Making the Falco Syrian appropriate

[DrKMcK]

Hello Harebell. It's perfectly fine to get a 20 gallon long tank. A Syrian would do fine in one.

One way you can fix the Falco is to get a piece of plexiglass and lay it over the other shelves. One long piece would be safer. I did it with my toppers.

The video below is of one of my former hamster's first setups. My current hamster, Tim E. Bear has the Critter Trail 2 with the bigger wheel in it. I hope this gives you some ideas.

This is Ted E's House - YouTube

[AmityvilleHams]

Indoor Square Cage Rabbit & Guinea Pig by Little Friends - Little Pet Warehouse

That could be another option once meshed,it wouldn't be dangerously tall but would be much larger than the Falco or any other premade It can be cheaper on Amazon so check there as well first,and you can also get mesh extremely cheap from Amazon as well.

[velma]

The footprint of the Falco is fine. And not everyone has space for something bigger - I don't.

I have the kerry terrarium - which is the same glass base but has as a flat grilled roof not the raised grilled topper. I really like the kerry as Cleo likes to dig herself in a big nest. I went for the kerry over the Falco for a couple for a couple of reasons - where the tank was going to sit, I thought the Falco might be too tall for me to easily get at and also, I was worried if Cleo was right down the bottom it would be a pain to get at her because of how she is in her uber nests and she's never shown an inclination to climb much of anything. I have the substrate deep at one end for her nests etc and shallower down the other for her wheel to fit. But that's the needs for my hamster not yours and you know your hamster's needs and will have picked a cage which suits you both best.

Plexiglass is one solution, as DrK suggested - There are various rabbit ledges you can buy, I think? Could they be adapted? I think if I were attempting it, I'd be looking at extending and widening the walkways between the shelves. You can get some long bendy bridges that you could use perhaps? If you want to secure them, you could use small hook and eyes screwed into the bridges/platforms but be very careful that no tiny toes get caught in them.
Or some chewable matting suspended like a hammock? Wouldn't matter if it gets nibbled then. Have you had a look in the cage section of the forum at the show us your cages stickie? There are some good ideas there for hanging things (usually in taller cages but it will give you some ideas).

[Mollie]

Hi. I've just sold my Falco cage - the large one - as it was really too big for us now we've moved. I must warn anyone thinking of buying it that as the door is now only on the ***top*** of the cage and not the front as in older models access is a complete nightmare!

I had to stand on a stool to reach the bottom and as rodents don't like to be picked up from above it meant taking the barred bit off for better access - which is a total pain! If I'd kept it I would definitely have modified it to have a front door as otherwise it's difficult to set up as well as everything else.

The idea of this cage is fantastic but it needs a front door to make it a great cage. I have 120cm Bruno cages from Amazon de which are made by the same people and they have huge front doors and a top door - why they didn't do this with the Falco which is much, much higher I don't know!

You could make it safer - black plastic garden trays were my idea - using cable ties to create a shelf that went almost all the way across - but I sold it in the end instead. I housed a Syrian in it but the top access was an issue and the wheel made a truly horrendous noise when on the top section (the bars rattle against the glass when the wheel is in motion!) so I switched everyone round and housed Multmammate mice in it. My Multis are now in a big all metal cage - and they are happier and tamer for having a front door!

I'm looking at getting the Kerry Terrarium for some possible future pets. - the size is much more manageable for out flat! I do love the idea with the mesh in the glass etc - but they really need to rethink the design.

[Pebbles82]

I looked seriously at getting the 100cm Falco, and did lots of diagrams to try and make it work, both for safety and enrichment. I came to the conclusion I would not be happy with it unless I cut the bars and installed a door at the front. I also came to the conclusion the only way it could work safely, and get the benefit of the depth of substrate for tunnelling, was to basically fill the glass base almost to the top with substrate and thus treat it as a normal cage with a very deep base. This would then mean either having very light items on top (eg cardboard) or have things supported on stilts like the Germans do. In the end, after spending too much time deciding, I got a Barney cage No it doesn't have the deep base for depth of substrate but you can still get 20cm in it. I have it piled up against the bars in places because it doesn't fall out with the 7mm bar spacing - and this helps reduce the height/fall risk in the Barney a bit.

I wouldn't want a Falco with just the top door. Although that might possibly work if you had the base filled to the top with substrate, but then you have no roof to hang things from as the door is so huge on top. I decided I didn't want to start cutting bars on such an expensive cage and wasn't confident about fixing a new door on the front either.

I also looked at the idea of a 4 ft glass tank, tall enough to have deep substrate, but then you need to make a lid and maybe still only get about 20cm depth of substrate as most used tanks aren't that tall and new ones cost an absolute fortune. Much more than the Falco.

There is a place called Custom Aquaria, that will build something to your specifications - eg a 100cm glass tank, 75 cm tall (same height as the 100cm Falco, with front opening glass doors starting 45cm up, so you can have 40 cm depth of substrate, a ready made mesh locking lid for the top, and front opening access, plus a built in half shelf at the back. Cost was going to be over £200. Plus glass breaks! I really wanted to give our hammy the 30 to 40cm substrate, but I'm glad I didn't now he is older, as he needs something firm and level to walk on and he still has the 100cm floor area but can't manage climbing (or getting out of tunnels).

