Where to find stilts or alternatives?

[Pastacat]

I recently bought a table with stilts to put my hamster's wheel on from an online store, but its dimensions stated on the picture turned out to be deceptive. The table is way smaller than it is shown. I wrote a review stating it, but I don't know if they will reply. In the meantime, what can I put Topaç's wheel on? Would any wooden box or small table work?

 

[Maz]

You could use an upturned wood house or similar maybe? Can you send it back for a refund?

 

[Rescued One]

https://www.happyhenryshomes.co.uk/ Happy Henry's Hamster Homes has a variety of platforms and legs of variable heights that are not too costly

 

[Maz]

https://www.happyhenryshomes.co.uk/ Happy Henry's Hamster Homes has a variety of platforms and legs of variable heights that are not too costly

I think @Pastacat is in Turkey So HHH probably don't ship there.

 

[Pastacat]

You could use an upturned wood house or similar maybe? Can you send it back for a refund?

I looked at some houses and they are either too small or too large/take too much space. Would tying the wheel to the bars with cable ties work for the same purpose or do you recommed buying two small houses and putting the wheel on top? My concern is Topaç trying to burrow underneath it and getting trapped, even though he never tried to burrow under the wheel.

 

[Maz]

Yes tying the wheel stand to the bars would work That's what I have done in one of my cages. Depending though, what type of wheel it is, the type of wheel stand and how heavy it is. If you can do diy, it's easy enough to make a platform the height you want, but you do need a drill really. Just a piece of wood the size you want (if it's pine, check it's been kiln dried - solid pine is ok). Then you can buy 1 inch or 3/4" wood dowels on Amazon or from a hardware store. If you can't buy them the exact length you want, you'd need to buy them longer and saw them down. I'd suggest, if they need sawing, not to get hardwood ones as those are incredibly hard to saw! Then you just drill four holes in the top of the wood where you want the dowels to go and drill a very small hole in the top of each dowel (this ensures the screws have a starter or it can be impossible to screw the screws through the dowels. Then put a screw through the top of the holes in the top part and screw it through into the dowel starter hole that's drilled

One advantage of making your own is, you can put the legs/stilts where you want - because with a cage like yours, the base is curved - so if the legs are at the four corners, then the back legs would stop the platform going right back to the bars and you'd have a big gap of substrate behind it - with the wheel sitting quite far forward in the cage. By screwing the legs where you want, you can have one leg at each corner at the front, but have the other two legs about half way along (not right at the back corner). The platform will still stand and be stable but it means it will go right to the back bars, and the rear legs will avoid the curved base Hope that makes sense!

 

[Pastacat]

Update: I tied the wheel to the bars for now, but I think it's too heavy for the bars. I am considering buying a plastic container/bin, turning it upside down and using it as a platform. I considered diy too, but I have never used a saw in my life and I am a bit afraid that I could get seriously injured. Another option is that I could use my budgies' transport cage tray, since it is made out of a stronger material, but that would mean buying a new transport cage for my budgies. Any suggestions?

 

[Maz]

Maybe you have some kind of pyrex dish in a kitchen cupboard that would work, upturned? Or an old ice cream tub maybe?

 

[Socks' Mum]

Yes, I got the Omlet cage after battling with wheel skidding and falling over overnight, and it runs nicely. I bought a whole cage to fix the wheel problem It is very difficult to get a decent wheel support system.

 

[Pastacat]

Maybe you have some kind of pyrex dish in a kitchen cupboard that would work, upturned? Or an old ice cream tub maybe?

Unfortunately, I dont have anything like that, but I have these two plastic drawers I can use by stacking them, drilling holes into their corners and tying them with cable tie. Would that be safe?


I also found this listing on ubuy, but it doesn't say which type of wood it is made out of, just 'natural solid wood', so I don't know if it is safe.

Türkiye Merdivenli Büyük Hamster Platformu Ahşap Suriye | Ubuy

Shop Merdivenli Büyük Hamster Platformu Ahşap Suriye Hamster Ayaklı Platformlar Set Ahşap Gerbils Tırmanma Köprüsü Oyuncak Kafes Aksesuarları online at a best price in Türkiye. B0CQVPLC9V

www.ubuy.com.tr

 

[Maz]

Hmm not sure about the plastic drawers - they have all those little edges and crevices when upturned - and it's hard to tell how large they are?

The wood platform - it's difficult when it doesn't say what kind of wood - you could message them and ask - I've done that before, but sometimes they are not that helpful and just say it's "natural wood". Don't ask specifically if it's pine or they could just say "yes" (had that before only to find it clearly wasn't pine when it arrived). So maybe ask "can you tell me what tree the wood comes from - ie the specific type of wood". They might not even know. It doesn't look like pine to me as it doesn't have any knots.

Ok do you have anything like a £1 shop (UK thing) - that sells loads of household items for the equivalent of £1? You'd probably find some kind of dish or box that you could use.

 

[Pastacat]

Update: I bought a large pyrex glass dish, put it on the floor of the cage and put the wheel on top, but bedding got into between the wheel's standing part and the running part(I don't know if there are words for those), so it kind of looks like I buried the wheel. Could Topaç get stuck between those parts?