# Robostak help?



## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

Hiya we have Paris 'hamster' Hilton (not my choice of name) and my daughter wanted a new cage namely the robostak palace (i think, its pink anyway) but Paris doesn't seem to want to explore? It's been 2 days and shes not even left one compartment. There is a bendy tube leading into what we made her feeding room but she hasn't been through it at all and shes got to eat/drink so i've been putting her into it myself a few times a day. Then there is a loft bit for her bed but she hasn't climbed up into that tube either?

Am i impatient or is she just not going to tolerate it?

Thanks


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## ArabiCoffee (Sep 3, 2010)

Hi briony,
I think you need to give ur Paris some time and space to do some exploration. I however do understand ur impatience (done similar stuff myself many times), so what you could do, other than wait and let her naturally explore her new surrounding, is to make a trail of her hamster food mix towards the parts of the cage she's not approaching... a trail of hammy food works with my Casper every time 

good luck


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

Thank you i was just going to leave her to it but by the evening when she still hadn't ventured to the feeding room i guess i got worried she'd starve!! (bit melodramatic i know).
And taking a mithering child to the pet shop to shop for a new cage who then moaned her head off prompted me into a mental relapse and we came out with Nicole 'Hamster' Ritchie who is now in the old cage grrrrr Santa certainly came early.


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

Rotastaks are horrible and too small for syrians. She prob cant get through the tubes as they are so tiny


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Got to agree here I think the rotastaks look fantastic fun but thats where it ends, I wouldnt keep any live animal in one for any longer than it took to clean its real cage out. The tubes are notorious for lack of ventilation and the individual parts of the cages arent big enough to allow the hamster to freely walk around in, hamsters need at least an 8 inch wheel or it can cause curvature of the spine and these cages dont allow for that size wheel. Hamsters in the wild can easily walk up to 8 miles in a night so that might give you an idea how unsuitable these cages are.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

I must admit we bought the creepy castle rotastak cage for Honey when she was a baby but we changed it within a few weeks of having her and got her an Hamster Heaven. I wouldn't keep a Syrian in a rotastak again although I think they are great for a chinese hamster - well mine loved it.


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

srhdufe said:


> Rotastaks are horrible and too small for syrians. She prob cant get through the tubes as they are so tiny


Good job she's a dwarf then


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

briony said:


> Good job she's a dwarf then


Dwarfs cant climb through the tubes


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Even a dwarf can struggle. If she's not climbing then I would go invest in one which she will enjoy. If she's not climbing it means essentially she is being kept in a box. So get one for her where she can run. xx


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

Thanks Nikki. No helping some people tho 

Poor ham :frown:


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> I must admit we bought the creepy castle rotastak cage for Honey when she was a baby but we changed it within a few weeks of having her and got her an Hamster Heaven. I wouldn't keep a Syrian in a rotastak again although I think they are great for a chinese hamster - well mine loved it.


Thank you she is a russian dwarf (well they both are) maybe i should have explained properly.  I assure everybody she is certainly not too big to fit in the tubes i was wondering if she's actually too small to climb!!
We've played about with the tubes tonight and changed the layout with a bit of thought so she doesn't have to climb up anywhere.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

briony said:


> Good job she's a dwarf then


Ahh the problem is still with the cage unfortunately then, the dwarfs dont seem able to manage the tubes very well, I had an Imac fantasy cage (also has tubes) and my three dwarfs couldnt get up the tubes. I would seriously suggest getting another cage, the rspca reccomend a cage with a footprint of 80cm or more, Im really not just saying it about the cage to be nasty, I made the same mistake myself years ago, they are colourful and look exciting so they appeal to children but they arent good at all for the hamsters. This is a good site for info about hamsters - Hamster Central , if you look on it there are reviews of the most common hamster cages (good and bad).


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

srhdufe said:


> Thanks Nikki. No helping some people tho
> 
> Poor ham :frown:


Not sure there is any need for that remark? would it have been too much trouble to ask what breed of hamster i had instead of jumping down my throat with a negative reply about syrians (which we don't own)? and offering advice relative to the one we do own?

