The Dwarf Habitat

[megs]

So, here we have the Dwarf girls' habitat:

Side View (plus my knee):





Top View:





This is a Savic "Lixit" Rody Hamster Habitat. I really like it!

Features and Advantages:

- Easy access through the large top door.
- Durable plastic construction: light and easy to clean.
- Easy viewing of my pets, and no bars for tiny Dwarfs to squeeze through.
- Built in hiding and nesting space on the left, with a built in water bottle and food dish, as well as ramp and platform. The food dish is WAY too small for a trio of dwarfs, so I have added an extra dish in the middle to help minimize squabbles.
- Attached wheel on the left, and I have added the green Comfort Wheel as shown.

Additions:

In the top right corner there is the Eggplant hiding place. They LOVE this. There is also the resin log tunnel, toothpaste box tunnel, standard toilet paper roll, and little hollow plastic ball. Note, I have never used one of these plastic balls for a hamster toy, but they had one in their cage at the pet store which looked very well chewed up and played with. I will check it regularly to make sure it does not become any sort of danger (sharp edges, etc.)

Disadvantages:

So far I can only think of one, and that's the water bottle. I think it hangs a little too low once there is bedding kicked into that corner. And if you don't fill water right to the rim before you turn it over, it leaks terrible. Thankfully there is a warning on the bottle, but I already overlooked it once and just threw out a whole schwack of wet bedding I'm glad I noticed!

So there you have it. My Dwarf habitat review

[pinky]

So now we know what tea you drink AND what toothpaste you use!

Nice digs! The eggplant is great! I don't think Fuzz would use it if I got him one. He is a burrower. All of my Chinese have been. Only exception was Pinky when he was older and it was hot and humid.

Hmmm. . . . that purple CareFresh doesn't do anything for me. . . . though I must say that it makes for a nice background for Sprite! And it does "match" the bottom of the habitat!

Have they ventured up onto the yellow shelf?

[megs]

It seems as though they are a bit "weirded out" by the ramp and yellow shelf. There is food up there, but it hasn't really been picked at. I've seen one of them up there, but they don't go up often. Perhaps as they continue to settle in, they will go up there more. Right now they hang out underneath it alot more!

The eggplant is popular with all three of them. They don't sleep in it, but they seem to use it for eating and grooming, and curl up in it and shake around. Very cute. Maybe fuzz would like it! It's made by S.A.M. (Penn Plax I guess), and was kind of expensive, $10 I think, but feels very durable.

I had to get the purple Carefresh because they were out of the regular kind! I was surprised they were sold out of Carefresh! The coloured stuff is alot more expensive than the regular, so I will probably only buy it if necessary. Purple is my favorite colour though. lol.

Yes, all my life, my mom has bought Crest. So, now into adulthood, I still use it. I always buy just the regular kind though. I think all that whitening, special flavor stuff is just a gimmick so they can charge you an extra $2 a tube. I never realized what a great tube a double open ended toothpaste box would make! As for the Tazo, yes.. I do love Tazo tea. I especially like the Om and Zen flavors (Green and black mix, and green tea respectively). I like to drink these teas when I study.

[Die Fledermaus]

Bottles. Always fill to the very top, and then with your finger knock loose a lot of the water. That way a vacuum will form inside - air pressure outside will be greater than inside keeping the water from leaking.

You saw my Penn-Plax pink thing I resuced two dwarfs in. You also saw that one gnawed her way out. All that light towards the bottom might cause one to start gnawing towards the light. keep an eye on that. I keep the Penn-Plax in a cardboard box now to darken the sides.

You should easily be able to raise the level of the water spout with tape or something cemented to the inside or a type of washer from a hardware store, etc.

Give us a closeup or link of that eggplant. I am familiar with strawberries, pears, and these:


Let's see how the thing looks after several days of them using it and kicking bedding around - maybe into the wheel?

Is that bowl too high for them to easily get into??

But it looks lovely right now. Very pretty. Shows a lot of love. And I feed toothpaste tubes to my gerbs. Maybe I will save the next one for dwarfs - but expect the dwarfs to pee and poo in it! ;D Cardboard tubes do not last long for that reason with the dwarfs.


