Empty 40 gallon... ideas?

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sat 14 Oct 2017, 9:41 pm

So, because I'm taking a break from hamsters, hopefully just a short one, I want to put my empty 40 gallon breeder to use. I don't know when, or even if I will get another hamster. I probably will eventually, when I find the right one, but in the meantime, I want to see someone enjoying the 40 gallon, because I just hate a nice tank not serving any purpose. I want to try putting one of my groups in there, but I'm not sure which one would do better in a large space. The girls in the 20 gallon long are pretty tame, and would probably not become territorial or anything in a 40 gallon, though the problem is that most of them are past 1 year old, and I don't think they would really make use of the space since they don't enjoy climbing or being active as much anymore. My other group in the tall tank would LOVE all the space, I can tell you that. They are super active and love to climb. However, they are pretty jumpy and scared of me still, and I don't want a large amount of space making that even worse. Honestly I'm leaning towards the younger group of girls, but like I said, I don't want them becoming crazy scared and territorial, or splitting up into different colonies. They are pretty bonded with each other though, I rarely see any arguing between anyone in that colony.

Of course, I'd pack it to the best of my ability, and offer plenty of hiding spaces so they won't feel exposed and out in the open. I have a ton of cardboard boxes saved up Very Happy

It would likely only be pretty temporary, just until I get another ham, I just want to see them enjoy it. Which colony would be a better fit in your opinion?

by Mice Are Cute Sat 14 Oct 2017, 9:43 pm

Maybe you need more mice... (Why am I so terrible at giving advice?)

by Rodents rock! Sat 14 Oct 2017, 10:18 pm

I think you should get another hammy for the 40 gallon tank. If I remember right, the other hammy that past at a young age was a Syrian also, right? How about trying a different kind of hamster? My first hamster was a Chinese hamster. His name was Sweet Pea. He was such a sweet boy, hence the name Very Happy

I so loved him. He lived a good long life. Would love another one but they are very hard to find. My second and current hamster is a Winter White, named Cam. He is a sweet boy. Makes me smile everyday.

Here is Cam the other day, he was in his little Flamingo hide and he had his millet spray close by to snack on without having to get up, but then when I was taking his photo he started coming out to see what was going on.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sat 14 Oct 2017, 10:34 pm

Rodents rock! wrote:
I think you should get another hammy for the 40 gallon tank. If I remember right, the other hammy that past at a young age was a Syrian also, right? How about trying a different kind of hamster? My first hamster was a Chinese hamster. His name was Sweet Pea. He was such a sweet boy, hence the name I so loved him. He lived a good long life. Would love another one but they are very hard to find. My second and current hamster is a Winter White, named Cam. He is a sweet boy. Makes me smile everyday.

Here is Cam the other day, he was in his little Flamingo hide and he had his millet spray close by to snack on without having to get up, but then when I was taking his photo he started coming out to see what was going on.

Thank you for the cute picture of Cam, he is adorable!

I would love a Chinese hamster, they are my favorite "dwarf", however they are sadly illegal in my state (California). I had a dwarf hamster once when I was younger, though I don't know what kind she was, but she was really aggressive so that's why my next two hamsters were syrians. She bit anyone and everyone who came near her Laughing

I remember once I had a friend over, and I was leaving the room for a minute. My friend was telling me how cute my hamster was and I told her "Just don't put your finger near the bars, please", I came back a second later and she was in tears because she did exactly what I told her not to do and got bit Haha

Another reason I've decided dwarfs aren't for me is because they are prone to diabetes. I don't think I could deal with it if that happened, it would be too stressful to give them insulin everyday for the rest of their life. Syrians are super sweet, and I've fallen in love with them, I just can't seem to keep them alive very long Worry

I'm wondering if maybe the syrians in my area at pet shops are all sourced from the same breeder, and they have some sort of genetic mutation going on that causes short lives... The pet store I got my first syrian from had several reviews of happy people saying all their hamsters came from there and died healthy, happy, and of old age. So I'm confused about that.

by Rodents rock! Sat 14 Oct 2017, 11:41 pm

What pet shops did you get your Syrians from? Were they chains, like PETsMART, or were they like a Mom & Pop type pet shop? I know all PETsMARTs are different, but any small pets I've gotten from the PETsMART here in my town have been healthy and have all lived long lives. Our Petco here where I live is absolutely horrible, always dirty overcrowded tanks. It's a real shame. I even called there one time to complain about how dirty their cages are, yet nothing changed.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 15 Oct 2017, 12:04 am

Rodents rock! wrote:What pet shops did you get your Syrians from? Were they chains, like PETsMART, or were they like a Mom & Pop type pet shop? I know all PETsMARTs are different, but any small pets I've gotten from the PETsMART here in my town have been healthy and have all lived long lives. Our Petco here where I live is absolutely horrible, always dirty overcrowded tanks. It's a real shame. I even called there one time to complain about how dirty their cages are, yet nothing changed.

After my last Petco mouse, Violet, I decided not to buy from chains anymore. I've only gotten 2 animals from chain stores, and they both had issues. My first was Holly the mouse, she had a couple strokes and stayed tiny her whole life, never weighing over 20 grams. My second was Violet, another mouse, who I only had a week because she was sick when I got her.

I've realized a local pet store that's been around for ages has much healthier animals. I've never gotten a sick animal from there, and they've all stayed generally healthy throughout their lives. The only issue I have with them is lifespan, this is the store I got my first syrian from.

