want to see my new hamster cage, I made it myself, feeling very clever.

[ditavonteesed]

Ok so we only got the hamster on weds, bought a lovely fancy cage and when I put her in it I was very unimpressed with the size so I made her a new one, she seems to like it and all in it cost me £18 that includes the fancy duck tape which may be the coolest thing I have ever found.

Looks great. Hope your hamster enjoys it.

Love the mesh front too.
You could make a series of boxes and tunnels (joined with your trusty ducktape) for him or let him play in the bath (without the water obviously ).
Put the plug in, towel in the bath and some shoeboxes with doors cut.

I 2was looking at joining stuff up, I have all the tubes from the cage I bought. I never realised how hard it is to cut plastic. I wondered about cutting a couple of holes i the top and putting the extra bits from the rotastak cage on top (reinforced with funky duct tape)

Oops hamster is a she, not a he.

Just a word of warning and I'm really sorry to be the voice of doom...

When we cleaned out our hamster once, we put him in a big plastic storage container like that (usually put him in the bath!) and he managed in the 45 minutes he was in there, to chew a hole in the smooth side of the plastic tub which then splintered and his paw got stuck. He lost two claws and part of his paw. I didn't realise until I went to get him to put him back in his cage. I will feel eternally guilty that I was cleaning his cage in one room while he was hurting himself in another room. I never put him in one of those tubs again.

show thats awful I will keep a very close eye on her with it, it took me over an hour to cut one line with a very sharp stanley knife so I wouls be amazed if she could get through it but will watch for any signs that she is thinking about chewing the cage, she hasnt even touched the mesh yet. I do havee the other cage in the cellar for if there are any problems so can move her back if she shows any interest in chewing the plastic.

I tried to cut up the plastic box in order to dispose of it and really, really struggled. I couldn't believe one little hamster could chew through it.

Our vet said that more and more people are making their own cages from storage tubs and the main problems with them come from inadequate ventilation, the hamster chewing the plastic and it splintering or the formation of condensation in some of the tubs. If those things are guarded against, they can be a good DIY option for cages but I think when we get our next hammy (ours died a couple of weeks ago), we'll be getting a new cage instead of making it!

yeah, sorry, don't want to rain on parade, but they are burrowers & also ventilation is a big thought.

I'm sure it will be fine, but keep an eye how it goes.

I'm concerned, not just about the plastic - which hammy can easily chew - but about the temperature inside the container, which can build up quite quickly. Do you use central heating ? In the pic you show the box near a large window. Glass is a fast conductor and magnifies both heat and cold, so in Winter it may become too cold in the container, and in Summer far too hot if it remains there..

I know you said that Hammy seemed rather unimpressed with it's new cage, but being new, it would seem alien to it. The cage would have unfamiliar smells, it wouldn't have built it's nest how it likes it, or marked it's territory by weeing here, there and everywhere.
Just like us humans, it needs time to settle in.

That's cruel! The hamster is going to get far too hot in there, dehydrate really quickly and likely die. There a reason they don't sell hamster cages like that.

The hamster wouldn't have been impressed with its cage at first because it needs to get used to it, like Arty says.

there is way more ventilation in this than there is in the rotastak cage that we bought.

^
And that makes it ok does it ? No. It . Doesn't.

I loathe any animal being put into a cage, but that's just my personal take.

You don't show the original cage you bought, but I've attached a pic of one which offers far better ventilation, allows the internals of the cage to remain at room temperature, thus giving hammy a more regulated environment.
Too hot and hammy dehydrates and dies. Plus as pp says, poor ventilation causes condensation, mould, damp, and may affect his bedding and food.
Too cold and hammy will be miserable and suffer again.

did you research before going into all this?

The taped on mesh won't last 2 minutes. Hammy will fast remove/chew the tape and escape.

That storage box home made hamster cage needs to be moved away from the window, and the TV. Imagine that thing blaring out when hammy is trying to live his normal nocturnal life. The volume alone will hurt his ears.

But really, you seem to be impressed with the cost and the 'cool, fancy duct tape' , more than this tiny creatures needs.

was looking at joining stuff up, I have all the tubes from the cage I bought. I never realised how hard it is to cut plastic ...rough cut edges will be so dangerous to this little chap.

Also, plastic is made up of chemicals. Imagine little hammy chewing the stuff, stashing it in his pouches, or possibly/probably swallowing it.

If you can't afford a proper cage, then you can't afford a hamster.

And yes, I'm cross.

And think of this - if someone imprisoned you into a big, sweaty plastic box that wasn't fit for purpose, what would you think then?

I can't even be bothered to work out how to respond to that level of viterol. Of course the mesh isn't taped on it is securely bolted in 12 places, the tape is purely to make the edges of the mesh look neater on the outside. The cage to which you linked is made of plastic so say again about the chemicals. i am going to mesh the whole top and make 2 more mesh windows on the side. Point taken about the TV I actually moved it before we put the hamster in. There are no rough edges. erm what else? oh I don't know, I don't actually want a fight, I am willing to take on advice although I don't appreciate being spoken to like shite.

I don't actually want a fight, I am willing to take on advice although I don't appreciate being spoken to like shite.

I doubt your hamster appreciates living in that shite box and it certainly won't appreciate dying.

My hamster lives in a cage that's over 90cm long and has the floor, plus 3 further stories. You didn't have to buy the Rotastack one, they're shit, you could see that in the shop yet you still chose to.

I agree with absolutely everything Arty has said. I'm cross about this too.

I bought a rotastak one as I always had rotastak ones, i bought tons of extra bits so its well above the min requirement but lots of the bits are upstairs, I then read more about things and decided that this wasn't the best option. I looked at many options and people on hamster forums seemed to say that these bin cages were the best for hamsters due to the size. So I took this on and made one, I was feeling quite proud of myself for doing it and the hamster seems very happy in it. I then took on what people said about ventilation and added more. I have taken on board everything that has been said to me and now I am getting accused of being cruel. If the hamster will be better in the other cage I will put it back in the other cage. Every hamster I have ever had has lived to at least 2.5 years and I have never had an injury or an escape. I don't feel I have at any point during this conversation said or done anything to suggest I do not have the best interest of this hamster in my mind.

oops i thought same yesterday dita on reading this

ventilation
chewing
heat

otherwise everyone wd be doing this style of cage/tank

If you can make it past the criticisms, Dita, then let us know how you get on. There's always room to adapt & expand. Who knows, maybe you're on the start of a great new business idea. Good luck.

If you can make it past the criticisms, Dita, then let us know how you get on

Oh, yes! Do come back and tell us either how long it takes for your hamster to escape or die!

This is what people mean about bin cages, see the difference? Putting your hamster in that storage box suggests to me you don't have its best interest's in your mind. Sorry, you might not want to hear that, but that's how I feel. I doubt there's a vet or an RSPCA officer who would say that's a good idea.

at what point have i said I am not taking on board everything you are saying? Hamster is now back in the other cage, the level of aggression is ridiculous when I am actually listening to you.