I looked at your channel and see you made 224 videos but only have 1.37K subscribers. You deserved to be successful. I hope whatever you're up to, you're better appreciated than you were here. May all your pets live long and prosper.
Hi! Thanks for your message! In my eyes, I am successful :) i have more subscribers than I ever imagined I would! I’ve learned so much and have met so many amazing hamster owners along the way. I now spend more of my time doing still photography of my hamsters, podcasts & blogging. I hope to get back to more long form videos when I have time in the future 😊
@@RachelGotHamsters I almost deleted my comment minutes after posting it because I seemed to misunderstand your posts as being at least 2 years old, like you'd given up. I later saw that wasn't true, at least due to the podcasts, but didn't delete my comment. I assume 224 videos was a LOT of work. I hope you're enjoying it and it brings you more happiness and experiences with hamster owners and lovers.
Congrats on the 75 gallon tank! 👍🏽 I’m just a little nervous about the cardboard platform though. I recently went to Home Depot and bought a piece of wood and some dowels. I was able to make 4 platforms with one buy. Hopefully yours is sturdy enough. 🙏🏽 Again, congrats on the new enclosure. How lucky to have found one in good shape!
Nice! How long are the dowels? How did you attach? The cardboard boxes are super thick- they have come from wine boxes, so they are meant to hold heavy, glass wine bottles in shipping. It’s actually quite difficult to even cut them! I think the weakest point is the hot glue, but it’s feeling pretty good so far. My bigger regret is just not being able to remove the top to do easy spot cleans. There just isn’t a way to spot clean with this box, I’ll just have to occasionally go in there while Shirley is in a play area I guess 🤔 . I’m hoping. Niteangel comes out with some taller stilts sometime soon!
@@RachelGotHamsters The worker at Home Depot cut the dowels to the desired length. We attached the dowels with screws. It does take two people or a handy person to do that part. I initially waited for the Niteangel platform to become available on Amazon, but they’ve been out of stock for so long, so I’ve decided to just make a good sturdy one.
Woww this is a lucky find!😆 I hope your hammie will get more used to her new home ☺️ And I think there were gerbils living in the enclosure, because of the chew marks and the height is usually recommended for gerbils 🙂
I just got a 75 gallon tank from petco and I keep laughing because its soo huge and I kind of regretted that I got it but seeing it filled made me feel a lot better! Looks great!
Hahaha yes I love- hate the 75 gallon tank! Moving it around makes you really question your choice, but once it’s set up is IS so beautiful! And it’s a really great space for hamsters. Wish they made an acrylic version that was lighter, I’d be all about it!!
I'm guessing Gerbils were in there before. I have both Gerbils and hamsters. Gerbils CHEW everything. That is why you can only keep gerbils in tanks because they will chew their way through any plastic they see. They are like goats and look like meerkats lol. I think you would love Gerbils. They watch you, they are up during the day a lot, they are very active, live @5 years and are super friendly. Love gerbils as well as hamsters :)
Hah! That sounds so fun!! Yeah, I’ve watched a few gerbil yt videos (do you have any fav yt-ers?), they do look super cute, I love that they live in a group ❤️.
@@RachelGotHamsters Hi Rachel, thank you for the reply 😊. As far as Gerbil yt content... There is not much out there. It would be great if that changed. I believe they would be FAR MORE popular if they were popular on RUclips 😊
She looks so cute nosing around and exploring her new "cage." I thought she was a robo, but she looks like she has a stripe on her back like the other kinds of pet dwarves. Whatever kind of hamster she is she's as cute as a button.
@@RachelGotHamsters I thought you had said that both she and Stephen were robos, and Stephen definitely looks robo. Shirley looks like a hybrid but the stripe doesn't look as well defined on her in the video as I have seen on other hybrids, Campbells or winter whites. Campbells or winter whites look similar to me-but many of them may actually be hybrids. I see the dorsal stripe on all of them except some of the really white ones and the dwarves that look like tiny black bears,
@@RachelGotHamsters I think the pet dwarf species-Campbells, winter whites, robos (and hybrids) look a lot more like each other than they do Syrians. I learned that Campbells, winter whites, and robos are categorized as Phodopus hamsters and that Chinese and Syrians are something other than Phodopus. I see that the Phodopus hamsters have fur that looks like white eyebrows on many of them, but the robos are smaller and don't have the stripe on their backs.
