Beaphar

home environment

Rabbit
You can keep your rabbit indoors or outdoors. If you choose to keep your rabbit outdoors, you should choose a sturdy wooden cage. The cage must be made of smooth or metal-trimmed wood. Do not paint the wood, but do provide a waterproof roof (in case of an outdoors cage). The cage must also provide protection from the rain, and bowls and/or a rack to prevent spilling and spoilage of the food. A canopy can be added to protect your rabbit from bright sunlight. You can let your rabbits run outside in a run, but make sure they can not run away, dig a way out of the run (consider a wire-meshed floor,) and protect them from predators like cats, owls and weasels, and also from overheating (too much sunlight, or very bright sunlight). A rabbit warren will supply the animal with a natural environment, but during illnesses or for observation purposes, you will not be able to reach the animals, so this is not really a good idea.
If you choose to keep your rabbit indoors, make sure you offer it optimal accommodation. Excellent cages will be available at your pet shop. Protect your rabbit from draughts, damp conditions and bright sunlight. We advise you never to buy cages with a dense plastic roof. They are low and awkward and the rabbit will have no contact with the outside world.

Chinchilla
In the wild, chinchillas live in groups which consist of one male and several females with their young. However, you can keep chinchillas in pairs (one male and one female) very happily. Two female is also a possibility, but two males generally not. Putting chinchillas that do not know each other or have not seen each other for a long time in one cage will nearly always lead to problems. Good dimensions for a chinchilla cage are 120x70x70cm (lxwxh). Gauze is the best material for chinchilla cages, for example extra strong wire mesh. The back walls and floor can be made of plastified chipboard. The cage must contain a sleeping area (20cm in height and width and 30cm deep, with an entrance of 8-10cm) into which they can retreat. Climbing branches must be made of solid wood, so the chinchilla can wear down its teeth on the branches.
Wood shavings can be used on the floor, if desired. The cage must be situated in a quiet place, with a temperature between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius. A sandbath is essential for good care of the coat. You could use XtraVital Bathing Sand for this purpose.Additionally, the cage needs a food bowl and a hay rack. The cage materials must all be gnaw- proof: stone, metal and possibly glass.

Guinea pigs
Guinea pigs do not ask much of their accommodation. In captivity, they prefer to live in pairs or groups. One of the main requirements is that their accommodation is dry and free of draught. Nevertheless, it is important there is sufficient ventilation. The larger the accommodation is, the better. The minimum size for a cage is generally 60x40cm. Obviously, the number of guinea pigs decides for the size of the cage. A guinea pig can easily be kept inside during the entire year. In this way, you can have better contact with the guinea pig and it will become more tame. A guinea pig is a domesticated animal and will regularly ask for your attention by squeaking. You can also put your guinea pig in the garden or on the balcony in spring or summer. Make sure your guinea pig is sufficiently protected against the sun and rain. Remember that your guinea pig can not be moved outside directly from a heated room or the other way around, as the sharp rise or fall in temperature will result in illness. Guinea pigs love to jump about, especially in a clean cage with fresh hay.

Hamsters
A hamster cage must be at least 60cm long, 30cm deep and 40cm high. A rectangular cage without curves or decorations will offer the most space. The cage bars must be horizontal and should not be covered in plastic. There must be a distance of about 12mm between them.The edges of the floor tray must not be much higher than 10cm, otherwise your hamster can not look out. You can build storeys that are connected with connecting walkways or tubes. By doing this, you will increase the usable spaceof the cage, and provide a lot of interest for your hamster. Pottery food bowls, a drinking bottle and a salt lick stone are essential. Make sure your cage contains a sleeping house or compartment with detachable roof to enable cleaning. Straw pallets and wood chippings are suitable floor coverings, and special bedding materials are available from your pet shop. Newspapers are not recommended, as your hamster may ingest the ink. We also recommend a hamster toilet. Hamsters can be trained to urinate in one particular area of their cage. This can then be easily removed on a regular basis to keep the cage fresh and hygenic. The cage must be situated in a slightly raised location that is quiet, not too cool and slightly shaded.

Rat
The size of the cage depends, amongst other things, on the rat’s level of physical activity outside its cage. If it is regularly allowed to stroll outside its cage, the size can be smaller than if it has to stay inside its cage all the time. The minimum size of a cage is 40 to 60cm in width, 60cm in height and 100cm in length.
If a rat has to live in a cage that is too small, it might show abnormal behaviour and this could make your rat’s behaviour unpredictable. Rats are truly domesticated animals and love to be around people. This makes the living room a suitable spot to place your rat cage. Do not put the cage on the floor, but preferably on a firm table or on a dresser. Also make sure you do not put the cage in a spot with too much sunlight or in a draughty place.

Gerbil
The most appropriate accommodation for gerbils is a large, deep aquarium with good opportunities for digging. A cage for two gerbils must measure at least 80x40x40cm. Cover the aquarium with wire mesh to prevent your gerbils from escaping, for gerbils can jump very high. We advise you to put a combination of peat compost and straw on the floor of the aquarium. Make sure this layer is thick enough for the gerbils to tunnel in. Compressing this layer will make sure the passage ways your gerbils have dug will stay in their original form and not collapse. Make sure your aquarium is ventilated well. Maintaining an aquarium does not take a lot of time. Cleaning the aquarium every 2 to 3 months should do. Regularly check if the gerbils have hiden any food, as this might start to rot.

Ferret
You can keep ferrets either indoors or outdoors. Indoor accommodation may be preferred, because you will have more contact with your ferret. However, outside accommodation is better for your ferret’s health. Outside, it will not suffer from excessive noises or smoke, but especially light. If you choose to keep your ferret outside, make sure you buy a draught and damp-proof cage. Never put your ferret’s accommodation in direct sunlight and never leave your ferret outside in the very heat of summer. Ferrets are very sensitive to temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius. The ferret cage must contain bars for ventilation and temperature regulation. The minimum size of a suitable cage is 100x60x60cm. The cage must contain a sleeping area and a toilet area. Remember that the size of the cage can never be large enough if you do not allow your ferret to get leave its cage regularly. A bigger, taller cage is tempting, but might lead to poor toileting behaviour of the ferret. A lot of ferrets will not actively use several floors, and cleaning these large cages will eventually become a large task. Make interst from hammocks and passage ways. Ferrets are excellent climbers and use the bars in their cage for climbing. Do not use a floorcovering, for this will turn the ferret cage into one big toilet. Additionally, a ferret’s air passages are very sensitive to dust and smoke. Old clothes are very suitable for your ferret to sleep on. The rest of the floor can remain bare. A litter box in the corner, filled with dust-free and lump-free catlitter, will complete your ferret cage. Clean this cage every day and change the bedding once a week. Of course, it is a possibility to furnish an entire room for your ferret. Put linoleum on the floor and place several ferret toys like tunnels (PVC, pipes, dryer hose or ferret play tubes from the pet shop) in the room. Add some bedding, litter boxes, baskets and filled food bowls and water bottles in the room: the ideal ferret paradise for a ferret to play in without fearing any danger! However, you must remember that ferrets that walk around in their cage the entire day will become less active than ferrets that are allowed to go outside their cages to explore the world.