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Pebbles82
03-21-2016, 08:48 AM
I've almost decided to get Charlie the largest Rodipet labyrinth house. The room sizes of the larger compartments are about the same size as his actual nest area in the current house (even though he fills the whole house with food and substrate ;) If his nest was in the one on the left with the potty in the centre back one he would have the same 'layout' as now plus extra places to put hoards. It's only 11cm tall. His current house is 16cm tall. So at one point I reckoned I needed two of them glued on top of each other as that would give a nice deep house and I could still put it on 2" stilts. But that would be an expensive option.

Now I think the house would be ok a bit lower down than his current one (the roof would be about the same height as the shelf on the left of his cage. I'd have to put it on stilts (I've already bought the dowels and some glue that the Germans use that is supposed to be good for wood and ham-safe) - I might even nail the stilts on and not use glue, not sure yet.

So it would have to sit on top of the substrate on legs/stilts, but I'd also need to 'hollow' out some substrate inside so he has a bit more roof height and doesn't have to stay on all fours while he's in there. Two inches height makes quite a bit of difference.

I'm not sure if 'hollowing out' inside would work as the bottom panels might end up with a gap under them.

flowerfairy
03-21-2016, 09:02 AM
I am sure he would plug any gaps with substrate. It sounds like a good plan to me. More rooms in his house.

cypher
03-21-2016, 09:07 AM
I'm a bit confused by the idea of stilts tbh!
The houses are very lightweight & the normal thing is just to sit them on top of the substrate & then let the ham do any digging or filling in or areas as they see fit ;)

I generally sort of half bury them in the substrate so there are no gaps & the door is a bit more private too!

AmityvilleHams
03-21-2016, 09:55 AM
I've almost decided to get Charlie the largest Rodipet labyrinth house. The room sizes of the larger compartments are about the same size as his actual nest area in the current house (even though he fills the whole house with food and substrate ;) If his nest was in the one on the left with the potty in the centre back one he would have the same 'layout' as now plus extra places to put hoards. It's only 11cm tall. His current house is 16cm tall. So at one point I reckoned I needed two of them glued on top of each other as that would give a nice deep house and I could still put it on 2" stilts. But that would be an expensive option.

Now I think the house would be ok a bit lower down than his current one (the roof would be about the same height as the shelf on the left of his cage. I'd have to put it on stilts (I've already bought the dowels and some glue that the Germans use that is supposed to be good for wood and ham-safe) - I might even nail the stilts on and not use glue, not sure yet.

So it would have to sit on top of the substrate on legs/stilts, but I'd also need to 'hollow' out some substrate inside so he has a bit more roof height and doesn't have to stay on all fours while he's in there. Two inches height makes quite a bit of difference.

I'm not sure if 'hollowing out' inside would work as the bottom panels might end up with a gap under them.

I would say don't use nails.Nails would be a lot less safe and have way too many risks for your hamster and for its safety you should never have nails in things.Maybe create slightly taller stilts?Or perhaps you could create your own DIY hamster labyrinth with bass wood and hamster-safe glue?It might be cheaper and easier to just make your own wooden contraption of any sort,and that would require very little tools and crafting knowledge.

Piebald
03-21-2016, 01:07 PM
I can't wait to see this lol.
Sorry I know you have it all figured out-- but the Ham will do what the Ham will do . . .
I do seriously think those houses look great :)

Sarnaldn
03-21-2016, 02:38 PM
I hope you dont mind me asking here on this thread about a labyrinth .
Basically , soon after I made my order I have noticed I bought wrong size ! which was recommended for robo hamster :(.The opening has 5 cm diameter , do you think it should be ok ? I went for smallest size because I was afraid it would take most of the space in the cage .I dont know whether I should contact them tomorrow morning and try to cancel it and buy again ? or should I be fine with this size 31cm x 20 cm x 9cm for a dwarf ?

