Is there a cage that is perfect?

[RedSky]

So we are supposed to be building 2 stacking cages, which will be split in half (or there abouts) to accommodate my current 4 hamsters. In the future they will be for 2 hamsters, or 2 (maybe groups) of small rodents. But it is taking us forever. With rubbish weather whenever I'm not working and my OH and being so busy all the time I'm starting to worry that these fuzzies may never see it.

So I'm thinking of buying but need something that has good depth (homemade cages were going to be solid bases for 30cm them 20cm of mesh which opens) and front door access, with bar spacing small enough that they can't chew or escape (one of the dwarf hamsters is especially tiny so think juvenile size and none of them have been in a meshed cage but Rolo chews the water bottle hole in her Zoozone2).
They don't have to be stackable, as I can put shelves into the alcove for them, it is about 140cm across and 50ish cm deep.
Any ideas?

[2LittlePuds]

If i had enough money i would buy this

Viva + Terrestrial Vivarium Large Oak | Swell Reptiles

Then add extra vents and modify to suit

[kyrilliondaemon]

Er... To be honest I don't think there is a perfect cage. Some feel that bars are better, some find tanks are better and half the time it varies from ham to ham in general.

At 140cm long my first thought is that you can get something as large as the Alexander with no problems, but thats only using 100cm of your 140cm and you'd have to stack four in a big pile (which is doable but might not be ideal for you).

My second thought is that if you look for 70cm long you'll probably be restricted to 40-45cm wide and I'm not sure there're many cages that size with bars and front access. There's also the big risk that a chewer will continue to be a chewer - no bars are close enough to stop bar chewing completely and some determined hams even chew 6mm mesh without many problems.

[RedSky]

Thanks for the link, we were/are planning on building a vivarium style set up but with extra depth and mesh doors rather than glass. Given enough depth I could set it up so the mesh doors and shelves are far enough apart that they can't reach to chew. But it's time to paint and build it that is the problem.

In regards to the Alexander, I didn't realise the base was so deep, 17cm would be enough for my dwarf hamsters to be happy. Has anyone kept a very small or young dwarf in a cage with 1cm bar spacing? She can escape the old metal barred playpen I had, but I through it out before we moved so can't measure it.
Also does a silent spinner fit in their? With such deep substrate? I can't get it in my zoozone2 even with the stand right on the floor, I had to alter the lid and my syrian escaped.

[spyro87]

"The perfect cage" Hm, now that's a notion that I don't think exists. At all. And as Kyrilliondaemon said (wow! My iPhone just autocorrected "Kyrill" as Kyrilliondaemon without me asking!), anyways as I was saying, as Kyrill said, it tends to vary from person to person and ham to ham.

Personally I love the bin cages I have.
They're a little impractical in that they are stacked 3 high, and if I need to access the bottom ham I have to pull the top 2 off, but, it's doable. No big deal.
I sometimes wish I could have front access but then if I did Id feel I was just creating a weak point in the bin where a feisty and determined ham could make an escape.

I feel I've got a good balance between safe, ventilated and space saving

[RedSky]

How are your bins ventilated if there is no front access and they are stacked? Just out of interest.
There is a market stall down the road that sells really useful boxes that are quite large. I think they would be big enough, but not as big as I am planning, but I wonder about air flow. I have one in a bin cage, but she has no lid on as she is up out of the way and cannot reach, nor has ever seemed to try. She much rather stays in the familiar than explores.

[spyro87]

My stacked bins are meshed all round. But the mesh isn't removable or openable to give me access into the cage.
However all my hams come to the mesh and I can poke a sunflower seed through for them ^.^ that's front access enough for me

[Bekki2308]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Riviera-Vara.../dp/B00BK4G9VO

very narrow barred cage of dimensions suitable for your space with a front and a top door? Looks like itll have larger floorspace than many bins as it doesnt slope much at the base too 4 cages would fit in two rows and personally I would keep both dwarfs and syrians in that size of cage if well kitted out due to being barred it will have a larger usable volume than a tank style cage of similar size.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Originally Posted by spyro87

(wow! My iPhone just autocorrected "Kyrill" as Kyrilliondaemon without me asking!)

Well done your iPhone!

Anyway... Some dwarf hams are safe in 1cm bar spacing but I'd not rush to risk it with a really small dwarf, its better safe than sorry (especially when you're buying the cage new for them!)