Welcome to the April 2020 Cage Makeover! If you’re new, the first post of every month will be a cage makeover! These makeovers consist of a deep clean and new setup mostly consisting of the DIYs I share as well. I will link the DIYs and topics (they’re in bold) I’ve created and posted at the very end, so stay tuned 😉
As you can see, Beanie’s cage has changed a lot since the March Makeover, and it’s not too exciting. The substrate levels have also lowered to 5 inches since I’ve been cleaning her nest and soiled substrate weekly, and I love deep substrate!
- The first step is to remove everything from the cage.
As you can see I’ve left Beanie’s house where she is sleeping. I prefer let her come out on her own, which she did when I was removing the substrate.
Have a carrier or playpen to put your hamster in when you’re cleaning. I have a 10 gallon tank (‘Beanie’s Holding Cell’) where I keep her while I clean.
- Next empty all the substrate from the cage.
- Save at least a third of the old substrate; your hamster will smell the familiar substrate and be less stressed.
- Wipe the interior with a pet-safe cleaner.
- Now fill the cage with substrate. A tip is to Have 6 inches all around when you pat it down.
I personally wasn’t happy with 6 inches, so I dumped in another few inches because I could, and if you can, you should 😎
- Next I did my usual water and wheel setup. Under my water bottle (and where the bowl will be) I have some toilet paper to absorb drips, and under that I have nice, flat rock for keeping Beanie’s claws trim. I added my small bendy bridge as a wall to keep substrate out of her wheel.
- After it was time for the hides. I used my Luxury Hamster Home (right, July 14th), burrowing house/platform (left) and then the Barn Facade hidey, which is underground with a Pringles can tube leading down to it.
- And then I added in four wooden pieces for a more naturalistic setup.
- I added my Small Animal Tee-Pee.
- Then for two Terra Cotta Pot Saucer dishes, one upside down as a mini platform-step type thing.
- Next I scattered Beanie’s food around, and added chew toys.
And the setup is complete! Beanie went straight to bed 😂
I hope you enjoyed and gathered some ideas for how you might like to set up your own small pet’s cage!
If you’re interested in more hamster-related content be sure to like this post and follow the blog, and I’ll be back on Tuesday with more small pet care, DIYs, recipes, cage setups, stories and more, have a ham-tastic day!
One Reply on “The April Cage Makeover (2020)”
Very nice 😀