Roleplayer123 wrote:Ahhhhh I have a dilemma.
At the store I was showing my mother the bin I wanted to get for Phoenix, and talking about how I would make ventilation holes and zip-tie mesh on. She said, ''Well ____, he's going to suffocate! With all the bin 'smells' he'll surely die. And, it's plastic. He'll chew it, and its poison to him!''
1st of all, Phoenix is NOT a big chewer.
2nd, is I don't really know where her knowledge of cages came from.
3rd, I'd add plenty of air holes for ventilation. And if I add none at the bottom, there'd be none to chew.
She thinks that a crittertrail would be okay, as long as I let him out daily. "I'm not that ignorant about hamsters'' She says.
I don't know how to explain 'hamster care' to my mother, but I can't just leave Phoenix with a ''standard'' cage.
If you guys have any idea of how I can explain this to my mother, it'd be greatly appreciated.
- supposing phoenix is a hamster (aha, i'm new around here, so i don't know much about this phoenix), bins are honestly perfect. hamsters don't urinate enough to create dangerous levels of ammonia. they also tend to have a certain area where they urinate, so you can shovel that out when it gets soiled & the cage won't even smell. Some people like to cut some sides out of the bin and replace it with mesh, allowing airflow. This is fine if your hamster isn't messy, and the substrate isn't too high (note: aim for about 6 inches throughout the bin for a happy hamster, but the more the merrier. hamsters feel safe when their burrowed under thick substrate. bit of a personal opinion here, but i'd go for 10 inches if your bin allows it). something a lot easier to do though is arrange the items in the cage so their a little more centred. you can then leave the lid completely off (note; only if the hamster can't climb out. that's why you centre your objects and level the substrate appropriately.).
plastic really isn't something hamsters cling too. hamsters bite the wires of cages when its too small for the most part (some hamsters just do it for attention, too.). if you provide adequate space for the hamster (at least 450sq inch), it really shouldn't be a problem.
have you considered an aquarium? maybe if your mom is against bins, she wont be against aquariums.
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