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Old 04-05-2022, 02:07 AM   #11
sushi_78
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Default Re: New Syrian

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilafernim View Post
That’s lovely to hear! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was saying he wasn’t loved before. I only meant if they hadn’t had known you and had to find a different owner, being 2 years old already I think there would’ve been some difficulty and you wouldn’t truly know who he was going to.

It’s nice you’ve taken him in and gave him such a lovely home already. If you still have contact with the previous owner maybe you could ask them to send a voice message and play it to kebab, see how he reacts!

I used to have a hamster who’d do the same thing with the food, or anything for that matter. They’d always be little piles around the cage in the morning! It’s a shame they couldn’t stay with him but sometimes life interrupts unfortunately, and kebab was lucky enough to fall into your hands for care.
That's ok, I know what you meant. They've asked me to keep them updated on how he gets on.
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Old 04-05-2022, 05:42 AM   #12
Pebbles82
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Default Re: New Syrian

Congratulations. He's lovely. Glad he's in the new cage as it's a good size for him in older age when they can need more floor space when too old for levels to be safe.

Maybe give him a couple of weeks and see how he manages and then tweak the odd thing. I'd be a bit concerned about easy access in a couple of areas. Eg access to the shelf (he seems to be peering off the shelf as if working out how to get down . I really like those screw in bendy bridges for that as they give a shallow stable ramp up to a shelf (screwed to the bars) but can be tricky with a large front door in case they partially obscure the door. But I've still done it with them partially obscuring the door at one side! You just screw it in top and bottom as nothing to screw to in the middle where the door opening is.

Also the sputnik height for him. Maybe a rat sputnik? Lower to get into and less far to fall if he jumps out of the other side.

Obviously you'll need to see how he goes and he may still be very active right now, but I know with ours their back leg strength can go quite suddenly by age 18 months to two and then they can have falls trying to get in or out of sputniks.

The long bendy bridge at the back maybe a bit unstable for him as well? Hard to see on the pics!

Good idea to leave his old house in for now. I'd be tempted to whip it out after a week whether he's moved into the new one or now - and move any nest contents and hoard into the new one so he just moves in and it still smells familiar.

And thank you for linking that cage! I didn't know about it. It's a good option.
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Old 04-05-2022, 05:47 AM   #13
Pebbles82
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Default Re: New Syrian

Looking at the pictures again you can't have a screw in bendy bridge at the front as the shelf is right up to the door opening! And looks like you may have something at the back for access to the shelf? But I would be a bit concerned about the height and levels as he's two years old.

Rat sputniks might be better as lower. And the long bendy bridge at the back does seem a bit high maybe. Maybe you could tie a long rat tube to the back bars, leading right onto the shelf with the other end right over the house roof (house would need to be a bit higher then maybe, unless the tube is tied sloping down at one end.

I just know easy access and shallow angles are much easier for them at that age so they can still enjoy levels.

Hope you don't mind me mentioning that! By two years 3 months I have often had to remove all levels and sputniks and set everything up at ground level - or just one very low level. And add extra hides and tubes instead.
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Old 04-05-2022, 05:48 AM   #14
Pebbles82
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Default Re: New Syrian

Looking at the pictures again you can't have a screw in bendy bridge at the front as the shelf is right up to the door opening! And looks like you may have something at the back for access to the shelf? But I would be a bit concerned about the height and levels as he's two years old.

Rat sputniks might be better as lower. And the long bendy bridge at the back does seem a bit high maybe. Maybe you could tie a long rat tube to the back bars, leading right onto the shelf with the other end right over the house roof (house would need to be a bit higher then maybe, unless the tube is tied sloping down at one end.

I just know easy access and shallow angles are much easier for them at that age so they can still enjoy levels.

