Can anyone reccomend a good cage?

[BexPetz]

Thanks. How much are storage bins and what kind of size do I need for three? Can they have coconut houses which have already been chewed smooth (pre-owned by a pair of gerbils)? Or would they roll around too much and be in danger of hurting or hitting the hamsters? Can I put the biggest of the litter in with the two smaller ones, purely because they are tamest? Or will it come down to size as they mature and will I have a problem with the big one dominating the rest? Will the mother care what sizes I leave with her, or should I put two of equal size to her or slightly smaller? I want to find the best combination, but I've favoured the biggest of the litter and called her Heffalump as a nick-name. I'd like her to be with the other tame two, but not if she's going to bully them... she's bigger than the mother so maybe I can't put them together.
Thanks.

[Tammy - Oak Farm]

Hiya Becky,

It isnt really anything to do with size - it is mostly down to who is most dominant and wether the other hamsters will submit to the most dominant. The mother will usually be most dominant, so she can be left with as many daughters as you wish really, as she will hopefully stay most dominant and keep the others in check too - but it could all change suddenly, so you really need to keep and eye on all them.

No matter who lives with who in the begginning, you might have to split up or change them all around to get them all to live happily, but just see how it goes

The best bin cages i have found (only my preference though!) are from Asda - i will measure them for you and post them here tomorrow, but they are around £8 each in Asda and are a really good size for pairs and groups of robos - they are nearly as big as gabbers The only problem is they are not very deep, so you need to be careful about high toys - but they do come with very good lids which lock on

The coconut houses sounds good, but just make sure they have a flat side to them which they can be placed on - to stopt them rolling.

Tammy x

[BexPetz]

Ok. Could I give the seperated group two houses? I have a mouse Mushroom house which is big enough for three, and a pink Elephant house which is big enough for three. Some sites say to give them more bedrooms so if they fight they don't have to sleep together and can have their own privacy, but other people say that they will dominate the seperate rooms. How many holes would I need to drill into the top of the bin?
Thanks again. Bex.

[BexPetz]

I have a new cage! I had £20 left of un-spent birthday money, so I had to let my brother choose the cage so that he could lend me £10. It's an Italian model, with tunnels and a platform and place for a waterbottle and a wheel. It's a really good size and you can turn the platforms up-side-down so they're on the ground instead of in the air, and you can change and move the tunnels. It's big enough for no more than 4.
Thanks. Bex.

[Nella]

Hi! The Bernie Prestige is indeed a cage with enough space for robo's, but you have to keep in mind that the steep tubes will be too difficult for them. My robo's aren't that good in climbing and besides, the robo's are soo small, they can't get a grip. So I think it would be best if you take off the tubes, that way they would have more 'walkingspace'. The wheel should be made safe also, because it is open. Or you can take it off and put silent spinners (small and medium) in it. To have the least change of fighting, you can give them 2 wheels...

I keep my robo's in a Duna Fun and sometimes a Mini Duna. Great cages and really not expensive at all... I got my Duna Funs for only € 15 and my Mini Dunas for € 7,50 or so. Secondhand, ofcourse.

[Tammy - Oak Farm]

I completely agree with Nella

Remove the wheel to prevent injuries and remove the tubes, but apart from that it is a great cage

Tammy x

[ILOVEMYPETS]

I think plastic tubs work great! They are light weight, very cheap and big! But it depends if you have the tools to make one .

[BexPetz]

Thank you and I'm sorry I haven't replied in a while.

I now have two bin cages for a gerbil, one on top of the other, with a hole but not a tunnel connecting them. The bottom box is purely digging, wood shavings nearly to the top, and the top box is food, water and a free standing wheel. Thanks for the tip on putting the water bottle on!

The roborovski's are in a bernie prestige, a mickey max and a savic rody. There is one in the savic rody (the dad, Tiny Tim), two girls in the Mickey Max (Tilly and Tiara) and two girls in the Bernie Prestige (Tinkerbell and Heffalump). Since I seperated them I have lost both the mother and one of the daugthers, but I still don't know why. The wheel isn't actually OPEN, it's got a flat running surface with short, small rungs which look like an open wheel. Even so, they now have a comfort wheel instead because the old one squeaks. The tunnels have over-exaggerated rungs and since they are quite narrow the hamsters can very easily climb up, since there are a lot of grooves. Even so, I completely re-arranged them so that they aren't so steep, but do not touch the cage floor and don't interfere with the amount of running space. Since there are only two living in there, I think it's fine.

Thank you for all your help,
Becky.

[debs]

i have my robo and my two camphells each and i find there really good cages only thing is you can't find alot of toys in it