IKEA Billy bookcase conversion - upright

[Stacks]

I'm new to this forum, and hamsters, but have been wondering how to get a diy hamster home into my house. We have very limited space, but I wondered about getting rid of a few books and turning two shelves of a standard tall Billy bookcase into a hamster home. Similar to some of the other bookcase conversions here, with sliding Perspex doors fronting the shelves, aquarium sealant round the edges to seal them, vents put in, and a hole cut (maybe using tubing, maybe ladders) to join the two shelves into one habitat. I know the floor space isn't the recommended 80x50 for Syrians, but the length isn't bad, and with the two shelves there should be plenty of space?

It would also keep the hamster safe from my cats, who couldn't get up onto the bookcase to sleep on - and if they did, it'd be a sturdy shelf they were on, not a mesh top.

Has anyone done this? I know there's the Billy extension conversions which are popular, and I really like the look of, but I'm struggling to find somewhere I could fit the footprint of an appropriate sized cage. Especially with 2 cats, I wouldn't want to balance a cage with any overhang on a surface they might reach..

Thanks!

[souffle]

I would think carefully about whether you can keep a hamster safe in your set up if you have 2 cats. You really must be able to lock the hamster away totally from the cats in case there are issues. They also get stressed by cats peering at them or pawing the cage so consider this. There are been so many disasters reported lately on the forum where hamsters have been killed by cats when they escaped or the cats have opened or knocked over cages and got the hamsters :(
The book cases can be done but do remember they can be chewed as they are wood or chipboard. If urine gets in to the shelf wood it is a devil to clean and can cause it to swell and peel. The door seals need to be carefully assessed also as hamsters can slip through quite tiny gaps.
I also have 2 cats but the hamsters are shut away in a room where the cats cannot access them.
I hope you can sort something safe out and welcome to HC.

[Bekki2308]

I would be very careful making a "viv" type cage on preexisting shelves, it also works out quite expensive. A member on here did it and it cost a small fortune and then the perspex was slightly bendy and the hams could escape.

The RSPCA minimum size standard is 75x40x40cm, the 80x50cm minimum as recommended on here by most was kind of plucked out of thin air and is fantastic if you can get that but if you really cannot fit that you can go smaller, and in my own experience of hams there is little in the way of behavioural change from cages of about 70x40 up to 100x50 which some people recommend, if they're chewers they chew, if they're hyper they're still hyper etc i wouldnt normally go smaller than about 70x40 cm externally for a cage but some members use 60x40 barred cages like the savic cambridge with syrians just fine around here I have also used a mini duna for a syrian who didnt like anything bigger!

I usually use 84 litre RUBs which externally meet the RSPCA minimum and with their clip lock lids they are cat proof, Ferplast mary, Savic Freddy 2 and I also use 90x30cm glass tanks (clearseal sold in pets at home for £55) which are so heavy the cat cant knock them over with snuggly fitting DIY lids, these are aesthetically more pleasing than bin cages. You can also buy tank cages that are already made with lids such as the kerry terrarium or falco small pet cage both from zooplus or the ferplast gabry 60 or 90 or ratatout 60 or 80, none of those are cheap though, my personal preference is for tanks because the cat cant move them and the hams cannot chew out!

I have used barred cages with my cat around them and she got used to them pretty quick but I use bulldog clips on the locks and would only put them on floor level as my cat did knock a mini duna from 4ft to the floor luckily the ham was fine and she managed to move a hamster heaven (used to have this cage but sold it on) too!

[souffle]

I believe in the right cage for the individual hamster. Some hamsters will not like a larger cage and some will revel in it. Also barred cages and tank types differ in how the hamsters behave in them.
This forum has NO recommended sizes. It is only the members personal recommendations that they give and these differ greatly from member to member. The RSPCA have their guidelines in the UK and these take into account every inch of floor space including shelves so that is not an external dimension so if you had a multi level unit you would easily that that space.
Have a look at the cage reviews and see if there is anything you think would make a nice home.