Hope you don't mind me mentioning that! By two years 3 months I have often had to remove all levels and sputniks and set everything up at ground level - or just one very low level. And add extra hides and tubes instead.
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Old 04-05-2022, 06:14 AM   #15
sushi_78
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Default Re: New Syrian

Thank you for all of that. It's very helpful as it's an adjustment getting used to setting up cages for a different species. I remember when I got Bramble (my first Russian dwarf) I had to change lots of things in her cage, but then when I got Athena I set her cage up once and then barely changed it because I had worked out what works for a Russian dwarf and what doesn't! It's useful to hear from someone who knows.

The shelf came with a long ramp but I didn't really like it partly because it's so big and also because it doesn't attach to the shelf, it only hooks over it and it didn't seem very stable. But I think you're right that it needs something there so he doesn't try to jump down. I think I will try to get a large cork tunnel that can go under the shelf and act as a gentle slope down from it. If that doesn't work I could use the ramp.

Yes, I wasn't sure about the sputnik but came across it when I was raiding my storage cupboard for Syrian-sized things. I think I have some rat size ones in there somewhere.

I added some hooks to the side of the bendy bridge to stabilise it more but perhaps a tube would better as it's more enclosed. He is a small and light Syrian. I'll keep an eye on it over the next week or so and decide what to do.

I know what you mean about the leg weakness. I found a clip in the camera footage where he was eating that hanging nibble stick thing that he had in the first clip I posted, and it swung back and knocked him over onto his back. He took a while to get back up again. So I don't think I will use any hanging toys for him.

The outhouse trick worked because he has now moved into his big house. I think I will leave the little hut in for a few more days and then remove it.

I am very pleased with this new Grosvenor cage. The door isn't as big as the Hamster Heaven door, but the cage is slightly taller so it's easier to fit a 28cm wheel plus deep bedding. The base also slopes much less than the Hamster Heaven base, which makes it easier to place houses etc and you can attach a 28cm wheel to the bars. So I think it's an ideal cage for a elderly Syrian (or perhaps even a very young and skittish one) and good for dwarfs too. The accessories aside from the shelf are all a bit rubbish - tiny wheel, massive food bowl, flimsy plastic house - but the cage itself is good.
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Old 04-21-2022, 09:20 AM   #16
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Default Re: New Syrian

I've been so busy the past couple of weeks I've barely seen Kebab and also haven't had time to update this thread. Hopefully now things are a bit calmer I'll be able to start enjoying him.

I have put a large cork log under the shelf which forms a fairly gentle slope down to the bedding. I have also swapped the small sputnik for a large one. I've replaced the bendy bridge with a ledge and a hanging tube (the tube is tied to the side of the cage as well as hanging from the top so it doesn't move much). I haven't got around to cutting any cardboard or anything to cover the shelf yet but it doesn't seem as slippery as I thought it might be anyway so I might not bother. This new setup seems to be working really well for him. Usually there would be a coconut hide on the shelf next to the water bottle but it was drying after being washed when I took the photo.

https://i.imgur.com/94Dh0qgl.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ZBgNPIfl.jpg

Kebab himself is doing very well. He's reasonably active and potters around the cage every night. He's very friendly and comes to the cage door when he sees me. He's had no further trouble with his eye.

DSCN2222 — ImgBB

https://i.imgur.com/n6FktsUl.jpg
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Old 04-21-2022, 10:27 AM   #17
cloudy
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Default Re: New Syrian

The link of Kebab worked for me but not the others. He is so cute!
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Old 04-21-2022, 10:38 AM   #18
sushi_78
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Default Re: New Syrian

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Originally Posted by cloudy View Post
The link of Kebab worked for me but not the others. He is so cute!
Is it the Imgbb link that worked for you? Imgur stopped working for me partway through uploading the photos so I switched to Imgbb for that one.

Here are other photos reuploaded to Imgbb:

https://i.ibb.co/0rXVYhz/DSCN2226.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/7Xrn95g/DSCN2228.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/X3gfHgg/DSCN2041.jpg
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Old 04-21-2022, 10:43 AM   #19
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Default Re: New Syrian

I could only see the link starting with D. I can see the two new links you added. I love how he is standing on his wheel.
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