Muffin and his Aurora 450

[kyrilliondaemon]

Last week we won an Aurora 450 on ebay, it was as new - the person had decided it was too big for their two rats. So... We got it for Muffin. Collected it on Saturday and spent Sunday getting it ready for Muffin before he moved in.

Boring stats-y bit
Its 104cm long, 59cm wide and 108cm tall (according to the internet). Inside its 97cm long, 52cm wide and 76cm tall. Theres a removable tray for substrate, and two doors. The top door is 36cm by 25.5cm, and the front door is 34cm by 25cm. It also has a bit on one side with two big bowls attatched - that bit can be rotated out to access the bowls without opening the cage, but locks shut to keep the bowls in the cage most of the time.

What we've done so far
We've added plywood to increase the depth of the base, we added 26cm of plywood to make the base 30cm deep altogether. Then we put about 25cm of substrate in there, gave it a shelf and added Muffin's stuff.

What it looks like
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070461.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070459.jpg

What is in it
We'll start the tour with the shelf, this has his sand bath, his resin rocks, a water bottle and some treats.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070463.jpg

This is what it looks like from his shelf, we have the ramp down, some logs under the ramp, his trixie castle, a chew toy, a seesaw and his Frida house, with the food bowl on top of the Frida house. He sleeps in a burrow under the Frida house.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070466.jpg

Next to the houses we have the logs you've already seen, his wheel, a cube, some tubes, a tealight holder house (he likes to store food in), and a diamond made from a kids toy we got in poundland.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070469.jpg

Then this is the last bit of the cage. He's got his two IKEA spice rack platforms with a few tubes under them. Next to the platform is another tube and a small plantpot. Then on the platforms he has his mineral block, cheese house, pyramid and water bottle. There are also the two big food bowls, those are filled with carefresh and he's already worked out that its worth digging in them.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070474.jpg

What else we want to do
We'll be getting/making a few more shelves so this isn't a final layout just yet... And with more shelves will come more things to go on the shelves too.

Muffin exploring
This still smells like me...
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070409.jpg

Muffin sees his own reflection
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070412.jpg

Eating some puffed millet
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070420.jpg

In a bowl of carefresh
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070424.jpg

Climbing up to the carefresh again
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070425.jpg

And having a run in his wheel
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Muffin%20and%20the%20aurora/P1070443.jpg

[LokiWolf]

It's heaven for a Robo!

[souffle]

That is one lucky ham ham :) The cage looks fabulous and your adjustments make it really great for him :)

[kyrilliondaemon]

Thanks both :)
He seems to think he's a mole so we figured the more substrate the better and so far he seems happy. We were also running out of space for his toys and getting a taller cage where we can add shelves solved that quite nicely lol
I bet his nest ends up 20cm deep eventually, should be nice and fun for him.

[Lougarry]

Marmalade is rubbing her furry little paws in anticipation of moving in with her fiancé.

It's amazing, Sam - love love love it :D

[alanjamesblair]

Um, the word, "awesome?" Yeah, that's the one.

[Wisper]

That cage looks great, don't know why someone would think it was too big for two rats I would say it is about the right size if not a bit small for rats.

[purple_x]

Ohmygod that is amazing.....and all for a teeny little robo!!

[Womblehands]

This is one of the best cages I've ever seen. Love the digging pots and his sand bath.

[Pompompoms]

Hehe what a lucky little chap Muffin is, I bet he's having a whale of a time in there :D:D

[StuCil]

One lucky ham!! Love the cheese house it's cute!

oh and I'm just curious to ask, how often do you clean the cage with such deep substrate? I want to put more substrate to my hams cages but I'm afraid that cleaning it too often will cost me more money for the substrate :oops: Thanks in advance!

[The Hamster's family]

Huh...! You did it !!!! OH doesn't like you anymore !!! (He thinks I got the idea of the ferret cage from you !! Mouahahahaha !!) I actually got the cages I told you about... Set-up possibilities are endless with cages like that ! My new lil man will surely love it, but i let him settle in before... We managed to install tubes inside the cage and one that goes outside to her old cage set-up (1 CritterUniverse and another one that is up-graded). Now she can enjoy the cage in 3D ! =D You did a great home for your lil baby ! And more fun to come !! ;P Great GREAT job !!!

