Cage suggestions?

PoppyCorn · 01-01-2007, 11:41 AM

Poppy is in a hamster starter cage and we'd like to get her a larger one. The one she's in now is called My First Hamster Home by Super Pet. It is 13.5" long, 11" wide, and 14.5" high. (For those of you in Europe, I'm sorry I don't have the metric conversions.) It has an upper level with her food dish.

I've been told that aquariums are a good choice and I've seen cage toppers that increase the amount of room. However, I would have to buy a stand and I'd like to avoid spending too much money. The stand Poppy's cage is on now allows for a cage 16" long and 13" wide. The height doesn't matter but I would think a taller cage would be better because it would give her more room. She doesn't have any tubes or tunnels in her current cage so maybe she gets bored?

Anyway, if anyone has any cage suggestions, we'd truly appreciate it!

**pophammy** · 01-01-2007, 12:06 PM

I myself would recommend a tank type cage as opposed to a tall cage, as in a tall cage the hammy can fall over the edges of the different levels and injure itself. You could try looking on Ebay for a cage, but I have had a look and there isn't really anything suitable there! Lots of people here would recommend you make a bin cage. These are cheap to make and you can customise them however you want! Here is a link to an article on making them:

http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=18

Hope this helps!

souffle · 01-01-2007, 05:21 PM

It is a pity you can't get the excellent tank type cages in the USA that we get in the UK. They are ideal for hammies, roomy with no bars to chew and easy to clean. I too have looked around on USA sites but see nothing like them so maybe a bin or large aqaurium type would be your best bet. Hope you find something. http://www.hamstercentral.com/forum/vie ... php?t=1354
There are pics of the type of cage I would suggest here if you can get it.

PoppyCorn · 01-03-2007, 08:07 AM

Thanks pophammy and souffle! You guys are a great mother-daughter team!

I'm glad I checked here first before investing in a high-rise cage. I love the pictures of the ideal hamster homes!

If I were a hamster, I'd have fun there!

I'll look around for something similar. Is there enough air flow in the bin with the enclosed top? Or is it better to have cage bars on top as in the one photo?

**pophammy** · 01-03-2007, 10:04 AM

I think it is better to have bars on the top of a bin cage, as I believe they can become a bit stuffy if there isn't enough air getting in them. We have never made or kept ours in bin cages though, so you might be better off waiting for someone like Snuggleham to come along as she is a big fan of the bin cages!

Hana · 01-03-2007, 01:12 PM

There is enough air in the bins with just holes in the lid and the sides because that is what I have done with mine but in the summer I am going to cut a hole in the top and put wire mesh in because I feel it will be too hot and stuffy in the summer with just holes.

PoppyCorn · 01-06-2007, 07:14 PM

Okay. I bought a bin type cage today.

I'd gone around to different pet stores and found one 20" long X 13" wide X 8" high. The wheel is large and extends above the 8" height. There is a plastic attachment that goes over the top of it. A cage type door is on top. It was a display model that had been sitting on a shelf for a long time. It was all dusty! They gave me 25% off the listed price and I went home and cleaned it up.

I took a photo of it and tried to replace the last picture on my profile with the new picture but it kept reverting to the old photo. I wanted to show you all what it looks like and get some opinions. Poppy hasn't seen it yet. She's still sleeping.

How should I introduce her to the new cage? Should I let her explore it first and then put her back in her original cage so it's not such an immediate shock?

souffle · 01-07-2007, 06:18 AM

I would wait till evening when she is awake then put her old bedding and shavings in the new cage to transfer her scent to the new one. Once she is moved I would not move her back as that may cause more stress. I'm sure she will settle fine.

Did you delete the old picture before you tried to reload the new one? Delete then click update profile. Then go back in and try and upload the new one in the space.

PoppyCorn · 01-07-2007, 07:41 AM

Thanks, souffle!

I tried what you suggested but it keeps reverting back to the old photo. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

I did find the cage and some reviews on the following site:
http://www.bibirmer.com/r~p-29645380~ai ... M7~i-1.htm

I put Poppy in the new cage for a short time last night. She likes the wheel. It's larger than the one she has in her old cage. She was also exploring underneath the platform behind the wheel. It's a good hiding place. When she was done running on the wheel (it took a long time!), I put her back in her old cage for the night.

Thanks for the suggestion about moving her old bedding there. I'll do that this morning when I clean her old cage. I'll move her there tonight.

One more thing, the water bottle looks like it's too low. It hangs from the top and the downward facing nozzle is approximately 3" from the floor. I tried replacing it with her old bottle (I thought I could squeeze a portion of it through the hole on top of the cage but the hole was too large to hold it). Do you have any suggestions? The link I provided doesn't show a very large picture of the cage so I don't know if you can tell by looking at it. Another option would be to add a small bowl for water. Or I could return the cage and look for something else...

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

SnuggleHam · 01-07-2007, 07:49 AM

I see the cage picture in your profile Poppycorn, perhaps you just needed to refresh your computer to see it. It looks like you found yourself a Superpet Crittertrail cage. I just bought one for my dwarf Roborovskis. Here is a picture of mine.

I had posted a thread about it here...http://www.hamstercentral.com/forum/...pic.php?t=1520 if you care to give it a read.

The Superpet Crittertrail I found was also very dusty and had a part missing, they gave me 20% off :P

Superpet Crittertrail cages appear to be made for syrian hamsters, I assume this due to the large sized wheel, Ive never seen an actual box for the cage. But in my opinion this is to small for a grown syrian hamster. The tubes that you can buy as a way to extend the cage are often to small for grown syrian hamsters and I've heard stories of them getting stuck in the tubes

The measurements equal the size of ten gallon tank as far as floor pace goes, give or take an inch.

It seems to me pet supplying companies never make their enclosures the proper size for caged animals. I would have only recommended a cage such as this to someone that has a dwarf hamster.

My syrian Gwen is kept in a 29-gallon tank. It measures 12 inches deep by 30 inches long. Plus I have added a second level. I would have recommended a bin cage. You can buy a good one for less then 15 bucks. All my bins are roughly 14 inched deep and 28 inches long. You may find that Poppy will grow out of her cage fairly fast. If you ever feel like the cage is to small, I would hope you will consider a bin cage, as they are in my own opinion the best way to house a syrian hamster. Unless you dont mind spending more money on a large tank.