u/asteracus

Safely tucked in for the way home.

Today I'd like to share the "cage" I custom built for my little Daisy (friends and family like to refer to it as her "palace"). The measurements are 130x50x50 cm (or roughly 51x20x20 inches for the Americans).

This project has a story. I got my Syrian hamster Daisy in November 2024 when she was roughly 6 weeks old. She was not my first hamster, but the first in a while. I built her a cage then, which was 100x50x50 cm with a clear acrylic glass top and hemp bedding. To keep it short: after about a year, she got very, very unhappy. She kept chewing the corners, trying to get out; it's all she would do. She would avoid me at all cost, even hiss at times due to the stress. I realised she needed more space and bedding she could actually burrow in, as the hemp bedding would not hold burrows even with hay layers.

Unfortunately I only got around to building a new setup in April this year, but better late than never, right?! So, here we are.

I knew I wanted a cage that would give her more space, more enrichment, give me easier and less scary access from the front and fit into my living space as a bonus. I already had a bunch of ikea Ivar shelves in my workroom so the idea didn't take long to form. I know there are risks to building wooden cages, primarily because of chewing, but my goal was simple: Make her so comfortable, she won't want to escape.

And it worked out perfectly. Since April, Daisy hasn't tried once to escape, she hasn't chewed on any part of the cage, just the enrichment I provide. And, best of all, she finally feels at peace around me. We are not best friends just yet, but she comes up to her little ledge to let me know she wants to freeroam (and goes on my hands for me to let her out). She allows me to pet her, takes food from me and cleans herself around me. All these things have started within days after moving her in.

About the cage itself: I used the 50cm width ikea ivar side pieces and shelves for the main body. I used acrylic glass instead of real glass and cut it to size and some random corner pieces to seal any holes and slits. The panels inside the doors are reinforced with thin acrylic glass to keep her from trying to chew through them, and I feel that she actually appreciates the privacy and the dimness they provide, especially when I have guests visiting. Similiarily, the top being made of wood instead of glass provides another sense of safety. I don't have any issues with ventilation, because when I'm around I usually just leave the doors open. Additionally, there are small gaps between the top and some of the panels, so there is some airflow.

All in all, I can tell she's happier, more curious, confident and energetic in this new home. An added bonus is the storage space beneath the cage that is invisible when the doors are closed. I think it looks super clean. I might add another unit to it in the future, which would be easy to do and provide another 70 cm of extra space, creating a total length of 2 m. I will think about that, but right now the little one is already very happy.

Feel free to ask questions 😄

TLDR; I had my hamster in a 100x50x50 cm cage, she was really unhappy. When I built this larger cage with 130x50x50 cm, she gained a lot of happiness and confidence. She does not chew the cage or gets stressed out at all. It's an ikea ivar shelf-unit with custom acrylic glass panels.