Mini Duna for a Chinese?

[Roxie]

I have a spare Duna and whilst I know it's not totally ideal in terms of floor space is it suitable just as temporary home? I'll only be having one in there.

[LocoRocoPanda]

A duna is a great home for a Chinese! :D Tosh loved his.

I actually love the duna for a single dwarf.

[SarahJ]

I keep my Chinese in a Duna - I think their great cages for Chineses as Chineses dont like big open spaces.

[Vectis Hamstery]

I keep many of my Chinese in Savic Rodys which are similar in size to Dunas. The Duna has the bonus of a more sensible shelf though. They're nice cages, easy to clean, and the bottom opaque section helps make it feel more enclosed for the hamster.

[racinghamster]

The Duna is okay for a few months until they settle in, but personally, I feel giving a Chinese a larger floor space is best. In terms of not liking open spaces, this is`nt actually true. If the hamster is skittish and young, or straight from a pet shop, it probably is a good idea to house one in a Ferplast Duna or a Savic Rody until they are settled and get to know you. I started Prinny off in a Savic Rody, but I soon became aware that all she could really do was go from her wheel to her food dish to her bed and the Rody did`nt allow much more than that.

She is now in a Gabber Rex with plenty of hidey holes and natural accessories and this makes a huge difference to her enrichment. I`m actually looking at the Zoozone 2 for her but will only buy one if I feel she needs the upgrade as I want to put some shelving in for her aswell and even in a cage like the Gabber Rex, a 30cm wooden Trixie hide soon looks huge! :mad:

But yes, a Ferplast Duna/Savic Rody is fine, but do think about a Zoozone 1 or equivellant as a step-up from this once the hamster is settled and knows the layout of it`s environment. Chinese hamsters can live longer than the dwarf varieties, so keeping one or more in a Duna or a Rody for their entire lives might be skimping on their enjoyment.

[Roxie]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I was thinking about a Zoozone1 eventually but it's great to hear that the Duna is a good start. I guess after a while I'll be able to tell if their personality will suit something a little bigger.

[SnickersTheFirst]

I only have experience with one Chinese but I'd say the Duna is an ideal size as my boy hates anything bigger. You can actually fit so much in a Duna and the base is quite deep which is great as Chinese love deep bedding to dig in.

I'd say it's perfect as a long term home, to save you buying something bigger which they may not enjoy.

[Ministottie]

I have mine in a mini duna too. I know she would hate bigger, and it seems the perfect size. I would agree that it is a perfectly fine long term home, and a zoozone might turn out to be too big for the little one

[racinghamster]

I decided to get a Gabber Rex for Prinny because I based this on her temperament and behaviour, but some chinese hamsters may be more shy or aloof and much prefer a smaller habitat. So if the hamster enjoys being out but shows signs of nervousness or not particularly wants to be handled, then yes, the Duna and the Rody would be more suitable in these circumstances. Prinny is a year old, so she`s used to pretty much life in general and loves coming over for treats from my hand and little interactions and the space in the Gabber does`nt phase her at all, but what you need to remember is, that extra space is`nt all open digging space, it has a large cork tunnel, a cardboard egg box, two toilet roll tubes, a regular silent spinner wheel and an extra terra wood log tunnel, aswell as half the plastic thing that holds the water bottle in place which also acts as a hidey hole! And her tea box (which she loves to sleep in so I kept it!) If I could post a photo I would to let you see what I mean because you would be able to see that most of the space is used up!

It`s a personal choice but must be based around the individual hamster. I would also use one of the smaller habitats to begin with until the hamster settled in, got to know me and I got to know what it`s character was like before I decided to move up to a bigger space, definately. :)

[SnickersTheFirst]

Here's Bailey's Duna:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s320/Ronaldo2007_2007/DSCF4425600x450.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s320/Ronaldo2007_2007/DSCF4428600x450.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s320/Ronaldo2007_2007/DSCF4427600x450.jpg

As you can see, loads can be fitted in and he has deep bedding under his shelf. :p

[Gizmodo ^_^]

I think it would be a lovely cage for a chinese :)

[ashari]

can i ask a quick question - how can you tell if your Chinese ham doesn't like the cage its in?what is there behaviour like?

thankies :)

[SnickersTheFirst]

can i ask a quick question - how can you tell if your Chinese ham doesn't like the cage its in?what is there behaviour like?

thankies :)

Bailey runs around really quickly, with his ears flat to his head and he chatters/grinds his teeth. He'll also bury himself under bedding and refuse to come out.

[ashari]

aww bless him ,thanks snickers.so if a chinese displays that type of behaviour it could be that the cage is too large?