[kiania]

Last week we won an Aurora 450 on ebay, it was as new - the person had decided it was too big for their two rats. So... We got it for Muffin. Collected it on Saturday and spent Sunday getting it ready for Muffin before he moved in.

Sad state of affairs for the poor ratties...but lucky Muffin. Looks good - I am so jealous of the deep substrate!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Thanks everyone :)
Wisper - I think she said she'd moved them from a much smaller space so they found it too big a change all at once.
I'm glad you like the digging pots Womblehands :)
Poms - He seems happy so far, we've seen him a few times and heard him playing when we were going to sleep last night too.

StuCil - We tend to not clean the entire cage very often at all, we spot clean once a week or so and do half-cleans when we think the cages need them, but its really rare we'll clean everything. We have even more substrate than this in the syrian cages and its still not that costly because it doesn't get dirty too quickly.

The Hamsters Family - We collected it on Saturday and found it fit in the car easier than we dared hope :D Tell your OH he got lucky that its just ferret cages you're using, our syrians have converted five foot rabbit hutches each lol
I'm glad you're doing well with your hams cages, and yup more fun to come for us yet :D Muffin is already really happy and since he thinks he's a mole it made sense to give him more space to burrow. The shelves will just be because we figure we may as well use the space :)

[kiania]

One lucky ham!! Love the cheese house it's cute!

oh and I'm just curious to ask, how often do you clean the cage with such deep substrate? I want to put more substrate to my hams cages but I'm afraid that cleaning it too often will cost me more money for the substrate :oops: Thanks in advance!

I was cleaning out about once every 6 months. But depends on what substrate you use probably. Finacard gets a bit icky quicker, and shavings tend to absorb pee if you have a hefty pee-er. Megazorb works nicely I've found. The Germans do the same, or do partial cleans every couple of months. It just doesn't need it...even after 6 months, my megazorb smells of megazorb rather than hamstery, it isn't damp or icky. You do still need to pull nests, of course. With Thunder, because he insists upon an open nest on finacard, I end up cleaning the finacard once every fortnight, but Nimh used to burrow in the megazorb for her nest, and that was just a case of pulling the nest and a handful or two of megazorb that surrounded it.

I'd hate having a 3cm deep substrate...I'd actually have to clean out the hamster more frequently :D I'm lazy, and it means the ham doesn't lose their 'smell' so often - and with partial cleans, never...as they don't feel the rabid need to re-scent mark everything and over-do it. Plus you get a happier hamster if they did...I keep telling Thunder he would be happier if he dug...but he doesn't - still has 20cm of megazorb, and 15-20cm deep desert bedding (it has hillocks in it), just in case he feels the need.

[The Hamster's family]

Thanks everyone :)

The Hamsters Family - We collected it on Saturday and found it fit in the car easier than we dared hope :D Tell your OH he got lucky that its just ferret cages you're using, our syrians have converted five foot rabbit hutches each lol
I'm glad you're doing well with your hams cages, and yup more fun to come for us yet :D Muffin is already really happy and since he thinks he's a mole it made sense to give him more space to burrow. The shelves will just be because we figure we may as well use the space :)

You did an incredible job... and you are crazy !! just like I like ! ;) our syrians sooo enjoys the new set-ups/cages !! You see the change in behaviors !! Made me smile to the point my cheeks were sore !! (Sorry if I make spelling mistakes !!) It then becomes allll well worthed !!! Have you seen my last sin !?!?!? I couldn't help (thanks partialy to you hahaha !!!) OH is ok with it and just smiled back at me ! Just too many cages for him as I am setting my in-law's cage... It is almost done tho and I will soon get on my new baby domain !! I really like your little cheese house... Wold a syrian fit in !? Hard to tell on pictures ! good job and sooo glad your lil ones are happy !! Isn't why we do all this ? ;)

[bonkers4hamsters]

How recently did you get those triangle things from poundland? I have been meaning to get something similar as puzzle playground is so expensive

[pinkneon]

"Too BIG for their rats"?!?! Well, perfect for hamsters then :D

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

Omg love love love it!!! The Bobtails are oober jealous of Muffin, I dare not show the photos to Kiku and Jení or they will be demanding I find space for one myself ;)

[Queen Of The High Teas]

Wow that is a really nice cage Kyrilli. Think it may be a bit big for just 2 rats though, as FR calculator says that particular cage will house up to 12 rats!! So for a tiny Robo that is a pretty extreme house!

