Hello and welcome to this month’s cage makeover! I post a cage deep clean and makeover post the first week of each month. That way I can share my setup ideas with you, and freshen Beanie’s cage with a new and enriching DIY based setup for her!

Any bold items have tutorials or posts about them, which are linked at the very end.

Above I have the ‘before’ picture, which is the October Makeover dwindling from its glory. In it we have a barred foraging toy, water bowl, 12 inch Comfort Wheel, Pringles can tube, bendy bridge, paper towel tube swirl, ladder-like piece of wood, corrugated foraging cardboard, Bran-Bowl, Krinkle-It foraging toy, terra cotta pot saucer, fruit carton hut, rock, and corner house.

For today’s makeover I have a whole ton of new DIYs I made recently, and have been saving for this makeover. Since they’re all new, I’m going to be reusing most of Beanie’s old substrate so her cage has a familiar scent. I will have tutorials for all of these new DIYs, and they’ll be posted throughout the next few months 😀

• First I emptied everything from the cage, wiped it with vinegar/water, and put the substrate in. Make sure when you add substrate to have 6 inches all around for burrowing.
• Next I added in my Staircase Hidey House and Semicircular Hut, submerging them in substrate.

• I scooted most of the substrate to the right side of the cage so Beanie’s wheel would fit.
• I submerged a tube as a burrow starter, put my circle house in the top corner, and added in a bowl, ladder-y thing, and Beanie’s rock.

• Next I bent Beanie’s bendy bridge over the entrance of the submerged tube to create a secret doorway.
• I put a piece of wood on the scenic mountain of substrate.

• Then I added a bunch of boredom breakers and chew toys (The Cliche Boredom Breaker Collection), along with a piece of corrugated foraging cardboard.

• And last but not least, I sprinkled food and shredded tissue around for Beanie.

Thank you so much for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it, and that it’ll provide inspiration for your hamster’s cage setup, and that you found it entertaining.

A little update: Beanie is now 23 months old, and has been showing some signs of aging. She sleeps in later, and despite the fact she is very active and energetic when I bring her out to free roam, she doesn’t have extra energy to use her wheel (I still think having it in her cage is good). She has lost some weight, and her fur has thinned a bit (both very normal signs of aging). Overall, Beanie is doing pretty good for her age.

Beanie’s going to be 2 on December 15th!! I’m making a birthday party post with a few recent little stories and other updates compiled into it for you, so we can all celebrate little Beanie together 😉

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!

Related Posts and DIY Tutorials:

• The October Cage Makeover (2020)
• The Cage Makeovers Menu
• Barred Foraging Toy DIY Tutorial
• Water Bottles vs Bowls
• The Bran-Bowl
• Everything About Hamster Diet
• Nesting Materials (Available Nov. 10th)
• DIY Corner House Tutorial (Available Nov. 17th)
• DIY Staircase House Tutorial (Available Feb. 16th)
• DIY Circle House Tutorial (Available Mar. 30th)
• DIY Twine Carrot Tutorial (Available May 18th)
• DIY Fruit Roller Boredom Breaker Tutorial (Available Jun. 8th)
• DIY Semicircle House Tutorial (Available Mar. 9th)
• DIY Popsicle Stick Bridge Tutorial (Available Jun. 22nd)
• DIY Dumbbell Tutorial (Available Jul. 13th)
• DIY Krinkle-It Foraging Tube Toy Tutorial (Available Dec. 15th)
• DIY Cardboard Swirl Tutorial (Available Apr. 13th)