Natural habitats for chinese hamsters

[Foreverhamsters]

here we go natural tank pics

first up we have natural tank
substrate:megazorb
stuff inside ^^: cork pieces, maponi wood branch + smaller piece, ceramic log base and several apcks of drieds grasses available from pets at home. complete cost include tank excluding hamsters,
about £25 got the 3ft tank of ebay for £2!!!!!
hamsters: chinese kept in it, absolutly loved it and no health issues arising from the cork or anything






next is the desert tank




substrate: chinchilla sand
stuff inside: cork piece aquatic rock from fish shop, dried grasses,
hamsters: the only complaint i would have about sand as substrate is the hams do seem to get redder feet from digging not sure if they were suffering from it, but there was a definite colour change in their feet.

future plans!!!!
the project i mworking on at the moment is a reall natural tank. i will put the stuff from that tank into a perfecto and use the 3ft tank as a natural tank for 2 robo's.

the plan is;
3 inches of soil at the bottom with 3 inches of megazorb on top the bigger plants like the brocoli will be planted in the main soil smaller plants in pots there will be a mesh gird to stop robo's gettingto the roots of the plants in the soil. the only holes cut out with be for the storks(uhh can't spell it lol) of the brocoli and for the plant piots to fit in

the plants going in are: wheat grass- looks like lawn grass but is much healthier to eat, potted
brocoli-big bushy plant perfectly edible
peas-bushy variety grows to about a foot high and then grows outwards planted in main soil
parsley-really bushy if grown right will be planted in pots
corn salad a bit like parsley but much bigger leavers will be potted also

ill post pics when i finish off

i made a miniture version and tested it with 3 robo's in for a week. they were fine and suprisingly didnt completely destroy the plants.

[Matty Day]

These interest me to an extent but they do look expensive to run I have got a zoozone ready for my next breeding Chinese girl could you do something like this in one of these?

Were do you get the plants and how do you get enough sand a t a good price.
It would be great to have a litter in a natural habitat though there would be taming problems

[ilovemyhammies]

wow them tanks are stunning
you,ve given me an idea for my mice
i threw a load of that wood out when i got rid of one of my tanks, should of kept the tank too

[NaomiR]

Gorgeous pictures and absolutly stunning chinese hammie homes, I am a HUGE fan of the natural-style for the little ones, they seem to thrive - my robos are on naturals bedding which is earth and leaves and they LOVE it, I just wish I could afford to have them all on it.

How easy was it to spot clean the sand set up?

[NaomiR]

Originally Posted by Matty Day

These interest me to an extent but they do look expensive to run I have got a zoozone ready for my next breeding Chinese girl could you do something like this in one of these?

Were do you get the plants and how do you get enough sand a t a good price.
It would be great to have a litter in a natural habitat though there would be taming problems

I think that's a great idea Matty they'll love it - and why would you have taming problems?

[Bunsey]

i've always been a fan of your natural chinese set-ups, i think they're brilliant!

[Tammy22]

Hiya,

I love your natural setups - they are great

i have thought about homing my Robos in natural tanks more than a few times in the last few years, but i always thought i would have problems with them.

Maybe you can help me out with a few things?:

in the wild Roborovskis live in burrows made in the sand - is the charlie chinchilla sand suitable for them to build tunnels in? If i did set any of them up in a natural tank i would prefer it to be as natural as possible, so i would like them to be able to make burrows in the sand to live in - and i have visions of them either not being able to burrow a tunnel in the sand or, worse, being suffocated and killed by a cave in!! I cannot imagine Charlie Chinchilla sand holding shape for a tunnel to be made

If it is suitable then where can you buy it in bulk?

If it isnt suitable then what would be? What sand is safe enought to use for them to live in and suitable to be tunneld in?

Would the sand need to be dampened to allow tunnels to survive without caving in?

I agree with Matty about the taming issues - i bagin to handle the babies before they leave the nest, so i think it would be alot later to be able to handle them if i had to wait until they came out of the burrows themselves. And having to chase them around all of the 'obstacles' in the cage - under logs, behind plants etc. - just to be able to handle them. Although, i could just keep same sex groups in the natural tanks i suppose.

Another problem would be keeping the tank clean and prevent food from rotting in the tunnels, prevent waste from building up etc.


Sorry about all the questions - i have always wanted to keep them naturaly, but always doubted the practibility of it - can anyone help me out??

Kind Regards,

Tammy x

[jayne]

They look great and loads of space for exploring and tunneling

[Noodles]

Wow I absolutely love this - I bet the hamsters adore it (and it looks so much better than my plastic cage)

Naomi R - what is naturals bedding please? Do you buy it or make it? Would it be OK for a syrian?

Also do you know any shops I can get wheatgrass seeds from?(I've found it online but would be easier to buy from shop). Is normal grass no good?
I saw these grass pots for house rabbits the other day (can't find a link - a silver pot planted with grass seeds basically) and thought I could do a mini one for Noodles but if wheatgrass is better, I guess I should use that. I've found it online but would be easier to buy from shop.

[Matty Day]

well im going to give it a go with my next litter but just switch it to fincard and remove the plants etc when i plan to have the litter.