you just FOUND a 75 gallon tank?! best find EVER!! you and shirley are beyond lucky!! the set up is absolutely wonderful and you’re so thoughtful!!!! your cage set up videos are my favorite on RUclips. quick question: what kind of sand do you buy? ❤️
Aww thank you!! And YES I know, when I saw the tank wasn’t broken I honestly couldn’t believe it! But I guess it’s just so heavy maybe it’s a pain to find someone to buy it? Anyway, I use Reptisand in desert white, link in the comments. Niteangel just came out with a hamster safe sand too, but it was sold out last time I checked. I’m sure you’ve heard this too, you can use children’s play sand, but you have to sift it and bake it and invest in a very large bag (although it’s very economical). Hope this helps! And I hope you get to find a 75 gallon tank one day too 🤩!
Lucky hammy! I have a 75 gallon for my dwarf hamster as well, he loves the space! Any tips to get my hamster to chew? He doesn’t like whimzees and the only thing he will chew is sea grass, willow, and paper..
Wow no whimzees?? I suppose chewing my willow and paper is a start. Have you tried those cheese chews ... let me see if I can find their proper name or link -amzn.to/3ohtI4a eConutrition Small Animal chews . My hamsters also seemed to like these! I tried the whole Pb light coat on an apple stick, they just licked off the peanut butter! So no luck for me there. I was going to try coating some sticks in some flour water and seeds for a boredom breaker- chew , but haven’t gotten there yet....
@@RachelGotHamsters I’ve tried flour and seeds, berry juice and wood, and I’m going to try peanut butter on wood (malica Hamilton suggested it to me) Sadly, those cheese chews aren’t available where I live (in the abominable world called Canada they can be quite tricky to get ahold of) I might see if he will chew some wood from an apple tree. :)
@@Idkitsadeletedchannel oh man you have tried it all! I will say, I’ve heard from a few on HHF that if your hamster is also eating lab blocks (like Mazuri) that this also helps with filing down teeth. One person on HHF says that dwarves don’t really need anything additional other than lab blocks. It does seem that dwarves seem less keen on chewing in general compared to Syrian hamsters. I don’t have any science backing this up though, so I think it’s probably best to try to find something they like to chew on. I have never tried dog biscuits but this could also be an option? Please let me know if PB works for your ham! Good luck 🍀!
It is so amazing how you set up your bin cages and I am so happy for you and Shirley that you found a 75 gallon fish tank. Today at a yard sale I found one of those big holiday storage bins made for Christmas trees (it was a dollar). I want to make it into a bin cage for my female Syrian hamster Ginger Snap but the lid is broken what do you recommend for a lid for me to make? I have looked into the type of lid that you would make for an Ikea detolf I think that is the one I will make but I wanted to ask you because you have bin cages as well.
Ooo! That is a great find! I was thinking about buying one from the Container store, they aren’t cheap!! I think the important part about the lid is that it has height to it, without the lid the bin is only 12” high, but with the lid is about 14”-15” (I believe). Is the lid salvageable at all? I just tried searching to see if you can replace the lid only, sadly, I’m not finding anything :/ If you can save the lid, I think I would use it and cut out the top and replace with chicken wire, like a typical lid, this way you can still have the height. If you can glue it together with some non toxic hot glue that might do the trick. Otherwise there are people who make raised/domed detolf lids, this could be an option? I’m worried you won’t be able to fit a 12” wheel in there otherwise!
Wow, you replied fast! Thank you! I might be able to fix the lid but maybe not I will look tomorrow. I was thinking about doing that style of lid that you mentioned. My Dad could definitely make it. Since I'm 13 I had to ask him to help. Thank you so much for your suggestions. All of your hamsters are adorable. The great thing is about this bin is that it came with a Christmas tree inside!
Aww thank you! I think the 75 gallon would be a great option for a Syrian! If you're in the US, I believe the 75 Gallon tank is about as large of a hamster enclosure you can get unless you make one yourself. It is quite heavy, but it has the advantage of being 24" tall so you can really pile in the bedding for lots of burrow room, a Syrian hamster will love that! Do you already have a Syrian or are you planning to adopt one soon?
