Hamster housing

My lucky (I think) hamster, Harvest, has a nice big cage. Its one of those chicken houses that are ok for rabbits according to the people that sell them. Ha. Not so. Too narrow with hardly any bedroom space. Sooo having wasted money buying it I decided to give it to her.

She loves to chew the wood (through the mesh, meshed on the inside so she cant get out). She loves to climb up the mesh. She plays on her wheel. She hunts for the food that I hide twice a day. She has a sand bath, a box of fitch bedding and various tunnels and boxes that I change around regularly.

SHE BITES THE MESH SOOOOO MUCH that her nose has a little line on it.

How can I entertain her more?

My bedroom is full of rabbits atm (quad bonding). Then it will have the 3 whistler pigs.

Does anyone know of puppy panel things that are hamster-proof? She makes for the bedroom door and tries to squeeze under it if I do let her out and its soooo hard to get her back in again!!! I have tried blocking the door with duvets, pillows, towels, etc but she is VERY determined to get past them all.

HELP.

Perhaps you could post a pic so we can suggest things to add?

Trixie make some hamster play pens, http://www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk...-p-3576.html?gclid=CMbbp4DNlboCFQTHtAodTiMA7g we've got one for the gerbils, but they can climb out of it if they get their back feet on the bottom rung :shock: although it could be used to block a gap such as under the door. But actually whenever we want to get them out we put a cardboard box into their tank, then when they've gone in, close it up and they go in the bath (without water of course :lol there's no way they could get out and we put all sorts of toys in there, or usually my daughter sits in their with them, they love it and so does she

My syrians clear those playpens effortlessly :lol: My dwarf tries her luck too.. had to move playtime to the bath :lol:

Rat hammocks (or hammocks made from tea towels?), another area for digging maybe a cat litter tray filled with fitch? Some millet attached to where she really chews? http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/feeder_water_bottles/bowls/193362

Mine love this stuff, might give you some ideas

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/bridges_stairs/bridges/36593

(The basket of this, bunnies get the innards!) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/nibble_wood/279891

(Hamster and piggie arches) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/227525

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/387442

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/36598

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/dens/209851

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/36374

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/bridges_stairs/stairs/13365

(I have both of these, a syrian would definitely need the piggie one!) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/cabins/wooden_houses/227904

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/cabins/other_houses/188873

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/mats/204595

Aly&Poppy<3 said:

My syrians clear those playpens effortlessly :lol: My dwarf tries her luck too.. had to move playtime to the bath :lol:

Rat hammocks (or hammocks made from tea towels?), another area for digging maybe a cat litter tray filled with fitch? Some millet attached to where she really chews? http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/feeder_water_bottles/bowls/193362

Mine love this stuff, might give you some ideas

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/bridges_stairs/bridges/36593

(The basket of this, bunnies get the innards!) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/snacks_supplements/nibble_wood/279891

(Hamster and piggie arches) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/227525

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/387442

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/tunnels/36598

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/dens/209851

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/tunnels/36374

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/bridges_stairs/stairs/13365

(I have both of these, a syrian would definitely need the piggie one!) http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/cabins/wooden_houses/227904

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/cabins/other_houses/188873

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/mats/204595

Click to expand...

Thank you. She has quite a few of these but not that basket of herbs or the hammock so will order them. She is sooooooooooooo lively.

Zoobec said:

Trixie make some hamster play pens, http://www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk...-p-3576.html?gclid=CMbbp4DNlboCFQTHtAodTiMA7g we've got one for the gerbils, but they can climb out of it if they get their back feet on the bottom rung :shock: although it could be used to block a gap such as under the door. But actually whenever we want to get them out we put a cardboard box into their tank, then when they've gone in, close it up and they go in the bath (without water of course :lol there's no way they could get out and we put all sorts of toys in there, or usually my daughter sits in their with them, they love it and so does she

Click to expand...

Bath time is a good idea. Variety is always more intersting for them. Those pens look good but lots of the reviews said that the hamsters could get out of them.

yaretzi said:

Perhaps you could post a pic so we can suggest things to add?

Click to expand...

This shows her run part of the cage with the wooden box for extra level, the well chewed waffles box (she likes those), her wooden bird box with loo roll tunnel. She also has a sand tray margerine tub and a sand tray rabbit corner litter tray, a long plastic tunnel, and a cardboard box with fitch bedding in. I try to change things around and to put new stuff in but she is pretty determined to chew at the mesh

This shows the upstairs section from the outside. She sleeps in the nesting box and has made a huuuuge bed out of fitch




Will try and get some indoor shots today. Daisy looks rather interested in something. I expect lovely Harvest had come out to find her dinner!

One of my hamsters used to bite on the bars all the time despite having a big cage and lots of toys and it started to drive us mad so we had no choice but to buy her a tank and she loved it.she started to play with her toys again and spent more time on her wheel and explored more.

The bar chewing became an obsession.I guess the best thing to do is try the above suggestions and if your little lady is still chewing the mesh it could always be an option at a later stage to pick up a cheap aquarium, the Ikea detolf or even a zoozone 2 where the option to chew mesh is not there anymore. Good luck

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

luna said:

One of my hamsters used to bite on the bars all the time despite having a big cage and lots of toys and it started to drive us mad so we had no choice but to buy her a tank and she loved it.she started to play with her toys again and spent more time on her wheel and explored more.

The bar chewing became an obsession.I guess the best thing to do is try the above suggestions and if your little lady is still chewing the mesh it could always be an option at a later stage to pick up a cheap aquarium, the Ikea detolf or even a zoozone 2 where the option to chew mesh is not there anymore. Good luck

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

Click to expand...

I wanted an ikea detolf but the postage was 30, making the cost 70!!! Guess I could board over some of the mesh at her level which may put her off chewing. Thanks for the ideas.