Jas, the hamster formally known as Jasper

I just paint the inside of the house and the inside of the wheel :-) Some people paint the whole thing. I've never had a hamster get pee on the outside of a house or wheel - but then I haven't had a female syrian. The only thing I did find with a house, is that if you paint everything it does add a slight thicker layer and then sometimes things don't fit together and you have to get the sanding paper out! So I now avoid painting the bits that fit together. And just paint the inside rooms. It just helps make them wipe clean.
 
I found that too but I just tend to put the house together then use the paint almost like glue & fill any tiny gaps where peed on substrate can get trapped.
 
Can I please ask what cameras you use? I want to set one up, just not sure which one?
Jas seems really energised if she comes out later, so I'm interested in what she does when we aren't here.
 
I have this one and happy with it :)

Littlelf camera

It takes a micro sd card, connects to wifi. It records continuously on the sd card so you can playpback next day or save clips from it. Or watch live on your phone in bed. When the sd card is full it just goes back to the beginning and wipes over old footage.

It's always interesting to see their night time routine. With mine it has been periods of foraging, a bit of wheeling, a nap - a bit of a roam around and repeat. They vary as to what times they do things or how late they stay up (ie in the morning). At some point they tend to have a look for a way out and can monkey bar across the roof sometimes! If you see that you can see how to adjust things at floor level in case she falls.

I've found it very useful as well as it helped me see when the wheel was blocked once. Another time it was useful for monitoring after the hamster had got left out and I couldn't find him. I put the cage on the floor with a tube leading into it. put the lights out and watched on my phone upstairs. Once I saw him go back in the cage I nipped down and closed the cage door.
 
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It looks great! She might take a day or two to decide whether to move her nest. It's very difficult not to have open space above sometimes. I sometimes put a blanket or hemp mat over half the cage until a hamster is settled, so it's a bit darker underneath. You need to be careful with that though if she's a chewer! She might chew it through the bars. Main thing is she has a lot more to do at the left hand side of the cage now. How will she get up onto the corner shelf?
 
I also think that it looks great! You could put a little rainbow bridge on the house so she can get up the shelf. Little degus shelves and steps that screw on the bars are also handy to get up to higher platforms.
 
Yes she can probably climb onto the left corner shelf from the new house roof. An option might be to have a bendy bridge on the house roof next to that shelf so she can easily run up and down to it. If you get some sprays perhaps, and stick those in various places, it could camouflage the odd open corner.
 
Beryl said:
I also think that it looks great! You could put a little rainbow bridge on the house so she can get up the shelf. Little degus shelves and steps that screw on the bars are also handy to get up to higher platforms.
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Posted at the same time as Beryl! The rainbow bridge is a better idea - then you don't need to worry about finding a bendy bridge without gaps.

 
You can get grassy type hammocks to hang from the roof too - to give some overhead cover. The only reason I don't use them is they aggravate my asthma - anything grassy does.
 
I have a bendy bridge and a rainbow bridge. I'll add the rainbow bridge on top of the house, it's in her playpen at the moment. I do have some sprays as well, so I'll put some in
 
Hank said:
I have a bendy bridge and a rainbow bridge. I'll add the rainbow bridge on top of the house, it's in her playpen at the moment. I do have some sprays as well, so I'll put some in
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That sounds good. I'll be interested to see if she eats them at all. I'm wondering if it's more dwarf hamsters who are interested in them. Raffy ignored his!
 
Hank said:
I have a bendy bridge and a rainbow bridge. I'll add the rainbow bridge on top of the house, it's in her playpen at the moment. I do have some sprays as well, so I'll put some in
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I think they do feel happier having easy access to thinks rather than having to pull themselves up - so they can move around freely and get into a routine. I'm wondering also if, instead of the blue pastic house on the left hand shelf you could maybe have something like an additional little food dish. The house sort of fills the shelf up a bit and might be a bit small for her. I have a separate food dish for the veg and one for the hamster mix. It means they head for the veg dish first and have a reason to use the shelf. I also have a hanging chew stick hanging right next to a small shelf over the house, so she could sit on the shelf and chew it or stand on the house roof and chew it.
 
Thanks for your advice.
It is difficult to balance between enough to do and also enough room to run around.
She does like some of the sprays, so I have to be a bit careful, not to put too many in, as she does eat them.
 
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