£30/£40 Budget, Cage Recommendations?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Ah ok, silly OH then Awww.... Poor girl. Sounds like its definetly worth trying to get her

Er... It depends entirely on what works for you. A smaller cage would probably actually help the taming when she's so scared so starting in a smaller one is good. Given the size I'd probably be tempted by the imac fantasy because its only 3cm longer than a mini duna, has two full levels and looks like you can easily take off either the top or everything above the base for access. If you did take everything above the base off for taming you'd not even have a very big ledge for her to walk over to get out (downside - she can't have much substrate, bright side, she can't dig herself into the substrate to hide from you). Two big downsides are that the access is horrendous if you don't do that and it might be hard to get her off the top at first if she goes there to hide But its easily extended (when she's tame) and does cost £39.99 new off amazon so is within budget. Plus its only 38cm high so you can stack the mini duna on it and most people seem happy with 8" wheels for syrians (or at worst just get a 12" FS)

To help get cage sizes clearer (because I clearly know them too well)... A mini duna is 55cm by 39cm, an imac fantasy is 58cm by 38cm, the cambridge is approximately 60cm by 40cm but I may be a bit out there, and I think the imac bingo is about 70cm by 40cm. All are similar in one dimension but different in the other. My main thoughts are that a mini duna seems too small and a cambridge may have bad access with the shelves and everything when you're dealing with such a nervous ham.

Sorry... Lots of thoughts and opinions and nothing concrete lol. Whats she in at the moment? If she's in something tiny anything'd be an upgrade and thats always a good thing to remember too when its a cage for a relatively short time


Edit - My OH has just suggested a bin cage. They're cheap, the entire top comes off, you can get metal panels with doors in them from ebay if you want to and you can make one to fit the size you have. Oh and you can customise them to make them look pretty if needed, I remember the Igor Fuschia conversation

[Pinkchi]

Yeah, you see my predicament! Lol

I'm not a fan of bin cages however temporarily I could probably put up with one. Not sure I've got the tools or know-how to make one though :/

I'm having another hunt in EBay at the moment I did see an imac fantasy listed yesterday but it's a bit of a drive, my OH is paying so I'd have to prise some cash off him and go look for a cage while I have 2 days off.

I also need a wheel for her. I don't want a huge one like the 12" Silent spinner that's a bit much!

Don't suppose you know what cages jollyes stock off the top of your head? I can't remember it's been a while since I've been

[Pinkchi]

A pic comparing savic Bristol (59x37x3, pah large wire cage (59x38x30) and pah equivalent to duna fun (55x47x37.5) measurements are W x D x H or at least I think they are if I've worked it out correctly!

[RedSky]

Jollyes sell zoozones, the smaller one might work for a short period but not big enough for a fully grown hamster and personally I think they are expensive as a temporary cage. But if the cost isn't a concern then it could work.
Not sure the biggest wheel you would get in there. I have 2 Zoozone 2s, Rolo's 12" silent spinner doesn't fit with the lid on properly so it has to be balanced carefully with some extra mesh (which isn't too hard since it will need remeshing anyway) down the sides so she can't escape.
Lily has the 6" wheel (being a small dwarf ham) but this would be too small for an adolescent Syrian. How big is your hamster?

[kyrilliondaemon]

I definetly see the predicament. I could've carried on listing pros and cons of stuff but figured I'd written enough

Don't think I've ever been in Jollyes I'm afraid. The biggest wheel you can fit in a ZZ1 is an 8" if I remember correctly, again never owned one but have heard a lot about them

[Pinkchi]

I've scoured all local pet shops and all I can find is either the savic Bristol, ferplast duna fun or imac fantasy. All have very similar dimensions.

I'm leaning towards the Bristol or duna fun.
Not ideal, but as a temporary cage for an aggressive syrian the access on those 2 are better than the imac. And I need to be able to stack a mini duna on top.

I hate the blue base in the Bristol but it gives more scope for hanging toys and I would remove the crappy level and add my own.

Duna fun is tall, has levels but not great to hang things from really :/

[kyrilliondaemon]

As long as you can access her easily in the bristol then it sounds like thats best, stacking a duna on a duna fun I'd be worried about if there was still enough ventillation to be honest (and it'd be a pest to access it for feeding time)

[Pinkchi]

I've juggled some of out stuff around and if I relocate the hams I can squeeze in a ZZ1
Stacking isn't an issue, if I turn Jasps mini duna so it goes across the ZZ width ways instead of length then it sits on top without blocking up most of the ventilation in the ZZ

Getting some mesh for the top won't be an issue and I spotted an 8" comfort wheel on my travels this afternoon. My only reservation is I had a ZZ1 for my previous syrian and she chewed a bloody hole in it! I can't have that happening again!

If I could find a cage thats the same size (ish) as the ZZ1 that had a mesh top instead of plastic for under £50 (OH has offered to pay a bit more) that would be perfect.

[Pinkchi]

Well.....that didn't exactly go to plan!

I was sat contemplating a road-trip to Jollyes when my OH arrived home from work early..............with a cage!

Not what I was hoping to go with, but it's not so bad and will do for the short term. He brought home the Duna Fun, and even bought a few toys and bits and pieces for her

He told me he chose that one because he knows Jasp is old and when he goes we would be able to connect the 2 cages for her. Jasps duna is actually a duna fun with the middle but taken out due to his old age. Which tbh that is something I never thought of.

She has a woodlands hamster home, hanging wooden chew, pink wooden chew attached to the wire under the top platform, mini rush ball toy and some wooden hamster fruit chews. I will be getting her the comfort wheel to replace the small one within the next few days so will be having a bit of a jiggle around.

Here is a quick pic. I pick up my little tortie baby tomorrow

[kyrilliondaemon]

Thats not great (especially not when you'd figured out a way to get a ZZ1) but at least he wanted to help