What kinds of hamster is this suitable for?

[Rach210]

Clearing out my boyfriends shed the other day we came across this tank: The Pet Express - Critter's Choice Small Animal Habitat - £74.99 - Small Animals - Cages (http://www.thepetexpress.co.uk/?p=2_4&pid=18338) . He was going to throw it out if i didnt want it. So In the space of about 5 minutes I'd gone from 'no I really shouldn't get any more pets' to 'well maybe just in case i needed it' to 'well I could put a wheel there and a tunnel there....'

I just wondered what sort of hamsters I could keep in it? Its too small for a syrian I know, but I'm pretty sure It'd do for a robo. What about russian and chinese hams? Would it be big enough for either of them?

I'm not in a rush to fill it but I'll be on the lookout for a rescue hamster.

[racinghamster]

Because it has shelves, you could wind some rotastak type tubing at an angle rather than use runged ladders as hamsters don`t tend to manage ladders (solid ramps are fine though) up to each shelf. I prefer tanks without shelves, but I kept gerbils in glass tanks a while back so they did`nt require the shelves really.

Good spare tank to have in the shed though! I would say robos, russian dwarf or chinese would manage fine as long as the ladder/tubes to the levels was organised correctly for a happy ascent and descent!

[Pomegranate]

I'm not sure about Chinese hams, but I think it'd work well for a single Russian dwarf. :)

[Rach210]

I'm on the lookout for a rescue dwarf then in that case. Not fussy about breed, just any that needs a loving home. Now I have to hold off getting it for a few weeks till I've moved house (thankfully my landlord is a close friend and the only limit she's put on pets is that they must be kept in my room). I'm already not allowed to P@H unsupervised in case I lose my heart in the adoption centre!

[fluffychick]

you can also remove any of the shelves if they are not the right height by using a razor blade to cut the silicone that holds them on.

if you want to reposition the shelves just use aquarium sealant to stick them back in and let it dry and "air out" before putting a ham in.

I have a 30"x12" with 2 shelves for my syrian and I use the Karlie wooden bridge/ramp with hooks screwed into the end to hook over the shelves to make access easier to and from the levels, don't know if you have room in front of the shelves to do this on the 24" tank.

you could even move a shelf to the front of the tank rather than having them all at the back and place something between the majority of the gap to eliminate falls and leave an access space for a ramp?

what a great freebie, can't believe he was going to throw it out!!

[racinghamster]

I like the log-bridge ramp with `hooks` in the ends fluffychick. That makes good sense and gives the hamster a decent safe stair/ladder/ramp. :)

[fluffychick]

The karlie "ladder" is ok for the lower shelf but not quite long enough for the higher shelf so it makes the ramp too steep. I had it resting on a brick to make it fit, I have now ordered the bridge which is 55cm long and will bend the end underneath to stabilise it, the ladder fits the lower shelf perfectly. hooks were 23p each and just screw in as the wood is soft enough.

[fluffymunchkins]

I used the two shelf version for my russian dwarf and it was great. I only moved him out as he injured himself on the shelves (hes disabled) and I wanted something easier to clean.

Its great for any single dwarf, the size is good for a pair but you might find fighting problems with the shelves.

[Gizmodo ^_^]

Yep i think it would be great for a single dwarfie :)