NewCage

[TobyC]

Hello fellow Hamster lovers!!!! I want to build from scratch a new cage for my hamster, sirius! All I ask for some advice on how to go about it (from the UK). I need to know what the best wood is etc. Sirius current has a Barney cage.

Thanks guys!!!

[Ria P]

The Barney looks pretty good and Sirius is lovely!
Good luck with your home build. Looking forward to see the finished product.

Sorry, can't give any advice but hopefully somebody will soon.

[ilguy]

I hope it goes well, I'm sure there's great advice out there. I can add that you can get mesh "hardware cloth" from any hardware store that works well for lids and side ventilation. Plus, you can find dried mealworms in bulk while you're there in the bird/hamster sections. I got a pound for $17

[TobyC]

@RiaP & @ilguy. Thank you both! He’s only just 10 weeks old! We do give him meal worms as a treat and when in the play pen.

Just looking really for advice on what wood use. I’ve watched a few videos and seen that melanine wood is a good option but want to make sure if he became a chewer that’s he wouldn’t be able to chew through it.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Originally Posted by TobyC

@RiaP & @ilguy. Thank you both! He’s only just 10 weeks old! We do give him meal worms as a treat and when in the play pen.

Just looking really for advice on what wood use. I’ve watched a few videos and seen that melanine wood is a good option but want to make sure if he became a chewer that’s he wouldn’t be able to chew through it.

Hi, if you do it so everything is flush against each part, then hopefully the hamster can't manage to find something to chew on. I recently just built the IKEA Komplemet cage, I built this for an extremely highly strung crazy female syrian hamster, unfortunately she passed away before she could move into it properly but she used it on a night as a hamster run and couldn't find her way to escape or chew out of it.
Ikea Komplement Hamster Cage | Full DIY Tutorial - YouTube

People use melamine in the UK or something like birch plywood, if you use that I strongly recommend sealing it with something like plastikote or little knights paint or cuprinol garden shades paint to give it some protection from hamster pee. Hope that helps.

[TobyC]

@LunaTheHamster1 - yes my partner has seen about putting Plastikote on the wood to protect it. My sister also recommenced it too

[Pebbles82]

I wouldn’t use wood to build a cage - it could be chewed through. Melamine is fine and there are a number of IKEA hacks out there. Which can also look very smart and are wipe clean.

My dwarf hamster Feta’s enclosure. It’s the ikea pax. The inner measurements are 232,5cm x 96cm x 56cm. 3452 square inches. : hamsterlove

I think the largest are the Pax ones - the Germans are big fans of pax cages and they can be varying sizes depending which pax wardrobe shell you get. Linked below (the larger one is not cheap).

Having said all that. As Ria says, the Barney is an excellent sized cage - one of the largest barred cages there is as it’s 54cm deep so gives more floorspace than most 100cm cages - and most hamsters would be very happy in there. I actually prefer barred cages for ventilation and closer interaction with the hamster through the bars and cages. I’ve had the Barney cage - the small front doors can be a boon or not so good, depending on the nature of the hamster. A confident or gregarious hamster will happily come to one of the front doors to come out. A shy hamster may need tempting out in a tube (you’d need to use the top door for that to lower it in).

As he’s only 10 weeks old and they need at least two weeks to acclimatise to a cage, scent mark it and decide where to nest and make it their own environment, I wouldn’t rush to upgrade him and perhaps focus more on hand taming for now - that can take a couple of months to fully hand take them and then build trust in you. Unless you’re lucky enough that he’s already fully hand tame

They are quite sensitive little things and can be affected by stress. A cage change is a big stress so timing needs to be right and it needs to be done carefully. I made the mistake of moving our first hamster cold Turkey to a new cage and he was so affected I literally thought he was going to die . He came round - it took 10 days for that. A cage change can also set taming back so best they are well familiar with you first.

There are some very good things you can do for enrichment with barred cages as well for variety- if you look at the let’s see your cages thread you can see what others have done - attaching things to bars and roof (I use the roof in my set ups to make a roof run) with rat tubes and hanging rat Sputniks/hammocks. Doesn’t look very glamorous but the hamsters love it .

However - for some hamsters no cage is big enough! And they can benefit from something bigger - and then you are looking at diy or tank style cages.

I would let him settle in the current cage for at least a few more weeks though - he’s still a baby and they can get scared easily.

If and when you do a cage change it’s important to move everything across without cleaning anything - and avoid our human temptation to have everything nice and clean and brand spanking new . Including all the old substrate. Doesn’t matter if it’s slightly whiffy for a couple of weeks (and they need the two week settling in period again and to be left alone for the first two or three days at least).

