Potential Habitat?

actual junk · 02-08-2017, 09:20 AM

I will be picking up a lil ivory long haired syrian ham in around 2-3 weeks, and have been trying to work out the best cage set up. My plan is to use the ikea BILLY DIY cage but use two of the height extensions and sandwich them together to create a 868sq inch cage. I have sketched out a plan of what will be going in the cage and what it would look like (which I will try to attach)- anyway to improve it/spotting any issues would be much appreciated! I'm aiming to spend around £100 setting up so that might be something to bear in mind. The wheel isn't quite to scale (ill it will fit properly) but I didn't fancy redrawing it. I would also make a lid for the top - ideas on how to make the lid secure enough would be great!

AmityvilleHams · 02-08-2017, 09:26 AM

In theory it could work,but it would be fairly cheap to use other Ikea furniture that would give more floor space

For your price range there are tons of DIY options,for example a double Detolf(not a single,as this is a very long but unfortunately narrow cage and not the best width for a larger Syrian)or a bin system.You could use 4 Lack tables I believe,but the main idea is to make the cage much larger and make sure everything is sealed well.

LACK Side table Black 55x55 cm - IKEA

Four of those would be fairly cheap,and they come in black along with white and other variations which might be a little different in cost from the black.I'm not entirely sure on that,but I do know that they're one of the cheapest Ikea hacks for the amount of floor space that you'd get with 4.Plus,unlike a Detolf you can make it into an L-shaped cage or form it in a way that fits best in the space you have.

actual junk · 02-08-2017, 09:37 AM

Thanks Amity! Whats the double DETOLF? I've heard of the single but its a really inconvenient shape for my room which is where he will be living. I have considered the LACK option but I'm trying to avoid any enclosures with lots of bars that the ham could reach, as (bearing in mind I love white noise when sleeping) around 10 years ago when I last had a hamster she was a right bar chewer and it was impossible to sleep with!

AmityvilleHams · 02-08-2017, 09:44 AM

It's essentially two Detolf's with nothing between,which is probably not a good option for you as one is already an inconvenient shape.

You could make the Lack with no mesh on the side

If you can get a reasonable price on a sheet of melamine(sometimes called MDF),that would work as sides.Or,acrylic as mentioned is another option but can be pricey so perhaps just enough for the front and back then the cheaper melamine/MDF for the other sides?You could just do a standard DIY wood and mesh lid for ventilation,which would work just fine.

With the Lack option and any other cage with solid sides for that matter,you can simply velcro a water bottle where only the spout is within reach and then prevent bottle climbing which in turn means there should be no way for the hamster to even chew the mesh of the lid!Of course,a very determined hamster may still somehow find a way,but generally that is a good enough solution

actual junk · 02-08-2017, 10:00 AM

Good plan! I imagine the previous hamster's bar chewing was down to the fact her cage was too small, hamster care has luckily massively improved.

Yes a LACK DIY with perspex would be great, though potentially more expensive. It's just so useful when IKEA makes all the glass/transparent parts for you!

AmityvilleHams · 02-08-2017, 10:27 AM

If you were extremely careful you could just do a glass front which should be cheaper,but would be a very different process in terms of installation and such.You can't exactly drill through glass,but with perspex or just acrylic in general you can,which gives more options for attaching it while there's just sealing glass and not much else.

It might cost more to get the extra material,but considering the tables themselves are cheaper and melamine is a fairly cheap material to begin with it would be fairly difficult to go over your budget

actual junk · 02-08-2017, 11:09 AM

Good point !! I'm not sure I would trust myself with glass as I am possibly the clumsiest human. Do you know what sort of thickness of acrylic would be needed? Looking on sites where they cut perspex to size for you the slimmest seems to be 2mm - would this be to thin?

AmityvilleHams · 02-08-2017, 11:14 AM

Glass is definitely not for everyone!I think 8mm would work fine,not too sure though if you could go any smaller.I think around 1/4 inch(a little over 6 but not quite 6.5mm)would be the thinnest possible,but that depends on what is available to you and which would be easier to get.