I totally get the wanting to buy something with no diy - I felt the same. There doesn't seem to be the ideal/perfect cage off the shelf. I added an extra shelf to the Barney and got a labyrinth house.

There is a new 100cm cage supposed to be on sale this month called the Hamster Plaza by Savic - and it has a large front opening door - which is lacking on the Barney cage. large front opening doors are great for access and interaction with the hamster.

It's supposed to be on sale from September but haven't seen it advertised anywhere yet. If it's for a Syrian I would definitely try and get something 100cm. We had an 80cm cage before and 100cm gives the extra floorspace for roaming and to fit larger items in the cage, plus a bit of height allows for shelves and levels (but not so much height that there are fall risks).

The Alexander cage is also a great 100cm cage for a Syrian and comes with virtually a full extra level.

Great deals on small pet cages at zooplus: Alexander Small Pet Cage

This is the Barney - about 3cm lower, flat top, very slightly deeper

Barney Pet Cage | Great deals at zooplus!

This is Charlie's set up in the Barney. The shelves are a bit bare because he's quite old now and can't climb so they're really just there to sit under.



Substrate piled up and labyrinth house



If you like the Falco and want it, it is a fantastic cage. Access is tricky and you are limited to what you can attach to the top bars, but I think i worked out a grass hammock attached under the door would work, plus fill the base with well packed down substrate and treat it as a standard cage, then you get the 100cm floor area, and opportunities for burrowing. Best without the shelves (or just one narrow shelf) so you can manage access from the top.

[Pebbles82]

You could attach a wheel like the 12" Silent Runner to the bars, so the wheel wouldn't need supporting (plus that wheel is silent), have a cardboard house, or stick dowels for legs on a house (I did that with the labyrinth house in Charlie's Barney cage so he can burrow down in it and it's supported on top of the substrate level).

[Mollie]

Serendipity - you reminded me to mention the other issue with the Falco - it's very, very heavy and needs two people to move. The glass is very thick and due to its size it can make moving it about a precarious and difficult business!

It does fit nicely on an IKEA Lack table (90cm one) though, in case this is helpful to anyone!

I love my Borneo cage - fantastic large doors, extra narrow bars (good for mice / dwarf hamsters). This cage has a nice deep base too.

https://www.amazon.de/M%C3%A4use--un...ords=borneo+xl

[Pebbles82]

Ah yes I forgot about the Borneo cage Nice big front door. I did think about getting one and sticking plexi glass round the inside of the bars to make a deep base for substrate, as it is quite tall. I think it would need quite a few shelves otherwise, to make it safe from fall risks, or a full level maybe. There is also the Speedy Gonzales which seems to be exactly the same cage but with a coloured base, and comes with two shelves, but for the extra cost it probably isn't worth it and you could buy a few shelves for the difference in price. And there is also a 120cm version! Of the Borneo and the Speedy Gonzales. (Edit - just noticed you already linked the 120cm version Mollie).

120cm Borneo
https://www.amazon.de/M%C3%A4use--un...ords=Borneo+XL

100cm Speedy Gonzales
https://www.amazon.de/Skyline-2423-G...A8NSYY6SC8M0R8

120cm Speedy Gonzales
https://www.amazon.de/Skyline-2983-G...NSBPSS3VCVAEZN

Actually there is a good choice of cages on Amazon.de - some post to the Uk, some don't, but a good choice of 100cm cages. This is one I was keen on

The bar top lifts right out and it has a 20cm min perspex base. It has loads of floorspace - 100cm wide by 72cm deep. The only reason I didn't get it was because we didn't have room to fit something that deep.

https://www.amazon.de/M%C3%A4use--Ha...san+marino+100

There's also the Living World Green Eco habitat on Zooplus which comes in 100cm x 58cm and 118cm x 78cm. Works out a bit cheaper than the San Marino barred one, and cheaper than the Falco, but the access is better on the barred one, plus no meshing needed (the Eco habitat has 2cm vents at the top that need meshing really).

Living World Green Eco Habitat | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

If I had the space I'd get the San Marino. Deep base for substrate (deeper than most cages), 7mm bar spacing, access doors on side and front and top lifts right out. No height/fall risk issues (the internal height is about the same as the Barney cage), on wheels, and you can use the top bars to hang things from as well.

[AmityvilleHams]

The 118 cm x 78 cm Living World Green Eco habitat would be just a bit under a square meter!It would at least be more appropriate than most cages,but with price considered there are larger options which would be cheaper to work with.

[velma]

Please remember that not everyone has the space for such a huge cage and not all hamsters will benefit from it either. To say that cages as large as that are "more appropriate" than anything smaller does not take in to account the needs of individual hamsters.

But with regards to the Falco, Mollie makes a good point about the weight. The Kerry terrarium, which is the same base as the 75cm weighs a ton. I keep mine on a metal IKEA PS coffee table as it is about the right size and is on castors some can move it if I need to because although my OH can lift it, I certainly can't.
Harebell, I think that what you can do with the safety levels depends on the access really. Especially from what Mollie has said about the door issue.