HOW TO SET UP A HAMSTER CAGE ON A BUDGET 

Check out my online pet shop for a variety of awesome hamster supplies! www.picklespetshop.com PetFest 2019 is almost here! Come meet me and over 20 more of your favorite pet creators (The King of DIY, The Dark Den, Tyler Rugge, and Lennon the Bunny just to name a few) on June 22nd in Phoenix, AZ! Tickets must be purchased in advance as no tickets will be sold at the door! Get more information and buy tickets here: www.petfestofficial.com

A shirt that says *shirt* Literally same. *big mood*

This is off topic but I like your shirt. :>

Honestly glad I clicked to hear what I heard at 0:40. There are cheaper set ups, but hamsters are not cheap, especially in vet care

Me: Watching this during the Coronavirus pandemic, has no toilet paper to use for bedding

99% of the comments: I loVe yoUr SHirT 1% of the comments: Thx for the info

Kids:oh cute a hamster. Adult: you can have it its just rodent we don't have to buy much grab a tank Me: *your fuccun demonic*

someone on reddit posted a pic of their new hamster in a critter-trail cage, and i sent them over to this video :) they thanked me and said they would watch! thank you for being an amazing resource for new and veteran pet owners alike

"Just because a pet is small or inexpensive, doesn't mean it doesn't deserve proper health care." Say it louder for the ones in the back. My fancy parakeet, Toby, started to get sick. I noticed this and asked to take him to the vet. My grandma told me it was probably nothing to worry about so I just said okay and went about my day. His symptoms started to get worse and I asked again, but my grandma still told me she wouldn't take him to the vet. The next day I saw his symptoms clear as day and I could tell he was dying. He had something called temporary leg paralysis that could be easily treated, but if not treated it would cause death. I noticed and I told my grandma about it and she told me "I'm not gonna spend hundreds of dollars on a $20 bird." A couple hours later after begging to take him to the vet, Toby died. I don't regret getting Toby, because I have so many good memories with him. But I wish my grandma would have had a better heart at that moment.

I have big bin cages! Super inexpensive. Loved this video. Also just got my first Syrian Hamster named him pickles :)

I love your videos because they are so helpful because I will hopefully get a hamster soon and saw your videos and learned so much thanks 🙏

Kaytee has a 52 liter bag of aspen bedding for $10 at petsupermarket 😃

i’ve had a hamster and he only lasted a year (i was 8 i didnt know much) now i have a hamster (very healthy and happy) he has lived four years i’m much more Knowledged about hamsters thanks to your channel :)

My hamster chewed at the holes and escaped from her old bin cage. Now she has hardware mesh on the new bin 😂

12:19 when I was online hamster shopping on amazon there was a 6-pack and more of wooden chews that are in Petco and individually they are all like $3.99 but the 6-pack Of Stuff was only $9.99 so my suggestion is to shop on amazon just be sure you and the product has amazon prime otherwise it’ll take a month to ship

You look so good in pastels I love it :D also thank you for this video it helped me out a lot 😊

I've been thinking about getting a hamster (it will be my first one ever), so I'm watching a lot of videos to learn about them, I won't get one until I am sure I can provide him/her everything they need to be happy. I'm so glad I found your channel! (I LOVE your hair!)

This is really helpful. Thank you :)

I used a soldering iron (which was like $10) to melt a ton of holes in the lid of my bin cage

I love shopping at Wal-Mart when I need stuff like water bottles, bedding, and chews for my rats

I ASKED ONCE IMMA ASK AGAIN. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SHIRT

I am always turning paper/cardboard packaging into things for Luna to play with. I've made one box into a 'rubbish maze', and I'm always rolling thin corrugated cardboard/ up into big tunnels/tubes and cardboard boxes can be folded into a tent shape as a hide for hammies.

I love you! Keep doing what you’re doing ❤️ Thank you for making this video, it’s going to hopefully help improve a lot of hamsters lives starting out.

