Climbing Rotastak Tubes and Making Friends

[chloelclarke]

Hi there! I’m new to hamsters and new to the community! I have a couple of questions regarding my lil guy Ron Swanson!

Firstly, he has a Rotastak cage and doesn’t bother climbing the tubes. I only have a small “upstairs” room as he hasn’t been climbing but I want to build it higher up to give him more room. I’m wondering if there’s a way I can encourage him to climb, or is he just too small to manage it? Are there replacement tubes that will make it easier for him?

Secondly, I’d really love to get him a friend. Is this a terrible idea? I’ve had him for 5 days already and I know I should’ve got them at the same time but as he was my first I didn’t know if I could handle it! I have loads of rotastak compartments to create a separate cage if they fight but of course I would like them to be friends. Any advice?

Also, what treats do your robos like? So far he hasn’t liked any of the ones I’ve got him 🙄

[hellobg]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central.

I really do not recommend for him to live in a Rotastak Cage, simply because it's small and too tight of space... An open space area for example, the Skyline Kerry Terrarium, Savic Mickey XL I think, Barney and Alexander since their bar spacing is narrow.

For a friend, it's a bad idea, It's best if he grew up ALONG with a sibling to be able to pair them. Your Hamster, doesn't need to have a friend as they like living alone, often.

[chloelclarke]

Originally Posted by hellobg

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central.

I really do not recommend for him to live in a Rotastak Cage, simply because it's small and too tight of space... An open space area for example, the Skyline Kerry Terrarium, Savic Mickey XL I think, Barney and Alexander since their bar spacing is narrow.

For a friend, it's a bad idea, It's best if he grew up ALONG with a sibling to be able to pair them. Your Hamster, doesn't need to have a friend as they like living alone, often.

Thanks for the response! He has a very large set up with 2 large rooms along with lots of smaller parts, and when I’m at home and he is awake he plays in a large plastic storage container that I have turned into an obstacle course, so I’m really not too worried about it being too small! I looked up the savic Mickey XL and unfortunately I don’t have £100 to spend on it, the cage I have was very kindly donated by a friend!
Thanks for the reassurance that they’re happy alone! I think I’ll leave him be in that case!

[Baron]

A Rotastak is...a terrible cage in my opinion. No matter the hamsterspecies. Cramped, expensive, don't think the air-flow is really good at all.

I think a a large tank/duna setup would be nice for a robo. I've heard they are quite the fast little buggers, and apparantly need a large sandbath. Also really energetic.

[chloelclarke]

Originally Posted by Baron

A Rotastak is...a terrible cage in my opinion. No matter the hamsterspecies. Cramped, expensive, don't think the air-flow is really good at all.

I think a a large tank/duna setup would be nice for a robo. I've heard they are quite the fast little buggers, and apparantly need a large sandbath. Also really energetic.

He has a very large set up with 2 large rooms along with lots of smaller parts, and when I’m at home and he is awake he plays in a large plastic storage container that I have turned into an obstacle course, so I’m really not too worried about it being too small! The cage I have was very kindly donated by a friend, so also not expensive haha! He has parts with both bars and plastic so the airflow seems okay for now.
I have ordered a sand bath online and it’s just arrived, can’t wait to see how he gets on with it! I can confirm he is indeed a fast bugger, watching him on his wheel is hilarious 😂

[alpacassei]

Originally Posted by chloelclarke

He has a very large set up with 2 large rooms along with lots of smaller parts, and when I’m at home and he is awake he plays in a large plastic storage container that I have turned into an obstacle course.

Why dont you turn the storage box into his cage? Its super easy, you’ll need to either cut a hole in the lid and mesh it or drill A LOT of air holes in it. He’ll be much happier in one larger space than lots of smaller cages connected.

While in general the recommended minimum size for a dwarf hamster is between 70x 40cm and 80 x 50cm. For a robo will be okay 60x40cm if you cant afford a larger cage.

If you cant find a large enough storage bin, here’s some sffordable cages:

Mini Duna (60x40cm), its my go to starter cage for robos or any Russian hamsters that prefer a smaller space. https://www.portonaquapet.co.uk/shop...ssories-M15675 ( on sale for £27)

I dont usually recommend P@H cages but their large wire cage is 60x40cm and only £25! http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...cage?orderBy=1


For bin cages (if yuor current bin is too small)

80x40cm, this ones quite deep so there’d be A LOT of room for burrowing in deep substrate. £10 Buy Argos Home 100 Litre Curved Plastic Storage Box and Lid | Plastic storage boxes and units | Argos

You can also have a look in wilko and ikea since they often sell boxes super cheap

[chloelclarke]

Originally Posted by alpacassei

Why dont you turn the storage box into his cage? Its super easy, you’ll need to either cut a hole in the lid and mesh it or drill A LOT of air holes in it. He’ll be much happier in one larger space than lots of smaller cages connected.

