Hi! This is my boy Bean's setup :)

[JaysBeans]

My hamster's name is bean, he is a male syrian and year and a half old. I sadly live with parents that regret buying him for me. I know that I dont have a "good" setup for him but what I have rn is: One 12 inch wheel, Two hideouts , One water bowle, One food dish, One sand bath, Two home made boredom breakers (sorry for the bad quality this is a computer)

 

[Maz]

Hi and welcome to you and Bean I think you've got a good set up there. Bean has loads of deep bedding to burrow in and a good wheel and a sand bath. For extra enrichment you can make quite a few things. Cardboard is your friend! Pringles tubes make great tunnels and you can make extra hidey places out of tissue boxes etc. A cardboard egg box half can make a good foraging toy/mat - with bits of food between the egg separator sections.

The one thing I would add would be a large house or hide. They like having a large house that's dark inside. A cardboard shoe box is ideal. You cut the base out and keep the lid as a lift off roof, so you can check inside and just cut a hole for a door.

Looking forward to meeting Bean and seeing a photo!

Also you might want to check out the cardboard creations thread - lots of good ideas on there including treat parcels and forage treats.

Cardboard creations

This is a thread to show how many things you can make for your hamster or enclosure, out of cardboard :-) Cardboard is your friend.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.
You do have some good things there for Bean & it’s good do see that you want to do what’s best for your ham, Maz has given you come great ideas there, you can do lots of things with cardboard so no need to buy things, I’m sure you’ll find some ideas there that you can use.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Bean is such a cute name.

 

[Member ID2]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I'm looking forward to meet Bean. Your set up is very good and you can easily add more furnishings and homemade enrichments.

I'm sorry to hear that your parents regret buying your hamster for you but some people are simply not keen on rodents. Mainthing is that you love and care for Bean.

 

[Frida]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I also love the name Bean

 

[JaysBeans]

Hi and welcome to you and Bean I think you've got a good set up there. Bean has loads of deep bedding to burrow in and a good wheel and a sand bath. For extra enrichment you can make quite a few things. Cardboard is your friend! Pringles tubes make great tunnels and you can make extra hidey places out of tissue boxes etc. A cardboard egg box half can make a good foraging toy/mat - with bits of food between the egg separator sections.

The one thing I would add would be a large house or hide. They like having a large house that's dark inside. A cardboard shoe box is ideal. You cut the base out and keep the lid as a lift off roof, so you can check inside and just cut a hole for a door.

Looking forward to meeting Bean and seeing a photo!

Also you might want to check out the cardboard creations thread - lots of good ideas on there including treat parcels and forage treats.

Cardboard creations

This is a thread to show how many things you can make for your hamster or enclosure, out of cardboard :-) Cardboard is your friend.

www.thehamsterforum.com

Thank you for all this information, he has another hide but its too heavy/large to keep in the encloser. Ill try to keep you updated, i will definitely try some of these ideas!

 

[Maz]

Larger and heavier houses sometimes need legs or stilts attaching to support them . A shoebox house is light so can just sit on the substrate, or partly submerged. Some people just use inexpensive wood dowels and glue them on.

 

[JaysBeans]

Larger and heavier houses sometimes need legs or stilts attaching to support them . A shoebox house is light so can just sit on the substrate, or partly submerged. Some people just use inexpensive wood dowels and glue them on.

what glue would you recommend?

 

[RainbowBrite]

Ponal or Elmers glue are safe.

 

[Maz]

I'm not sure if ponal wood glue is available in the US or not. It's a German brand. It is very good though - sticks things very solidly if left overnight and no toxic fumes. Elmers wood glue seems popular too as Rainbow mentioned. I haven't tried it. It does say no toxic fumes, but as long as you use it in a different room from the hamster, once it's dry there won't be any fumes. For lighter things, Elmers school glue is a safe one as well.

The main thing is to leave it overnight to set hard. I usually do one side of the house at a time so I can leave the house on it's side with the legs on the top half and a book on top of the glued legs to keep them in place - they should be set solid by the next morning. Then the next day turn it over and do the other side the same.

 

[JaysBeans]

I'm not sure if ponal wood glue is available in the US or not. It's a German brand. It is very good though - sticks things very solidly if left overnight and no toxic fumes. Elmers wood glue seems popular too as Rainbow mentioned. I haven't tried it. It does say no toxic fumes, but as long as you use it in a different room from the hamster, once it's dry there won't be any fumes. For lighter things, Elmers school glue is a safe one as well.

The main thing is to leave it overnight to set hard. I usually do one side of the house at a time so I can leave the house on it's side with the legs on the top half and a book on top of the glued legs to keep them in place - they should be set solid by the next morning. Then the next day turn it over and do the other side the same.

Okay, thank you il try to find ponal. it might be online

 

[Maz]

There are some photos on this thread. This is how I attached legs. It's hard to glue a small leg top to the bottom of a house and keep it stable, so I got long thinner dowels and glue them to the front/sides of the house where there's more surface area to glue and it keeps things stable.

DIY

I love DIY, especially when its hamster related. I'm hooked on making bin cages and donate them to rescues. My favourite item in the kitchen is a Dremel tool. It does not belong into a shed but i do use it outside of course. I'm always on the lookout for big plastic boxed. My best haul was four...

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Maz]

Okay, thank you il try to find ponal. it might be online

It's this one. I'm sure the Elmer's wood glue is fine too if it's easier to get hold of

Ponal Classic - click here

 

[RainbowBrite]

I use Elmers glue. If you are in US you will find it easily. Ponal will be expensive for you to import.

 

[JaysBeans]

It's this one. I'm sure the Elmer's wood glue is fine too if it's easier to get hold of

Ponal Classic - click here

thanks, just added it to my wish list

 

[JaysBeans]

UPDATE: i cleaned half if the cage (from about the wooden hide to the wheel) and added two hides for my boy. not done yet but im going to give him time to readjust to the new layout of the cage

 

[JaysBeans]

UPDATE: i cleaned half if the cage (from about the wooden hide to the wheel) and added two hides for my boy. not done yet but im going to give him time to readjust to the new layout of the cage.View attachment 2292

for some reason the photo isn't working, there is the photo

 

[Maz]

That looks good! You'll need to give him a few days to adjust after the part clean and changes so he doesn't get too stressed by the changes but I think he'll enjoy that. You can add other bits and pieces as and when although it's best if you can add them without moving other things around.

 

[JaysBeans]

That looks good! You'll need to give him a few days to adjust after the part clean and changes so he doesn't get too stressed by the changes but I think he'll enjoy that. You can add other bits and pieces as and when although it's best if you can add them without moving other things around.

I'll add to his enclosure slowly, but fast enough to keep him entertained.