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Old 01-30-2018, 04:20 PM   #1
Vitti
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Unhappy Worried about my cage...

Hello everyone!
This is my first post - aside from the introduction one!
I've never owned a hamster before, and I will hopefully go and get my first hamster - a Syrian - on Saturday.

Everything's ready, but I'm freaking out a bit about the cage though. I ordered it on Amazon (this is the cage: https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1), and I finished building it just yesterday, but now I'm worried about the wood: it has a really strong scent and it smells like pine.

Now, I know only pine shavings are bad, and solid pine is totally fine, but this in particular looks really raw, not perfectly smooth on some points, and the smell actually made my throat a bit sore while I was building the cage. Does this mean that the wood is not treated and that it can damage my hamster's health? Or does this just mean that it's simply wood that's been closed in its package for a while and now it just needs to "breathe" for a few days and loose its odour, like some untreated wooden Ikea products do?

The odour today is a lot less strong than it was yesterday when I opened the package, by the way... could it be a good sign?

Thank you in advance for your answers!
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Old 01-30-2018, 11:43 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

I don't know about in Italy but here in the UK Pine shavings are kiln dried so safe for hams so basically pine is fine if treated properly, it's hard to know if your cage wood has been or not, I would imagine it has been but I wouldn't put a hamster in it while it has a strong odour hamsters are very sensitive to smell so even if it is safe it would still be unsettling.
Any wood cage should be painted with non toxic paint before using anyway as you need to protect the wood from pee, once that gets into wood you can never get it out again, & anything else that may get onto the wood & cause problems.
Here in the UK we use Plastikote water based enamel but I have no idea if you can get that or not.
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Old 01-31-2018, 05:44 AM   #3
Brianh96
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

hey there,

luckily enough i have had a similar cage to this when i had my first hammy casper[RIP] and i was worried about this, but i left the assembled cage for around a week and a half and the smell completely went, i put him in and kept an eye on him and we had no problem, he loved the cage bless him. one thing i would suggest is that you plasticote all of the wood because i noticed that my hammy would urinate in the back corner and due to me not treating the wood it became smelly which lead me to buy a different cage.
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Old 01-31-2018, 10:06 AM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

I am very sensitive to the smell of pine wood - we built a pine flatpack piece of furniture recently and it was very strong smelling - but it did wear off within a week or so as the others say. So could you postpone getting your hammy another week or so? It's also a good idea to have some sandpaper and sand any rough or splintery bits (believe me - I had never sanded anything before until we had a hamster and it was - eek sanding! But - just got a couple of sheets from the diy store (100 and 240 grit I used) and it literally is just a bit of a rub and only takes a few minutes.

You don't have to plastikote it (ie painting with pet safe waterproofing paint) but it can help seal the wood a bit and makes the sides/floor wipe clean. Although they are little pots and it could take quite a few to paint inside. If the floor is wood I would do the floor and the sides at least up to about 12" high.

One other thing - I would recommend swapping the bottom door and the panel above it around. This can be done while building it - is it possibly to do that now? It makes the cage much more usable because you can then have deep substrate in and a higher up door is better for access to your hamster - and means substrate doesn't fall out.

This is the plastikote - you just paint it on with a standard small paint brush. But you might need about four of these to do a couple of coats. It will help your cage last longer and be easier to wipe clean if your hammy pees against the wood anywhere. A coat takes a couple of hours to dry - I tend to leave it overnight to full dry - then a second coat.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh yes and use a litter tray - really saves on clean outs and will save your cage getting pee'd on. You put it where the hammy decides to use as a toilet (often a corner) - if you put a litter tray in their chose corner they tend to use it, then you can just empty it out every 5 days or so and the cage stays clean. You can put Chinchilla bathing sand in the litter tray. These litter trays are good, or you can use anykind of pyrex low sided dish maybe.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hamster-cor...=hamster+potty

This is safe sand to use - I tend to get two at a time - one lasts me a good few months though.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Pet...a+bathing+sand

Have you got everything else sorted for your hammy? A house, wheel, substrate, food etc? Also is it for a syrian or a dwarf?

