Hey,

As I mentioned in my intro thread, I bought a Syrian hamster in February.

However, the nice people at Pets @ Home advised me that a Rotastak cage was the perfect size for a Syrian. At the size he was then, possibly true, however he has outgrown his cage and I want him to have more room, and be able to put more toys in there for him.

The cage I have now is:
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.a...453&pf_id=8508

or Rotastak Dreamland, if the link doesn't work.

I'm looking to move him to a bigger cage - it's one which we used for a hamster we had when I was a kid....I'm not sure what brand the cage is, but it's a pretty standard cage, plastic base with bars at the sides and top, and an "upstairs" as well. The cage is pretty big compared to most cages I saw in my local pet shops, so I'm confident it'll be good for him.

My local pet shop advised to gradually let him get used to the new cage, putting him in for an hour at a time to let him get used to it. I've done that a couple of times, and he just darts around the cage, climbing on top of the house in it, and frantically chewing the bars, which concerns me that he's scared of it.

I've put in bedding/sawdust from his current cage, to help him acclimatise, but does anyone have any other tips?

My other problem is that he absolutely loves the wheel in the Rotastak cage (if you have a look at the cage, you'll see what it's like - closed on both sides, with a tunnel into it), and he doesn't seem to like the open wheel in the normal cage. Does anyone know of a wheel for a normal cage, which is closed on both sides like the Rotastak one?

I'm glad you're moving your hammy out of the rotastak as syrians need way more room than that cage has.
My boy is huuuge and would never fit through the tubes! He is in a Savic hamster heaven and I still think he needs a bigger cage!

I'm sorry but I dont have any advice about the moving cage situation, I've never had any problems when Ive moved any of mine.

But for the wheel, if your hamster likes the closed in kind then you should get a wodent wheel, these are the only ones I know of that are closed in.
Rat Wheels & Balls : Enclosed SAFE Senior Rodent Wheel - Rat, Degu Hamster 28cm (11") : www.EquineCanineFeline.com the place to buy all your Pet Products, Horse Products and Pet Supplies online

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My babies....
1 cat-Snowdon
2 rabbits-Sydnee and Angel
4 gerbils-Oscar and Dillon. Dante and Jakey.
2 syrian hamsters-Dexter and Max
4 dwarf hamsters-Willow, Zeke, Ollie and Louie

RIP
Oakley
Poppy
Grace
Frankie

I have always put my hamsters straight into new cages. I don't know if I have done it "wrong" but I have never had a problem with that! Yes you need a much bigger cage. Silly p@h staff lol! You can look on ebay for cheap Savic Hamster Heaven, Cambridge, imac fantasy, large zoozone cages...etc. xx

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MY ZOO-LET
Syrian: Dini
Winter Whites: Alaska, Apollo, Hero and Ares
Bunnies: Saffy, Gus, Cookie and Cream and 5 babies!!
Piggies: Bubble and Squeak

RIP Tilly, Thom, Tiny, Cassius, Stuart Little, George, Baby Pom (Mice), Melvin (Chameleon) Harry (Cambells Russian) Charlie and Roma (Syrians) Eros (Winter White) Jet, Rainbow and Angel (Rabbits) Neva (Ratty girl)

Oh and don't worry about bar gnawing. You can minimise that by lots of chew toys and time out the cage. But most if not all do gnaw bars. xx

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MY ZOO-LET
Syrian: Dini
Winter Whites: Alaska, Apollo, Hero and Ares
Bunnies: Saffy, Gus, Cookie and Cream and 5 babies!!
Piggies: Bubble and Squeak

RIP Tilly, Thom, Tiny, Cassius, Stuart Little, George, Baby Pom (Mice), Melvin (Chameleon) Harry (Cambells Russian) Charlie and Roma (Syrians) Eros (Winter White) Jet, Rainbow and Angel (Rabbits) Neva (Ratty girl)

As already said, the best cages for a Syrian are:

Hamster Heaven
Savic Cambridge
Imac Fantasy (usually 3 tiers for a Syrian)
Zoozone cage - these are made for guinea pigs and the bars at the top will need meshing over to stop your hammy from escaping
Gabber Rex - which is not in production any more but can be found on eBay.

eBay is your best bet for a bargain cage

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R.I.P Buster - Causing mischief over the bridge, sleep tight soldier