Unfortunately as it seems i succumbed to a mithering child without any research if the hamster needs to go back in a cage similar to the one she was in (ferplast) then i'll go and get her one, with hindsight i should have possibly asked for thoughts first but i didn't.


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

thedogsmother said:


> Ahh the problem is still with the cage unfortunately then, the dwarfs dont seem able to manage the tubes very well, I had an Imac fantasy cage (also has tubes) and my three dwarfs couldnt get up the tubes. I would seriously suggest getting another cage, the rspca reccomend a cage with a footprint of 80cm or more, Im really not just saying it about the cage to be nasty, I made the same mistake myself years ago, they are colourful and look exciting so they appeal to children but they arent good at all for the hamsters. This is a good site for info about hamsters - Hamster Central , if you look on it there are reviews of the most common hamster cages (good and bad).


Thank you very much for the nicely put advice, dogs i can deal with hamsters we have the good intentions but can get it wrong.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

srhdufe said:


> Thanks Nikki. No helping some people tho
> 
> Poor ham :frown:


:thumbup: You're good at trying to help that hamster world!!



briony said:


> Not sure there is any need for that remark? would it have been too much trouble to ask what breed of hamster i had instead of jumping down my throat with a negative reply about syrians (which we don't own)? and offering advice relative to the one we do own?
> 
> Unfortunately as it seems i succumbed to a mithering child without any research if the hamster needs to go back in a cage similar to the one she was in (ferplast) then i'll go and get her one, with hindsight i should have possibly asked for thoughts first but i didn't.


Yeah you should really research an animal before you buy it....but obviously you know that!! Good cages are the ones with plenty of running space...the best one I have is probably the meshed over zoozone I got from the lovely TDM. If you can find a decent priced second hand one it's brill!! xx


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

Good idea trying to change the tubes around, but unfortunately it doesn't change the fact that Rotastak cages have poor ventilation and are very small. They aren't anywhere near RSPCA guidlines. It's such a shame they sell them really.

If you are able, I'd really recommend taking it back to the shop, and changing it for a bigger cage.


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

happysaz133 said:


> Good idea trying to change the tubes around, but unfortunately it doesn't change the fact that Rotastak cages have poor ventilation and are very small. They aren't anywhere near RSPCA guidlines. It's such a shame they sell them really.
> 
> If you are able, I'd really recommend taking it back to the shop, and changing it for a bigger cage.


Thank you for the advice my husband just got in from work and i've shown him the brilliant pictures of the hamster bins and i have a few of them upstairs and he can get the rest of the items from work so i think she'll get a better home than her old ferplast!!  they look ingenious.


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

Oh yes bins are great! Cheap and lots of floor space  You can also attach the rotastak that way, so it doesn't totally go to waste, and she will still have the floor space in the bun!

Do you have any pics of Paris?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

briony said:


> Thank you for the advice my husband just got in from work and i've shown him the brilliant pictures of the hamster bins and i have a few of them upstairs and he can get the rest of the items from work so i think she'll get a better home than her old ferplast!!  they look ingenious.


Excellent, bin cages are amazing, now we NEEEEEED hamster piccies :thumbup:.


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

happysaz133 said:


> Oh yes bins are great! Cheap and lots of floor space  You can also attach the rotastak that way, so it doesn't totally go to waste, and she will still have the floor space in the bun!
> 
> Do you have any pics of Paris?


Yeah i was thinking i could re-use the rotastak that way so she's got little havens to go to  I haven't got a picture of Paris she's been my daughters pet for a while i'll have to look on her computer as i just clean them out. I took this earlier of the new one called Nicole sweet tame little thing.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Shes a gorgeous colour, I really miss my dwarfs and Im banned from having any more animals since I was allowed to keep my foster dog .


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> Shes a gorgeous colour, I really miss my dwarfs and Im banned from having any more animals since I was allowed to keep my foster dog .