[Stacks]

I've got a Rotastack Genus 200 which was recommended by our local pet store, it's a Christmas present from my husband (as is the hamster). Since deciding to get one I've been researching hamsters on this forum and others. We can't easily fit a bigger cage into our house just now, but are planning on moving house mid next year, so I'd hopefully be able to fit a bigger cage somewhere then.
Since writing this post I've got in touch with someone on here selling a Mamble 100, which I'll have available if my hamster seems unhappy in the Rotastack in the next few months. I'll just have to figure out somewhere to put it if I have to! I'm hoping the hamster won't prove too noisy, and we can house him in the bedroom with us, away from the cats. If not, I'm a stay at home mum, so will be able to keep an eye on them through the day, and put the hamster cage behind the stair gate at night if the show a worrying interest in getting to the cage.

I just wanted to say I've thought things through including the danger from the cats.. The Ikea Billy hack is something I thought would look nice, give plenty of space for the hamster, be versatile in where it can be in the new house, and cat safe - as the shelves are too high for them, with no easy access.

If I was to seal around all joins with aquarium sealant I'd imagine the wood would be safe from damp spots getting through the plastic laminate? Then some Perspex and sliders would work for the bottom section, allowing a digging area, and mesh doors on the top (much like a rabbit hutch design) should work for the top play area. Similar to this user's diy cage -

http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/diy-do-yourself-hamster-projects/41107-project-syrian-cages.html

[Bekki2308]

Yes you can seal the wood and stuff and in that way its fine.

Sadly those cages didn't work out, the hamsters escaped because perspex/glass is crazy expensive when it's thick (say 6mm) so they went slightly thinner, this could then bend just enough for the hams to get out of fully locked cages! It lead to an accidental pregnancy. I originally looked into doing it when QOHT started hers but got quotes that were far more expensive than id possibly have thought and it would be far easier to just buy a ready made viv/tank. Thats not to say something like that cannot work but be aware its going to be very expensive and a good deal of work for something that wont be as big as the mamble/most other popular cages.

[racinghamster]

In theory, the book case shelf idea sounds good cosmetically and spacially, but the hamster has more requirements than just a few shelves with Perspex on the front, which would also be lacking good ventilation. A proper cage is far better and depending on the species of hamster you have, the cage would need to reflect it`s needs. Syrians need at least 80cm x 45cm floor space minimum. Arguably, all the dwarf species need equally as much floor space to allow them room to zoom around as well as having a decent wheel.

Having cats can also pose a real issue because no matter how safe you think the hamster is, the cats will always know where the cage is. So ideally, a hamster should be housed in a room where the cats are not allowed. I know that`s not always possible if your cats sleep with you or the hamster cage is in your bedroom as well. But DIY cages and especially Rotastak or modular type caging can be lethal when cats have access to them as they can easily topple them and access the hamster if the tubes fall out or the plastic clips jolt off. This happened just recently to a member`s dwarf hamster and she found it`s head once the cat had gotten to it. :(

Hamsters require the same attention to their habitat as any other pet, so I would ditch the book case idea and go for a large, safe cage and look at having the cage in it`s own room away from the cats. If space proves to me too much of an issue, I would get a hamster once yuo move home and perhaps have more space for one.

[acapae]

I have a converted Billy bookcase, although with predominantly wooden framed mesh doors rather than glass. Originally I just had metal swivel closures on them (like tne ones common on rabbit hutches) as that was safe enough for the rodents themselves. In the spring I started fostering cats for my local Blue Cross centre though, so a more secure closing mechanism was needed. I've now got little metal bolts on both doors which are secure enough for me noting that cats are only ever allowed in the room when supervised. Not sure how possible doing similar on perspex would be, but something to consider anyway. I'd also consider ventilation if using perspex doors because the Billy bookcases are a little tricky to add further ventilation to unless you're very good at woodwork-type DIY.