Terrarium and aquarium for a hamster: secrets of maintenance, care and home improvement

Many first-time hamster owners prefer to keep them in a jar. But a terrarium or an indoor aquarium is more convenient for both the pet and its owner. These structures not only satisfy all the requirements of hygiene and comfort for rodents, but also muffle the rustling noise at night.

We will learn how to build an aquarium and terrarium for a hamster with your own hands, and also analyze all the pros and cons of these structures.

Terrarium and aquarium: differences

There is an opinion that it is permissible to keep rodents only in jars and cages. However, it is not. The pet store gives you the opportunity to choose a terrarium or aquarium for your small pet.

• Terrarium. The design is based on a tray and a transparent base. Both parts are symmetrical, which provides not only good ventilation, but also allows the rodent to move around the home calmly;
• Aquarium. Specially designed for small rodents. The design is a rectangular or square body made of plexiglass. The top is covered with a special wooden or plastic mesh, which creates ventilation.

The terrarium is very convenient for the hamster

What can you keep a hamster in during the village? I don’t have a cage yet, I just bought a home

bruho

It is possible in an aquarium... but there is one thing... in the aquarium carbon dioxide accumulates at the bottom and after a while it becomes difficult for him to breathe... he will simply gnaw through a wooden one and leave.. so the cage is optimal... it is possible on hay or straw, but there may be parasites... sawdust... well, sleep on the wood yourself... I lay down paper napkins or towels and clean them every day... I lay down new ones...

Ailani...

Place it in an aquarium, and make a lid from hard cardboard, or plastic if you have it. To get air into the aquarium, make lots and lots of holes in cardboard or plastic. To prevent the lid from falling off, attach weights to each corner. It's very easy to make holes in plastic. Heat the nail on the stove or in the microwave, and then take the heated nail with pliers and carefully make holes. Well, this is a temporary option. Or put it in a jar and do the same with the lid.

Keeping rodents in an aquarium

Glass houses are suitable for keeping hamsters, however, they have a number of advantages and disadvantages that should be taken into account when choosing a home for a rodent.

Advantages:

• Remains of food and bedding will not be thrown outside the aquarium, which is especially beneficial for small rooms;
• Hamsters are nocturnal inhabitants; during periods of activity they will disturb the owner less, since glass provides reliable sound insulation;
• The pet will be clearly visible through the glass, so you can watch it from any corner of the room;
• Cleaning the room is done less frequently and is much more convenient.

Flaws:

• At least once a week it is necessary to thoroughly wash the aquarium;
• To pet your pet you need to move the lid every time;
• There are difficulties with securing the drinking bowl and mineral stones.

Dimensions

The size of the aquarium is selected individually, based on the age and breed of the hamster. For example, Djungarian hamsters are small in size, so the length of the base of the aquarium should be 100 cm, and the height of the walls - 50 cm. Syrian or Angora hamsters require more space, so the aquarium should be made larger.

Choosing an aquarium for a hamster

When choosing an aquarium, pay attention to how many pets will live in the house. Buy models that already have an insulated bottom, or do it yourself. Otherwise, the baby will freeze in the cold season.

Air enters the terrarium only from above

Good day, dear subscribers.

Many owners of these small pets have two or more pets at once, without thinking about whether this is possible. It would seem that the reason is very simple - one pet will be bored and needs company. In fact, it's not like that.

School hamsters can be a very funny sight, and at first glance they can look very friendly. The animals sleep in one ball of fur, jostle funnyly, running together in a wheel, and can look after each other by licking the fur of their relatives. This whole idyll can end at any moment for one simple reason: hamsters are solitary, territorial animals. Previously friendly pets can become irreconcilable enemies and there is no way to fix this; fights will continue until one of the hamsters dies. In case of conflicts, it does not matter who the hamsters are related to each other and what gender they are. Females will fight with females in exactly the same way as males with males or hamsters of different sexes.

Territorial behavior applies to almost all types of hamsters, mainly to the most popular for home keeping - Syrian and Djungarian hamsters. In nature, these two species live alone, at a great distance from each other, meeting only to mate. Some types of hamsters can remain living in one hole in a small flock, but conflicts are not uncommon among such settlements; it is also uncommon for them to remain the same composition for a long time, new ones are born, and former members of the family leave. In a cage, even a large one, if there is a disagreement, the hamsters will not have the opportunity to independently isolate themselves from each other, and if the owner does not do this himself in time, one day he may find one of the pets dead.