Pebbles82
03-21-2016, 03:25 PM
It sounds fine for a dwarf Sarnaldn :-)

Thanks everyone. The reason I need to put it on stilts is to keep the height as a shelf and so he has the full depth of substrate underneath it. I know what you mean Cypher, about part burying it and that would be an option, but then I'd need another shelf over the top of it which would make access to the house roof tricky. I thought I'd prefer to keep the house roof as a shelf, higher up. Although there'd only be 15cm under it I think it would need some support as the large ones are quite big. But maybe not if you say they are very light :-) I know his current house sinks without proper support. If it's above the substrate and supported he can tunnel under it as well.

Good point that they will fill in the gaps :-) Amityville - I know I don't like things with nails but that's bought things when you don't know where the nails are. Charlie isn't a house chewer and as long as they were secure I think they'd be fine. Just tacks really. Obviously I'd keep an eye on it. It would just be like a 1cm carpet tack type thing through the wall of the house and into an 8mm dowel. The idea of making a labyrinth house is great but a bit beyond my skills (and tools lol). Just fixing four dowels at equal lengths is a major task for me lol.

I'm just waiting for Piebald to call me McGyverett again :D

I actually like the idea of two stuck on top of each other, making a 22cm tall labyrinth and partly set in the substrate as you suggested Cypher. But it would cost over £40 to do that!

I really like the design of the new ones as there are so many compartments.

cypher
03-21-2016, 11:23 PM
I'm not a fan of too many compartments, they don't really need more than three, one reason I switched to the Getzoo labyrinth houses was because they have less rooms & the rooms are a better size, if too many are crammed in they can be a bit small to be of much use.

Pebbles82
03-22-2016, 02:45 AM
Hmm yes it's difficult. The Syrian Getzoo one isn't as good as the dwarf sized one. Not keen on the layout or the narrow top to the door under the ramp. The larger compartments in the Rodipet one will be about 12 to 13cm wide by about 16 to 18cm deep. The smaller compartments might be good for hoards. I did think the small compartment on the right could do with knocking out for access up top. Don't fancy sawing panels out though.

cypher
03-22-2016, 06:56 AM
I had to saw a bit out of one of the really tiny ones, one of the first I bought & hadn't realised just how small it would be, I was impressed by how well made they are, chopping bits out isn't easy!
Do you think Charlie would use all the compartments? I'm just wondering, as he's always been used to the one bigger space if he might not bother with them & try to do everything in the one room?

Coco61
03-22-2016, 09:33 AM
I always liked the one Jen bought for Hubble as it was from Rodipet and had two rooms. The flat roof was removable in 2parts I think and one half was granite. Is that one too small for Charlie?

Pebbles82
03-22-2016, 11:35 AM
Thanks Cypher and Coco. I've actually emailed Rodipet to ask them the dimensions of the larger rooms - they might not quite be big enough. Coco I love that house that Jen has got and I think separate smaller lift-off lids are better than one large one. It is actually smaller than the house he has now though. He certainly has about four hoarding places in his current house and I think the extra rooms would be good. I guess I wouldn't know how a labyrinth house would work until tried. But potty nest and hoard all mingled in together isn't too great right now! He does have a special monkey nut hoard in his salt pig though :-) so is spreading it about a bit now.

I did think about two of those houses like Jens, joined together with a tube with a hole on top - but that would take up a bit too much of the cage. I think he needs at least 3 rooms, one for the nest, one for the potty and space for his hoards :-) Four really as one is just an entrance hall lol. It's partly because he is quite big as well and seems to need a bit of space. I think dwarf hamster houses are much easier to sort!

Pebbles82
03-22-2016, 11:40 AM
Rodipet have emailed back to say the larger rooms are approximately 16cm x 13cm, which is what I had worked out. Glad they aren't any smaller. That's not a bad size. But the rooms in the house Jen has will be about 16cm square so that bit bigger. It's probably just big enough for a nest. Limits the size of the nest but means it can't collapse too which is good.

