Dwarf hamster diy cages

lindseymcf1993

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Hi all im new to the forum and am looking for some help so... ,I currently have 2 winter white hamsters boy and a girl in separate bin cages but im planning on upgrading them as soon as I can to diy wood and glass cages. My question is would what im planning on building them be big enough (they will be getting a cage each) i do have drawings but sadly it won't let me upload the pictures as they are to large . They will be 733.04 inch of floor space and 19.6 inch tall. Thank you in advance I know this is abit long winded.
 
Hello & welcome to the forum.
It’s great that you’re planning to make some nice big cages for your hams.
19” is quite high so that would allow plenty of room for deep substrate with enough room for a 9” wheel.
What are the dimensions of the cage you’re planning, I can never think in sq inches but I think the dimensions are important too, the minimum for a Russian ham would be 50x100cm here & I think (might be wrong!) that’s about 20x40 inches.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. What a lovely idea to D.I.Y your own cages.

I find this site great for uploading pictures on here.

19 inches tall sounds great. Like elusive said I would ensure the length is 40 inches.
 
Hi thanks for you replys and encouragement the dimensions in cm are 95cm long , 49.78cm wide and tall . Im also planning on making lids and a long door on the front near the top to still be able to allow for deep bedding but easy access for feeding ect.
 
You are very creative. I cannot wait to see the finished results. Please feel free to talk about your hamsters on here. We have sections for our hamsters were we have a diary for them. You can post pictures and videos and anything you like to say about them. :)
 
Hello and welcome. Your dwarfies sound adorable and hope we get to see some photos of them :) . Max file size for photos is 2mb so they just need resizing :)

800 square inches is approximately 100cm x 50cm for those querying the size so 733 square inches sounds like it might be about 90cm x 50 cm or 100cm x 40cm.

We mension dimensions as well sometimes because the depth/width of a cage is quite important as well as the length and height. A square cage with the right amount of floor area is ideal! But most cages are oblong with a length, depth and height. I think the height sounds fine. Ideally a cage needs to be at least 50cm (20") in depth (width) - ie the short side. 45cm or 18" is ok for a dwarf. Anything less than 15" or 40cm makes it a bit narrow for it to be a suitable environment. So within that 733 square inches, the dimensions could be quite important.

Were you thinking of designing something yourself or using an ikea hack tutorial? I know the Linmon diy cages are popular - but that might be a bigger than you have space for if you're making two. And it's not the cheapest diy either.
 
Posted at the same time! Those dimensions and the design sound great! I think a front opening door is a really good idea - for easy access and interaction.
 
Hello and welcome. Your dwarfies sound adorable and hope we get to see some photos of them :) . Max file size for photos is 2mb so they just need resizing :)

800 square inches is approximately 100cm x 50cm for those querying the size so 733 square inches sounds like it might be about 90cm x 50 cm or 100cm x 40cm.

We mension dimensions as well sometimes because the depth/width of a cage is quite important as well as the length and height. A square cage with the right amount of floor area is ideal! But most cages are oblong with a length, depth and height. I think the height sounds fine. Ideally a cage needs to be at least 50cm (20") in depth (width) - ie the short side. 45cm or 18" is ok for a dwarf. Anything less than 15" or 40cm makes it a bit narrow for it to be a suitable environment. So within that 733 square inches, the dimensions could be quite important.

Were you thinking of designing something yourself or using an ikea hack tutorial? I know the Linmon diy cages are popular - but that might be a bigger than you have space for if you're making two. And it's not the cheapest diy either.
Yeah I was thinking it might be slightly to small so thought I would ask , im planning on building my own as need them to be able to sit on top of each other , probably 1 on a table and the other under to save room as I only have a small home myself . I will do some more research and try and find a way to make them at least 800 square inch of floor space. Thank you for your help
 
I think 95cm by almost 50cm is a very good size and if that's what fits your table and under it I wouldn't worry about making it exactly 100cm x 50cm :-) Although bigger is always better! But it's still a great size home for a dwarf hamster. Loads of floorspace.
 
Sounds great to me and a good size for a dwarf hamster. If you can't find a table with a shelf to have one cage on the top and the other on the shelf you could put one on a dolly trolley to go under the table.
Everything is on wheels here. Makes life easy.
 
I ended up choosing a table to fit the cages ha ha. For the top of a table, the size isn't crucial - you can have a bit of overhang either side. But to have one underneath it has to fit between the legs!
 
I'm impressed at you being creative and designing your own diy build - it would be lovely if when you've done it, you could add a tutorial/pictures on here. It might inspire others. Unless you're going to patent it of course! What kind of wood are you going to use? Or would it be melamine board? Also just wondered which country you're in. Some people on here in the Uk have links to various perspex suppliers etc.
 
I'm impressed at you being creative and designing your own diy build - it would be lovely if when you've done it, you could add a tutorial/pictures on here. It might inspire others. Unless you're going to patent it of course! What kind of wood are you going to use? Or would it be melamine board? Also just wondered which country you're in. Some people on here in the Uk have links to various perspex suppliers etc.
Thank you and yes I will definitely put pictures up after tho it will take a while as I'm still getting the money together to be able.to build them . I'm not sure on the type of wood yet as I know B &Q only have so many types so I will have to have a look closer to the time. I'm in England
 
I think people tend to use pine or melamine board. It's partly why Ikea hacks are popular as the melamine board is precut to build with screw holes etc! Are you good at diy? And have tools etc? I used to freak at the idea of any diy at all. But gradually I went from having a piece of sandpaper handy for sanding the odd splintery wood hamster item, to having a little saw and making stilts for houses - and glueing them on! And that's about my limit - lol!
 
I have heard of people building enclosures with wood from B&Q and they can cut it to the required size.
That's a good point - if you go in with dimensions they will cut both wood and mesh to the exact size you want :)
 
I have heard of people building enclosures with wood from B&Q and they can cut it to the required size.
Yes its what im planning on doing as it would be alot easier tho it does cost 50p per cut after the 5th cut which I think isn't to bad alot cheaper than buying a saw
 
I think people tend to use pine or melamine board. It's partly why Ikea hacks are popular as the melamine board is precut to build with screw holes etc! Are you good at diy? And have tools etc? I used to freak at the idea of any diy at all. But gradually I went from having a piece of sandpaper handy for sanding the odd splintery wood hamster item, to having a little saw and making stilts for houses - and glueing them on! And that's about my limit - lol!
I may use pine but I know its not great for them so looking for safer alternatives, I would say im ok with diy I have done a few small things in the past using my parents tools but nothing this size before so it will be interesting to see how they come out lol
 
Ah I didn't realise they charged for the cutting. It's a long time since I had anything cut there (it was kitchen worktops last time!)
 
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