DIY : Hamster Cage – Deluxe Studio Apartment !
This DIY brought to you by my husband, DIY genius, sort of. We found out those futuristic, plastic spiraling tube cages doesn’t work for our hamsters. They walk around drenched in sweat, so the husband built this spacious deluxe studio apartment for them.
You’ll need a large tray , acrylic sheets cut to fit into the tray and 8 rubber edge stopper thingies. Please refer to the photo below , as I have no idea what they are called .
If your acrylic sheets doesn’t fit into the tray you are using, just score them with a box cutter several times and break the sheet off on an edge of a table. You will get a clean straight line. Don’t try to saw it off. It doesn’t work. Also the sheets should fit snugly in the tray to prevent the hamsters from digging their way out. Ours were a bit short. After a few escapes, we barricaded the short sides with boxes.
To set it up, use the stoppers to hold the acrylic in place on all the corners, like so :
Add wood shavings + hamster furnitures …
I find that the hamsters like deep layers of wood shavings. They enjoy building underground tunnels.
The happy campers :
Love, love, love the last photo!!
They go crazy in the sand!
Oh, my! I want to be the hamster too!
Where can you get the acrylic sheets from? Also I have a bookshelf I want to place my DIY hamster cage within (we have a cat and this is the only area they can’t get to), would you recommend it? I of course would punch many ventilation holes. 25x11x15 are the estimate measurements. I love this idea and would love to use this for my hamster as this store bought cage is not suitable! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hello there Sarah, so happy you like my diy 🙂 My husband got the sheets from a local custom sign-making store though I’ve seen them sold in stationery shops too. The sheets are 3 mm thick. Since you have a cat, maybe you can glue the sides together to make it stronger ?
Hey salty mom! So I realized when we were at the store they didn’t have the corner parts you have (home depot) which sucks, I was worried that by use nails they would stick out unless we made all of the corners and base out of wood so that the nails would go into them instead. Then I thought about glue or using zip ties instead of nails?
Hi there Sarah ! I would go with the glue and try to keep the walls smooth in case the hamsters do some rock climbing out the cage. Too bad they don’t have the corner parts. I was thinking if you can silicone glue the sheets to the corner parts , maybe it would add some strength to the cage. The corner parts are used as floor protectors for garage shelvings, you know , those made from metal angle bars ?
Where did u buy the blue sand from??? What kind of hamsters are they??? Thanks
They are sold in pet shops here, scented sand. The hamsters love them ! I’ m not sure what kind of hamsters they are though .
They look like roborovski dwarf hamsters.
they do look like them !
You should avoid scented sand, it’s unnecessary and not good for your hamsters. I hope the bedding is aspen and not pine… Pine and cedar is very bad for hamsters.. 😦 If people are looking for colored sand, you can use reptile sand that isn’t fortified with other minerals, reptile sand comes in several colors. I find hamsters are the most happy though when their habitat is closer to resembling their natural habitat, and they like their bedding to be DEEP. They also need a lot of space, more than this DIY cage provides, we tend to think since they are small they don’t need a lot of space, but they do and they need natural activity such as having bedding deep enough that they can burrow around in. They’re really active animals and need a lot of space to really thrive. We humans tend to treat our pets like humans and want everything to look “pretty” or be unique, when hamsters just want to be hamsters. 🙂
Note: I’m very sure your hamsters are indeed one of the two variations of Roborovski hamster. Many write off Robos going white but I’ve seen it.. I’ve been raising hamsters for nearly 40 years, and first began raising robos in the 90s. Sometimes, the white face variant of the robo species will fade over time, so their sand color bodies eventually go white. No one is really sure why this happens, if it’s a result of a genetic allele or due to being in captivity. Some say it doesn’t happen at all, but I’ve seen it myself in a handful of my own white face robos and here, you have photos that show it. They’re definitely not anything other than robos as robos are the ONLY dwarf hamster species that lacks a dorsal stripe. Though, it also depends where you live and what is allowed, you may find some hamsters that are hybrids, but hybridization of hamsters is no longer permitted in the United States due to the increased health issues hybrids often face.
