Adding hamster pipes?

[Emma H_amster_]

Originally Posted by cypher

You shouldn't need to clean the cage often, if Poro has a pee corner or uses a litter tray you can just spot clean that area, toys & things really don't need cleaning very often if at all unless they get peed on!
If you use the box or a playpen of some kind for regular out of cage time she will get more used to it (without the added stress of cage cleaning!) so that when you do need to do a clean she should be a bit more comfortable in the box.

ok ty
only clean it ones a month and the rest i found out is that she poop in her house and pee in the wheel so im a bit lucky cheap way but annoying to clean xD
but can it be true that she only poop and pee in wheel and house?
will try that with the playpen tho but just havent got many toys to her

[cypher]

They are only tiny so yes she probably does only pee in her wheel & poo in her house!
They usually find one place they like to use & stick with it so it does make cleaning quite easy.

[Emma H_amster_]

Originally Posted by cypher

They are only tiny so yes she probably does only pee in her wheel & poo in her house!
They usually find one place they like to use & stick with it so it does make cleaning quite easy.

well then im pretty lucky thjat she didnt choose other places make it so much cheaper just more difficoult with the house i got xD

[Nancy's Hamsters]

If the house has no bottom and you have DIY skills to build you can get plastic glass and cut a square big enough, and deep enough to place a divider down the middle of the floor of the square and for the square to have the whole house to fit inside and place sand on one side and bedding on the other so she has a very nice and private potty and bed under the house. If the house has a solid bottom then this won't work. But you could drill small holes in the bottom to allow pee to run through and on the substrate under the house if she also pees in the house,

As for the wheel and her peeing in it that has no easy solution sad to say, except cleaning when it gets stinky. Some members have bought and extra wheel and just remove the peed up wheel,and put the spare wheel in so they can soak the peed up wheel for several hours and allow it to air dry. Doing this often solves the problem of a stressed Hamster having no wheel.

The other possibility is to hang the wheel up so when she pees in the wheel it drains out BUT with a dwarf I can't see how you could do that and her be able to still get in the wheel since the Alaska is a big cage.

[Emma H_amster_]

Originally Posted by Nancy's Hamsters

If the house has no bottom and you have DIY skills to build you can get plastic glass and cut a square big enough, and deep enough to place a divider down the middle of the floor of the square and for the square to have the whole house to fit inside and place sand on one side and bedding on the other so she has a very nice and private potty and bed under the house. If the house has a solid bottom then this won't work. But you could drill small holes in the bottom to allow pee to run through and on the substrate under the house if she also pees in the house,

As for the wheel and her peeing in it that has no easy solution sad to say, except cleaning when it gets stinky. Some members have bought and extra wheel and just remove the peed up wheel,and put the spare wheel in so they can soak the peed up wheel for several hours and allow it to air dry. Doing this often solves the problem of a stressed Hamster having no wheel.

The other possibility is to hang the wheel up so when she pees in the wheel it drains out BUT with a dwarf I can't see how you could do that and her be able to still get in the wheel since the Alaska is a big cage.

well Birte House - 25 × 24 × 16 cm - mice, hamsters etc: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies
this is the house i have without stone and the bottom front fence (she broke it :3) and there is a hole at the bottom of the house like most of them but thats it good idea with the second wheel then i can change every month instead tho and then wash my wheel i just used that month sounds like a good or bad idea? thinking about the flying saucer.
does it need to get washed everytime like the wooden wheel from wonderland? because flying saucer is plastic and i dont know much about that so xD

[cypher]

If you use a wooden wheel it's best to paint it with something like Plastikote (a non toxic paint) otherwise you will never be able to get the pee out & clean it properly.
Plastic ones are a lot easier to keep clean, just rinse them or wipe down with a damp cloth or kitchen paper only do a really good clean with disinfectant if they get very smelly!
One of mine pees in her wheel & I just give it a rinse daily & swap it with another wheel if it needs a really good clean.
Do you have a sand bath (chinchilla sand not dust) at all? They will usually pee in the sand & it might make your life a bit easier, less cleaning!