Good informative video. I love bin cages. My Syrian Pixel has a 595 sq inch bin cage and she is extremely happy. I don't have the exact prices for everything - cage and accessories - but I'm sure it was all under $100.

I don’t have a hamster and i am not planning on getting one but i will still watch this video for terra

Your lisp is soooo adorable xxx also thx for the info you just saved my hamsters !!

My money saving tips for new hamsters are: incorporating fruits/veggies into their diet to cut back on food costs (obviously do research and check what's safe, sometimes it's things you'll have just lying around the kitchen) Definitely recommend scatter feeding cuz it'll eliminate the need for a bowl and they tend to hoard their food into one area anyways Making a little potty so they only go pee in one corner of the cage, eliminating the need to use so much bedding and can just spot clean instead (I made mine out of a plastic container, and sand. Then just stuck it in the corner) Whimzees or freebies dog bones as chews. They're like 50 cents or less each at pet stores and a 12oz bag off of Amazon is $15. Contains 24 chews and will probably last your hamster a lifetime. Great for their teeth and they absolutely love them Checking Pinterest or RU-vid for diy toys treats etc. You can use toilet paper rolls to make really cute tunnels or a little cardboard ball with a treat inside so the hamster has to work to get the treat (walnuts work for this too) Checking other pets aisles for toys ie. Birds (just make sure they're safe) Providing a sand bath for enrichment and to keep the hamster nice and clean (never use water)

Just a tip for people for Syrian hamsters, you can use a potato chips can just take out the metal inside and the plastic lid and it works as a great tunnel for Syrians! Also you can make your own chews out of wood in your backyard! Just make sure the wood is safe exoticanimalsupplies.com/safe-wood-hamsters/ and bake the wood for 20-30 mins at 350 degrees to make sure their are no unsafe parasites or microorganisms living on it! Also make sure to monitor when you are baking the wood because if can catch on fire. Hope these tips helped!

You a 're such a inspiration for everyone and small youtubers like me xx

Thank you so much for the advice. I have taken it and now my Houdini is alot happier.

Buy a bin cage *periodt*

This video was really interesting, so interesting that I put this video in my playlist.

Admit it. You wore that shirt because you wanted to see how many creative jokes there'd be. :)

Omg I love you so much ❤️ I showed this to my mom and she is considering getting me a hamster I have been wanting for years!!!! Thank you for your information and facts!!!

I got my hamster sand for really cheap in total it was about $10.00. I got the sand at Ace Hardware (Childrens play sand) for $7.99 and I got a little container for the sand bath at the dollar store and also got a sifter at the dollar store. It's cheaper then chinchilla bath sand at $14.00!( Not even excluding the sifter and the container!)

You can make your own wood chews from hamster/gerbil safe wood from outside! Make sure the wood and yard are untreated with chemicals, prune a few new branches/sticks, cut them into manageable pieces, dry them in a 250 degree (F) oven for 2+ hours, then give them to your hamsters/gerbils. I just did this yesterday with some redbud branches that I pruned off my tree. The drying kills any bugs or bacteria as well as preventing mold.

Love your information. I have some bedding cost saving tips for folks (learned by having my current gerbils). You can mix bedding to save costs in the long run. Most large farm supply stores have affordable Aspen bedding (kiln dried) in the small pet section, this is almost always cheaper than in any pet store! At the farm stores I also buy corn cob bedding in a 25+ lb bag for like oh I don't know $4. This goes in a small layer on the bottom of my tank. The purpose is to stretch out bedding costs but also to add an absorption layer at the very bottom of the tank. The gerbils love it and it's so nice for odor control. Just be sure not to add too much as some might be tempted to snack on it and it's fairly dusty. For my main bedding I mix the Aspen with paper bedding. The best value per cost I've found is pet supplies plus' generic paper bedding brand. It's low dust, softer than most cheap paper beddings, and is way affordable. The mixture of bedding depends on your individual pet's respiratory needs. I found too much paper gets dusty and the tunnels don't hold together as well. You'll need to find the right balance for your pet so they don't get dust irritation, but I've found this mix is the most economical (in Midwest America).

