Clean Pet

It's 'Works For Me Wednesday' when bloggers every where are imparting wisdom and genius to strangers everywhere. For a gazillion wonderful ideas, go to Rocksinmydryer. For a lame idea, read below.

So this may not be helpful for everyone.
But if you have a small rodent-like creature (hamster, gerbil, mole, shrew) and you're tired of all that bedding and stuff flying through the wire cage and spreading throughout the house, then here's a gem of an idea:
Put it in an aquarium.

You're smart. You have probably already done this.
(note: do NOT fill the aquarium with water, Mr. Shumway.)

I noticed this is what they're in at the pet stores, so after a few years of vacuuming up pine bedding out of the carpet within a 2-mile radius around our wire cage 12 times a day, we finally bought an aquarium.
Lo and behold, we now only have to vacuum our house once every other month (just kidding).

We DID buy a wire cage-thingie that fits on top of the aquarium so the hamster can have a penthouse, but the bedding still stays down in the aquarium, and it really has made a huge difference in cleanliness.
I did some modifications so the penthouse can be removed more easily by the children, but now we've got it just the way we like it. And the clear glass means we have a better view of the little vermin than ever before.

And the hamster must like it a lot too. She used to break out of the old cage every once in a while, but she hasn't tried to escape this one yet. She must really love living in it. Either that, or she's unable to chew through glass.