But that is a point Cypher - he might decide his potty corner is in the same compartment!

cypher
03-23-2016, 01:11 AM
I can sympathise with your dilemma, Charlie sounds quite like a Chinesey with all those hoards & everything else mixed up in there!
Maybe he would make good use of the rooms after all then, you're right though, you never really know what will or won't work without trying.

I do like those two room houses with the granite top, I've been wondering about getting another to try with Whisper as they worked well with Zephyr but having seen her nesting/hoarding in there I imagine they would be quite a bit too small for a large syrian.

Pebbles82
03-23-2016, 02:07 AM
I think those rooms are a good size for a nest - if it was a four room house :-) Thanks for letting me know the panels don't knock out easily! They do look fairly firmly put together, unlike the old labyrinth houses that slotted together. Charlie started out with what looked like a huge nest in that big open house, but it has gradually become something big enough to have a hamster sized hole in the middle and the rest turned into hoards! I don't know if he would use all the rooms but he'd be able to organise himself all under one roof! I do wish that larger compartment was a little bit wider though. If the house is 41 cm wide you can take off 2cm for the depth of the four panels leaving 39cm so it won't be more than 13cm wide as they say, but 16cm long isn't too bad. I like the getzoo one apart from the inner door being on the wrong side and the door under the ladder going to a point at the top. The smaller getzoo one might just be big enough except I think the top door probably isn't big enough. Must check out guinea pig labyrinth houses! I could get one made by the piggy room but am being impatient to sort something lol. Every time I decide to do it I take time to make the decision then life starts happening and it gets postponed again!

Pebbles82
03-23-2016, 05:02 AM
Ok I've ordered the labyrinth one :-)

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-wohnlabyrinth-davinci-41x26cm-7cm.html

I think the large rooms are a good size for his nest (I measured his nest this morning lol while he was tucking into some porridge), especially as he has the 'annexe' at the back to put hoards in.

Basically there is a nesting room, a potty room (the front room is just an entrance really to keep things dark inside), and two hoarding rooms, one small, one large. The other small compartment is presumably to stop light getting through from the top hole.

If he decides to pee in his nesting room I'll have to put the potty underneath the house I guess, but I don't think he will - he doesn't normally pee in his nest.

cypher
03-23-2016, 06:01 AM
I do like that one, hope it all works out well & Charlie loves it, does he have any idea how lucky he is do you think ;)

Pebbles82
03-23-2016, 06:05 AM
Nope! I wish I was good at making things with wood. But I'm not lol. Isn't it amazing how a big house can stop seeming big after a while? I though the rabbit house was really big but once it has a potty in it, it's not that big. I think the entrance in the middle will be better too. At the moment he has to walk round his potty and over his hoards to get out of the door as it's at one end.

The lab house is about 8cm wider and 3cm deeper than his current house. The extra width will nicely cover the gap at the front of the cage that has been bothering me and still give him space at the back to go and hide behind the house where it's darker :-) It'll stick out 3cm further but that's ok.

Coco61
03-23-2016, 07:44 AM
That does look like a great layout especially as Charlie is a bit larger than average. It will be interesting to hear how he adapts to it and how he uses the rooms.

CMB
03-23-2016, 07:51 AM
Hope he likes his new house and uses it well. Will wait for an update.

Pebbles82
03-23-2016, 05:17 PM
Dur I'm having second thoughts now. The house itself is fine - just wondering if one of the larger compartments will actually be big enough for a nest now, or a bit cramped. I guess I'll be able to tell when it gets here.

CMB
03-24-2016, 12:20 AM
You may end up with a spare house. It could go in the spare cage with one of the spare wheels. You almost have a whole complete spare hamster setup. Minus the hamster. Lol

Pebbles82
03-24-2016, 01:46 AM
Ha ha. I've got 2 or 3 spare houses, a spare wheel and a flying saucer. Actually the spare houses are a bit manky really, I just don't like throwing things away in case they are useful at some point. The house that came with the Barney is new of course and has some useful pieces of wood. I like having a spare wheel after the fiasco we had last year when Charlie's wheel broke.

