i have a little dwarf hamster and i wanted to get him a new cage.. i was just wondering if i could get him one with bars or if he would squeeze through them?
when i bought him the woman did tell me not to buy one for that reason, but i just wanted to check because he has gotten a little bigger and he is settled now.

Hamster Cage - Imac Fantasy
i wanted to get him this one, but there are bars, so would it be safer to not buy it?
- also if that one isn't suitable would anyone be able to link me to a recommendation?
thanks in advance for any replies they're much appreciated!

What sort of dwarf is he? I wouldn't necessarily trust a robo or a chinese with an Imac, but a russian or cambells should be alright I think.

Having said that, Himalaya the robo lives in normal hamster cages and has never escaped. Acorn the robo would, so he lives in dwarf accomodation. I did have an Imac I was going to give to Himalaya, but then I got Noël so he moved in instead.

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My campbells are in a barred cage and until fairly recently they were in an Imac fantasy with a couple of extensions, they took a little while to work out the tubes but they did in the end, I just made sure they had food and water on each level till they had it sussed.

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

yeah he's a robo, would you not recommend an imac then?
what type of cage do your robo's live in, i definately want to buy him a new one, as its christmas

If you really want a cage rather than a tank you can mesh the bars and attach the mesh using tie wraps, I used to do that when my mice were younger/smaller.

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

The cage I just bought for my hamster has no bars at all, if that's what you're worried about. AND! They just came out with a version for dwarf hamsters.

Welcome to Habitrail OVO

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Most of my cages are based on Habitrail.

Depends on your budget which Habitrail to go for. None of it is really large enough on it's own, so you need to add the costly extensions. Although using Ebay you can pick up some real bargins.

All the Ovo stuff is robo suitable, apart from the underwater/beach cardboard maze (which is a shame as it's the free one you get with the maze unit!). Also they can handle the larger tubes, but not vertically like on the advertisment photos, you need to put them at an angle or horizontally (and train your robo, it takes a while for them to 'learn' to climb, just keep moving them between levels until they get the hang of it.)

The Habitrail Safari, Habitrail Space Station and Habitrail Playground cages are not robo escape proof (though Himalaya one of my robos does not realise this!)

Basics for a robo, you would need:
NEW Dwarf Hamster Cage Habitat at UKPetSupplies.com
or Loft at UKPetSupplies.com
Robo sized exercise wheel
Robo sized drinking bottle

Ventilation Units:
Not big enough for a main cage, but handy if you are worried about air circulation.
Crittertrail Mini Two Unit compatible with the Habitrail tubing
or Habitrail Mini Main Unit now expensive as discontinued, but has the robo sized wheels and drinking bottles.

Extras they would appreciate:
An Ovo Maze Unit in blue or pink
An Ovo Mini Maze at UKPetSupplies.com
Robo sized exercise ball

If you can get hold of any of the old Habitrail Mini stuff, especially the tubing off Ebay it is well worth it as they can then move vertically and it's more the correct size for them.

Personally I think Habitrail is great and all of my hammies seem to thrive in it. However some people claim it doesn't have enough ventilation, I've never observed it to be a problem - but I do add barred cages as ventilation. It's very secure with the locking rings and hamsters can't push the tubes apart. Crittertrail connects to Habitrail with no issues, however I find the Crittertrail units smaller, badly designed and do not connect together as securely. Some people claim Habitrail is too small, but they seem to fail to realise you are not meant to just use one small unit on it's own. I've got an Imac Fantasy and a Savic Cambridge for the syrians and I still think that the Habitrail cages are the best (Imac Fantasy is a close second, but the bar spacing is too large and you can't connect anything else to it).

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The Ferplast Mini Duna is good for a robo as its enclosed as has good floor space You could also maybe find a ZooZone cage, they are made for rabbits/guinea pigs, but are a fab size for hammies.

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Photography

I have my robos in normal barred cages that i have used for previous syrians they dont seem intent on escaping, theyve never tried but that might just be down to the hamsters. I make sure they have plenty of stuff to climb on and chew etc which seems to keep them out of trouble

If the bar spacing worries you on the cage you are thinking of getting you can always mesh over the cage using cable ties to attach the mesh to the cage so they cant escape.

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Bob the Chinese Hamster, Jamie the African Pygmy Hedgehog, Bugsy and Nelson the Guinea Pigs, and Stewie, Dora, Jessie and Billy the BunniesR.I.P My Beautiful Bridge Babies

thank you all so much for the replies! all have been really helpful!
i think i'll stick to a normal cage, my hamster, frisky is very cheeky, i don't think i want to risk him escaping!
thank you all! x