Omg I love you and this video was so helpful because I'm getting a hamster In a week I wish I lived in America so I could go to Walmart and stuff

I know this is off topic. What a good size for gerbil when it comes to plastic containers/bin?

Is it bad for your hamster to get the tail wet? And one question how did you get the water bottle to stay on the cage just like that I'm having trouble with my hamster water, I have a fish tank (50 gallons) for my Syrian hamster and I have to hold the water bottle for her. What's a good way to put the water bottle on the tank without tape?

this video is great! i'm curious about drilling holes for ventilation. i always heard that just drilling holes like that doesn't provide enough ventilation. if this method does, then that would be great to know for the future! 😁

Dear pickles pets thank you on this advice as I am in that situation

I recently got a hamster as a birthday gift and it came in with a critter tail cage, my hamster Ralpholdo is biting the cage and it’s giving me bad anxiety. THIS VIDEO LITERALLY SAVED ME, thanks 🙏🏻

FYI to my fellow Canadians - you can get a 50 gallon storage bin container from Walmart for $26. that is an awesome size cage for very cheap!! also if you want to use a water bottle in the bin cage you can get heavy duty velcro from Michael's for like $5 (don't forget to check on their website for a coupon). for the lid i got some chicken wire from Lowe's for pretty cheap and cut and bent the wire to fit the bin like a lid so it was very easy!

so i’m going to buy my hamster a new cage. and i’m debating either i should get a bin or a big wire one. but i have a question for a bin cage, where could you possiably put it, my hamster is very hyper and i couldn’t put her in my room or just having a bin in my living room. any help?

My friend is considering getting a hamster and I told her about your videos because as uni students we don't have loads of spare cash and the bin cage idea is a really great option, I will send her this video

Hey Pickles, great video as always ^^ I wanted to ask, i have a young robo that seems to have trouble moving a 7in saucer or maybe she just doesnt like it. What wheel would you (or any other of you helpful people) recommend for her while shes small?

6:10 *Laughs in COVID-19*

If you want cheap chews I’d recommend cutting up some cardboard and/or toilet paper tubes. Out of all the chews I’ve tried my little guy seems to like them the best, although I do like to make sure he has options at all times. He tends to demolish them in weeks while the other chews will last for months or even years. I also like that you can customize the shapes of the cardboard, I made little Christmas trees and stood them up around his cage in the winter. You could also close off the ends of a toilet paper tube and put treats inside, though it definitely depends on the hamster for whether or not they’ll have interest in that, all of mine have pretty much ignored those 😅 but really just get creative, as long as it’s safe your hamster will likely enjoy and appreciate it

One second into the video and I’m already saying “I want that shirt”.

Pine is actually safe as long as it is kiln dried. I and many others have used it for a long time. I don’t use it to save money, it is actually more expensive for aspen. I use it because it is much more absorbent than aspen and care fresh. It’s also way less dusty. I’ve also had a bad experience with aspen, all the times I’ve used it my pets have gotten respiratory problems. I used brands that were dust free and recommended by a lot of other pet tubers and forums, but every time my pets still got sick. I don’t really like paper bedding either because is gets everywhere and smells really bad. I still use it for nesting material because it’s less dusty than toilet paper, but out of all the beddings I’ve tried, pine has been the best. I still use aspen for my snake, and she has no problem with it, but I don’t use it for my rodents.

Walmart sells paper bedding as well!!

That is how I did my cage and my hamster is doing great. He has a lot of ventilation. I did drilled a lot of holes though.

Thank you so much! My hamster recently died and my dad wants a cheap cage if we do end up getting a new hamster. I will be using this

So is the price match guarantee for that specific shops website or any website? For example say a bag of food in a petco store is 10.99 but on another pet supply store they have the same for 5.99 will they still price match?