It would be a bit silly if he had a big house and his actual nesting area was on the cramped side though. I'll see what it looks like when it comes, I can always send it back.

Pebbles82
03-27-2016, 01:47 AM
The Labyrinth house has arrived. Crikey that was quick - 3 days from ordering! It looks good. I plastikoted inside it yesterday and glued two of the stilts on last night. I am not feeling happy about even this level of diy as I have had expensive disasters in the past!. So - for some reason, the plastikote still feels a bit sticky - even next day. Not sure why. The legs seem to have glued on well with pet-safe glue and I made sure there was no excess showing round the edges, but they are too long lol! Got my maths wrong. At the moment the house would sit about 5cm above the substrate. So I'm not sure whether to try and remove them again (might be difficult) and get some 25cm dowels instead of 30cm ones or just have the substrate much deeper at one end of the cage, up against the bars (it doesn't fall out with the 7mm bar spacing - except when you take the cage top off of course. Sawing them off isn't an option - I don't have a saw and would very likely break something in the process or just make a botch of it. I don't want to ask other half to saw them off as I could end of waiting six months (or he might make a botch of it lol).

So I hope I don't wreck the house! But am coming resigned to the fact that if I do I will have to take the financial loss on the chin :rolleyes:

I have never actually plastikoted inside any other of Charlie's houses - and his current one is not stained at all as he uses the potty well. But as I am not sure where he is going to pee in this one I thought I had better. I have plastikoted plywood shelves before though and they didn't seem sticky afterwards. I did notice the plastikote was in a different kind of pot. The label is exactly the same and it's the water based one. Got it from the local hardware shop a couple of months ago.

Piebald
03-27-2016, 03:26 AM
Saw 'em off-- nothing to it get one of these:
Hacksaw | HowStuffWorks (http://home.howstuffworks.com/hacksaw.htm)
then sand the cut. I know you have some sandpaper :)

It looks great can't wait to see what himself thinks!

Go Macgyverette!

Piebald
03-27-2016, 03:37 AM
Get a couple of these to hold it while you saw. I love these they are endlessly handy for all kinds of things:
Amazon.co.uk: G clamp: DIY & Tools (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddiy&field-keywords=G+clamp)

Pebbles82
03-27-2016, 12:16 PM
Hmm! I guess you are right. I'm still waiting to see if it stops being sticky! It would be easier to buy another house and stick it on the bottom lol. So it's a deeper house and no sitting above the substrate, and leave the legs the same length! A slightly more expensive option though.

Little boy is here this week on school holidays so I've put the diy away for now! Maybe I should have a go at sawing them off - but I wish there was an easier way lol! Like something that slices through wood like butter!

CMB
03-27-2016, 12:22 PM
Would the glue melt remelt with a hair drier? Or cut through the glue maybe?

Pebbles82
03-27-2016, 12:23 PM
Haven't tried yet! It's an idea :-)

CMB
03-27-2016, 12:28 PM
If it works you could let Charlie try it out for size etc.

Pebbles82
03-27-2016, 02:34 PM
That's an idea - let him have a play in it first.

CMB
03-27-2016, 02:36 PM
Are you going to do a review on the house? . It would be really useful.

Pebbles82
03-28-2016, 01:15 AM
That's a good idea CMB - when I get it sorted I think I will.

Pebbles82
04-04-2016, 10:34 AM
Well I haven't had much time to sort the labyrinth house yet with it being school holidays - it's in a box with two stilts attached to it :rolleyes: The plastikote seems dry now anyway - I think maybe the first coat wasn't dry before I put the second one on and it was a bit thick in places (awkward shapes to paint).

Anyway wasn't sure whether to spend a few pounds on a saw or a few pounds on some 25cm stilts but have ordered some 25cm stilts so I hope I can prize the 30cm ones off now :mad:

I was actually having second thoughts about changing Charlie's house recently. He's 20 months old now and maybe it would be too annoying a change at his age. I'll see how he goes.

Piebald
04-04-2016, 11:33 AM
Using it as a play house is a great idea. See how it goes. Good luck with the prising lol.

