Wooden observation box to place against the glass. Fill it with bathing sand as a sand bath or with bedding, and watch your pet bathe or dig tunnels. Read more.
Much of what small rodents do happens out of sight: underground or in a sheltered corner. With this Trixie observation box you can watch along. You place the box against the glass of the terrarium or cage, so you can see through the glass exactly what happens inside it. The box is made of untreated wood and is easy to assemble thanks to the plug-in system. No screws or nails are needed.
You can use the box in two ways. Fill it with Zooply bathing sand and it becomes a sand bath. Through the glass you can see your pet roll and bathe in the sand. A sand bath helps keep the coat clean and dry, and for hamsters, gerbils and degus bathing is simply lovely behaviour to watch. Fill the box with bedding instead and it becomes a window onto the underground world. You can see the tunnels and burrows your pet digs, which would otherwise stay hidden.
For the digging window, use Zooply bedding for hamsters or for mice. It works best in a spacious terrarium with a deep layer of bedding. Pile the bedding up against the box, so your pet's tunnels naturally run along the glass. Feel free to alternate: a few weeks as a sand bath, then back to a digging box. That keeps the enclosure varied.
This small version measures 30 × 13 × 12 cm. At 13 cm high it suits mice, dwarf hamsters and gerbils well. Syrian hamsters and degus can also use the box as a sand bath, but for these larger animals the taller 30 × 25 × 12 cm version offers more room. Hamsters are crepuscular and nocturnal. So watch quietly in the evening, and do not tap on the glass. Degus, on the other hand, are active during the day, so you can watch them bathe in daylight.
The wood is untreated, so gnawing is fine. That is normal behaviour and part of the deal. Degus and gerbils gnaw a lot, so check the box regularly and replace it when too much has been gnawed away. When you use it as a sand bath, regularly remove droppings and dirty sand and top up with clean sand. As a digging box, only remove dirty patches, so your pet does not have to rebuild its tunnels every time.
Yes. Fill the box with bathing sand and you have a sand bath in which you can watch your pet bathe through the glass. Use fine bathing sand, such as Zooply bathing sand, and not dusty sand or calcium sand.
You will see the tunnels and burrows your pet digs. Normally these stay hidden underground. Through the glass you are effectively looking at a cross-section of the burrow.
They can use it as a sand bath, but at 13 cm high this version is mainly intended for mice and dwarf hamsters. For Syrian hamsters and degus the 30 × 25 × 12 cm version is roomier.
The box is designed to be placed against the glass. It therefore works best in a terrarium or a cage with a transparent front. In a cage with only bars you cannot watch through the glass.
As a sand bath, sift out droppings and dirty sand and top up with clean bathing sand. As a digging box, only remove dirty patches. Keep the wood dry and replace the box when it has been gnawed too far.
At 't Knaagplein in Bodegraven we work with hamsters, mice, gerbils and degus every day. We are fond of spacious terraria with a deep layer of bedding and a fixed spot for bathing. This observation box lets you see both, which is why it is in our range. We choose accessories we consider suitable ourselves. Fill the box with Zooply, our own brand, for bathing sand and bedding.
