Nesting in Tubes

hammyfan5280 · 01-29-2017, 11:14 PM

My daughter and I are fairly new hamster owners, but we love our little gal, Peppermint, so much. After lots of research we purchased the Hamster Heaven Metro cage for her. The cage is great, but I have one concern. She loves nesting in the tubes. She doesn't seem to hang out in the penthouse, or any of the other little houses or igloos in the cage. When this first happened we closed up the tubes for a few weeks until she started nesting regularly in her hut, we then opened them back up to see if she would prefer the penthouse. She did for a few days, but now is right back in her tubes. I am concerned about her air quality in there and how sanitary it is (the tubes are hard to clean). She tends to do everything in there from hoarding, to pooping and peeing, to sleeping. Anyway, my question is: should we continue to let her nest in there or try and get her to a new spot? If so, how? Thanks!

Thin Lizzy · 01-30-2017, 07:23 AM

Hi and welcome to HC.
Are the tubes connected to the cage? If not, then remove them. If connected to cage then shut them off.
The problem with those tubes is they can become very smelly and should your hamster become ill, it can be difficult to get to them.

CMB · 01-30-2017, 07:43 AM

The cage is ok, but a lot of people remove the tubes and penthouse for similar reasons to you. Removing them is best.

Once they are removed your hamster will set up a nest and hopefully a pee area. The poop may be done inside the house and outside the house. It is normally dry so can be left for a while between cleaning out.

cypher · 01-30-2017, 09:01 AM

Nesting in tubes is a very common & unfortunately unhealthy problem with new hams, I would remove the tubes & penthouse, you should have stoppers that come with the cage to block off the holes.
She may get a bit upset to begin with but will soon find a more suitable place to sleep, hoard food etc. A house with no base is the best thing, wood (needs plastikote paint inside to pee proof it) a cardboard box, preferably not a plastic house.
I have the same cage & tbh think it's a much better cage without the tubes & penthouse attached.

hammyfan5280 · 01-30-2017, 09:40 AM

Thank you for the advice. That's is what I thought, but I just wanted to confirm as she seems so happy in there.

Rooky101 · 01-30-2017, 11:55 AM

Although I do not have the same problem with my hamster in this cage, I think it is safe to say that you should block off the tubes completely. Maybe when she is a bit older you could try putting them back in, but I would generally say that the cage is better without the tubes and penthouse!

Drago · 01-30-2017, 12:30 PM

Just as others have said, you should probably remove the tubes. They quickly become dirty and soiled and ammonia builds up quick and to deadly levels if your ham pees in them. Tubes in cages are fine ONLY if your hamster uses them as a toy to run through on occasion, but if it becomes a problem like yours, they should be removed.