Obie's Abode

[Obie's Mum]

Here's Obie's set-up. He's a 3 month old Roborovski dwarf. His cage/tank is too small, but I'm hoping his playpen makes up for that. The only time we block off Obie's access to his playpen is when we're both out or both in bed. My husband is home all the time and I mostly work from home, so Obie usually has access to his playpen from 8am-11pm.

 

[Maz]

What a great way to allow him unlimited playpen access I have visualised trying something like that myself but could never work it out (Syrians are bigger and nowhere to leave the playpen close enough to the cages).

His cage is a bit on the small side but as you say, he can access the playpen most times. The one thing robos actually love is digging tunnels - they are great tunnelers and it's nice seeing a little head popping up from a tunnel now and then, so giving him more bedding would really add to his enrichment and normal behaviours. I would at least fill the base with bedding (and yes it can fall out through the bars a bit).

It could be an idea to think about upgrading him to something with more floorspace and so he can have deeper bedding when you can.

 

[Obie's Mum]

Thank you so much, Maz! I was worried I might receive a negative response for having too small a cage, but your post is very encouraging. I bought a new 50l bag of CareFresh yesterday, so can easily give him more bedding. My husband said we should give him more and I said no, so I guess my husband wins this one!

 

[Obie's Mum]

What a great way to allow him unlimited playpen access I have visualised trying something like that myself but could never work it out (Syrians are bigger and nowhere to leave the playpen close enough to the cages).

His cage is a bit on the small side but as you say, he can access the playpen most times. The one thing robos actually love is digging tunnels - they are great tunnelers and it's nice seeing a little head popping up from a tunnel now and then, so giving him more bedding would really add to his enrichment and normal behaviours. I would at least fill the base with bedding (and yes it can fall out through the bars a bit).

It could be an idea to think about upgrading him to something with more floorspace and so he can have deeper bedding when you can.

PS. Do you think it would be safe for Obie to have 24/7 access to his playpen? Or can robos get into too much mischief when unsupervised?! I'm aware that hamsters can make escaping their speciality!

 

[Doodleham]

PS. Do you think it would be safe for Obie to have 24/7 access to his playpen? Or can robos get into too much mischief when unsupervised?! I'm aware that hamsters can make escaping their speciality!

I wouldn't advise unsupervised access to the playpen as he could chew out or climb the mesh and escape. Looking forward to seeing pictures of Obie.

 

[Obie's Mum]

I wouldn't advise unsupervised access to the playpen as he could chew out or climb the mesh and escape. Looking forward to seeing pictures of Obie.

 

[Obie's Mum]

Sorry, couldn't work out how to add text after posting a pic. I was also worried that Obie might chew his way out of his playpen overnight.

 

[Maz]

As Doodleham says, it wouldn't be safe really, they always need supervision or someone around. They are such escape artists. My best tip is keep any playpen contents well away from the sides, or they can climb on top of things and then jump over the edge of the playpen! And yes could chew their way out if left unattended.

We do advice rather than criticism on here There are some places online where you would get an awful response for showing your cage. As you say you have given him easy access to a playpen area so it's not quite so black and white. However, generally they do better with more floorspace in the enclosure itself so they have all their regular "stuff" in one territory. Even though robos are tiny, they are incredibly active. On which note, I can't resist adding a video of my last robo Pip zooming in his savic plaza He used every inch of it. If you were interested in one of those there are quite a few available second hand for around £35 to £40 these days. They are a bit fiddly to set up for a robo though as they're quite tall - I had 5" of cardboard inside mine so it had 10" of bedding which reduced the height a bit. Otherwise an easier option (without the height issues) is the Grosvenor XL cage - with that you could have a deep bedding end.

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Grosvenor XL hamster cage

Also - if you recently bought the cage and it came from a well-known Uk pet store, some people have had a refund for it and been able to return the cage after getting a new one and the hamster moved over

Neither of those would allow for your tube access to the playpen though - but I think the Ferplast Criceti 100 would allow you to keep that ..........

It's about the only good sized cage I know of that has tube attachments. Unfortunately it is quite expensive.

Ferplast Criceti 100

Another option is the Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy - again it's not that tall but you could have a deep bedding end. Also slightly on the expensive side. Unless you can find either of those second hand on ebay maybe.

Ferplast Maxi Duna

So we would encourage upgrading the cage when you can

 

[Doodleham]

As Doodleham says, it wouldn't be safe really, they always need supervision or someone around. They are such escape artists. My best tip is keep any playpen contents well away from the sides, or they can climb on top of things and then jump over the edge of the playpen! And yes could chew their way out if left unattended.