Will the hamster get bored?

A hamster does not need to communicate with its relatives, so having a companion to entertain your pet is a dangerous undertaking and carries more risk than it is necessary. To prevent your pet from getting bored alone, you need to make his cage as comfortable as possible. Various pipes, ladders, branches for grinding teeth and a wheel - this way the hamster will not get bored even without human attention.

If you need to make friends with hamsters.

If for some reason two hamsters still need to get along in the same cage, you need to exclude everything that could provoke a conflict. It is advisable to have all toys in duplicate, there should be at least two houses, and hamsters should always have access to food and fresh water. This will reduce the likelihood of conflicts, but cannot eliminate it completely. It is worth remembering that even with warm communication between two hamsters who do not leave each other, they can experience stress due to this situation and would immediately separate at the first opportunity in the wild. The best way to take care of your pets here is to move them away at the first sign of conflict: squeaking at night; wounds on animals; demonstrative avoidance of each other; freezing when two hamsters approach each other.

Under what conditions can hamsters be bred?

Hamsters should see and contact each other exclusively during mating and only during the female's favorable period. You should leave them together for no more than an hour; hamsters do not require any acquaintance or communication. A hamster should be placed with a female hamster during mating so that the female does not become frightened by stress and calmly allows the male to approach her on her territory.

There is absolutely no need to “introduce” one hamster to another just so that they can see each other; it will be much better if the hamster lives its entire life alone, never meeting other representatives of its kind. This way he will live a completely happy life, devoid of stress from meeting competitors.

Keeping rodents in a terrarium

As with an aquarium, a terrarium has its pros and cons, which will help the owner decide on a suitable home.

Advantages:

• A hamster feels much more comfortable in a terrarium than in an aquarium. A tray that blocks the pet’s view and makes it less timid;
• You can pet your pet without taking it out of its home;
• Garbage from the terrarium does not spill out of it, so cleaning is easier.

Flaws:

• Air enters only from above;
• Relatively small field for games and entertainment;
• Difficulty installing drinking bowls and hanging treats.

Situation

Decide on the size and design of the terrarium, check the quality of the product and think about the location of the accessories in advance.

• It is better to purchase a drinking bowl with suction cups or choose a durable, heavy material that the hamster will not be able to move;
• Place the small house and wheel;
• Hamsters are very fond of all kinds of labyrinths and buildings, so you can install structures made at home in the terrarium.

Have you tried to entertain your hamster yourself?

Choosing a terrarium for a hamster

Choose models that provide ventilation. Buy the option made of inorganic glass: it does not fade or scratch, so it will last a long time. There is no need to calculate the correct dimensions, since everything in the finished structure is distributed symmetrically.

You can make an aquarium yourself

A jar instead of a cage

Usually, loving owners buy a beautiful and spacious cage for a furry pet. But there are also individuals who put a tiny creature in a jar and think that the hamster is comfortable there. But under no circumstances should you keep your hamster in a jar for the rest of its life! In such conditions, the pet will not last long; you can be sure that he will get sick and die.

Compared to a cage, a jar does not have a single advantage, but there are more than enough disadvantages:

• very little space. Home will be cramped even in a three-liter jar, the animal will have nowhere to run.
• The hamster furniture will not fit into the jar. The only thing you can fit into it is a house or a feeder with food;
• There is nowhere to attach a hanging drinker. Firstly, there is no grate from which it is convenient to hang the sippy cup, and secondly, all the free space has already been occupied by the feeder;
• there will be nothing to breathe in the jar, because air will only enter through the neck;
• fumes from feces and urine, primarily poisonous ammonia, will remain inside the glass prison, because the air in such a structure does not circulate at all. You will have to change the bedding and wash the jar well 2-3 times a day, otherwise the fluffy will simply die from suffocation;
• lack of air circulation will provoke increased proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, and your pet will be susceptible to infectious diseases;
• bank - the house is very unstable. It is easy to accidentally knock it over or sweep it off the table. By the way, a Syrian hamster is quite strong enough to knock over a jar on its own;
• if there is also a cat living in the apartment, then she will quickly get the fluffy one in this precarious apartment.