@@RachelGotHamsters I only have a Russian dwarf at the moment, but I want to get a Syrian sometime soon and was wondering if a 75 gallon would be adequate! Ty for responding :))
oooh, that's an interesting theory! Yes, maybe there was a lizard of some sort in here.... not super knowledgeable about reptiles but it certainly makes sense!
Oh that’s so good To hear! Yes… nothing like the 75 gallon! I wish there was a bin this big I could buy, the space is soo great. It really makes a difference!
@@lexy10985 😂 the 75 gallon I believe is 140 lbs without water, so I would imagine 180 gallon is about 350-400 lbs? But maybe the glass is thicker due to the size and water pressure of a tank that size. Hope you have some strong people to help you!! 💪
I would probably guess that there was a gerbil or 2 in there because I don’t think a Syrian hamster would do that much damage in a decent sized cage, also gerbils and big chewers.
I looked at your channel and see you made 224 videos but only have 1.37K subscribers. You deserved to be successful. I hope whatever you're up to, you're better appreciated than you were here. May all your pets live long and prosper.
Hi! Thanks for your message! In my eyes, I am successful :) i have more subscribers than I ever imagined I would!
I’ve learned so much and have met so many amazing hamster owners along the way.
I now spend more of my time doing still photography of my hamsters, podcasts & blogging. I hope to get back to more long form videos when I have time in the future 😊
@@RachelGotHamsters I almost deleted my comment minutes after posting it because I seemed to misunderstand your posts as being at least 2 years old, like you'd given up. I later saw that wasn't true, at least due to the podcasts, but didn't delete my comment.
I assume 224 videos was a LOT of work. I hope you're enjoying it and it brings you more happiness and experiences with hamster owners and lovers.
What a glorious find!!! Congratulations!!!! Shirley is a lucky girl 🐹
Congrats on the 75 gallon tank! 👍🏽 I’m just a little nervous about the cardboard platform though. I recently went to Home Depot and bought a piece of wood and some dowels. I was able to make 4 platforms with one buy. Hopefully yours is sturdy enough. 🙏🏽 Again, congrats on the new enclosure. How lucky to have found one in good shape!
Nice! How long are the dowels? How did you attach?
The cardboard boxes are super thick- they have come from wine boxes, so they are meant to hold heavy, glass wine bottles in shipping. It’s actually quite difficult to even cut them!
I think the weakest point is the hot glue, but it’s feeling pretty good so far. My bigger regret is just not being able to remove the top to do easy spot cleans. There just isn’t a way to spot clean with this box, I’ll just have to occasionally go in there while Shirley is in a play area I guess 🤔 . I’m hoping. Niteangel comes out with some taller stilts sometime soon!
@@RachelGotHamsters The worker at Home Depot cut the dowels to the desired length. We attached the dowels with screws. It does take two people or a handy person to do that part. I initially waited for the Niteangel platform to become available on Amazon, but they’ve been out of stock for so long, so I’ve decided to just make a good sturdy one.
Oh my gosh this is AMAZING! I can’t wait to see it! A 75 gallon! Wow! Yay!
Haha it’s pretty crazy!! Thank you!!
Woww this is a lucky find!😆 I hope your hammie will get more used to her new home ☺️ And I think there were gerbils living in the enclosure, because of the chew marks and the height is usually recommended for gerbils 🙂
Ohhh! You are SO right!
Wow you are so lucky 💜
Yay!! I'm so excited to watch it in a few days💗
Yay, thank you!
I just got a 75 gallon tank from petco and I keep laughing because its soo huge and I kind of regretted that I got it but seeing it filled made me feel a lot better! Looks great!
Hahaha yes I love- hate the 75 gallon tank! Moving it around makes you really question your choice, but once it’s set up is IS so beautiful! And it’s a really great space for hamsters. Wish they made an acrylic version that was lighter, I’d be all about it!!
