Dwarf Hamster Cage requirements

When it comes to owning a smaller species of hamster, such as the Winter White Russian Dwarf, Campbell's Russian Dwarf, or Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters there are many various smaller (much smaller) cages made available in the UK, some of which are recommended, by pet stores, as great homes for your hamsters' entire life!  In the photo below is an example of one of these smaller cages versus my own DIY home for my Winter White Russian Dwarf Hamster, Gizmo.

You can see the huge difference in size here (new cage 90cm x 50cm)

Gizmo was extremely quick to let me know that he was most unhappy in his cage.  It took him around about 10 days before he started gnawing on the bars insistently to be let out.  He could have been out in his ball for 20 mins and running about the sofa for 20 mins and the second you put him back in the cage he would be climbing the bars and chewing at them constantly.  At this point, Lil Bear (My fiancés Syrian Hamster) was doing the same.  We did a lot of research on Hamster Central and watching various pet tubers, in particular, Erin's Animals, and found that all hamsters actually travel around 5 to 7 miles in a night. 

When you look at the small cage in the picture above (if I recall correctly this was 47 cm x 37 cm), this is not suited to any animal that travels up to 7 miles a night! The wheel which comes with the cage is also a 3.5 inch wheel. this is absolutely no good for a Winter white hamster, Gizmo has since had his wheel upgraded to a 6.5 inch wheel which is much better for his spine alignment. There is actually, no specific  recommended size given in the UK for a Dwarf Hamster, only a Syrian (80 cm x 50 cm).  I also find it difficult to comprehend that suppliers don't understand that Syrians are larger and need more suitably sized toys, and continue to make 100's of toys that are only really suited for dwarf Hamsters. They also don't understand that Dwarf hamsters are highly energetic and need bigger, more suitable cages and wheels. In Germany the recommended size for any hamster is 100cm x 50cm. 

Unfortunately, the Hamster Heaven Model (80cm x 50cm) is not suitable for all dwarf hamsters as the gaps between the bars are too wide, the top bars are also not welded to the side bars leaving an escape route for Roborovski dwarf hamsters.  Our spare Hamster heavens which we had for our Syrian hamsters were in the loft.  I considered using them but at that time I was still wary of our Russian (Winter white), Gizmo, escaping. So, it was at this point I took it upon myself to design and build Gizmos large Cage in the above picture.  He has his silent wheel, a spinning saucer, a little set of shelves he likes to run up and down and lots of hidey holes he can run in and out of.  Gizmo is much happier now, and loves to run around, he is a climber, so he loves to run up the ladders and although the substrate is fairly deep, he hardly ever digs in it, although he does still use his wheel. Financially this did not cost as much as it did to re-house Lil Bear, in his Detolf habitiat, but there was still some cost involved. It cost £14 for the wire mesh, the  Plexiglass was £18.00 and the aquarium sealant was £5.00.  We had the wood from an old bookcase, and screws etc for the rest of the cage already. 

Hamster Heaven (80cm x 50cm)

From my personal experience (3 Syrians, 4 Russian dwarf and a Roborovski) 80cm x 50cm size is good for Roborovski and Dwarf hamsters, although bigger is always better.  I have My dwarfs in habitats 90cm x 50cm for my Dwarf, Gizmo and 110cm x 40cm for my Roborovski, Tyr.  I would also like to add that giving a tiny Roborovski hamster 110 x 40cm habitat is useless if it is empty. A hamster brain still needs to be stimulated and the hamster needs to "own" his territory and everything in it. Again, you need to consider their biology. When you put a hamster into a massive cage with all of these lovely toys and goodies, the hamster will spend hours scenting everything to make it theirs... for a tiny Roborovski that is A LOT of work, so also please keep in mind that if you give your Hamster the perfect size cage with all the toys you do not clean it all out once a week, once every Four weeks is the general agreement and you clean out only the worst of the bedding and substrate to save your hamster some work and stress. If you clean out everything this can put stress on the scent gland and cause blockages to occur, this in turn can cause infection. So just to make it short and sweet, yes cage size is important, but a balance has to be found too.

Gizmo asking for his Christmas presents.  Look at that wee face!

Now you may be thinking of getting a housing unit in which you can add various modules and long tube tunnels to it.  These types of cages are not the most hygienic of cages, cleaning can take hours as each tube and module has to be disconnected and washed thoroughly.  Any Hamster that chews a lot is likely to be able to escape via the tunnel systems, and if you have a pair of Dwarf hamsters this can cause major territorial issues between the pair and even injuries caused by fighting. It also does not allow for a hamster to run in full speed form one end to the other, the hamster needs to slow down and navigate.  These types of cages only try (very weakly) to convey a hamsters burrowing habits but does not allow for the fact that they run at high speed for up to 7 miles a night, in the open.

Previously I adopted two further Russian Dwarfs, Odin and Loki, who came to us in smaller, rosewood, cages.  These cages were really small  homes, and we noticed that the top hidey area could be opened if the hamster pushed on it, and one of the little bridges up to the hidey was not secure and fell off, so we did decided to put them into the hamster heavens (without the tubing or penthouse) we had in the loft and they both love them.

This post is to help anyone who wants to buy a Dwarf hamster, understand that they need the largest cage possible, and that it is much much better if you can build one yourself as Dwarf hamsters are extremely limited in the availability of suitable cages.