Lack of space for movement and lack of air can quickly kill a small animal. Therefore, it is allowed to keep a hamster in a jar for no more than half an hour, that is, while cleaning its cage.

An alternative to a jar during sanitary work can be a cardboard box or a plastic 5-liter bottle with slots.

How to make an aquarium for a hamster with your own hands

Despite the huge selection of products in pet stores, everyone can save a lot and build a home themselves at home.

Tools and materials:

• Silicone sealant (there are special options for aquariums);
• Scotch tape, preferably paper;
• Spacers made of plastic 2 mm thick;
• Glue gun;
• Clamps;
• Furniture corners;
• Putty knife;
• Stationery knife;
• Acetone, alcohol or antiseptic;
• Products for cleaning glass surfaces;
• Dry cloths or napkins for work.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Before starting work, it is necessary to degrease the glass surfaces;
2. Decide on the canvas that will become the bottom. Place tape on the corners of the inside;
3. Next, place this workpiece on a clean surface and place the blocks underneath so that the tray is on a hill;
4. Take small glasses that will protrude on the sides and cover them with tape around the perimeter. Do not glue the edge that will be in contact with the bottom into a joint, but leave a gap of 2 mm;
5. Repeat the same algorithm with large glasses;
6. Next we need to connect all the parts of the structure. To make the gaps proportional, place attachments in them. Secure the glass on top with furniture corners. Place small ones on the side bars so that they come into contact with the glass and create greater stability;
7. After fixing the structure, it is necessary to process the seams. To do this, gradually remove the attachments and work the area with sealant. This must be done carefully, carefully filling the gap until the sealant comes out;
8. After processing the seams, it is necessary to remove excess sealant and level the surface with a spatula;
9. At the final stage, remove all the tape from the surface and leave the structure until completely dry, and then wipe the glass with a special cleaning agent.

A hamster needs several accessories in the house

Making simple tunnels

A hamster cage must contain at least one small tunnel. And for games outside the home, complex structures of medium and large size are suitable. You can make a permanent entertainment room for your furry friend or build the attraction anew each time, changing its size and direction of moves.

Children are showing great interest in creating entertainment for hamsters. We invite you to study the instructions for creating simple tunnels that even a schoolchild will understand.

Paper tube for cage

The simplest option is to use a cardboard paper towel tube as a building material. You can put it in the cage unchanged or make windows in the tube so that the animal can come out through them.

The sleeve tube can also be installed in external cardboard labyrinths.

Game room

Do your kids love to play with and watch hamsters? Then give them an idea: make a tunnel for a hamster from an unnecessary cardboard box. The kids will happily get down to business, use their creative imagination and create an attraction with love.

There are a lot of construction options. We will tell you how to make a hamster maze in two different ways.

• The first method does not involve the use of glue. Take a box and pieces of cardboard: 3 strips should correspond in size to the length of the room, 5 to the width. On long pieces, make 5 cuts at equal distances from each other, and cut short pieces three times. Between the cuts, cut out doors, windows and holes for pipes. Now we can assemble our room. Install long partitions with the cuts up, and insert short parts into them with the cut down. You will get a lattice. If you have pipes planned, insert them into the round cutouts. Place the grid in the box and you can start playing right away!
• The second method is based on gluing the walls. It is good because you can create a variety of branches, as well as a rest room for a small creature. To glue the walls, use regular or construction tape.

Labyrinth from a construction set

Preschoolers and schoolchildren love to build various castles and fortresses from construction sets. Invite them to make an attraction for a hamster - they will happily complete this task. Moreover, children themselves know how to make a labyrinth for a hamster from Lego constructors interesting and convenient.

If you are building a walker for a dzhungarik, small parts are better suited. For the larger Syrian breed, use medium sized pieces. Using a small construction set inside the maze, you can build a small obstacle course for the animal, at the end of which you can place a tasty nut.

Book fortress

Old hardcover books are suitable for creating a large, spacious tunnel. To do this, they need to be placed with their roots facing up. It is better to completely enclose the space with books so that the hamsters do not run away in different directions. For one animal, the width of the passage can be 5-8 cm (so that the animal can easily turn around in it), but if you have several fluffies, the tunnels should be more spacious.

