I had to take Hampture out of the water recently as it became apparent that the heater had broken; the little guys had chewed off the fabric coating of the heating pad and in doing so pulled loose one of the wires. I've removed it and I'm working on rewiring it in such a way that the connection is sturdier. They had been under for 4 weeks anyway and deserved some shore leave. :3
More to the point; Plants! When I opened the habitat I was surprised to see green growth. It seems that even without the LED lights inside (which I still plan to add) there was enough ambient light to sustain grass. The hamsters' waste provided the nutrients and moisture needed, and presto. I am removing the grass this time as it would grow too tall and fill up the habitat, but clover would be just about right. I plan to buy some clover seeds and sprinkle the habitat soil bed with them. It'll accelerate waste decomposition and provide fresh food for the hamsternauts.
I now have a decent PC for livestreaming up and running with procaster. I am also looking to get a nice deep fish tank so that there can be some aquatic life swimming around the habitat exterior. If all goes as planned I can have the 24/7 Hampture livestream operational sometime in early January.
Update: Heater is now fixed. Connections are encased in solidified superglue and the pad's edge is up against the wall so they can't chew on the wire. I defy them to break it now! >:D
Update 2: Habitat is back in the water, everything is working as expected. New video soon, featuring their discovery of the observation towers.
This just occurred to me! Are you providing our intrepid hambros with something to chew on? Like rats and other small rodents hamster's teeth will just keep growing and growing so they need a little something to chew on. Most pet stores carry some sort of wood chew toys. :3
ReplyDeleteSorry if this is redundant I just figured they'd leave the wires alone if they had something else to nibble!