I feel like a bad hamster owner. I got interested in the idea of getting a bigger cage. My hamster is still so young, shes not full size, and she loves the critter cage that I got. I am looking at new ideas to make a bigger cage for her. She loves her wheel, and she's still small enough to use it all the time. I want to create a big habitat for her to be able to roam around freely. i did add things in her cage that she can climb on and under, and am looking at different options for a bigger home for her. Thank you for the tips on some things to do.

I would be getting hamster soon,my brother had one for three year that mainly I would take care of,I’m going to us bin cage and planning on having a box filled with hamster toys and another filled with hamster supplies, 😂, WHAT is recommended? Having bin up on desk or on floor??

I don’t have a 12 inch wheel I have a 11 inch Wodent wheel is that ok? Also hot glue isn’t safe for hamsters I thought?

your shirt ‼️ you’re going all out

I like your *shirt*

I love how your shirt says "shirt"

100th comment! Two of my hamster live in aquariums... my other hamster lives in a bin cage. I love them all! ❤️🐹🐹🐹 Love you PICKLES!!!!

Thanks I never knew the peices of cloth I wear is called a shirt

Hey I wanted to ask a random question. I wanted to know if hamsters like being cuddled or just left alone to play? I plan on getting two hamsters but I am very much a cuddler and I don't want to crowd them if they don't like it. Are hamsters for me or should I think about getting a different pet?

Pickles Pets. What size drill bit you used?

as someone who works in a big name pet store, i can vouch that it is SO much cheaper to make your own “cage” for your animals, whether it’s a reptile or small animal. most of the ones you buy at the stores are usually way too small and extremely overpriced. you can easily diy an awesome set up for the same price as what these stores sell, if not less and what you can do with some cheap supplies is usually so much better for your pet too :)

OMG!!!this helped me so much! I really thank you for making this video cause I'm kinda struggling with oney right now!

Does this, or bin cages in general work for gerbils? I’m getting one next week and I’m only 13 so I’m broke. I’m paying for everything myself and although I have had experience with gerbils before I was much younger so my parents bought it. And looking back they got one of these tiny cages at pet smart and put 2 gerbils in it and it’s really sad but but thats not really the point. Anyways if anyone could tell me if a gerbil would do fine in these tanks and not chew through them that’d be great.

you can use a candle holder as a hide

No one: Not even a soul: Random RU-vid user: OMG I LOVE YOUR SHIRT

How many Times a day (once or twice) should I feed my dwarf hamster, he is 3 month's old? , Could you please suggest me

So I’m getting a bin and a 12” wheel for my Syrian. Instead of adjusting the lid, can I make like a decline in the bedding down to the wheel and then use the little hill as an opportunity for a tunnel?

What sand do you prefer for sand baths?

Why do you not have 1 million subscribers yet??? You definitely desserts it xxx ❤️❤️

tips: buying bales of unscented bedding really helps! Saves at least £5 everytime! Using cardboard, popsicle sticks and recycled materials can make simple and practicial toys and chews!

Best educational video I've ever seen regarding, "New Rodent Mothers." thanks, L

Hey, I have a question. I recently switched cages for my 2 hamsters, because my older cage wasnt tall enough for a bigger wheel. Because my wheel is already too small for my winter white hamsters. So my mom ordered a 8 inch wheel for them. And its only coming next week on Tuesday or Friday. Is it okay not to give my hamsters a wheel for few days? Because im kind of worried.

Very helpful information as I am soon going to get a Syrian hamster for Christmas ☺️

Is there a link for a large cheap plastic bin on amazon and a silent wheel? (I have a dwarf) I’m planing on making my hamsters home larger.

I love your videos! I came here for a lot of my research! Keep up the good work💕

What are used for your house I bought a sand castle castle bucket from Dollarama for two bucks and just cut the door out so now he lives in a castle

I have a 200 qt / 630 square inch bin cage and I love it since I can have over a foot of bedding and still have a big wheel and a large sand bath

I had my first hamster in a critter trail. After about a year the wheel broke, (I of course expanded my hamsters cage at that point) and I had to eventually upgrade the entire cage. Once my sister and I noticed that her Syrian Hamster needed more space (her and my mom went out to get a hamster, and got a 20 gallon tall with it.) we upgraded to the largest tote we could find. I’m thinking of starting a hamster rescue eventually, since all the rescues near me don’t accept small animals like hamsters. I’m super excited to start it up!

im not sure if it was mentioned and im sorry if it was and i missed it, but how big should the bin typically be?

