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Snowy

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I am having trouble deciding what enclosure to move her into. I had settled on the Bano cage https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324575460420 but have since noticed that it has a lot of pan taper and the shelf is rather uneven so am now unsure if that is a good option for her.
 
Could you section off a bit in her current cage to make it smaller? Maybe a divider. You seem good at DIY so I bet you could come up with something. Perhaps a wood partition.
 
Could you section off a bit in her current cage to make it smaller? Maybe a divider. You seem good at DIY so I bet you could come up with something. Perhaps a wood partition.
I am planning to put Paŭ in the Maxi Duna so will need to get her a new cage.

Another option is this: https://amzn.eu/d/4eongHJ
a little smaller than the Bano but a good height for deep bedding, far less pan taper, and has a large flat shelf that can have a cork mat put on it to give her a large area that is easy to get around on.
 
What other options are you comparing it with? It’s hard to tell from those photos but it does look like a lot of taper, it’s not very tall either so I guess you’d have to section off a bit with less bedding for the wheel? If she likes to burrow a lot I’m not sure that would suit her so well.
 
How about moving her to Pau's bin cage but make that a little smaller.
 
How about moving her to Pau's bin cage but make that a little smaller.
Paŭ's bin is very long and narrow so I don't think she'd get on great with that. If I were to shorten it the square inches would be pretty small... Something squarer will lessen her need to walk far to get between stuff.
 
Paŭ's bin is very long and narrow so I don't think she'd get on great with that. If I were to shorten it the square inches would be pretty small... Something squarer will lessen her need to walk far to get between stuff.
Good point. Unless you make her a different bin cage. You would get depth with that.
 
What other options are you comparing it with? It’s hard to tell from those photos but it does look like a lot of taper, it’s not very tall either so I guess you’d have to section off a bit with less bedding for the wheel? If she likes to burrow a lot I’m not sure that would suit her so well.
There aren't many options for barless enclosures in the size range I am looking at. Its tragic that most things are too small even for an older less agile hamster :(

The Bano and the Pawhut I linked to are the only good seeming options I have found...
 
Sorry I missed the pawhut one, that looks as though it would be better than the other one I think, always find it hard to judge cages I’ve never seen. The size isn’t that small for a less agile ham & it’s higher so easier to fit the wheel & any other things she needs I would think.
Does it have to be barless or would bars be too much of a change for her now?
 
Sorry I missed the pawhut one, that looks as though it would be better than the other one I think, always find it hard to judge cages I’ve never seen. The size isn’t that small for a less agile ham & it’s higher so easier to fit the wheel & any other things she needs I would think.
Does it have to be barless or would bars be too much of a change for her now?
She might get on fine with a cage with bars, I just feel like she might feel safer with a barless one as that is what she is used to. Plus barless makes deeper bedding easier.
 
That makes sense, I’m really not all that familiar with barless cages but out of the two I would go for the pawhut one.
 
That makes sense, I’m really not all that familiar with barless cages but out of the two I would go for the pawhut one.
Yeah, I am strongly leaning that way myself now. She loves to burrow under shelves so I think the big shelf on the pawhut would work well for her. She used to have a long wooden shelf in her current enclosure that she loved to live under but I had to remove it because she chewed the legs off and had to hastily rearrange the cage to not have it.
 
The standard Duna Multy is often a good cage for a special needs dwarf hamster. I think a set up for Snowy needs to be thought out carefully, which I am sure you will, to avoid too many changes needed later. Would it not be possible to just get another Maxi Duna Multy for Pau and adjust Snowy's existing cage. She might enjoy the space if it's easier to get around and there is just one deeper bedding area - so she can opt between easier movement and burrowing as she feels like it. I know the Maxi Duna is a lot more expensive. Or there's the Zoozone large for about £80, but the lid needs meshing.

I'm just wondering if she might do better in the same familiar cage but with one end easier to manage. In a way it would be better not to have levels or shelves at all with her mobility issues, but have more space at floor level. As she seems to use the end near the wheel more, maybe the other half could be more level and less bedding for easier walking about? I went with the hemp mats on top of substrate so the height was still there, but a level surface to walk on.

It's difficult to weigh up the stresses - a cage move is stressful and a cage rearrangement is stressful. But if only one end of a familiar cage is rearranged, it could be less stressful as she's already familiar with the cage and has one end the same as before.

She may be quite speedy on the flat! As she is when running in her wheel. And it could help her mobility. Sorry to put a damper on the idea of a cage with a shelf but I'm not sure levels would be good - she could fall going up a ramp - and while she may not hurt herself - it would be stressful if she struggles to do things.
 
The standard Duna Multy is often a good cage for a special needs dwarf hamster. I think a set up for Snowy needs to be thought out carefully, which I am sure you will, to avoid too many changes needed later. Would it not be possible to just get another Maxi Duna Multy for Pau and adjust Snowy's existing cage. She might enjoy the space if it's easier to get around and there is just one deeper bedding area - so she can opt between easier movement and burrowing as she feels like it. I know the Maxi Duna is a lot more expensive. Or there's the Zoozone large for about £80, but the lid needs meshing.

I'm just wondering if she might do better in the same familiar cage but with one end easier to manage. In a way it would be better not to have levels or shelves at all with her mobility issues, but have more space at floor level. As she seems to use the end near the wheel more, maybe the other half could be more level and less bedding for easier walking about? I went with the hemp mats on top of substrate so the height was still there, but a level surface to walk on.

It's difficult to weigh up the stresses - a cage move is stressful and a cage rearrangement is stressful. But if only one end of a familiar cage is rearranged, it could be less stressful as she's already familiar with the cage and has one end the same as before.

She may be quite speedy on the flat! As she is when running in her wheel. And it could help her mobility. Sorry to put a damper on the idea of a cage with a shelf but I'm not sure levels would be good - she could fall going up a ramp - and while she may not hurt herself - it would be stressful if she struggles to do things.
I simply can't fit another maxi duna in unfortunately. I would be putting bedding in to the depth of the shelf so it wouldn't actually be a level with a ramp going up to it. Under the shelf will be burrowing space with a roof, which I know she really likes.
 
I'd go with the Pawhut. In fact, i thought of that cage before i saw it linked.
 
It does have a front door.
 
Retirement home is all done. Snowy was very agitated at first but after a few minutes she burrowed and found her MCH exactly as it was before. She seems much calmer now. Still giving me the stinkeye but that's fine, I deserve it!
IMG_20230216_112014_HDR_copy_1512x850.webp
 
That looks like a lovely retirement home. I hope Snowy settles in soon and also forgives you. ;)
 
That looks like a lovely retirement home. I hope Snowy settles in soon and also forgives you. ;)
Thank you! I think she will.

She has almost as much stuff as she had in her old cage. I've swapped her triangle food bowl for another tealight candle holder, her wicker tunnel for a ceramic tunnel and her two-chamber hide that she rarely used for a carrot house (all for space reasons). It makes me feel much better about the whole thing that she has as enriching a setup as before, just more compact and easier for her to get around.
 
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