In such a book fortress, kids really love to have hamster races. Rodents are placed in a common closed room, after which they open the “door” and watch which of the animals gets to the exit first

At the same time, it is important to ensure that race participants do not violate the rules. If a cunning hamster climbs over the wall, he must be brought back

A maze made from books can also be used to train animals. To do this, you need to place small pieces of tasty food along the chosen path, and repeat the operation several times with the same route. Then you should place the treat only at the exit. You will be surprised how quickly your smart hamster will find it!

Tunnel made of plumbing parts

If your apartment has recently been renovated and you still have unnecessary parts for connecting pipes, use them to create a branched labyrinth! This attraction is suitable for both small Djungarian and larger Syrian and Caucasian hamsters. By the way, the tunnel made from plumbing looks very original. Another advantage is the collapsible design of the attraction, which means you can periodically change the direction of the moves.

Making it is very simple: connect the parts in any direction. It will be more interesting for the hamster to play if there are several exits in the pipe. But in this case, do not leave the home unattended, otherwise you will have to look for it throughout the apartment!

How to set up an aquarium (terrarium) for a hamster

Hamsters lead an active lifestyle, so their home needs to be equipped with suitable accessories, toys and entertainment.

Feeder and drinker

It is better to purchase a feeder at a pet store and secure it at a level convenient for the baby. If your pet is inactive, you can use a regular lid with sides, which must be placed on the floor.

But the saucer is not suitable for drinking, since the rodent will turn it over during games. Hamsters rarely drink, however, clean water should always be available.

Important! Since there is no space in the aquarium to attach special drinkers, the best option would be to purchase a nipple drinker with suction cups. It is firmly attached to the glass and can be easily removed to change the liquid.

Filler

The litter affects not only sanitary conditions, but also the life of the pet, so the choice of litter must be approached responsibly and carefully. The ideal option would be packaging shavings, wood chips, wood, corn and cellulose filler . They not only absorb negative odors and do not harm pets.

Important! Never use cotton wool, sheets of paper, rags or straw as they can injure your pet. Before purchasing wood filler, make sure that the base does not contain coniferous trees.

As a last resort, buy sawdust, but make sure that it is of high quality. Otherwise, they can get stuck in the fur or damage the baby's cheek pouches.

Sleeping house

The hamster needs a place to rest, so the aquarium must have a sleeping house. Pet stores provide a wide range, so you can find a budget option.

• It is better to choose plastic or wooden material;
• It is recommended to install the house in a corner and put hay in it, from which the animal will build a bedding for itself.

Toilet

Hamsters are difficult to train to a special toilet, so they just need to be shown the appropriate angle. Pour more litter into the selected area, which will absorb odor and moisture, and over time the hamster will adapt.

running wheel

A running wheel is necessary to maintain the life of a hamster. Low activity and lack of such sports equipment can provoke obesity and problems of the cardiovascular system.

You can choose a suitable option at any pet store. In terrariums, equipment is easily attached using a screw, but for aquariums it is better to purchase an accessory with suction cups.

Mineral stone

Mineral stone is essential for a healthy baby's mouth. A hamster needs to constantly grind its teeth . Stones come in different types, shapes and even tastes, so the consultant will choose the right one for you.

If you do not want to buy the product in specialized stores, then for this purpose you can use a piece of chalk or twigs of a fruit tree. This is especially necessary for females during pregnancy.

Alternative solution

We have already found out that a cage is much better suited for keeping a hamster at home.
But if you have a spare aquarium at home, it can also be adapted to suit a hamster’s needs. For example, in a terrarium you can arrange a relaxation and entertainment room for your beloved pet. Here are the items you can place in the aquarium:

1. Running wheel on a stand.
2. Various pipes and labyrinths.
3. Spacious shelter.
4. Toilet (if the animal is accustomed to it).
5. Bath with sand for bathing.
6. Various stairs and bridges.

The hamster can be moved into the terrarium to play, especially if all the attractions do not fit into the cage. You can also place the animal in the rest room while you tidy up its permanent home.

Don't forget that in addition to toys there should also be essential items. Be sure to leave a bowl of food, saucer or bottle of water for your furry friend.