What foster dog? She was never a foster dog and you know it rrr:  :lol:


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

srhdufe said:


> What foster dog? She was never a foster dog and you know it rrr:  :lol:


Shhhhh Im not telling him that, the official statement on Bella is that she was a foster dog:aureola:


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## briony (Dec 4, 2010)

thedogsmother said:


> Shes a gorgeous colour, I really miss my dwarfs and Im banned from having any more animals since I was allowed to keep my foster dog .


 I've helped transport our breed a few times and found that hard but thankfully as i've got older my heart no longer rules my head, i daren't foster that would be dangerous though.


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> Shhhhh Im not telling him that, the official statement on Bella is that she was a foster dog:aureola:


hmmmmmm 
Telling porkies again... tut tut


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

briony said:


> I've helped transport our breed a few times and found that hard but thankfully as i've got older my heart no longer rules my head, i daren't foster that would be dangerous though.


I lasted about a day in my head with her being a foster then I started thinking of her as my dog, it took a few more days to talk my oh round though.


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I lasted about a day in my head with her being a foster then I started thinking of her as my dog, it took a few more days to talk my oh round though.


Again with the porkie pies!! :lol:

You wanted her from day one. Even before that


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## Lady Sol (Aug 20, 2009)

briony said:


> Hiya we have Paris 'hamster' Hilton (not my choice of name) and my daughter wanted a new cage namely the robostak palace (i think, its pink anyway) but Paris doesn't seem to want to explore? It's been 2 days and shes not even left one compartment. There is a bendy tube leading into what we made her feeding room but she hasn't been through it at all and shes got to eat/drink so i've been putting her into it myself a few times a day. Then there is a loft bit for her bed but she hasn't climbed up into that tube either?
> 
> Am i impatient or is she just not going to tolerate it?
> 
> Thanks





briony said:


> Yeah i was thinking i could re-use the rotastak that way so she's got little havens to go to  I haven't got a picture of Paris she's been my daughters pet for a while i'll have to look on her computer as i just clean them out. I took this earlier of the new one called Nicole sweet tame little thing.





briony said:


> Thank you for the advice my husband just got in from work and i've shown him the brilliant pictures of the hamster bins and i have a few of them upstairs and he can get the rest of the items from work so i think she'll get a better home than her old ferplast!!  they look ingenious.


I find my russian dwarfs can't get through the bendy rotastak tubes. I took them off and extended my syrians cage with them (as they are the same diametre as the other manufacturers tubes). They can get through the normal rotastak tubes horizontally and at a 45 degree angle (though this one takes them a while to figure out). They can climb short rotastak tubes vertically if I put a rotastak mouse ladder in for them and make sure the tube bottom isn't too high up and out of their reach. You should be able to configure the tubing around the storage bin so they can get in everywhere.


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## ArabiCoffee (Sep 3, 2010)

briony said:


> Thank you i was just going to leave her to it but by the evening when she still hadn't ventured to the feeding room i guess i got worried she'd starve!! (bit melodramatic i know).
> And taking a mithering child to the pet shop to shop for a new cage who then moaned her head off prompted me into a mental relapse and we came out with Nicole 'Hamster' Ritchie who is now in the old cage grrrrr Santa certainly came early.


LOL LOL, Hellooo Santa 
Took a look at that cute pic of Nicole... Absolutely gorgeous girl :thumbup: great choice ladies...

Hope ur Paris enjoys her new set up 
Cheers


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

briony said:


> Thank you she is a russian dwarf (well they both are) maybe i should have explained properly.  I assure everybody she is certainly not too big to fit in the tubes i was wondering if she's actually too small to climb!!
> We've played about with the tubes tonight and changed the layout with a bit of thought so she doesn't have to climb up anywhere.


Yes I think that may be the case - they don't seem fat enough to fill the tube to squirm through them like a Syrian does. Easily solved though if you get some of the special rotastak ladders then they can climb up the tubes really easily. I had them for my chinese hamster. :thumbup:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

briony said:


> Yeah i was thinking i could re-use the rotastak that way so she's got little havens to go to  I haven't got a picture of Paris she's been my daughters pet for a while i'll have to look on her computer as i just clean them out. I took this earlier of the new one called Nicole sweet tame little thing.


Great name  She is stunning colour!! Bin cages are great. xx


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