I'm guessing Gerbils were in there before. I have both Gerbils and hamsters. Gerbils CHEW everything. That is why you can only keep gerbils in tanks because they will chew their way through any plastic they see. They are like goats and look like meerkats lol. I think you would love Gerbils. They watch you, they are up during the day a lot, they are very active, live @5 years and are super friendly. Love gerbils as well as hamsters :)
Hah! That sounds so fun!! Yeah, I’ve watched a few gerbil yt videos (do you have any fav yt-ers?), they do look super cute, I love that they live in a group ❤️.
@@RachelGotHamsters Hi Rachel, thank you for the reply 😊. As far as Gerbil yt content... There is not much out there. It would be great if that changed. I believe they would be FAR MORE popular if they were popular on RUclips 😊
She looks so cute nosing around and exploring her new "cage." I thought she was a robo, but she looks like she has a stripe on her back like the other kinds of pet dwarves. Whatever kind of hamster she is she's as cute as a button.
Aww thanks! Hehe I love her little face! She’s a rescue, I think she’s a hybrid dwarf but looks more campbells than winter white to me ❤️
@@RachelGotHamsters I thought you had said that both she and Stephen were robos, and Stephen definitely looks robo. Shirley looks like a hybrid but the stripe doesn't look as well defined on her in the video as I have seen on other hybrids, Campbells or winter whites.
Campbells or winter whites look similar to me-but many of them may actually be hybrids. I see the dorsal stripe on all of them except some of the really white ones and the dwarves that look like tiny black bears,
@@RachelGotHamsters I think the pet dwarf species-Campbells, winter whites, robos (and hybrids) look a lot more like each other than they do Syrians.
I learned that Campbells, winter whites, and robos are categorized as Phodopus hamsters and that Chinese and Syrians are something other than Phodopus. I see that the Phodopus hamsters have fur that looks like white eyebrows on many of them, but the robos are smaller and don't have the stripe on their backs.
you just FOUND a 75 gallon tank?! best find EVER!! you and shirley are beyond lucky!! the set up is absolutely wonderful and you’re so thoughtful!!!! your cage set up videos are my favorite on RUclips. quick question: what kind of sand do you buy? ❤️
Aww thank you!! And YES I know, when I saw the tank wasn’t broken I honestly couldn’t believe it! But I guess it’s just so heavy maybe it’s a pain to find someone to buy it? Anyway, I use Reptisand in desert white, link in the comments. Niteangel just came out with a hamster safe sand too, but it was sold out last time I checked. I’m sure you’ve heard this too, you can use children’s play sand, but you have to sift it and bake it and invest in a very large bag (although it’s very economical).
Hope this helps! And I hope you get to find a 75 gallon tank one day too 🤩!
@@RachelGotHamsters thanks for all the info! have a great one ♥️🐹
Lucky hammy! I have a 75 gallon for my dwarf hamster as well, he loves the space!
Any tips to get my hamster to chew? He doesn’t like whimzees and the only thing he will chew is sea grass, willow, and paper..
Wow no whimzees?? I suppose chewing my willow and paper is a start. Have you tried those cheese chews ... let me see if I can find their proper name or link -amzn.to/3ohtI4a eConutrition Small Animal chews .
My hamsters also seemed to like these!
I tried the whole Pb light coat on an apple stick, they just licked off the peanut butter! So no luck for me there.
I was going to try coating some sticks in some flour water and seeds for a boredom breaker- chew , but haven’t gotten there yet....
@@RachelGotHamsters I’ve tried flour and seeds, berry juice and wood, and I’m going to try peanut butter on wood (malica Hamilton suggested it to me)
Sadly, those cheese chews aren’t available where I live (in the abominable world called Canada they can be quite tricky to get ahold of)
I might see if he will chew some wood from an apple tree. :)
@@Idkitsadeletedchannel oh man you have tried it all! I will say, I’ve heard from a few on HHF that if your hamster is also eating lab blocks (like Mazuri) that this also helps with filing down teeth.
One person on HHF says that dwarves don’t really need anything additional other than lab blocks. It does seem that dwarves seem less keen on chewing in general compared to Syrian hamsters. I don’t have any science backing this up though, so I think it’s probably best to try to find something they like to chew on.
I have never tried dog biscuits but this could also be an option? Please let me know if PB works for your ham! Good luck 🍀!