Pebbles82
04-05-2016, 09:21 AM
Boy that glue is good stuff. There is no way those stilts are coming off now! They are very well stuck on. So looks like the options are either saw them off (or use sharp secateurs I read somewhere), or have extra deep substrate at that end of the cage and leave them the length they are. I only have two stuck on so need to decide whether to stick the other two on or wait for the shorter ones to arrive and stick two of those on and saw the other two.

It's this stuff - I read on the German Hamster forum that people use it - it's pet-safe wood glue. It doesn't smell of anything and looks a bit like runny copydex, but boy it has stuck them on hard!

Ponal PN18 Holzleim Classic 225 g: Amazon.de: Baumarkt (http://www.amazon.de/Ponal-PN18-Holzleim-Classic-225/dp/B000S697NW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459873299&sr=8-1&keywords=ponal)

Piebald
04-05-2016, 10:44 AM
I wouldn't use the secateurs they are likely to splinter the wood. The little saw is a household item you should have anyway.

CMB
04-05-2016, 10:46 AM
Saw the little bit off them. Then saw a little bit of the others and attach them.

Or saw a bit off the stilts and attach the new ones.

Pebbles82
04-05-2016, 01:04 PM
I wouldn't use the secateurs they are likely to splinter the wood. The little saw is a household item you should have anyway.

Good point. Well I have a little saw and some 25cm dowels coming so it should get sorted at some point!

Bertiebobbins
04-05-2016, 01:54 PM
Has Charlie had a play yet? I've had my eye on these, wondering if Nibble Big Bum will fit in it....

Pebbles82
04-05-2016, 03:23 PM
Lol! Big Nibble Bum. The biggest rooms are 13cm by 16cm so they're not a bad size for a nest, although I'd prefer it if it was 16 x 16 - and there's space in the other rooms for hoards and a potty. No Charlie hasn't played in it yet. I'll post some photos when he does - at the moment it only has two legs so can't stand up lol. My main concern is the height. It's lower than most houses at 11cm tall - without the roof it's 10cm tall. It's ok, and they can dig down a bit I guess, but I'd have preferred it to be a bit taller.

Pebbles82
04-11-2016, 03:41 PM
Well the house is going slowly as it has been school holidays. Other half found it in little boy's bedroom tonight and asked if I was building something for the hamster (even though I'd already asked him about sawing dowels lol and he had forgotten). He thinks I built the whole house as well as sticking the dowels on ha ha. I'll have to come clean tomorrow. So now I have two long dowels, one shorter one that is waiting for the glue to dry then I'll need to saw off the two longer ones to the same length as the shorter one. I've only got 3 on it because of the sloping cage base, so it can rest on the lip of the base at the back and the right and have two legs at the front and one half way along the left side so it doesn't get fouled up with the sloping base.

CMB
04-11-2016, 11:39 PM
Are you going to post photos of the finished project? Out of the cage and inside the cage would be good.

Pebbles82
04-12-2016, 01:32 AM
Thanks CMB - yes will try and do that! If it ever gets in the cage lol.

Pebbles82
04-25-2016, 02:31 AM
I just wanted to say I think the Labyrinth house is absolutely brilliant! But I do think it works best supported on legs. By having 3 dowel legs it can sit on top of the substrate in a cage and one side and the back can rest on the edges of the cage base. This means there is enough height for a good sized nest (Charlie has burrowed down a bit) and lots of substrate underneath the house, plus they can tunnel in and out of the house if they want without it hurting them by subsiding (it's a fair size so would be a weight for a hamster even though it's not that heavy).

But it would also be fine sat on just a small amount of substrate (an inch maybe) with the substrate piled up round the outside so make a semi subterranean house - they would then use the rooms floor area for hoards rather than bury them - for an average sized hamster that is. Because Charlie is quite big I think he needs the extra depth and I wanted the house higher to make a shelf as well.