P.S. So that is their purple Carefresh. Very lovely, and not too dark. More like lilac.

[megs]

Here is a picture of the eggplant from the Penn Plax site:



They also have a pepper of similar style:



But so far, I've only been able to find the eggplant around here.

The picture is a bit deceiving and the food dish does look a little tall, but they have no trouble climbing right in.

I will take your suggestions about raising the bottle height. Next time I pass by the hardware store, I'll pick up a suitable washer that I can use to raise it up a bit.

Yes that picture was taken when things were a little more organized. They do kick the bedding around quite a bit. It ends up in the wheels and in the food dish. But all in good fun.

Thanks for the nice comments guys. But most importantly, I think the girls are really happy with everything. I have one more small bag of the lilac Carefresh. It does look pretty in there, but I will probably just use regular Carefresh next time or give the Ultra a try. I think Carefresh is great for Dwarfs, and I like the reasonable price!

[Die Fledermaus]

Looks like they shoved a Syrian in the eggplant! But you did say the dwarfs like it. Mine like those coconut halves/huts; they get in and burrow down.

I mentioned the wheel as with mine they kick so much bedding they prevent it from moving - very common with three white mice in that small cage I got Malu and Cocoa (the Syrians) in.

they may like it if you scatter some food on that yellow ledge and maybe in the bedding sometimes. Foraging keeps them busy!

Best to them!

[megs]

Great idea! I will do that when I feed them tonight. Make a little trail up the ramp for them to follow!!

Yes, they did shove a Syrian into that eggplant. Or maybe they just put him in there using a computer! LOL. Look at the pic again. I think that's what they did!! Trust me, it's NOT that big in there. Maybe they actually got a Syrian to sit in there, but it looks like it would be kind of tight, judging by the size of my eggplant. I'm not so sure about the pepper.

At the moment, the wheels keep moving. So far, the girls seem quite neat (tidy) little hams. This could change. I will also keep an eye out though for escape attempts and cage gnawing. Fortunately we all live in the same room so they can't gnaw at night without me hearing them and waking up. If the cardboard box becomes necessary, I'm sure I can find a suitable size. So far, they only seem interested in gnawing on their toys and on the lab block food. ~Yay~

Are those two rescued Dwarfs still in the pink princess Penn Plax? I forget what you named them?

[Die Fledermaus]

Yes. Hazel (older and bigger) and Hilary (maybe her daughter). Maybe I could give them more things to gnaw on inside the habitat. . .

Many things supposedly for Syrians are only big enough for dwarfs or mice. The hamster townhouses I almost threw out, but then I got mice and they are perfect for them.

[megs]

I've noticed that too. Hamster houses that are way too cramped for a large Syrian. I recently found a nice hamster igloo that was only 5 dollars, made by Savic/Lixit that seems roomy enough for N.P. He likes it. But it's hard to find little hamster houses suitable for Syrians! Glad you could get some use out of the "townhouses" with the mice. I'm sure they just love having safe places to hide.

[Hamsters82]

That looks like a cozy place for them to live.

[megs]

Lots to do and smell and chew on. I think they like the lumpy Carefresh bedding.

[Die Fledermaus]

I also got a hamster-sized wooden hide box for three gerbils; the smaller size might have worked only for mice or dwarfs. Even with only two gerbils, the gerbil-sized one more often than not ends up just packed with bedding and is not used as a home. Sometimes it is. Sometimes the Spiny Mice get them.

[megs]

Sprite, Scout, and Scarlet all sleep in the yellow section off the the left. A built in hiding place, with a few little "windows" to go in and out. They also hide under the log alot. I'm really happy with this habitat. (The cage itself). It's perfect for dwarfs!

[Die Fledermaus]

So long as they don't decide to try to gnaw out!

[megs]

zouave said:

So long as they don't decide to try to gnaw out!

True! But so far, they're just interested in what's going on IN the habitat. lol.

I keep a close watch and check it often to make sure they havn't started a little hole somewhere! It could happen!