My next syrian, Dakota, was from an accidental litter on Craigslist. We drove an hour away to get him. The people's story was that they bought a hamster for each of their daughters, so a pair of hamsters, from the pet store. They thought they bought both females. Apparently, when they weren't watching, their daughters put them together for "playtime" and it ended up they were not both female.... whoops! And that's where Dakota came from. I'm not familiar with the pet stores in that city, because we hardly ever go there since it is so far, so I'm not sure where the family bought the parent hamsters.

I've never tried Pet Smart, I could consider getting one from a chain again, I just made the decision not to buy from chains anymore thinking that all animals from chain stores were either going to be sick or short lived.

by CallaLily Sun 15 Oct 2017, 12:19 am

I would give the girls in the 20 high a try in it. You could always move them back down if it doesn't work out. Good luck in whatever you decide. Smile

by Rodents rock! Sun 15 Oct 2017, 10:07 am

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:
Rodents rock! wrote:What pet shops did you get your Syrians from? Were they chains, like PETsMART, or were they like a Mom & Pop type pet shop? I know all PETsMARTs are different, but any small pets I've gotten from the PETsMART here in my town have been healthy and have all lived long lives. Our Petco here where I live is absolutely horrible, always dirty overcrowded tanks. It's a real shame. I even called there one time to complain about how dirty their cages are, yet nothing changed.
After my last Petco mouse, Violet, I decided not to buy from chains anymore. I've only gotten 2 animals from chain stores, and they both had issues. My first was Holly the mouse, she had a couple strokes and stayed tiny her whole life, never weighing over 20 grams. My second was Violet, another mouse, who I only had a week because she was sick when I got her.

I've realized a local pet store that's been around for ages has much healthier animals. I've never gotten a sick animal from there, and they've all stayed generally healthy throughout their lives. The only issue I have with them is lifespan, this is the store I got my first syrian from.

My next syrian, Dakota, was from an accidental litter on Craigslist. We drove an hour away to get him. The people's story was that they bought a hamster for each of their daughters, so a pair of hamsters, from the pet store. They thought they bought both females. Apparently, when they weren't watching, their daughters put them together for "playtime" and it ended up they were not both female.... whoops! And that's where Dakota came from. I'm not familiar with the pet stores in that city, because we hardly ever go there since it is so far, so I'm not sure where the family bought the parent hamsters.

I've never tried Pet Smart, I could consider getting one from a chain again, I just made the decision not to buy from chains anymore thinking that all animals from chain stores were either going to be sick or short lived.

From the PETsMART here, I've gotten a gerbil, Buddy, who actually lived well past the average life span. I got my Chinese hamster, Sweet Pea, who also lived a long life. Now I have my mouse, Mickey, who is over a year and a half now. And my Winter White, Cam. But I really believe it depends on the actual store and where they get their animals. On this forum, I've heard other members say that in their area the Petco is better than the PETsMART. So all in all I think it's pretty much a gamble, ya just never know. Whichever group of mice you decide to move into the big tank, I'm sure they will have lots of fun! Would love to see photos!

by Winter Moose Sun 15 Oct 2017, 3:37 pm

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:
Rodents rock! wrote:
I think you should get another hammy for the 40 gallon tank. If I remember right, the other hammy that past at a young age was a Syrian also, right? How about trying a different kind of hamster? My first hamster was a Chinese hamster. His name was Sweet Pea. He was such a sweet boy, hence the name I so loved him. He lived a good long life. Would love another one but they are very hard to find. My second and current hamster is a Winter White, named Cam. He is a sweet boy. Makes me smile everyday.

Here is Cam the other day, he was in his little Flamingo hide and he had his millet spray close by to snack on without having to get up, but then when I was taking his photo he started coming out to see what was going on.
Thank you for the cute picture of Cam, he is adorable!

I would love a Chinese hamster, they are my favorite "dwarf", however they are sadly illegal in my state (California). I had a dwarf hamster once when I was younger, though I don't know what kind she was, but she was really aggressive so that's why my next two hamsters were syrians. She bit anyone and everyone who came near her I remember once I had a friend over, and I was leaving the room for a minute. My friend was telling me how cute my hamster was and I told her "Just don't put your finger near the bars, please", I came back a second later and she was in tears because she did exactly what I told her not to do and got bit

Another reason I've decided dwarfs aren't for me is because they are prone to diabetes. I don't think I could deal with it if that happened, it would be too stressful to give them insulin everyday for the rest of their life. Syrians are super sweet, and I've fallen in love with them, I just can't seem to keep them alive very long I'm wondering if maybe the syrians in my area at pet shops are all sourced from the same breeder, and they have some sort of genetic mutation going on that causes short lives... The pet store I got my first syrian from had several reviews of happy people saying all their hamsters came from there and died healthy, happy, and of old age. So I'm confused about that.

Lol not all dwarfs are prone to diabetes. Roborovskis are not diabetes-prone.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 15 Oct 2017, 4:25 pm

Winter Moose wrote:
Lol not all dwarfs are prone to diabetes. Roborovskis are not diabetes-prone.

NEVER. N-E-V-E-R, will I get a robo. Laughing

Robos are wild, crazy, adorable, biting machines. I don't want a look-don't-touch pet. Razz

I understand they all have different personalities, but I don't see myself petting a robo or feeding a robo treats.

by Mice Are Cute Sun 15 Oct 2017, 7:26 pm

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:
Winter Moose wrote:
Lol not all dwarfs are prone to diabetes. Roborovskis are not diabetes-prone.
NEVER. N-E-V-E-R, will I get a robo. Robos are wild, crazy, adorable, biting machines. I don't want a look-don't-touch pet. I understand they all have different personalities, but I don't see myself petting a robo or feeding a robo treats.

Thats what my brother thought when he got Obi! Laughing

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