[Hamtastic]

Mini Dunas are so adorable, I wish I could find them here. I'm grateful I at least have access to ZooZones, but that's it =/

[racinghamster]

The trick is to make sure a larger cage (like a Gabber Rex or a Zoozone 1) as examples, are set up in a way where they are adapted to have many tunnels and hidey holes. Right now, I would`nt go any bigger than a Gabber Rex for Prinny as I feel she likes and uses the space and does not exhibit the shy, hide-away attitude that some chinese hamsters might. But as I said earlier, keeping one in a Duna or a Rody until they settle and get used to their layout is fine. I just don`t feel they are habitats that give enough enrichment for a hamster that can live up to and beyond three years of age.

I would say, go with what the hamster tells you. If they never truly become tame or exhibit nervous behaviour, then stick with the smaller tanks. If you have a chinese that likes climbing and interacting and does`nt run to hide all the time, then they are ready for a larger enclosure, as long as the set-up is the same as it would be in their old tank, but with more accessories added. That`s the only difference really.

The Zoozone 2 probably IS too large for a chinese, but saying that, I would be happy to use one for Prinny if I picked one up second hand. I have a routine with Prinny now where each time she comes out for a drink or a pee, I feed her one of her seeds by hand and she knows that when i`m there, she will get a small seed or a little grain of puffed rice! So she will take it from my hand and then immediately darts over to her `stash` corner to store it and then comes out again looking for another piece! So getting a routine going with your chinese ham is again helpful because it helps them to settle and to adapt to the fact that you are not a scary monster!!!

So doing this while they are in the smaller tank does help them to adapt to a slightly bigger housing.

[SnickersTheFirst]

aww bless him ,thanks snickers.so if a chinese displays that type of behaviour it could be that the cage is too large?

I'd say so yes. :)

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but tbh a Duna is fine and many people keep their Chinese happily in this cage (me being one). I've found Chinese prefer digging to running anyway so it's very suitable in that respect.

If the hamster seems fine in the Duna I would just keep it there to avoid buying a large cage that it would likely be scared in. All hamsters are different but from what I've heard, they generally don't like larger cages as the other species do. :p

[KatiePillow]

I wouldn't go any smaller than my multy for sesame, she's very shy in general, but I can tell she adores her cage - I also would love to get her a zz2,since she uses the space so well.

She has a lot of hidey holes, and has secret tunnels everywhere, so she can just pop up out of nowhere

http://i56.tinypic.com/2qdoaz8.jpg



edit: just realised, I would say a mini duna would be fine for when you get the hamster, I more meant..if you ever wanted to give her a bigger cage I wouldn't necessarily hesitate because people say their hamster only likes that size cage - they really love the added space in my experience. (although sesame hated living in an aquarium)

[Roxie]

Thanks for all the opinions guys, I feel much happier about the Duna now. I've never actually used one before it was just recently given to me by a friend, so it certainly seems like it'll be a useful gift!.

And thanks for posting the photos Snickers, it's great to see that it actually fits in a lot of stuff.

[racinghamster]

I agree KP. A hamster will `make-do` with a smaller habitat, but there`s nothing wrong with giving them more space (as Katie`s photo suggests plenty of natural hiding holes and accessories) as this counteracts any `open` spaces. It really does`nt make them any more shy than they would be in a smaller cage, but gives them (as a species) extra digging, climbing and running room.

I get up in the morning and Prinny has sometimes remodelled everything and her silent spinner wheel will be leaning against the tank wall with shavings piled into it! :mad: The moment I straigheten the wheel up again, she`s in it running!

If you get the habitat/layout right, there is no reason why a chinese can`t have a larger cage.

[rockster]

I think the mini duna is a great aize for a single chinese as they do get quite afraid of more open spaces :D

[racinghamster]

I definately would`nt start off with a larger tank unless the hamster was already used to living in one, so the Duna and Rody do make nice little habitats for chinese. In actual fact, as long as you have one of these tanks, you have the option of using it again if you felt a larger cage was`nt working if you wanted to try one. :)

I have two spare tanks, a Savic Rody and a Gabber LUX. Both are similar in size and I keep these handy for clean out purposes, or spares for emergencies.

[SnickersTheFirst]

Thanks for all the opinions guys, I feel much happier about the Duna now. I've never actually used one before it was just recently given to me by a friend, so it certainly seems like it'll be a useful gift!.

And thanks for posting the photos Snickers, it's great to see that it actually fits in a lot of stuff.

No problem. :) Once you have the level in aswell, it's a roomy cage!