So it seems to be a success. Whoever designed the layout got it right. I was hoping Charlie would use the room on the left for nesting and the room at the back/centre for his toilet as they access each other and are both away from the front hole. That is exactly what he has done. That means he can use the small section at the back left for hoards and the front small room and right room are a kind of walkway to get in and out of the front hole and the top hole (plus extra room for hoards as well if they want).

He pops out of the top hole to have a drink and dives back down it again head first. I'm thinking I might put a bit more substrate under the top hole so he doesn't have to far to dive down and can land a bit easier (as he is getting older!), but he seems ok with it. He is so lazy he half sits on the hole while having a drink rather than climbing out completely and I kept expecting him to lose his footing and topple backwards!

Will get some photos when I get chance. The 10cm headroom looks more than it sounds and is fine. And the rooms are plenty big enough for a nest - especially if they can burrow down a bit. Charlie actually has a different kind of nest now. Instead of packing the room like he did before, he just has a bit of nesting paper and burrows down into the Fitch. And his plastic potty fits in as well.

I think it's a great house for a Syrian hamster and also makes a good sized shelf. You could even fit a flying saucer on top of it.

josiah416
04-25-2016, 04:56 AM
I had not heard of the rodipet labyrinth before- I looked it up and it looks awesome! So much more like a network of tunnels than really anything I've seen before.

AmityvilleHams
04-25-2016, 06:26 AM
I had not heard of the rodipet labyrinth before- I looked it up and it looks awesome! So much more like a network of tunnels than really anything I've seen before.

Unfortunately they're a German product and they aren't really available in the US :( This is honestly another reason I want to move to England.

Pebbles82
04-25-2016, 06:36 AM
I think anyone who doesn't mind a bit of diy could easily make one! It's basically a box with compartments in and a lid that lifts off (open at the bottom).

It's about 41cm wide by 26cm deep, divided into three inside and then 3 more smaller divisions to divide those three widths into a small and large compartment in each width. So the three larger compartments are about 13cm by 16cm internally (ie between the 'walls').

The lid just has a couple of dowel pegs under to stop it slipping off. Then a hole in the top lid and the front of the box. It's 11cm high (10cm internally). I stuck 25cm dowels on the outside of it with petsafe wood glue. (But then trimmed about another 1.5cm off those so it sat on the edge of the cage base at one side).

In a tank you could make the legs as long or short as you want. I just wanted it well above the substrate and so it couldn't fall on our hammy if he tunnelled underneath it.

You could even make one out of a cardboard box (I wish I had thought of that before lol).

Yes the Germans do have a lot of good hamster products available :-) Particularly Rodipet. They have some nice videos about hamsters in the wild if you look on youtube. They specialise in things hamster and seem to do a lot of research.

I just think it's so cleverly designed, as they seem to know that the hamster will nest in the compartment furthest away from both entrance holes (where it's darkest) and closest to a compartment they can use as a toilet corner at a diagonal to the nest.

I am just waiting to see if Charlie uses the small compartment at the back for putting hoards in. At the moment he's just burying them under his nest as usual I think.

Here's the link to the house if you want a closer look :-)

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-wohnlabyrinth-davinci-41x26cm-7cm.html

AmityvilleHams
04-25-2016, 06:41 AM
I think anyone who doesn't mind a bit of diy could easily make one! It's basically a box with compartments in and a lid that lifts off (open at the bottom).

It's about 41cm wide by 26cm deep, divided into three inside and then 3 more smaller divisions to divide those three widths into a small and large compartment in each width. So the three larger compartments are about 13cm by 16cm internally (ie between the 'walls').

The lid just has a couple of dowel pegs under to stop it slipping off. Then a hole in the top lid and the front of the box. It's 11cm high (10cm internally). I stuck 25cm dowels on the outside of it with petsafe wood glue. (But then trimmed about another 1.5cm off those so it sat on the edge of the cage base at one side).

In a tank you could make the legs as long or short as you want. I just wanted it well above the substrate and so it couldn't fall on our hammy if he tunnelled underneath it.

