A Few Idea's for robo homes

[Alex]

Well i thought it might be worht starting a thread that would be useful for providing new members with soem idea's about how to house their robo's or robo's they intend to get :p

Obviously you're average hamster cage isnt usually suitable for robo's due to their small size but there are a variety of other options including glass aquariums, tubs and specially designed wire cages with a thinner bar spacing.

I was hoping some of us good post pictures of our setups here ... im sure Tammy has loads ..

Right Here is a picture of a tub setup, as you may notice ... there isnt actually a robo in the tub .... but i couldnt find one with a robo in lol! the tubs that i used for cages were just over 2ft in length and about 15inches wide, these make excellent cages for pairs or small groups of robo's.


Another setup i have used for both robo's and Chinese hams is a 3ft tank that i have here, as its quite visible to visitors i set the tank up with a natural theme to it so it was more asthetically pleasing


Robo's in the tank once furnishing removed

[Tammy - Oak Farm]

Hiya Alex - great thread!!

Brilliant pics Alex - your setups look really good

Here are some of my robos setups - First up is a large under bed storage box:





A 4 foot long glass tank:








Another Storage box:







Slightly smaller storage box:






Gabber Type Cage (Ferplast Galaxy - i think!):












Savic Rody:





Tammy x

[BexPetz]

Thanks. That's really useful.
The Savic Rody is easily cracked, my one is split but has been fixed with a touch of seletape.
I am not fabulous at D.I.Y and have never fancied a bin cage, and I find tanks inconvient because of attaching waterbottles, etc, and the waterbottle for my gerbils keeps falling off, so does the wheel.

[Alex]

ah lol ... right i just recommended savic rody in you're seperate thread LOL there are several breeders who use tubs as it only costs a few quid and you have a decent setup with as much space as you choose ... you can get a variety of different sized tubs.

[Tammy - Oak Farm]

Hi Becky,

The Savic Rody is a pretty sturdy cage really - i have had one develop a crack by being handled too roughly, but even though it was cracked, it was still very useable - the material just seems to 'click' back together and doesnt seem to cause a problem They are big enough for a pair, especially without the shelf and dont have any waterbottle holes for robos to enlarge and escape from - although this can be a problem if you remove the shelf, as you then have no where to put a bottle! but you could use a free standing bottle, or one that attaches to the side of the cage - you could even try a water bowl

Gabber Rex cages and similar cages are great as they have lots of space and a hole for the water bottle, but they can be hard to find and quite expensive too!

Bin cages are very easy to convert - but i have found that some of them dont even need changing at all - i am not very good at DIY either, so i just leave mine as they are of course, it depends how deep the tubs are wether they need lids on - if they do then the lids would need drilling - but this is quite easy.

Glass tanks are my favourite! They can be a little heavy to move around but i still like them. They look great when they have been cleaned as they do not scratch or go cloudy like rodys or rexs. They are deep enough not to need lids and they have plenty of room - especially the 3 or 4 foot ones Although they can be expensive, but ebay and freecylce are great for picking them up!!

I hope this helps

Tammy x

[Alex]

I have to say from a breeders perspective tubs liek theo nes i used to use were extremely effective for saving space as they are stackable and for saving money.

However if you are after an enclosure that will look nice i would go for a glass tank or wooden vivarium every time, they are much easier to see into and can be made into excellent display tanks.

[BexPetz]

I have a glass 36 inch tank for gerbils, which was £30 but didn't come with a lid and the gerbils managed to escape until I found an onion bag to drape over the top. The actual lid which came with the tank was also £30, but I'm going to buy a super cage topper for £60 instead, so I have somewhere to put the water and wheel. I have a savic rody, I got it for £3 at the market. I think it's a bit on the small side, but I don't have anything against it other than the cracks. I like the Crittertrail X and the Space Command, the Gabber Rex looks really good, but where do I buy it from and how much is it?
Thanks.

[Tammy - Oak Farm]

Hi Becky,

A 36 inch tank (three foot) would make a very good home for robos - and i dont think you would need a lid, or a cage topper really - that sounds quite expensive, especially for something you dont need.

You can easily attach a water bottle with velcro, or a a special holder designed to attach to the side of the tank (i have photos some where - will find them out) or you could just use a water bowl, and maybe place it on a sturdy box to prevent it from being filled with shavings.

Like i said in the other post - Crittertrail cages are not suitable at all!

Tammy x

[Alex]

Rather than purchasing a cage topper or lid you could construct a very simple lid using some thin timber (name escaped me!) and some mesh for just a few quid.

[souffle]

I have won the Critter Care tank home for the poem writing competition. Jean kindly delivered it to us at the show and I thought I'd ask if you would consider it suitable for either two robos or one chinese? My gut instinct is that it is too smal for two. It measures about 16in by 16in by around 20in high and is like a Perfecto tank but has one triangular shelf about 6in off the floor. It has an excellent design lid with a fine mesh and clips that are very secure. It also looks nice so would be nice on display.
I imagine it could be done up with branches and bridges for a 'climbing species' but I think only one wheel would fit in.
I will try and get some pics soon.