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| Hamster Arena |
| Bought enclosures Homemade enclosures How to prepare the arena |
| To your hamster, the second best thing to a walk in the garden is a fenced off enclosure in the house. Enclosures can be bought (this is a very new product so it may be hard to find) or made. Bought Enclosures Bought enclosures usually open out to 3 or 4 ft in a hexagonal shape and the walls are tall fences. The arena is made to ensure that the hamster will not chew or squeeze it’s way out (Syrian hamsters, that is; dwarf hamsters will probably be able to squeeze out). The only down side is that the enclosure cannot be made bigger: as your hamster grows you will find that it will get bored quickly because the arena is too small. However, if you have a limited amount of space then a bought enclosure is preferable. |
| Semi-permanent arenas can be made out of drywall or wood: by choosing to tuck the arena into a corner of your basement or rec-room you will only need to make two further walls to complete the enclosure, like the one to the right. Make the walls 1 ½ ft tall at the very least and nail the two walls together where they meet. Place the two joined walls in the corner of the room so that it forms a rectangle with the walls of the room. |
| Homemade Arena Homemade arenas can be made any size and any shape; they can be semi-permanent or can be remade every time. To make an arena that can be disassembled easily, simply find tall boxes, baskets, or any handy, tall, squarish object. Assemble them in a large square or rectangle so that there are NO GAPS between the objects; be sure to double check this. Now place one large rock or heavy item into each box/basket/etc: now the hamster cannot shift the boxes to escape. This arena disassembles easily: put all the rocks into one box and then stack all the boxes in a corner for the next time. |
| At this point, your enclosure’s only weaknesses are the two points where the drywall meets the wall of the room: the drywall could shift away from the wall, creating a gap. To prevent this, either nail the drywall directly into the wall of the room, or nail two blocks of wood into the wall of the room (one inside the arena the other outside) and wedge the dry wall into the gap between the blocks. Repeat this to the other edge of drywall. If you keep your hamster's cage permanently in this semi-permanent arena, the arena can serve a double purpose: 1) If your hamster escapes from its cage, it won't get far. 2) Any shavings that fall out of the cage will fall onto the protected floor of the arena (see below: How to prepare the arena) How to Prepare the Arena The area inside the arena should be spread with an old bed sheet or rags to protect the surface below from sharp teeth. On top of this should be a wealth of interesting objects scattered randomly: the messier the better! Also, scatter food inside the arena. Put your hamster's cage in the arena as well, with the door open, so that it can return at any time. Only young hamsters may urinate while they are out (full grown hamsters will almost never do this outside of their cage). You may choose to put a sheet of soft plastic below the bed sheets to further protect the surface. Tips and Further Preparations * Before you put your hamster in the arena, "hamster proof" it: _ the toys and objects inside aren't stacked too high to avoid injury _ the objects aren't too close to the walls of the arena to prevent escape _ if you see a situation where your hamster may need to jump down to descend from an object, be sure that the "landing area" is clear of objects * Supervise your hamster at all times. * You can let your hamster collect its own food for the day during its run. This only works if you put your hamster in the arena once a day, and if you CAREFULLY monitor the amount of food your hamster has in its cage after its run is over. Your hamster will know how much food it needs and will bring back to its cage the necessary amount of food each time using its cheek pouches; however, if you see that your hamster takes no interest in the food in the arena and yet has very little food in its cage, it might be advisable to go back to putting food in its cage. Once again, monitor the amount of food in your hamster's cage and adjust accordingly. |
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| This semi-permanent arena is approximately 10 x 5 feet |
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| An Interesting Life Visits to the Garden A Hamster Arena Hamster Wonderland Simple Tips |