same time (rats, gerbils and mice) and the hamsters cages were on shelves and did`nt really get the one-on-one attention they might have got had I not had the other pets at the same time. My plan now is to just keep one or two hamsters once my three mice depart. One mouse is already very old and the other mouse has a mammary tumour regrowing (she had one removed earlier this month by my vet). :(

Boris my syrian is now in his large Mickey 2XL cage so I am now looking at barred cages that would suit a Chinese. As I mentioned in my first post, I have a Pennine Rat Starter cage but I have no idea if this cage would be suitable. If Chinese hamsters prefer to dig and tunnel, then I would probably stick with a tank style cage like a Gabber Lux or a Rex or something similar. Zoozone 1 maybe?

[fluffymunchkins]

It really depends on how big the chinese is and where its from :)
Bacardi is very big and has no problem in 1cm bar spacing (he lives in a ferplast criceti 15)
But I'd never risk a little pet shop chinese in that bar spacing. Bacardi loved his Gabber rex too, it was a great size for him.

[racinghamster]

Yes, I suppose I would have to make a decision based on the actual hamster and what his size and behaviour were. I always tend to look for rescue adults rather than baby hamsters, so the chances are I would get an adult male, which would be my preference.

If I happen to come across a second hand Gabber Rex or similar, I will think about getting it and storing it away incase a barred cage did`nt work out. :)

[Samantha]

I've got Louis my chinese in a zz1 and i have to say that he loves the space, although he is not in the least bit shy! Louis came from a home where a 5 year old boy used to shake his little savic house with him in it because he wouldn't come out so he hasn't had the easiest start to life, but since coming to us he is full of confidence, and always comes running out to see me. I have to say he doesn't mind open space at all even though he likes his tunnels so maybe it's just down to the individual hamster. I agree with SnickerstheFirst that they love to dig, and i don't really like to put any less than the full height of the base deep in substrate so i'd definitely go for a tank/bin style cage if you can.
:)

[racinghamster]

Thanks for posting Samantha. :) Your little guy sounds great! I`m beginning to think the tank style cages are the best way to go with a Chinese. The ZZ1 is a good size and I can appreciate that even a small hamster like a Chinese would benefit greatly from the leg room and many accessories to climb on. So I will keep my eyes open for a second hand Gabber Rex or a ZZ1 nearby. I`m in no rush as I have my hands full right now with a syrian and three mice! :mad: But I`m thinking ahead....

[Jasmine]

My Chinese hamster is in the Savic Mickey Max XL and she seems fine in it. I'm not sure whether she would prefer a domed cage like the zoozone or not but can't afford one yet anyway so she will have to put up with the Mickey Max whether she likes it or not.:mad: She is very shy though and doesn't come out usually until the very early hours of the morning.:( I have never seen her climb the bars but I agree with the digging, she does like digging all the shavings up and piling them up in one place.:mad:

[racinghamster]

It`s tricky with Chinese because you never really know if they want a barred cage or a tank style! Having never had one myself it will probably be a learning curve. Much as I would like to use a narrow barred cage, I would probably go with a tank style if I thought it would suit him better. Ease of access would be another factor obviously, but I would always look for a cage where I could lift off the whole lid anyway as I would want to tame my Chinese if he was already nervous or shy. That`s the reason I chose the Mickey 2XL for Boris my syrian because the barred cage he was residing in, although big enough, had silly little front doors and the bars ran right down inside the plastic base, hence lifting out all the litter and some of the bedding in the process, so it was`nt easy for me to access or interact with Boris. A nightmare! :mad:

[ashari]

Ohh I was pondering this very question because Iv always wanted a chinese ( they remind me of little wood mice :) ) also so this thread is very informative for me too!can i ask why chinese's like smaller cages?would they not get used to a larger space with time?

[fluffymunchkins]

I suppose some chinese might appreciate lots of space, but usually Chinese are very shy and big cages with open space are daunting for them.
So its better to have them in a smaller cage so they can can feel more comfortable :)

Bacardi doesn't use the space of his cage at all, in fact he was much more active in the gabber. I will try to move him back to a smaller cage if I can.