Last edited by Pebbles82; 01-31-2018 at 10:12 AM.
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Old 01-31-2018, 10:14 AM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

Looking again - it looks like the base is melamine so you could just paint inside up to about 12" against the walls and the inner struts And maybe on the shelves as well.
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Old 02-02-2018, 07:53 AM   #6
Vitti
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

Hi everyone!

First of all let me thank you for all of your answers, you were so quick and encouraging!

You definitely calmed my fears about pine wood (turns out that it's actually fir, it was labeled like that on Amazon, but I know there is no much difference from pine, regarding hamsters' health)... I think now what I'll do is just wait for the cage to wear off its smell, then paint it. I've waited for a long time to be able to bring home a hammy, I definitely can handle a few more days!

@brian96 I'm happy to know that somebody else got a similar cage and it has no problems!

@cypher and @Serendipity7000 I looked and unfortunately Plastikote is not available here, but I can get it on Amazon, no problem! So 4 of these pots should be fine for 2 coats, right?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
One other thing - I would recommend swapping the bottom door and the panel above it around.
This is such a great idea! I've built the cage already, but it was quite simple in the end, so I don't think it'll be a problem swapping just that panel, if it might make things easier in the future!
As for the litter tray, I had looked some tutorial on Youtube on how to use them, I'll definitely give it a try.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Have you got everything else sorted for your hammy? A house, wheel, substrate, food etc?
Yup, I have everything ready! I chose hemp as a substrate, just to begin and see how it works, if I'm not convinced (or my hammy isn't) my local shop has also Carefresh, which is supposed to be a good brand... As for the food I have a pre-made mix that I will supplement with fresh veggies, carbs and proteins. I got some handmade (by me) chew toys, and an adorable pouch (I don't know if it'll get chewed though... we shall see!) and some boredom breakers. The only missing thing right now is the wheel, just because the shop was closed, but I'll get it ASAP.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Also is it for a syrian or a dwarf?
It'll be a Syrian!
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:06 AM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

Excellent! Four bottles of plastikote will be plenty - you might only need 2 if you only do 12" up all round on the inside but doesn't do any harm to have some spare. It also comes in different colours.

I have seen some set ups in that cage where people have left out the lower shelf completely and put about 40cm of deep substrate in (reducing the height/drop and the top shelf becomes a "middle" shelf. But it you didn't want that kind of depth of substrate and use both shelves it's still a good cage for a Syrian - I would have the substrate a good depth though to cushion any falls.

If the pouch is fabric it would be better to have it as an out of cage toy - not safe to have anything fabric in the cage in case it gets chewed (sorry if you know that already).

Toys wise, one of my favourites is the large cork log tunnels - if you have the space! They are light so don't sink in the substrate, make a nice big dark tunnel and also something to climb over, or as a ramp if next to a platform or shelf.

https://www.amazon.it/rodipet%C2%AE-...ywords=rodipet
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:36 AM   #8
Vitti
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

I think I will paint it all, just in case, so I bought 4 pots of clear enamel, and one more in jade to paint the little house that there's in the cage!

I would like to use both shelves, so I'll definitely be sure to put enough substrate so that if he falls he has a good fluffy bedding underneath and he won't get hurt.

Yes, the pouch is fabric, that's why I wasn't so sure... I think I will leave it in the cage while I'm there so I can check upon the hammy, if he starts to chew I will take the pouch away immediately!

I think they have those kind of tunnels at my local shop... I will upload photos of my cage setup as soon as I finish decorating it!
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:44 AM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Worried about my cage...

Look forward to seeing it. Lucky hammy
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cage, pine, wood, package, odour, bit, yesterday, building, hamster, worried, strong, health, damage, closed, treated, hamsters, simply, untreated, good, sign, answers, advance, opened, wooden, ikea

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