[Jodzie04]

Oh wow!! What a lucky boy! That is amazing =)

[kyrilliondaemon]

The Hamsters family - I don't think I've seen it, but I'll try and keep an eye out for it :)

The cheese house is a bit small for syrians, it might be ok for other dwarf hamsters but Muffin is a roborovski and its perfect for him. Anything perfect for a robo will always be too small for a syrian lol

Bonkers4Hamsters - Er... A good few months ago I'm afraid. They had them for a good while after we got them though, so there is a chance they'll be there. The bits are smaller than with puzzle playground though - we got two packets and our syrian has one toy from them, while the dwarf hams share the rest.

Pinkneon - Exactly :D

Erin - I'm glad you like it :) Its about as much floorspace as the other dwarf cages, but he's got more height, which makes more digging space. Just tell Kiki and Jení that they have to find a cheap one on ebay before you'll buy it - ours was £65, they're normally £170+ which is a bit steep...

Wobbles - Er... According to the cage calculator I just checked its only suitable for six rats. The interior dimensions are way smaller than the external ones because it has legs and stuff. Plus its the minimum for six rats and I firmly believe that we should always go above the minimum when we can. Its like a human bare minimum is a single room and a shared bathroom/kitchen, but it doesn't mean that plenty wouldn't prefer a 1 bedroom flat instead.
The Aurora isn't really much bigger than our other dwarf cages. Dusty has a Luna 400 rat cage, then the other five have four Alexanders between them. The Aurora is a change from a ZZ2 for Muffin and it only really gains digging depth and height. It doesn't really seem extreme to me. Good yes, but extreme by my standards would be giving Muffin both the syrian hutches or something lol.
I am glad you think its nice though :)

Thanks Jodzie :)

[mangoandmimi]

Ohh it looks really nice.. Never seen that cage before actually, so it's nice to see a positive review. Muffin seems to be enjoying it anyway. :D

[Queen Of The High Teas]

The Hamsters family - I don't think I've seen it, but I'll try and keep an eye out for it :)

The cheese house is a bit small for syrians, it might be ok for other dwarf hamsters but Muffin is a roborovski and its perfect for him. Anything perfect for a robo will always be too small for a syrian lol

Bonkers4Hamsters - Er... A good few months ago I'm afraid. They had them for a good while after we got them though, so there is a chance they'll be there. The bits are smaller than with puzzle playground though - we got two packets and our syrian has one toy from them, while the dwarf hams share the rest.

Pinkneon - Exactly :D

Erin - I'm glad you like it :) Its about as much floorspace as the other dwarf cages, but he's got more height, which makes more digging space. Just tell Kiki and Jení that they have to find a cheap one on ebay before you'll buy it - ours was £65, they're normally £170+ which is a bit steep...

Wobbles - Er... According to the cage calculator I just checked its only suitable for six rats. The interior dimensions are way smaller than the external ones because it has legs and stuff. Plus its the minimum for six rats and I firmly believe that we should always go above the minimum when we can. Its like a human bare minimum is a single room and a shared bathroom/kitchen, but it doesn't mean that plenty wouldn't prefer a 1 bedroom flat instead.
The Aurora isn't really much bigger than our other dwarf cages. Dusty has a Luna 400 rat cage, then the other five have four Alexanders between them. The Aurora is a change from a ZZ2 for Muffin and it only really gains digging depth and height. It doesn't really seem extreme to me. Good yes, but extreme by my standards would be giving Muffin both the syrian hutches or something lol.
I am glad you think its nice though :)

Thanks Jodzie :)

Ah I hadn't counted on only measuring the outside! Yes the internal dimensions would be smaller then. I was going off the measurements I had for it when I was thinking of getting it for my 4 rats, but the price put me off! 6 boys or 7-8 girls sounds about right though.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Yeah, I didn't want to disagree with you but 12 rats seemed a bit many for the space Muffin has lol
The price would've stopped us buying this new too, but within driving distance and when I wanted to give Muffin more burrowing room... I'd enquired about the reserve before I knew it, and when we heard the reserve was £65 and confirmed it'd fit in the car it kinda turned into a no-brainer situation for us :)

[StuCil]

@ Kyrilliondaemon & kiania: thanks for the info! We really dont have many choice for substrate here, most stores only sell wood shavings, even wood shavings here are a bit pricey(the good quality ones) :( I'm so going crazy lol. I'll put more substrate then to the hams cages so that it would not get dirty and stinky too soon!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Ah... Its a shame you've got so few substrate choices. We use over 40kg of aubiose altogether in all of the cages by now (it comes in 20kg bales), but we buy it two bales at once and usually go 3-4 months before we need to buy more.