[Emma H_amster_]

Originally Posted by cypher

If you use a wooden wheel it's best to paint it with something like Plastikote (a non toxic paint) otherwise you will never be able to get the pee out & clean it properly.
Plastic ones are a lot easier to keep clean, just rinse them or wipe down with a damp cloth or kitchen paper only do a really good clean with disinfectant if they get very smelly!
One of mine pees in her wheel & I just give it a rinse daily & swap it with another wheel if it needs a really good clean.
Do you have a sand bath (chinchilla sand not dust) at all? They will usually pee in the sand & it might make your life a bit easier, less cleaning!

i use chinchilla sand :3
and yes i have a sand bath to her
maybe i could get my sister to put the pastikote on the wheel then :P
too scared to do it myself xD
is the flying saucer good? and safe?

[Pebbles82]

I put Charlie in his pet carrier sometimes when I'm cage cleaning - it's a very handy thing to have! I fill it with substrate and a little cardboard hay house for him to go inside if he wants, and scatter some food in it, pop him in and close the lid and then I take it upstairs because he gets stressed if he can hear me doing things to his cage! Most of the time I try and clean it while he's still in it - so they can feel in more control seeing what you are doing, rather than coming back and knowing something or someone has changed things and they wonder if an intruder is lurking in there! But if I have to remove his nest (occasionally this happens if he has wee'd in it) it's better he doesn't see or he gets quite upset. And he keeps trying to climb over the edge so eventually I pop him in the pet carrier unless it is just a quick spot clean. I find if I put a blanket over the pet carrier he just goes to sleep in it or sits in the house munching, but if I don't he tries to get out of it - he can't get out of it though! But at least he's more relaxed if he can't see daylight. So it goes on top of our bed with a blanket over - make sure nobody else is around or they might not know he's under the blanket! So I find the bedroom the safest place.

I have this pet carrier

Ferplast Aladino Guinea Pig Carrier, Medium, 30 x 23 x 21 cm, Blue: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

The Hamster sized one is like a coffin it's so small, but the guinea pig sized one is a nice size - not too big, not too small. Just right for a Syrian or a dwarf hamster.

I like Erin's video on cage cleaning tips which answers some of your questions above. I wouldn't advise having two wheels and swapping them round, they need things to smell familiar and changing items around would stress him probably and make him wee more lol.

You could just wipe it out inside every few days - it will never be 100% clean but as long as it doesn't stink TOO much

The house is a nice one but I have no idea how you would clean that if he wees in it - it would probably need to be binned unfortunately. Best to get something that is open underneath and directly on the substrate and if it has a lift off top it's even easier as you don't even need to remove it. The plain wood ones painted with plastikote paint would be easier to clean. Or you could get one of these igloos maybe

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-100...=hamster+igloo

Or this labyrinth house is popular! Hams love them because they have tunnels inside and a dark area for nesting and it has a lift off lid - you could probably plastikote the inside of this one and it would probably fit under the Alaska shelf.

Trixie 6201 Natural Living Leif Labyrinth House 35 11 25 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

I think your current house would be better for in a playpen for out of cage play where it's less likely to get pee'd in and where you can keep an eye on things - someone recently had a hamster get trapped in those fence bars in a similar house.

I'm also not keen on hard plastic hamster tubes and think tubes inside the cage for play are better rather than connecting or going outside the cage (where they are an escape hazard as well).

The cardboard chew tubes are good, colourful and cheap and if you put one partly under substrate with one end sticking out it encourages them to tunnel. I have a rat sized one tied to the top of the cage with sisal string leading from a sputnik to a shelf. A sputnik is a good thing to have next to a shelf too when your bank balance has recovered lol.

Savic Sputnik, 21.5 X 21.5 X 12.5 Cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Just make sure there is a ledge, tube or soft landing on each side of the sputnik in case he jumps out.

You won't need rat sized tunnels for a winter white though, that's for larger hamsters like Syrians. Kitchen roll tubes and toilet roll tubes can make good toys - here are the chew tubes

Boredom Breaker Chew Tube Small Animal Toy Small: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Below is a picture of Charlie's rat sized sputnik and tube - but they're huge and you'd want the smaller size

Anyway here's Erin's cage cleaning tips video - it's good! Sorry if I've already linked it before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

[Pebbles82]

If you're interested in getting one of the pet carriers, here's another little video of Charlie playing in his! I'd popped him in it while I sorted his cage out and he didn't want to come out again lol! The little hay house is just a cardboard box with bits of hay on the outside and dried carrot on top but he munches away at it! He has one inside the cage that he's not the interested in, but in the pet carrier it keeps him happy for ages. They're £2 or £3 from Amazon or Viovet.