We do advice rather than criticism on here There are some places online where you would get an awful response for showing your cage. As you say you have given him easy access to a playpen area so it's not quite so black and white. However, generally they do better with more floorspace in the enclosure itself so they have all their regular "stuff" in one territory. Even though robos are tiny, they are incredibly active. On which note, I can't resist adding a video of my last robo Pip zooming in his savic plaza He used every inch of it. If you were interested in one of those there are quite a few available second hand for around £35 to £40 these days. They are a bit fiddly to set up for a robo though as they're quite tall - I had 5" of cardboard inside mine so it had 10" of bedding which reduced the height a bit. Otherwise an easier option (without the height issues) is the Grosvenor XL cage - with that you could have a deep bedding end.

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Grosvenor XL hamster cage

Also - if you recently bought the cage and it came from a well-known Uk pet store, some people have had a refund for it and been able to return the cage after getting a new one and the hamster moved over

Neither of those would allow for your tube access to the playpen though - but I think the Ferplast Criceti 100 would allow you to keep that ..........

It's about the only good sized cage I know of that has tube attachments. Unfortunately it is quite expensive.

Ferplast Criceti 100

Another option is the Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy - again it's not that tall but you could have a deep bedding end. Also slightly on the expensive side. Unless you can find either of those second hand on ebay maybe.

Ferplast Maxi Duna

So we would encourage upgrading the cage when you can

I think pets at home habitat 3 plastic home is very similar to a duna multy. (I think that's what it's called)

**Just checked and it's gone from the site. They only have the 2 now which is too small.

 

[Maz]

I think pets at home habitat 3 plastic home is very similar to a duna multy. (I think that's what it's called)

**Just checked and it's gone from the site. They only have the 2 now which is too small.

I know! It's gone! As have the 120cm cages. I did a post about it recently. Apart from three 100cm cages they are only selling their own brand smaller cages now. However at least the maxi duna price has come down a fair bit. It was £230 for quite some time! It's now come back down to it's old price of £135. But that is still not cheap.

However the Pets at Home habitat 3 barred cage is still there. It's 95cm and only about £53 and not too tall for a robo. The downside to it is - it only has small doors so unless a hamster is gregarious enough to come to one of the small doors, it would be very hard to get at the hamster. And for spot cleaning it means taking the whole top bars off. Which you couldn't really do with the hamster in the cage very easily or they might jump out. So it has access issues IMO.

The Omlet cage would be a good option for a Robo and easy and it has exits to attach a tube to for the playpen. But it is EXPENSIVE now. It's now £189. They really should reduce the price again.

Hamster Cage & Hamster Playpen | Omlet

Discover Omlet hamster cages with a large, secure space and easy-to-clean design. Add enrichment options to keep your hamster safe, happy, and active.

www.omlet.co.uk

 

[Maz]

If not wanting to spend too much, the best option is to look for second hand versions or a new Grosvenor XL is a good option and not too pricey.

 

[Obie's Mum]

Wow, Maz! Such a detailed and helpful response! Thank you so much! The links are VERY handy.

My main worry with Obie has been getting a cage big enough for him which also has narrow bars to prevent him escaping. 15-20 years ago I rehomed a Russian dwarf winter white from the RSPCA, called Sam. The RSPCA stipulated a certain size cage, otherwise they wouldn't remove him to me. The only one on the market big enough was the Savic Hamster Heaven, which was made for Syrians and had 1cm bar spacing, and slightly larger gaps where the clips were to open it. Sam escaped through the bars while I was on holiday (I had someone coming in daily to look after him). No dramas, I found him nesting behind my fridge; he had collected up my dust bunnies and used them as bedding I had to immediately buy him a new cage, so I ended up with the biggest one available with 7mm bar spacing, built for mice. I was really keen to avoid this happening with Obie, especially with him being a baby! I also didn't know what size a 3mth old Robo would be. But it seems that cages have moved on, thankfully, and it's now possible to buy large cages for mice and dwarf hamsters with narrow bar spacing.

 

[Obie's Mum]

As Doodleham says, it wouldn't be safe really, they always need supervision or someone around. They are such escape artists. My best tip is keep any playpen contents well away from the sides, or they can climb on top of things and then jump over the edge of the playpen! And yes could chew their way out if left unattended.

