Gerbil cage suitable for Syrian hamster too?

[MommaHammie]

I have recently bought a gerbil cage from Pets at home:

Gerbil Cage and Accessories Kit | Pets at Home

They said that its also suitable for Syrian hamster so I bought it for him. He had a smaller cage before but he has gotten a lot bigger lately (I've changed his cage twice now).

It looks like this at the moment:



At first he had a hanging house at the top and the wheel was at the bottom with a board divider so he could still borrow but he took his house down after a week or so where his old wheel was in. So I took the top half of the house and moved the top level a little lower so the wheel can fit there.

He seems to be quite happy at the moment but for some reason, he normally takes all of his food where he lives but he hasn't done that as much lately. When I fill his old food bowl, he normally moves them all within a day or two. Now, it's been three days and half of his food is still there.

Should I just put the food bowl right at the bottom as well?

Thanks.

[StarlightSerenity]

I'm half asleep so can't over much advise but wanted to say whatever you do, cover the shelves with something - barred metal shelves can cause bumblefoot and/or injury. Cardboard and similar stuff is easy to get hold of and can be weaved through the bars.

[Hammymad]

I was advised to either cover my wire flooring or remove it (I took my wire shelf out) because hammies can get something called "bumble foot" from walking on wire floors and shelves.you can buy flax matts that are hammy friendly and possibly lay these over the wire to make it softer? xx although you'd have to find a way of fixing them securely so they wouldn't move and expose the bars x

[Kissa]

How big is it? Doesn't look very big to me RSPCA guidelines are 70cmx40cm floorspace, but the bigger the better really

Also the shelves need to be a solid surface, otherwise your hamster could get bumblefoot. And the wheel probably isn't big enough either; does his back bend when he runs on it? His back should be straight when on the wheel.

As for the actual question... How much have you been feeding him? I don't know the recommended amount to feed a Syrian, but if he isn't taking food but is obviously not losing weight/starving, I'd assume he was eating from his store rather than going up to the bowl. Either that, or I'd worry he isn't able to climb up to the food bowl, the ladder to the second level seems like a very steep angle. Has he had trouble climbing it?

[MommaHammie]

Well the cage size is 21x20x10. He had a much small cage before.

Also, his back does bend a little bit while he's on the wheel so I guess I have to buy a new one! I thought he was just getting a bit lazy that's why he hasn't been going on it as much

He seemed to be walking up and down the bars quite well but now I'm worried about the bumble foot thing. I can't believe the guy from pets at home didn't tell me about this D:< (might have a word when I next go there).

I have some cardboards at the moment so I'll try covering the wires with that for now I guess...

Thanks for the advise everyone! I've been a little bit emotional cause my fish died yesterday so I had to look for a hammy forum and it's been very helpful

[SnickersTheFirst]

I'm afraid that cage is very small, it's not even suitable for a pair of gerbils (although pets at home claim it can house 4 gerbils!)

Maisie lives in this gerbilarium which used to belong to my 2 gerbil boys. It's an awful lot larger than the P@H one:

[Kissa]

Originally Posted by MommaHammie

He seemed to be walking up and down the bars quite well but now I'm worried about the bumble foot thing. I can't believe the guy from pets at home didn't tell me about this D:< (might have a word when I next go there).

To be honest, I'd be surprised if anyone in there even knew what bumblefoot is. I think they just spout out what they get told to say/what the manufacturers of the products they sell say, and as far as I can tell, quite often it is utter rubbish. And they stock and sell cages that are way below any recommended size guidelines, and other unsafe products (fluffy bedding, sugar-filled foods for dwarfs, etc).

[MommaHammie]

My robos have nuggets because I was advised that the dominant one normally eats the best food or something so that's what I bought them.

I've done some changes on the cage at the moment and will probably get something better later on as shops are almost close.

It looks like this at the moment:




I basically turned the crappy thing sideways and put a cardboard and cloth on top of it. Does this look better?

Also I gave him his old food bowl back from his old cage so its easier for him to get food.

[Mona's Humans]

as a temp fix i think it looks loads better - though i don't see a wheel? he'll get mega frustrated without one

Have a look through the DIY and housing sections for advice on cages, you could quite easily and cheaply make a bin cage as a more permanent home for him

[StarlightSerenity]

Thats a great idea

Charli - I think she removed the wheel as it's too small, best option for now IMO although he will need a hell of a lot of out of cage time until he has a new wheel