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Old 08-29-2020, 07:43 AM   #1
sushi_78
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Default Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

I'm setting up a cage for a hopeful new hamster. I'd like a Russian dwarf this time. My cage is a Savic Mickey 2XL and by the time I'd put the big house in, there really didn't seem to be a lot of space left, so I wanted to make use of the cage's limited height. I want to make sure my cage setup is safe though. The cage base will be filled to the top with bedding so the maximum distance the hamster could fall would be from the Sputnik and that would be about 8-10cm. Does this sound ok or should I take out the Sputnik (would a Russian dwarf even use it)? The willow tube is hung so that a hamster could only fall about 5cm onto either the top of the house or the blue shelf.



Secondly, I was thinking of putting in a corner shelf above the flying saucer. Would this be too high for a dwarf hamster?



The middle of the cage probably looks a bit bare but I'm waiting for delivery of a table to go there, on which will go some hides and maybe the sand bath. The wheel will actually be suspended from the cage top rather than sitting on those yellow blocks. I'm waiting for some hardware for that. I would appreciate any other feedback or advice on my cage as well.
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Old 08-29-2020, 08:04 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

I use to have a sputnik in some of my cages but my hams, Russian & Chinese really weren’t interested in it other than one chinese who just used it as a kind of step from one place to another so I wouldn’t bother really.
I would lower the tunnel so your ham can just easily step out either end onto something.
It’s always hard to judge how things will work until you put the substrate in so things may work differently then, if the corner house was on top of the substrate then there wouldn’t be room for both the saucer & a shelf.
I would ditch the saucer too, it takes up a lot of space, they rarely stay where you put them & the wheel alone is a much better option.
I would definitely find room for a large enough sand bath to dig & roll in if you go for a Russian, they love their sand so it’s a must really.
You could maybe put that in the middle under where the tube is on the shelf you’re going to put there.
Any space you have after that could be filled with small hides tubes or bendy bridges.
I’ve never tried hanging a wheel, it looks ok sat on those blocks or you could maybe find another shelf so you ham can burrow underneath, the wheel will need cleaning fairly often (I do mine once a week) as Russian almost always pee in the wheel so it may just be more convenient like that?
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Old 08-29-2020, 09:34 AM   #3
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

Thanks for all the tips. I'm having a rethink of the cage layout.

I've ordered a big (24x24cm) oven dish for the sand. It will go either in the corner on top of a house or in the middle on the table.

I hadn't thought about cleaning the wheel actually. I wanted it suspended to allow for more bedding there, and because the bars are too narrow to attach either my plastic Trixie wheel or my Comfort wheel. Do you know if the Silent Runner cage attachment would work with 7mm bar spacing?

I've removed the sputnik and saucer. I have lots of tubes and little hides to fill up the spaces once the substrate is in. I'll lower the tunnel too.
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Old 08-29-2020, 10:04 AM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

Some more ideas to make use of height:

My dwarfs like to run across the 55cm long Trixie ladders.

They like to sit on and under the small Trixie corner shelf.

The degus shelves can be placed anywhere and provide little roofs to sit under.
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Old 08-29-2020, 10:06 AM   #5
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

The sand baths sounds good.
The silent runner won’t attach to the bars due to the angle of the base sloping inward, I have mine on a shelf & it has to be slightly below the top of the base to get clearance above.
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Old 08-29-2020, 12:32 PM   #6
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
Some more ideas to make use of height:

My dwarfs like to run across the 55cm long Trixie ladders.

They like to sit on and under the small Trixie corner shelf.

The degus shelves can be placed anywhere and provide little roofs to sit under.
I've been looking at all your Hamster Heaven setups for inspiration as they're all so lovely. I have lots of those long bridges I could use, and some of the corner shelves on the way.

I've been in contact with a local rescue today and there is now a hamster waiting for me.
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Old 08-29-2020, 02:13 PM   #7
Ria P
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

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Originally Posted by sushi_78 View Post

I've been in contact with a local rescue today and there is now a hamster waiting for me.
Oh! Exciting news! There's one very lucky hamster in the rescue now, soon to experience how wonderful a hamster life can be.
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Old 08-29-2020, 10:05 PM   #8
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

Sushi, I see you are in London, me too, what rescue do you use, I've been looking for a while as I have space for an oldie and can never find one
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:17 PM   #9
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

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Originally Posted by Maker View Post
Sushi, I see you are in London, me too, what rescue do you use, I've been looking for a while as I have space for an oldie and can never find one
My reserved hamster is at GBH Rescue in Beckenham. Other rescues are Starlight Trust (Wallington), Animal Rescue and Care (Twickenham), Gerbil and Rodent Rescue (Selhurst), Mimi's Rodent Rescue (Stratford). None of these have hamsters right now but do get them in from time to time. The RSPCA also have lots of dwarf hamsters right now of all ages, in Kent and in North West London.

It's also worth looking at websites like Shpock, Gumtree, Preloved, Pets4Homes for hamsters needing a new home. Also, Pets at Home have an adoption centre but they tend to have younger ex-stock hamsters rather than older ones.
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Old 09-02-2020, 09:09 AM   #10
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Default Re: Making use of height in a dwarf hamster cage

This is my cage with the substrate in and some things moved around. The only thing I'm still waiting for is the sand bath which will go on top of the corner house, with the orange house inside it. How does it look?




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cage, hamster, dwarf, top, make, height, sputnik, house, waiting, shelf, russian, fall, time, bit, thinking, putting, blue, corner, middle, high, bare, flying, saucer, hardware, blocks

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