If you're trying to save money, i would recommend looking on Aliexpress! they have tons of beds, hideouts, toys etc for like under 5$.

what did you use to stick the water bottle?

Great video! Recently subscribed. 💜 In a couple of months we are planning to get a pair or trio of gerbils and I would like to do a cage out of a glass tank. Could you do a video like this but for gerbils and explain glass tanks? Thanks. x

I’m getting a better hamster cage and I’m so glad I found your channel popsicle sticks r a great idea to make hideouts I never thought of like finding just things they can hide in I’m making them handmade little beds.

Pickles pets thanks so much for this video people were telling me that drilling holes was dangerous for my hamster I saw this and was so happy that's it ok for hams! I drilled holes bigger than to yours and my hamster hasn't chewed at all on it and I use paper bedding, I switched from a tiny little cage to a really big 180 gallon bin my ham luvs it thanks !

hemp bedding also works,its quite cheap (i got a 3 kg bag for $10) but some hammies may be allergic to it (most are fine)

Useful video! Thanks!

I have a cage of 57,5 cm x 47,5 cm x 54,5 cm is this good for a mouse or Syrian hamster? The pet shop owner told me it is,but I'm not sure.

My mum is thinking of gett night a 3storey cage with tubes and bright colours, which will stress out the hamster and she thinks it is COLoURfUL and COOoL but a bin cage or 2 would be much much better

When I need food and whatnot from Petco, I always buy online and pickup in store. Saves time and money. 😉

Hi, I am a guinea pig owner. If hamsters have a bad eyesight that it doesn't matter whether they can see the outside anyway, why not purchase a chloroplast sheet and make a huge cage? I contacted the sign stores around my neighbor and one of the store sold a huge sheet for $20 CAD (Supply stores sold it for double the price). I made 41" x 41" cage for 2 guinea pigs. Hamsters wouldn't need that much of space, so the extra can be used by the humans. I think the owners can personalize by gluing gift wraps outside of the box, too. I do not own a hamster and I wouldn't do this for a hamster (Because I want to see my pets at my eye-level, not from the top only), but if owners don't care about seeing a hamster at the eye level, they might want to consider chloroplast sheet. The only downside I can think of is that it might be too light for the hamster cage. For guinea pigs, we use cubic bookshelves to give sturdiness and barrier (from piggies leaving the cage.... piggies do not have the ability to jump high so the height of one cubic shelves are usually good enough). I strongly recommend the owners to buy the cubic bookshelves and make it sturdy like how piggie owners do. Please google "C&C cages." Hamsters would need much higher walls for sure, but I think that would be the only difference to make.

I read online that getting your hamster wet or your hamster getting wet is very dangerous and that’s why I decided not to go with a water bowl but instead a bottle is that true ?

My cousin stays at my house a lot so his hamster is here and I just made him a little hideout with the premium crackers box and it came out good. The hamster loves it. The toilet paper roll is almost done so I’ll add that next.

It also needs a burrowing space so have at least half of the bin where the bedding is at least 30cm high.

We just got our kiddos a pair of gerbils. Out of all the accessories we purchased, this is hands down our favorite (and the gerbils). They climb in, out, around and through... and even on the roof. It's well made, sturdy and quite cute. The only caveat, the food tray is too shallow to be especially practical, but that's minor and wasn't really needed anyway. I would encourage a lid with clips because the house puts the top of our 10-gallon aquarium within jumping range (and we have an escape artist). Highly recommend and we'd definitely get one again. amzn.to/2XL4Nce

Thank you so much I had a cage that was only 420 square inches and your tricks helped me upgrade to a 668 square in cage