Show us your cages 2022

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Hey everyone! This is a 90x55cm enclosure I've built from an ikea coffee table, some scrap wood and plexiglass. I did a lot of research but since this is my very first enclosure, I might have made some mistakes so please feel free to warn me.
P.S. her sand bath area is extremely messy since my roommate was taking care of her for two days instead of me but I'll fix it
 

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tompin said:
Hey everyone! This is a 90x55cm enclosure I've built from an ikea coffee table, some scrap wood and plexiglass. I did a lot of research but since this is my very first enclosure, I might have made some mistakes so please feel free to warn me.
P.S. her sand bath area is extremely messy since my roommate was taking care of her for two days instead of me but I'll fix it
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It is lovely to see your set up. I think it looks great! Do not worry if the sand gets messy. I notice sand tends to get everywhere.😀
 
It looks amazing. Excellent cage - lucky hammy. Ditto re the sand - that's just normal hamster stuff ha ha. Sand everywhere. Hamsters like messing up their cages sometimes - there is sometimes some method to it and organisation as well. Like them moving substrate around to create a draught excluder or something. The only thing I might consider is adding a few more floor items on the half with the coloured tubes but if she's happy with it like that, just ignore me :-). Maybe another hidey place - cardboard box hides from tissue boxes or egg boxes eg.
 
I couldn't quite see how the mesh lid works though. Are the mesh edges protected? I doubt she could get up there anyway.
 
It looks great! Lucky dwarfie. I see that you also have a MouseBro wheel. One of my Robos has one and loves it. You could add a cork tunnel, they are light weight and hamsters love them.
 
My hybrid dwarf's setup (Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy). The MCH underneath the big sandbath has an opening on both sides and she uses it to access her burrow on the right where she has 6-8 inches of bedding depth. She really enjoys digging in her beech chips and in her soil. I want to get her a slightly bigger soil box since she enjoys it so much. The limited height of the Maxi Duna frustrates me frequently but I think I'm finally pretty happy with the setup that she has (though I'll probably keep tweaking it!).20221108_120159_.jpg
 
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Maz said:
It looks amazing. Excellent cage - lucky hammy. Ditto re the sand - that's just normal hamster stuff ha ha. Sand everywhere. Hamsters like messing up their cages sometimes - there is sometimes some method to it and organisation as well. Like them moving substrate around to create a draught excluder or something. The only thing I might consider is adding a few more floor items on the half with the coloured tubes but if she's happy with it like that, just ignore me :). Maybe another hidey place - cardboard box hides from tissue boxes or egg boxes eg.
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Thank you for the suggestions! I tried to put a seesaw on that side but it was a bit wobbly. I thought there were enough hideouts already, how many should here be?
 
Maz said:
I couldn't quite see how the mesh lid works though. Are the mesh edges protected? I doubt she could get up there anyway.
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The mesh sides line up with the extra wood almost without any space left but I'm thinking of a way to cover the sharp edges
 
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Hello. Welcome to the forum. That looks great. How cute she likes the soil so much. :)
 
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tompin said:
The mesh sides line up with the extra wood almost without any space left but I'm thinking of a way to cover the sharp edges
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We fixed the mesh inbetween two pieces of wood so there are no edges exposed. This could still be done with a thin layer of wood to cover the mesh in your lid but you may have to adjust the hinges.

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Hello and welcome.

That is a lovely and enriching set up! Your hamster is very lucky.
Love the yellow wheel. Is that a Niteangel wheel?
 
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Beryl said:
Hello and welcome A_J!

That is a lovely and enriching set up! Your hamster is very lucky.
Love the yellow wheel. Is that a Niteangel wheel?
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Yeah, it's the 10" niteangel. As she gets older she is starting to slip on it more (not sure if it's the rungs or the slippy surface that's the issue) so I think I am going to have to figure out how to line it with cork before too long.
 
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Hi great cage set up :) I can imagine the height being slightly frustrating - on the other hand the lower height makes it easier to get a hamster out maybe. I had a tank once which was taller and it was a nightmare having to reach down so far. I'd have thought the rungs would give enough grip but I think you can buy cork to stick on. I have a Carolina Storm wheel our hamster found a bit slippery - didn't stop him running on it though lol!
 
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tompin said:
The mesh sides line up with the extra wood almost without any space left but I'm thinking of a way to cover the sharp edges
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I guessed they probably lined up and she couldn't get to them :) It probably is an idea to cover the edges with something. I am impressed with your diy build as I am not good at diy! You have lots of nice hidey places :) Sometimes if there's a more open area people suggest additional hidey places as they seem to like things to go into and climb over. Filling up open space for things is some added interest. But you know your hamster and maybe she is quite happy with that area as it is. Or maybe she digs tunnels in it (which would knock a hide over anyway lol.
 
Maz said:
I guessed they probably lined up and she couldn't get to them :) It probably is an idea to cover the edges with something. I am impressed with your diy build as I am not good at diy! You have lots of nice hidey places :) Sometimes if there's a more open area people suggest additional hidey places as they seem to like things to go into and climb over. Filling up open space for things is some added interest. But you know your hamster and maybe she is quite happy with that area as it is. Or maybe she digs tunnels in it (which would knock a hide over anyway lol.
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Thank you! It was my first time and I'm a student so the budget was pretty limited ahahah but I'll definitely improve it. She does dig a lot of tunnels, I've never actually seen her using the hideouts on that side
 
Which coffee table did you use? I'd be interested to see how you made it!
 
It's the ikea Lack one! I had it in the living room and it was taking up too much space anyway so I thought it'd be perfect as an enclosure. I took off two of the legs but kept the other two at the back to have a stronger structure. I took off the weird platform thingy and used it by screwing it on the back. Then I found some scrap wood and bought a few cheap pieces of wood, plexiglass and metal mesh. I didn't even have a saw so I used a bread knife at first ahahah but it was pretty easy to put together. I used aquarium sillicone for the plexiglass and for the lid, I didn't have enough of the same wood so it looks a bit bad ahahahah. Oh and as a separator I repurposed the other two legs of the table by cutting them shorter and nailing them into a piece of wood so that it'd stand straight. It really could have been much better but this is the best I can do right now as a student in a foreign country, so I'm happy with what I've done. I really hope my explanation wasn't too bad!
 

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I am sure the hamster won't notice the wood is a different colour :-). I'd forgotten about that table - yes it's a good option for a diy cage. I would balk at siliconing plexiglass in place - was it fairly easy?
 
Maz said:
I am sure the hamster won't notice the wood is a different colour :). I'd forgotten about that table - yes it's a good option for a diy cage. I would balk at siliconing plexiglass in place - was it fairly easy?
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Well it was difficult at first and it seemed like it wasn't sticking but it all worked out after a few hours of waiting. I had my roommate holding the glass as I was squeezing the silicone tube, so I'd definitely say it isn't a one person job unless you're experienced with silicone
 
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