Ventilation mod needed for this hamster home?

[Maz]

I have a NiteAngel enclosure and can confirm that it is on the heavier side. I'm very glad I purchased the wheel attachments to move it around easier since we have it on the floor. The lid/ top is sufficiently heavy that I don't think a Syrian could reasonably lift it- at least not the model I have. However, the pegs that connect the top have slipped out once or twice (this is over the course of a few years of ownership, so I haven't considered it a big deal, but it did happen). It was a situation where I think something had just started slipping out over time and then one time I went to open or close it and realized I had to reset it. Ours has slits across the whole top, but no side ventilation, but it hasn't proved a problem. You can see our current set up in the enclosures thread.

Sorry for any confusion, it was the Night Angel multi room house that has the heavy lid, rather than the Niteangel enclosure

 

[Hamster Haven]

Sorry for any confusion, it was the Night Angel multi room house that has the heavy lid, rather than the Niteangel enclosure

Oh yes!

 

[ross1010]

Hi All, I received the vents for the rear of the cage, and found the screen on them to be quite thin. It's metal insect screen, similar to what you'd find on an old screen door.

Do you think a hamster is likely to attempt to chew through them? I am confident their teeth could cut it, but not sure if they can get that first bite

For scale, these are 3" diameter vents.

 

[Maz]

I am really not sure, but I would think they would be ok. Whereabouts would the vents be - high up? Not that that makes much difference but less tempting than lower down. I haven't heard of hamsters chewing through metal mesh but it's hard to tell how thin it is.

 

[ross1010]

The clearance above the bedding should be about 10-11". Ideally the vents would be maybe in the middle of that remaining height (about 6" from the top... if they're at the top, I'm not sure they offer much benefit.

It's bug screen, so quite thin. I am confident any rodent that wants to chew through it could.

 

[Maz]

Maybe not the best option then. Are there any mouse grid panels?

Something like this maybe?

Mouse mesh air brick panel

 

[ross1010]

Since there are some return fees, I think I'll just place some 1/4" behind it, held in place by the tabs and see if it's an issue.

 

[Maz]

That sounds like a good idea

 

[ross1010]

I ended up getting the vents installed in the rear, and replacing the acrylic on top with stainless wire mesh. Cage is now setup basic, though we have some sprays and textures to order, and another hide to construct with some additional enrichment. We picked up a rescue syrian (6 months old) at the local pet shelter... she seemed friendly and had come with a litter of babies which were already gone by the time we arrived.

 

[Maz]

It looks great

 

[ross1010]

It looks great

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tulsi]

Looking forward to seeing pics of your new rescue hamster.

 

[Maz]

I know you have some more things coming so apologies if you've already thought of this, but maybe some kind of ramp in and out of the sand/dig box on the left - so it's easy to get in and out of? If you have a cork log coming as well, I sometimes use one of those in front of, to one side of the house - insted of the bendy bridge, and it provides a more secure climb up and down from the roof Mine tended to ignore a steep bendy bridge.

Assume you already know about checking bendy bridges for any gaps (if they have any you can stuff moss or toilet paper in the gaps - to avoid a foot getting caught.

 

[ross1010]

Thanks for the ideas - glad to hear any/all. We're definitely needing to finish the build-out and progress planned over the next week! We were hoping she would use the sandbox to use as her restroom (ease of cleaning), but that hasn't happened yet

Just as you said, the funny thing is that even if a ramp is present (for instance to the top of the multi-chamber), she just climbs up. We had thought about a cork log - you're thinking of a large diameter one that is hollowed out? I wasn't sure at what point, they need a ramp if they seem to be getting in and out of the sandbox without it.

We had read about the bendy bridge gaps, but had forgotten about that and my daughter and her friend can work on that today. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Maz]

If she's managing without a ramp then maybe you don't need one

 

[Maz]

Sometimes a little step up can be nice though I use cork bark rounds as a step or a piece of cork bark, or you could improvise! Some people get this niteangel bridge which is supposed to be designed to get in and out of sand baths. That's maybe intended for smaller species to get in and out but I have one for our Syrian and it's big enough for them for climbing over. I would maybe put a bit deeper sand in perhaps.

Sandbox bridge

 

[ross1010]

Sometimes a little step up can be nice though I use cork bark rounds as a step or a piece of cork bark, or you could improvise! Some people get this niteangel bridge which is supposed to be designed to get in and out of sand baths. That's maybe intended for smaller species to get in and out but I have one for our Syrian and it's big enough for them for climbing over. I would maybe put a bit deeper sand in perhaps.

Sandbox bridge

I like the bark rounds step idea. Maybe I'll just cut some out of apple wood. Have a mature apple tree I have to take down this winter.

Yeah, was thinking about more sand, as well... didn't know how large she would be before we got her (with the lid on one end).

 

[Maz]

She has an amazing home and I bet she loves it