Victoria Raechel on Youtube has wonderful advice and DIYs for hams. This young lady really knows her stuff. I’d recommend her videos to anyone. 🙂 https://youtu.be/ZuYGvaW9L0Y
thanks for sharing your knowledge Akiko ! your hamsters are very lucky to have you as their care taker 🙂 happy holidays too !
How do you clean the cage?
I take one of the walls off and clear out the wood shavings with a mini broom/duster.
Maybe aquarium sealant?
I’m not going to do this but I do like it
I’m not going to do it but I like the idea of it oh and now I know where to get the blue sand
Where do you live? I’m an 8 year old
I say that they look like winter whites.
#my favorite =)
I’m glad you like it. The blue sand and the hamster wheel were their favorites 🙂
I know a lot about hamsters and check out my new blog =)
So the sand will be in a pet store but what pet store?
I’m like the hamster whisper
I mean whisperer
But be careful the blog doesn’t have any posts
It’s actually 9:45am
My birthday is on new year’s Eve
=)
I have a nice hamster named pretzel and I want to get a nother a winter white and pretzel is a Russian hamster so I need a new cage.
=(
I want to be the hamster that lives with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to get a winter white and name it Blizzard
I talk to much
What did you name the hamsters?
(–)
haha, seems like you really like hamsters ! Why not start a blog on it ? You can write about Pretzel’s daily life, different kinds of hamsters, etc … If you do start a blog on hamsters, let me know !
Nice idea
Nice idea!!!!!
Sometimes it might mess up with the comments.
Where in the world do you live. I live in North Carolina ,USA.
Check out the mighty dwarf hamster
On. \r\aww
How hard was it to tame them?
Or did you ever tame them?
They don’t bite me, so I think they are tame 🙂
Actually I think that pretzel was a teen in his years when I got him because he is 2 in. And I got him a couple of months ago but I don’t know how old he is. =/
The sand and the hamster wheel is probably their favorites because it makes them exercise
Hamsters can only 3 years and sometimes a little longer
You know your hamsters, William !
I know 😦
Especially for my young age cuz I’m just 8 years old 🙂
This is just a quick test
Just a quick test
Like my new picture
Pretzel is on my arm
I haven’t told about this but my aunt’s cat died 2 weeks ago on a Friday but the day after the death we found a kitten online an we named it Leo he’s a Ginger colored cat we have a 3 year old dog and his name is Dexter and you know Pretzel
Sorry I had to change the picture before you could see it I was not looking at the camera
I’ll change it back when you reply ok
You are very lucky to have so many pets. Now, before you post pictures of yourself, always check with your parents if it is okay to do so.
I told them about the picture after I made them
I changed it again the picture now it is a made up bird I call rocket bird i made it up for angry birds
👍🚀🐥
I’m back!!!!!! #im using my school email
I’ll change my email back now
Hi, Salty Mom AKA S.M.
✌️
Hi Salty Mom it’s been soooooo long. I have just passed 3rd grade. The EOGs were soooooo easy!
Congrats on passing 3rd grade, William ! Thanks for popping by to say hi n letting me know what you are up to 🙂
Np
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Hi salty mom! I’ve started 4th grade! But I also bring you bad news……………… Pretzel died. 😥
However I bring you good news too. We have a new cat named snowball who was a wild kitten that was abandoned by his mother AND I am getting good grades.
Wow, William ! Black belt and good grades, that are some accomplishments 👍👍👍 Sorry about Pretzel. Hamsters have such short life spans but I’m sure you have make many good memories together. Happy Holidays to you and Snowball 🙂 🎄⛄️⛄️
Thx Saltymom
Sorry I forgot to add in this: I have a 1st degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-do!
The cringe from my old self, god.
lol, great to see you again 🙂
Where or how do I get the bottoms sheet made?
I am wanting to make a super large tank for my Teddy bear hamster to give her tons of room to have and to play in. All materials I need and where to get would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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This is FAR too small for any type of hamster