Suitable home for 1 dwarf hamster?

[Jasminerosee]

Might give this a go!

DIY IKEA Billy Extension Cage

[racinghamster]

Yes, the Detolf looks great but you need to find the room for it on a sturdy cabinet/table! The bookcase idea is nice, but I would worry about the wood being porous long term? If you can get a tank it would mean just making a lid! Although dwarf hamsters don`t require a lid unless (a) you have a cat or other larger pet and (b) the cage accessories are not tall enough to allow the hamster to reach the top ledge. It`s better to make a lid though than not have one at all, just in case. x

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the general consensus here. I have a chinese dwarf hamster in a duna fun at the moment and I think its the right cage for her, if anything I think the cage may have been a bit on the big side for her at first and wonder if she should've started in something like a combi 1 for a while and then worked up to the duna. Chilli is happy in her duna fun now but I'm pretty confident that she'd dislike a larger cage. I have dwarf hams in big cages but not all hams seem to want lots of space. Rufus (robo) is in a smaller cage than most of my hams too but again, I'm confident he'd dislike anything larger. Bertie (hybrid) is the exact opposite and I doubt I could give him too much space if I tried. It all depends a lot on the individual ham really.

Since you have the duna fun I'd give that a go first and see how things go when you actually have the hamster and can judge their behaviour more accurately.

[Pebbles82]

That glass tank on the Friday ad looks like a great bargain! It's 3 foot long 1 foot deep and 15" high. And only £15. Ok 1 ft deep isn't that deep but it's a good sized tank and a bargain price. I'm sure a dwarf hamster would love that!

[Jasminerosee]

Yea? I have messaged them to find out if it's available still

[racinghamster]

Hope you get it Jasminrosee, it would be a nice bargain.

On the issue of cage sizing, I`m starting to side with what kyrill was saying regarding large cages. I currently use a Gabber Rex (similar size to a Zoozone 1) and because I bought it second hand, I`ve always used it to house a dwarf hamster. So far, it`s housed two separate roborovski and now my Russian dwarf. He has his silent spinner wheel and a Duna shelf in there too, but given the space and time they spend utilising the wheel and the other space, Chubs sleeps all day, so I wouldn`t be quick to rule out smaller cages as long as they were not shoe boxes! x

[cypher]

It does sound like that tank would be a good bargain & could make a really nice home with the right set up, good luck getting it!

RH I had to laugh sorry but most hams sleep all day! Any ideas what chubs gets up to when you're not looking
While I do agree that some hams can be happier in a smaller space mine all use just about every bit of their cages especially with scatter feeding, lots of toys/hideouts etc to have fun with it gets quite busy in there!

[racinghamster]

I know what you mean cypher and I do like to advise people to use nothing smaller than a Zoozone 1 normally. I suppose it comes down to quality of life and if that means providing a larger than adequate cage, then yes, go for it. When I took in Fred my last robo, he came in a Mini Duna and although that`s what he was used to, I still upgraded him to the Gabber Rex because I felt it was the right thing to do and boy, he did utilise the space! Cage sizing will always be a topic for discussion but on the whole, I wouldn't use anything smaller than my current cage. x

[Jasminerosee]

What does everyone think of this?

Reptile tank/vivarium | United Kingdom | Gumtree

[racinghamster]

It`s nice....but where is the ventilation? I wouldn`t be happy with just a small vent on the side, I would want a meshed top, especially in the summer. x