We do advice rather than criticism on here There are some places online where you would get an awful response for showing your cage. As you say you have given him easy access to a playpen area so it's not quite so black and white. However, generally they do better with more floorspace in the enclosure itself so they have all their regular "stuff" in one territory. Even though robos are tiny, they are incredibly active. On which note, I can't resist adding a video of my last robo Pip zooming in his savic plaza He used every inch of it. If you were interested in one of those there are quite a few available second hand for around £35 to £40 these days. They are a bit fiddly to set up for a robo though as they're quite tall - I had 5" of cardboard inside mine so it had 10" of bedding which reduced the height a bit. Otherwise an easier option (without the height issues) is the Grosvenor XL cage - with that you could have a deep bedding end.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Grosvenor XL hamster cage

Also - if you recently bought the cage and it came from a well-known Uk pet store, some people have had a refund for it and been able to return the cage after getting a new one and the hamster moved over

Neither of those would allow for your tube access to the playpen though - but I think the Ferplast Criceti 100 would allow you to keep that ..........

It's about the only good sized cage I know of that has tube attachments. Unfortunately it is quite expensive.

Ferplast Criceti 100

Another option is the Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy - again it's not that tall but you could have a deep bedding end. Also slightly on the expensive side. Unless you can find either of those second hand on ebay maybe.

Ferplast Maxi Duna

So we would encourage upgrading the cage when you can

PS. I loved your video! At first I genuinely thought it wasn't in real time and was sped up; then I noticed the time clock in the corner! I've not often seen Obie move as fast as this. He usually mooches around quite slowly. The only time he's been fast is when I accidentally startled him

 

[Maz]

Ah that is really sad your Russian dwarf hamster escaped the hamster heaven, and just shows that it is possible! You're right the bars on the corner of the door are/were larger than the 1cm bar spacing. Solid sides or narrow bar spacing are better for robos and dwarf hamsters. I think the 9mm spacing of the savic plaza is slightly better in that respect, and no larger gaps anywhere. But 7mm bar spacing is best - I used to have a Savic Mickey 2XL (still have it in the loft) which was the same as the hamster heaven but with narrow bar spacing.

So can understand you being more comfortable with a tank style and a lot of people prefer them.

 

[Maz]

From your other thread, it sounds like you've had a few rodents before, so you know what's what There have been quite a lot of changes in the area of hamster care over the past few years with about three pet charities coming out with guidelines.

 

[Obie's Mum]

Thank you for your replies, Maz. I've kept a lot of rodents before like you say, but I'm loving learning about a new species! I had 3 Syrians as a child, then Sam the dwarf Russian 15-20 years ago, and now Obie the Robo. I feel a lot more knowledgeable on rats, mice, and chinchillas than I do hamsters.

I'm pleased the market has moved on in respect to hamster housing. I'd love to get Obie a big tank in the future with wooden trim (on the outside!) on a stand so that it looks like a piece of furniture. But we've spent about £300-400 on Obie's initial outlay (we went a big crazy!) so I'm going to wait a bit! I think we have enough plastic transparent tubing to run around the perimeter of our entire flat Can't wait to do this!

 

[Maz]

It can get expensive! You might like this one - the Skyline Marrakesch 120. It's actually 115cm cm long but looks very nice, The wood is painted with something so it's wipe clean and the design of it means the wood can't be chewed. It's quite expensive though. Most tanks are quite expensive unfortunately.

Skyline Marrakesh 120 Small Pet Cage | Order now ✔

Buy Skyline Marrakesh 120 Small Pet Cage now at zooplus. Free delivery from £39. ► Unlock the deals, shop now.

www.zooplus.co.uk

 

[Obie's Mum]

It can get expensive! You might like this one - the Skyline Marrakesch 120. It's actually 115cm cm long but looks very nice, The wood is painted with something so it's wipe clean and the design of it means the wood can't be chewed. It's quite expensive though. Most tanks are quite expensive unfortunately.

Skyline Marrakesh 120 Small Pet Cage | Order now ✔

Buy Skyline Marrakesh 120 Small Pet Cage now at zooplus. Free delivery from £39. ► Unlock the deals, shop now.

www.zooplus.co.uk

Thank you, Maz! I've bookmarked that. Do you know of any cages or tanks that come with a stand? I think the Omlet one does, but do you know of any more?

 

[Maz]

Not really no. There is a cage stand available from Ferplast in either 100cm or 120cm - just kind of metal legs. Some people use a low coffee table or similar.

 

[Maz]

The Bucatstate perspex tanks are also very popular and they have a front opening door as well as top access. You can get wheels for those, so not exactly a stand but maybe makes them a bit higher.

Bucatstate 3