Cleaning and Setting up your guinea pig pen

Keeping Guinea pigs is a full time commitment and is not an easy task.  It is however, a very worthwhile task when they hug into you on the sofa or floor.  They are the cutest of pets, just as cuddly a puppy but with none of the cold winter walks to worry about.  One of the key factors in keeping and caring for guinea pigs is the cage cleaning.  I have recorded the following video demonstrating how we keep Tink & Oreo's pen nice and clean for them.  I did however record this a month ago so the girls are now 8 month old.

If you would like to know anything more about cleaning or setting up their pen please comment in the video or comment here and I am happy to answer any questions.  On the other hand, if you have suggestions please feel free to add these in the comment sections here or on you tube too.

Many thanks for watching

Oreo & Tink

Introduction to Oreo

Oreo, General in the herd

Oreo is our biggest Sow weighing 1318 grams or 2 Lb and 14 Ounces. Oreo is quite long compared to Tink and Belle and has always been the largest of the girls. Oreo, I think, will always be a large sow, but as long as she doesn't suddenly pile on a lot of weight, we are happy to monitor her and make sure everyone gets their share of food, and exercise. She is 1 year, 5 month old and is so tame in comparison to Belle and Tink. Oreo has always been the most placid of the girls and once you have picked her up, she is happy to sit for a good 30 minutes, sometimes longer and just lie there. She doesn't run around trying to rule the other girls and is happy for Tink to take that role. Oreo is our therapy pet, if anyone has had a bad day, Oreo can bring calm back to your day and centre you again.

Piggie floor time

We bought Oreo along with Tink however due to coat type and colouring and although we still call them sisters, we don't think they actually are sisters. We adopted Belle later, and Oreo, along with Tink instantly took her under their wings. Belle has been with them for nearly 5 months now, and to be honest, I think Oreo likes that belle is there to distract Tink when Tink is Rumble stomping all over everyone. Oreo Strikes us, as just wanting quiet and calm, whereas Belle, who is only just turning 9 month old, is still feisty and playful. Belle challenges Tink at every opportunity which diverts Tink away form Oreo completely. We tend to take Oreo out for peace when Tink goes into heat as Tink is very intense and we think, tiring for Oreo.

Oreo once had a serious accident which involved damage to her eye. We had to give her eye drops and antibiotics (all into her eye) for around two weeks several times a day. Oreo soon got fed up with this, as the eye drops stung, but it was this or potentially loose her eye. She put up with so much after the accident and she fought just as we did to help her keep her eye. Oreo is not one for running around or pop-corning much (we think this may be down to her size and also her placid nature) but she does seem to prefer calm to chaos, much like many of us human beings really.

Tiger "Onward to Battle my good steed" Oreo "If we must"

Trip to the vet with Oreo. Keep a vet fund.

Two years ago we noticed Oreo had a dull patch in her left eye.  I remember seeing a programme where a guinea pig had a grass seed stuck in her eyelid, and thought this must be what was wrong.  I made a vet appointment and Oreo was fully checked.  The vet put some fluorescent dye in her eye and advised me that this was not a grass seed.  Oreo has a hole in her cornea and it went quite deep.  The vet took quite sometime trying to flush the dye back out.  He advised that hay was an unlikely suspect as it would only scratch the eye surface at most. 

Oreo enjoying the Sun

I was at a loss as to what could have happened, When Oreo is in heat she does run around trying to mount Tink (who is a kicker), but this did not seem to fit, as to make a hole Tink's claws would have to have gotten stuck (I really am not sure on this one).  It was however the only thing I could think of that would cause such damage. The vet took me through everything we could do to try and help Oreo but was not hopeful that we could save Oreo's eye.  After receiving antibiotic eye drops and a serum that could potentially heal damage to the eyes, the vet still advised that because the hole went so deep into the eye, we may not have been able to save her eye.  I was heartbroken, Oreo was not even a year old, she was not an old guinea pig but, I was hopeful that this medication would work and heal her eye.  That vet trip cost just under £100 and I learned that I needed to have a vet fund for my guinea pigs, and Hamsters.  This may not have been the end of the tale as the operation to remove the infected eye may have run into the £100's but I love my animals, so if this is what it would take to get Oreo back to full health, this is what I was willing to do.

This has wicker in it to keep it sturdy, As the girls chewed it the wicker snapped

When I got home and put the guinea pigs back into there pen, I noticed one thing that could have done that much damage to Oreo's eye. It was a sea grass hideaway; held together by thin wicker sticks.  It seemed like a great house and chew toy for them when we got it.  My fiance reminded me that a week previously we heard Oreo give out a 'wheek' that was very strange, we took her and Tink out of the cage and checked them over at the time, but they both seemed okay.  Now, in retrospect  we thought that maybe Oreo got poked in her eye by a piece of sea-grass, or the wicker holding it together.  I understand this an extremely rate occurrence, but please beware of these, or items made from these, as we now realise that this is the most likely explanation for the amount of damage to Oreo's eye.

Taking your pet to the vet is always stressful when its not just for their check up. that visit was extra stressful for Oreo and the family.  I decided to write up this post to try and save other guinea pig owners from the same anxiety and worry by advising that these items are maybe better suited in a play pen when the guinea pigs are being supervised, rather than in the permanent pen where 24/7 supervision is not possible.  This episode was not all doom and gloom however as we did get medication to clear the infection up and try and heal the cornea and also, on the way out I spotted a little Roborovski up for adoption (I will tell his tale later).  Upon Oreo's follow up appointment two weeks later she was given the all clear which was a huge relief to us all.  She is now classed as 2nd in command (General Oreo) and we now have a herd of 4 sows living, so far, happily together.

All 4 Girls enjoying there new home