I wasn't keen on paying for a pet carrier but thought it could be useful if we ever had to take him to the vets, plus it gets used a fair bit during cage cleaning or just as a 'toy' in the playpen sometimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3xlMIBJ7iA

[Emma H_amster_]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I put Charlie in his pet carrier sometimes when I'm cage cleaning - it's a very handy thing to have! I fill it with substrate and a little cardboard hay house for him to go inside if he wants, and scatter some food in it, pop him in and close the lid and then I take it upstairs because he gets stressed if he can hear me doing things to his cage! Most of the time I try and clean it while he's still in it - so they can feel in more control seeing what you are doing, rather than coming back and knowing something or someone has changed things and they wonder if an intruder is lurking in there! But if I have to remove his nest (occasionally this happens if he has wee'd in it) it's better he doesn't see or he gets quite upset. And he keeps trying to climb over the edge so eventually I pop him in the pet carrier unless it is just a quick spot clean. I find if I put a blanket over the pet carrier he just goes to sleep in it or sits in the house munching, but if I don't he tries to get out of it - he can't get out of it though! But at least he's more relaxed if he can't see daylight. So it goes on top of our bed with a blanket over - make sure nobody else is around or they might not know he's under the blanket! So I find the bedroom the safest place.

I have this pet carrier

Ferplast Aladino Guinea Pig Carrier, Medium, 30 x 23 x 21 cm, Blue: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

The Hamster sized one is like a coffin it's so small, but the guinea pig sized one is a nice size - not too big, not too small. Just right for a Syrian or a dwarf hamster.

I like Erin's video on cage cleaning tips which answers some of your questions above. I wouldn't advise having two wheels and swapping them round, they need things to smell familiar and changing items around would stress him probably and make him wee more lol.

You could just wipe it out inside every few days - it will never be 100% clean but as long as it doesn't stink TOO much

The house is a nice one but I have no idea how you would clean that if he wees in it - it would probably need to be binned unfortunately. Best to get something that is open underneath and directly on the substrate and if it has a lift off top it's even easier as you don't even need to remove it. The plain wood ones painted with plastikote paint would be easier to clean. Or you could get one of these igloos maybe

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-100...=hamster+igloo

Or this labyrinth house is popular! Hams love them because they have tunnels inside and a dark area for nesting and it has a lift off lid - you could probably plastikote the inside of this one and it would probably fit under the Alaska shelf.

Trixie 6201 Natural Living Leif Labyrinth House 35 11 25 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

I think your current house would be better for in a playpen for out of cage play where it's less likely to get pee'd in and where you can keep an eye on things - someone recently had a hamster get trapped in those fence bars in a similar house.

I'm also not keen on hard plastic hamster tubes and think tubes inside the cage for play are better rather than connecting or going outside the cage (where they are an escape hazard as well).

The cardboard chew tubes are good, colourful and cheap and if you put one partly under substrate with one end sticking out it encourages them to tunnel. I have a rat sized one tied to the top of the cage with sisal string leading from a sputnik to a shelf. A sputnik is a good thing to have next to a shelf too when your bank balance has recovered lol.

Savic Sputnik, 21.5 X 21.5 X 12.5 Cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Just make sure there is a ledge, tube or soft landing on each side of the sputnik in case he jumps out.

You won't need rat sized tunnels for a winter white though, that's for larger hamsters like Syrians. Kitchen roll tubes and toilet roll tubes can make good toys - here are the chew tubes

Boredom Breaker Chew Tube Small Animal Toy Small: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Below is a picture of Charlie's rat sized sputnik and tube - but they're huge and you'd want the smaller size

Anyway here's Erin's cage cleaning tips video - it's good! Sorry if I've already linked it before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

If you're interested in getting one of the pet carriers, here's another little video of Charlie playing in his! I'd popped him in it while I sorted his cage out and he didn't want to come out again lol! The little hay house is just a cardboard box with bits of hay on the outside and dried carrot on top but he munches away at it! He has one inside the cage that he's not the interested in, but in the pet carrier it keeps him happy for ages. They're £2 or £3 from Amazon or Viovet.

I wasn't keen on paying for a pet carrier but thought it could be useful if we ever had to take him to the vets, plus it gets used a fair bit during cage cleaning or just as a 'toy' in the playpen sometimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3xlMIBJ7iA

Poro is a she hehe :3
think i have seen the post one time i have checked my house and it doesnt seem like there is some place it can sit stock in :P
will probable change it anyway but i will just feel bad because she really love it
have seen the video too and he is really cute there <3