With a larger cage you’d need a lot more substrate so you fill the new cage with substrate then spread the old substrate on top. Any new items in the cage are fine but try to keep two or three old items from the old cage and out those in the same layout as before. Eg house right hand side, wheel back left etc - and any floor toys in similar locations. And don’t clean those before moving them either. This can really help then settle in and feel familiar and reduce the stress. As some things still smell of them and smell and feel familiar. Also move the old nest across into the house (even if it’s a new house) and some of the old hoard as well - in the same place as before. Their nest and hoard are their most precious things and they can get very upset about those disappearing or being messed with! Our hamsters use a litter tray so I never remove the nest and they keep it clean and dry. If it’s peed in (baby hamsters do that sometimes) you have to remove some of it but try and leave some of the old nest behind and put new toilet paper strips out in a pile and they rebuild it from that. Same with the hoard - if it’s peed on then you need to remove some of it but try and leave a bit of old dry hoard where it is - then add a handful of new food to that - they seem to accept that! Otherwise they can get in a cycle of peeing on their hoard to deter invaders from stealing it!

Ok some pax links


With these you turn it on its back and replace the door with a meshed lid you’d need to make from wood strips and mesh (1cm squared mesh).

PAX / FARDAL Wardrobe with 1 door, white/high-gloss/white, 50x60x201 cm - IKEA

PAX / BERGSBO Wardrobe, white, 100x60x201 cm - IKEA

[Pebbles82]

Just to add - a move from a barred cage to a diy type is a huge change of environment so as well as moving everything across without cleaning, I would highly recommend a transition period of a day or two. It’s a bit of a faff but it really helps the hamster settle in quickly and avoid stress. I’ve found this with trial and error.

So when the new cage is set up with some substrate and a few new items - you let the hamster have some out of cage time in it - a playtime. They may get all excited and explore everything or they may be a bit freaked and hide or sit in one corner. Some people leave then in there at that point when they seem excited and exploring everything but I wouldn’t advise it.

Put them back in their old cage for the night (and they are usually relieved by that - the familiarity). Then repeat next day - at that point you could decide to move them in rather than do the same thing for two days - depending how they are. They are already familiar with the new cage and have scent marked it s bit.

So then you’d put them somewhere safe (eg a pet carrier) in another room from the cages (they can get quite distressed hearing and smelling you doing stuff to their cage and the noises - they know something is going on!).

Then move everything over from the old cage to the new. When it’s all finished and set up - move the hamster into the new cage. They should settle much quicker but can still be a bit jittery for s few days.

Another important thing is to take the old cage out of the room - ideally clean it out and put it away somewhere. They can get quite upset if they can still smell or sense the old familiar cage in the room. Our first hamster used to regularly go back k to the spot where his old cage was (when he was free roaming) snd have a good sniff and look a bit sad!

It’s like moving house really! It’s a huge change even if it’s for the better. The difference is - we know it’s going to happen and have some control and nobody throws our bed away in the process!

[Pebbles82]

All of the above applies to general cage cleaning too. Not sure if you’re aware of that . Don’t clean them out too much. You can just spot clean the pee - or clean the wheel occasionally- as and when needed. A large cage stays clean and dry for a long time. Dry hoard stays fine hoarded for quite a long time - it’s only if it’s peed in it can need partly removing. Any fresh veg or food they tend to eat straight away and not hoard it (but only give tiny pieces - eg 1cm cubed size a day).

I go three to four months before changing the substrate - with the odd bit of spot cleaning. And that usually involves adding a handful or two of substrate as it can flatten down.

Even then I keep about half the old clean substrate back and mix it in with the new or spread it on top so it still smells familiar. That layer gets spot cleaned out gradually.

They are actually very clean little things - it’s only their pee that smells or is unhygienic. And some hamsters actually clean out their own houses! You can find a pile of old substrate or bedding outside the house and a big hole in the middle of the cage where they’ve taken new substrate into their nest.

Took me a long time to recognise - once they’re in a cage - it’s theirs - not mine! They are territorial and it’s their environment. They can accept a hand in the cage doing things - when they’re used to you - but may follow it round anxiously checking what you’re doing! Taming is best done out of the cage - most hamsters respond completely differently out of the cage and don’t like a hand in the cage or to be picked up in the cage. I let ours walk into a tube and lift them out that way.

Bathtub (dry) is a good place for taming sessions - with the odd toy in it.

[Pebbles82]

Other peoples set ups for ideas

Let's see your cages - New thread - July 2017

Sirius is gorgeous by the way! He looks a bit like one of our past hamsters - Moo