[kiania]

I'm sure the germans use more woodshavings in their cages, so might be an idea to look at their deep-substrate set-ups for ideas? I know they add hay into the mix to help give stability to the tunnels. I've used paper strips before (thinly shredded, it was this stuff to help you find a similar product in the USA: Litter & Bedding : *CLEARANCE* Small Animal Bedding Soft Recycled Colour Paper 25g : www.EquineCanineFeline.com the place to buy all your Pet Products, Horse Products and Pet Supplies online (http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/catalog/clearance-small-animal-bedding-soft-recycled-colour-paper-p-7618.html)), but because my last ham tended to tunnel under platforms and make huge batcaves by excavating an inch or so beneath the platform (so it was enclosed), she didn't make much use of deep tunnels to need reinforcement. And the current one is useless for tunnels...he's an open nest man and proud :)

[Moodle]

It's like a hamster Disneyland!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Thanks Moodle :)

We added his shelves yesterday, and I'm pleased to say that we just worked out that he's explored the entire thing during the night :D
Wierdly he's left treats out but woodshavings moved so he must've reached the top shelf :) I'm guessing he realised how many treats were there and didn't see a need to rush to collect them lol
Most of these were taken before I added a ladder, but everything else is the same.

From the front
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070479.jpg

Then to work the way up the shelves...
The tube to the first shelf
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070482.jpg

And the things on that end of the shelf
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070492.jpg

The other end of the same shelf
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070491.jpg

And the ladder I added incase he didn't want to use the tube
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070494.jpg

The hamster heaven shelf
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070493.jpg

And lastly, the view from the top to show the top shelves
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/kyrilliondaemon/Hamster%20stuff/Cages/Aurora/P1070485.jpg

The cat bowl has woodshavings mixed with a few treats in there. We decided he could have lots of places to dig for scattered treats once in a while :)

[Lougarry]

It looks like awesome fun, Sam :) x

[kiania]

I do like how the 'Feed your cat instincts' adds an element of danger :D

Where did you get the shelves from though?

[kyrilliondaemon]

lol I'm not sure he can read so I doubt he'll mind... I'm also not sure he knows what a cat is for that matter...

And the shelves are from B&Q. We hoped they'd have the corner shelves we'd been told about, but they only had big planks so we got two, sawed them up, painted them and used screws and washers to attatch them to the cage.

[Kissa]

I am quite jealous of his cage :lol: I have to ask, though, I thought he didn't like barred cages and that was why he was in a ZZ2? Looks awesome though :D

[kyrilliondaemon]

Kissa - We thought he didn't like them. Then we realised that we might be wrong when his behaviour ended up following the same pattern in the ZZ2 as it had in barred cages. Then we realised that he may have just become antisocial with age and left him as he was because he was happy.

In the end we worked out that as he got a bit older he started digging deeper nests - this stops him hearing us and makes him less sociable because he just doesn't know we're there, and coincided with his move to barred cages. So we thought he didn't like bars because he was much less sociable in barred cages. Then he went back to the ZZ2 and over time dug deeper, got less sociable and made us realise what the problem was lol

Lately he's been more sociable anyway (he's got set times he likes to get up and if we're up he'd come and see us through the side of the cage). And then this came up on ebay and we saw the potential for deep substrate and possibly taking advantage of him being more sociable so figured it was worth a try.

I was aware of the risk we were taking when we got it though lol, but at worst it'd replace the other ZZ2 as a spare cage for if Timmy and Bump ever fall out (they both prefer bars so we know that we'll end up replacing the spare ZZ2 for them eventually if they fall out).

Basically - Muffin is a really difficult ham to work out and we think we misinterpreted his actions for a while.
So far he's acting the same as ever in the Aurora, he's had it a week and the main difference for him seems to be that now he can stick his nose through the bars to look at us instead of just sticking it against the side of the cage lol. He seems to be quite curious about us (the only place he sticks his nose through is by us) :)

I'm glad you like it, and I hope my explanation there makes sense lol