[racinghamster]

Glad my post is of some help to you aswell ashari. :) It might be a while before I have the space for a Chinese, but I don`t think I would want to keep him in a Rody or a Duna as I feel these are a little on the restrictive side. I have a Savic Rody spare and if I thought he would prefer this tank to something a little larger, I could always resort to it I suppose. But my feelings are that a Gabber Rex, a Gabber Lux or something this size with plently of hidey-holes and accessories might suit better. I could be proved wrong by the hamster I suppose but that would be self evident if he showed signs of panic or was just too nervous. I could then resort to the Rody if need be.

If I was to rehome a Russian dwarf instead, I definately would want the larger tank and not the Rody/Duna though as I`ve kept a winter white in a Duna before and felt it was way too small for him. With a Chinese, perhaps the smaller tank would be the best option, but if I look for a larger tank in the meantime, it means I can choose which tank to use come the time. Having both sizes already means whichever species I rehome can have the choice!

[KatiePillow]

My sesame is very shy, but in her cage she's fine because I have a LOT of hideys, and a lot of substrate for her to make burrows. She knows her way around her cage perfectly and knows how best to make her 'escape' she doesn't seem nervous in there to me, and has even started standing on a piece of cork to look out of the cage - In fact I was considering getting her a zoozone 2. She's in a duna multy at the moment and loves it.

Sesame was very uncomfortable in the aquarium she was in when I first got her, but since moving to the multy has been far happier :)
She uses the space so well I'd not consider a smaller cage for her ^.^

[racinghamster]

That`s good to know KatieP thanks. My own instinct is to go larger than the average Duna or Rody purely because during the night, these little creatures need room to explore and at least be given the space for decent enrichment, rather than just have minimum space and a wheel to excersise on I feel.

I will keep my eyes open for a suitable tank style cage that I can keep in storage for such a time I`m looking for another rehomed hamster! :) Either a Chinese or a Russian type, although having a syrian right now I may end up with another syrian when Boris is`nt around anymore! Not for a long time I hope. x

[SnickersTheFirst]

I think 70x40 cages are much better for dwarfies after seeing how much Oscar loved the extra space.

Bailey's circumstances are slightly different though so he's in the Duna. He loves it and I'd say it's fine with the deep substrate too as all he does is dig!

I'm sure you'll find the perfect cage and hamster soon enough. :D

[Quedos]

The replies are are great I'm getting some great knowledge of these.
Squeak seems to be anything but shy and seems happy in his cage and yes as few already mentioned it seems he loves kicking the shavings everywhere or piling them into his wheel. My other one is petrified of anything that moves!
Racinghamster - know what you mean about syrians - Sammi has a hamster heaven and upgraded to that about 2 months after buying my first cage. Does it have to be a male chinese??

[racinghamster]

I`ve never had a Chinese hamster but have in the past had two roborovskis and a Russian dwarf, so thought next time I would go for a male Chinese! I keep mice right now aswell as having Boris my syrian, so I`m looking to downsize for a little while once the mice pass on eventually. I would only have Boris then so by that time, I would probably want another small pet. A Chinese male would be my preference, but I do like Winter Whites and the dwarf species, but would`nt keep robos again as I found them too fast and cage teritorial. It was like dodging a bullit! :mad:

Edited to add: Sorry Quedos, did you mean does it have to be a male, as in, a male or a female? Or a Chinese male? I prefer the males to be honest as they don`t have the same health issues the females can have like pyometra or hormonal issues.

[Quedos]

I only asked as I think I may have to rehome one of the Chinese ones I feel like I'm not given them enough time/attention and I'm worrying myself sick over Sammi. (probably not needing to either)

I'm loving the forum but its making me question eveything I've done so far

[racinghamster]

Is your Chinese a female? How many do you have? :)

[racinghamster]

I`ve sent a reply to your PM Quedos. :)

[racinghamster]

Well having seen a Chinese in the flesh (I am now the proud owner of Prinny! :)) I can see that she possible could live in a barred cage, but it would have to be narrow bar spaced and be a one level with perhaps an added shelf with some ramps and tubes, but otherwise, she`s happily living in a Rody tank at the moment! Food for thought though...