You could even make one out of a cardboard box (I wish I had thought of that before lol).

Yes the Germans do have a lot of good hamster products available :-) Particularly Rodipet. They have some nice videos about hamsters in the wild if you look on youtube. They specialise in things hamster and seem to do a lot of research.

I just think it's so cleverly designed, as they seem to know that the hamster will nest in the compartment furthest away from both entrance holes (where it's darkest) and closest to a compartment they can use as a toilet corner at a diagonal to the nest.

I am just waiting to see if Charlie uses the small compartment at the back for putting hoards in. At the moment he's just burying them under his nest as usual I think.

Here's the link to the house if you want a closer look :-)

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-wohnlabyrinth-davinci-41x26cm-7cm.html

Honestly that would be a very easy DIY project once you get the holes sorted out :D I'll probably attempt making something similar in the future but I do really like the concept overall.

Pebbles82
05-03-2016, 01:56 AM
Charlie seems well settled into the labyrinth house and seems to be enjoying it. He surprised me by not packing out the nesting room with paper like he did before, but just has a bit of paper in there and burrows down in the Fitch in his nesting room - but then he can burrow down because the house is sitting above about 6" of substrate. He is using the back centre room, directly opposite for his wee corner so I've put his potty in there. At the moment he still seems to be hoarding under his nest, but I think he's also hoarding in the small back compartment behind his nest room as he has clearly burrowed under into it. He uses the other rooms as an entrance hall and a 'run' to the top door.

He comes out of the top hole for a drink and goes back down it head first. I might raise the Fitch a bit under that hole as it seems quite a drop when he goes in head first.

I've seen him sitting in the "entrance hall" just behind the front door - keeping an eye on what I'm doing (I was adding extra substrate).

The only slight issues so far are, the top sticks a bit when I try to remove it as the plastikote has made it a tighter fit, so I could do to sand the pegs a bit. And it isn't as easy to get him out as he clearly can't smell a treat held in front of the front door when he's round the corner, and his tube doesn't fit in one of the compartments to get him out that way - so I need to improvise something for him to walk into - last night I just put a piece of cheese in his donut bed and held that next to the hole into his nest room and he walked into it, but lifting him out isn't much of an option now as he just burrows down lol.

Still he's only been in it a couple of weeks so his habits might change and he might venture out more. It makes a nice big shelf though. Haven't had chance to do a review yet, but here are a couple of photos of his nest and potty room inside it.

1) He is burrowed down in the front left room and you can see he has tunneled under into the small compartment behind it so reckon there's some hoard under there!

2) Nest front left, wee corner back centre.

3) Coming out the top for a drink

4) Makes a shelf for his rough stone, food bowl and water bottle

cypher
05-03-2016, 02:03 AM
His nest looks a bit like my hams do now he has lots of space to burrow down!

I've had a problem with tops sticking a bit with some houses, it can make things a bit scary for a new or nervous ham if you have to struggle to get the top off when they're in there so what I do now, depending on the style of house is sand down anything that sticks or saw off the little peg bits then glue some small dowel pins on the underside of the top just inside the base so it's enough to stop the top sliding around but it still lifts off really easily.

Pebbles82
05-03-2016, 02:07 AM
Thanks Cypher - I wondered about sawing off the pegs - I'll try sanding them first as it lifted off easily before I plastikoted it :-)

Piebald
05-04-2016, 11:39 AM
Oh great to hear :)
I have been afk and missed this. Glad he likes it knowing how resistant he is to change.

Pebbles82
05-04-2016, 12:10 PM
Yes I think he likes it a lot. But is still a bit reclusive for a while after all the changes in his cage so soon after getting used to his new cage. He seems quite chilled really though.

Pebbles82
05-10-2016, 01:21 AM
Are you going to do a review on the house? . It would be really useful.

Just to let you know I did a review of it :) Although most of the info is probably in this thread already lol. But it's all in one place in the review.

CMB
05-10-2016, 12:02 PM
Thank you. The review was useful. A house with rooms can work out well.