While in general the recommended minimum size for a dwarf hamster is between 70x 40cm and 80 x 50cm. For a robo will be okay 60x40cm if you cant afford a larger cage.

If you cant find a large enough storage bin, here’s some sffordable cages:

Mini Duna (60x40cm), its my go to starter cage for robos or any Russian hamsters that prefer a smaller space. https://www.portonaquapet.co.uk/shop...ssories-M15675 ( on sale for £27)

I dont usually recommend P@H cages but their large wire cage is 60x40cm and only £25! http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...cage?orderBy=1


For bin cages (if yuor current bin is too small)

80x40cm, this ones quite deep so there’d be A LOT of room for burrowing in deep substrate. £10 Buy Argos Home 100 Litre Curved Plastic Storage Box and Lid | Plastic storage boxes and units | Argos

You can also have a look in wilko and ikea since they often sell boxes super cheap

Thanks for the advice! Honestly I’m very confident in the set up he has, it’s bigger than the minimum requirements you’ve stated and he seems to like running between the two large rooms. I looked at the links you provided and it’s definitely bigger than those!
I may consider turning a storage container into a cage at some point however I literally don’t own any of the tools needed so would need to borrow them! Thanks for taking the time to send me some links, I really appreciate it!

[flowerfairy]

Although many pet shops encourage selling dwarf hamsters in pairs the reality is that they very often fall out.

It is probably best to keep them as singles. Ron will be fine on his own.

I have a couple of roborovskis (in seoarate cages) and in my opinion, from what I have obseved from the 6 robos that I have owned they love to run and to dig.

Mallow lives in an 80 x 50ish cage with 5 inch deep fitch (soft paper) bedding, a sand tray and a wooden wheel from zooplus.







He seems very cotented.

Maple lives in a 100 x 54cm cage with narrow bars. She has always been very very active and seems to need the extra space.

I think the best way to give space is to give him a cage all on one level.

My robos love meal worms!!! They also like a few soaked porridge oats, raw broccli, nuts (not too many) and teeny bits of cheese.

[chloelclarke]

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Although many pet shops encourage selling dwarf hamsters in pairs the reality is that they very often fall out.

It is probably best to keep them as singles. Ron will be fine on his own.

I have a couple of roborovskis (in seoarate cages) and in my opinion, from what I have obseved from the 6 robos that I have owned they love to run and to dig.

Mallow lives in an 80 x 50ish cage with 5 inch deep fitch (soft paper) bedding, a sand tray and a wooden wheel from zooplus.







He seems very cotented.

Maple lives in a 100 x 54cm cage with narrow bars. She has always been very very active and seems to need the extra space.

I think the best way to give space is to give him a cage all on one level.

My robos love meal worms!!! They also like a few soaked porridge oats, raw broccli, nuts (not too many) and teeny bits of cheese.

Thanks for getting back to me! So far Ron has 2 large rooms on one level, and I was planning on adding smaller ones beside them so thank you! Your lil guy is so sweet! As he is a robo he definitely is more active like Maple so I have lots of things to keep him occupied!
He has a couple peanuts in his food and likes to pick them out so they’re definitely his favourites! I’ll have to give the others a try, I’m still not 100% on what he can and cannot eat so all suggestions are great thanks!

[alpacassei]

Hi, love your robos name!! I have a robo called Sundae!

Dont worry about your hammie not climbing the tubes, robos prefer lots of space to burrow and run rather than climb! To be honest, Rotastak aren’t very good cages since they’re quite small with not much space to burrow and play. Which set up do you have?

My robo Sundae LOVES his Duna Multi. Its just under 80x50cm which is the perfect size for robos and its a tank style cage so you can fill it with super deep substrate without worrying about it getting kicked through the bars and making a mess. I actually separated about a third of the Duna Multi off using wooden bendy bridges to make a ‘desert’ area to simulate his natural habitat!

Ron will be perfectly happy on his own so dont worry qbout him beign lonely! If you tried to give him a friend now, im afraid they’d just fight. Honestly most hamster pairs need separating later anyway.

My Sundae’s favourite treats are dried mealworms and fresh veggies and fruit