Leaps and bounds.

I made a ton of progress today. Powerdrill? Purchased. Holes? drilled. Tubes? Glued and sealed in place. Heating pad? Soaked in bitter anti-chewing agent (meant for cats and dogs, but works fine on hamsters according to the clerk), then sealed in plastic wrap (so it won't spread a bad odor when activated (but he'll definitely be motivated to stop chewing if he punctures it) I've replaced the normal kitty litter with a fine grain corn-based litter. No 'dust' and it's not dangerous if he ingests some (though he seems to have no interest in it). I've also added an applewood chewing 'log' to satisfy his need to gnaw stuff, and coated every sensitive cable and electronics thingie inside the habitat with the bittering fluid. I saw the hamster try to chew a cable for a split second, then immediately stop and start pawing at his tongue. He hasn't touched it since. Works as advertised.

Here's little Mega-Fucker Supreme posing for a quick photo op (I opened it immediately afterward). Seems to be happily nomming the mixture of sunflower seeds, dried corn kernels and other goodies. He spent a minute or two probing the enclosure for weaknesses then seemed to resign himself to rolling around in the litter and trying to burrow into his food. :3



For housing little Megafucker between missions, I drilled some air holes in the old tuppermaid container that was going to be the bouy way back when and added food/water dishes, plus litter and more chew toys. It also has a little running "saucer" (like a wheel but dish shaped and at an angle) inside that I'm certain will fit in the largest transparent enclosure offered by Lexan (which I can permanently seal with the marine silicone glue to be doubly sure it's watertight at any depth. I would need a little extra money for that enclosure however.) The best news is I'm sure I can cut the holes needed for the tube walkways; this plastic doesn't seem prone to crack, even a little bit. When drilling the holes I found it remarkable how clean they wound up; If one of you felt like gifting me a dremel, I'm certain could easily widen them according to a marker-drawn outline on the wall. Hampture City is looking more viable by the day!