|
|
Post by Roo on Aug 23, 2015 13:21:20 GMT
A good YouTube channel for hamster care is ErinsAnimals; not sure if either of you have watched any of her videos? They are so informative, I have had hamsters for a long time (well used to!) and I have been completely re-educated! However, not entirely sure if I would take her advice on dog care, which seems surprisingly outdated ... But that's by the by, hamster care videos are great.
|
|
|
|
Post by barley on Aug 23, 2015 13:21:20 GMT
That's fine barley! I didn't know! None of them use them anyway (apart from Nibbles occasionally). Pebble just hides underneath his! I'll have a look at some bigger ones! Phew! Glad you didn't take offence  They might not be using them because it's painful. These wheels (the 28cm ones) are the cheapest Syrian sized ones I know of - www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/exercise_wheels/174195Although you'll to measure their cages first to make sure they fit. I also didn't know what 70cm x 40cm was the RSPCA bare minimum cage size for Syrians, so I had to upgrade the cage I'd originally brought for Rupert within a couple of weeks! |
|
|
|
Post by barley on Aug 23, 2015 13:24:42 GMT
A good YouTube channel for hamster care is ErinsAnimals; not sure if either of you have watched any of her videos? They are so informative, I have had hamsters for a long time (well used to!) and I have been completely re-educated! However, not entirely sure if I would take her advice on dog care, which seems surprisingly outdated ... But that's by the by, hamster care videos are great. I've watched a lot of her hamster videos, excellent source of info I had hamsters when I was younger (and totally cringe about their small cages, small wheels and the fluffy bedding they had now  ) so getting Rupert, and then Joey, was a steep learning curve. And a very expensive one at that! - as the stuff I originally brought for Rupert was too small and I had to get a new cage and new wheel. But I'm glad I learnt, and am quite confident they both have nice suitable environments now |
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Aug 23, 2015 16:12:42 GMT
Btw note on the hamster wheels - I heard about a study last year where a scientist put a hamster wheel in her garden to see if wile rodents would use them despite no food reward, basically to see whether it was actually enjoyable and beneficial to caged hamsters or whether they just used them out of boredom. Panty way the wild mice and other rodents started using the wheel, even though it was actually detrimental to them in that they were wasting energy and gaining no food from it. They just seem to really enjoy it! nice thing to know! |
|
|
|
HamStars!
Aug 23, 2015 16:39:29 GMT
via mobile
Post by Roo on Aug 23, 2015 16:39:29 GMT
A good YouTube channel for hamster care is ErinsAnimals; not sure if either of you have watched any of her videos? They are so informative, I have had hamsters for a long time (well used to!) and I have been completely re-educated! However, not entirely sure if I would take her advice on dog care, which seems surprisingly outdated ... But that's by the by, hamster care videos are great. I've watched a lot of her hamster videos, excellent source of info I had hamsters when I was younger (and totally cringe about their small cages, small wheels and the fluffy bedding they had now ) so getting Rupert, and then Joey, was a steep learning curve. And a very expensive one at that! - as the stuff I originally brought for Rupert was too small and I had to get a new cage and new wheel. But I'm glad I learnt, and am quite confident they both have nice suitable environments now Yes, they are a surprisingly expensive venture! I love the idea of 'bin cages'. My gerbils are older now, and I originally bought them as a three (sisters). However as is common with the natural order, the strongest two ousted the weaker female, damaging her back leg. Obviously I separated them and created a bin cage for the single girl, as she didn't really benefit from having multi levels anymore due to her leg being bad. She's in an 80ltr bin/box (modified with ventilation of course!), I'm considering getting another larger bin to put the other two in, as they are also older now and don't use the shelves in their cage. I know it's strongly discouraged to keep gerbils in bin cages, as they need far more space than hamsters (higher activity level) and they love to dig; but as they are now considered 'elderly' I don't see the harm. |
|
|
|
Post by barley on Aug 23, 2015 17:54:04 GMT
Btw note on the hamster wheels - I heard about a study last year where a scientist put a hamster wheel in her garden to see if wile rodents would use them despite no food reward, basically to see whether it was actually enjoyable and beneficial to caged hamsters or whether they just used them out of boredom. Panty way the wild mice and other rodents started using the wheel, even though it was actually detrimental to them in that they were wasting energy and gaining no food from it. They just seem to really enjoy it! nice thing to know! That's really interesting! Joey spends virtually every waking moment on his wheel but Rupert has short bursts here and there, he's a lazy ham! I've watched a lot of her hamster videos, excellent source of info I had hamsters when I was younger (and totally cringe about their small cages, small wheels and the fluffy bedding they had now ) so getting Rupert, and then Joey, was a steep learning curve. And a very expensive one at that! - as the stuff I originally brought for Rupert was too small and I had to get a new cage and new wheel. But I'm glad I learnt, and am quite confident they both have nice suitable environments now Yes, they are a surprisingly expensive venture! I love the idea of 'bin cages'. My gerbils are older now, and I originally bought them as a three (sisters). However as is common with the natural order, the strongest two ousted the weaker female, damaging her back leg. Obviously I separated them and created a bin cage for the single girl, as she didn't really benefit from having multi levels anymore due to her leg being bad. She's in an 80ltr bin/box (modified with ventilation of course!), I'm considering getting another larger bin to put the other two in, as they are also older now and don't use the shelves in their cage. I know it's strongly discouraged to keep gerbils in bin cages, as they need far more space than hamsters (higher activity level) and they love to dig; but as they are now considered 'elderly' I don't see the harm. I've seen some really good set-ups with bin cages, they can definitely be a good option for low-cost roomy cages. |
|
They might not be using them because it's painful.
) so getting Rupert, and then Joey, was a steep learning curve. And a very expensive one at that! - as the stuff I originally brought for Rupert was too small and I had to get a new cage and new wheel. But I'm glad I learnt, and am quite confident they both have nice suitable environments now 