@@RachelGotHamsters I just walked into the room, only to see that he all of a sudden chewed his whimzee. Huh, he’s a bit strange, that one. Lol
It is so amazing how you set up your bin cages and I am so happy for you and Shirley that you found a 75 gallon fish tank. Today at a yard sale I found one of those big holiday storage bins made for Christmas trees (it was a dollar). I want to make it into a bin cage for my female Syrian hamster Ginger Snap but the lid is broken what do you recommend for a lid for me to make? I have looked into the type of lid that you would make for an Ikea detolf I think that is the one I will make but I wanted to ask you because you have bin cages as well.
Ooo! That is a great find! I was thinking about buying one from the Container store, they aren’t cheap!!
I think the important part about the lid is that it has height to it, without the lid the bin is only 12” high, but with the lid is about 14”-15” (I believe). Is the lid salvageable at all?
I just tried searching to see if you can replace the lid only, sadly, I’m not finding anything :/
If you can save the lid, I think I would use it and cut out the top and replace with chicken wire, like a typical lid, this way you can still have the height. If you can glue it together with some non toxic hot glue that might do the trick.
Otherwise there are people who make raised/domed detolf lids, this could be an option? I’m worried you won’t be able to fit a 12” wheel in there otherwise!
Wow, you replied fast! Thank you! I might be able to fix the lid but maybe not I will look tomorrow. I was thinking about doing that style of lid that you mentioned. My Dad could definitely make it. Since I'm 13 I had to ask him to help. Thank you so much for your suggestions. All of your hamsters are adorable. The great thing is about this bin is that it came with a Christmas tree inside!
I just got a 75 gallon 2 days ago for my hamster too !!! :)
Yay!! Isn’t it great?! Have you set it up yet?
@@RachelGotHamsters no I haven't yet still buying some more things for it ! :)😅
Shirley is adorable and the cage setup looks amazing!! I was wondering- do you think a 75 gallon would be big enough for a Syrian?
Aww thank you! I think the 75 gallon would be a great option for a Syrian! If you're in the US, I believe the 75 Gallon tank is about as large of a hamster enclosure you can get unless you make one yourself.
It is quite heavy, but it has the advantage of being 24" tall so you can really pile in the bedding for lots of burrow room, a Syrian hamster will love that!
Do you already have a Syrian or are you planning to adopt one soon?
@@RachelGotHamsters I only have a Russian dwarf at the moment, but I want to get a Syrian sometime soon and was wondering if a 75 gallon would be adequate! Ty for responding :))
Maybe a heat lamp melted the "chewing". I've had that happen
oooh, that's an interesting theory! Yes, maybe there was a lizard of some sort in here.... not super knowledgeable about reptiles but it certainly makes sense!
Why did I think you were going to find a hamster in the Alley
Ack, thanks goodness the enclosure was empty!
I have 2 75 gallon tanks 1 for each hamster a robo and a Syrian and they love it! Eventually I wanna get 2 more and attach one to each tank
Oh that’s so good To hear! Yes… nothing like the 75 gallon! I wish there was a bin this big I could buy, the space is soo great. It really makes a difference!
@@RachelGotHamsters it is great wish it was wider tho I’m looking into a 180 gallon trying to find a used one for cheaper
@@lexy10985 wow!! Sounds amazing but I bet it’s really heavy!
@@RachelGotHamsters haven’t tried to lift one but I think it said it’s like 600lbs or something lol
@@lexy10985 😂 the 75 gallon I believe is 140 lbs without water, so I would imagine 180 gallon is about 350-400 lbs? But maybe the glass is thicker due to the size and water pressure of a tank that size. Hope you have some strong people to help you!! 💪
Probably a Gerbil .
Yes! the digging at the silicone sealant also screams gerbil. You guys are so smart. I’m too hamster obsessed I forgot about gerbils!
😂
I would probably guess that there was a gerbil or 2 in there because I don’t think a Syrian hamster would do that much damage in a decent sized cage, also gerbils and big chewers.
Yes! I agree! I think this has convinced me that my next adventure is to get gerbils! They sound like fun.
@@RachelGotHamsters That would be fun! And it will add more cuteness to your home! Lol