Hamster of the Moment Winner!
Information for Hamster Owners:
Cages
There's many different kinds of cage on the market these days but not all of them are appropriate for all hamsters. You can even make your own cage if you're quite handy and have some basic materials and tools.
Wire Cages
These are the stereotypical hamster cage available. If they're well-made and well-designed, they're very good cages for Syrian hamsters as they like to climb and chew the bars. Some things to look out for:- Platforms that do not overlap. In very tall cages this can be dangerous as a fall of only a few feet can harm a hamster especially if it's onto other cage furniture.
- Tubes. Tubes are not good for syrians as they can get too large for the tube. Also many hamsters block the tubes with food or bedding. If you just got your hamster, it will use the tubes to hide away from you, thus avoiding the taming process. Stay away from tubes in cages or get a cage that you can easily remove the tubes from the cage at least for the duration of the taming process.
- Size. Can the cage hold a large wheel? Some syrians are so large they outgrow their wheel very quickly and you may need to replace the wheel with an 8inch diameter wheel, maybe even a 12 inch diameter wheel if your hamster is exceptionally large! Note some wheels need a bit of clearance around them so you should probably look for a cage that has at least one side of the cage larger than 13inches
- Ease of cleaning You're the one who will be cleaning out the cage every week - Do you want to take apart lots of tubes and little parts to clean out every week? A simple cage will keep your cleaning time down to a minimum and your hamster will have more living space.
Modular Cages
An example of this type of cage by Kathryn.
Another example of one of the modular cages on the market. Photo by BlackRose.These are mostly plastic sections connected by tubes. Generally not recommended for the following reasons:
- Space. They do not provide a lot of space for the amount of money they cost the owner. They take up a lot of space in your home but do not provide the hamster with as much room as the only have "pockets" of space connected by small tubes.
- Cleaning Again, having to clean out a complex system of tubes weekly, or more often if the hamster decides a tube makes a great toilet, means more hassle for the owner and more stress on the hamster.
- Size of Tubes Again if you have tubes and a large syrian hamster, it could get stuck in the tubes. The hamster could decide to stuff bedding in the tube and accidently block itself off from food and water. Dwarf hamsters also do this tube blocking behaviour
Mostly Plastic but some wire Cages
Examples being Ferplast Mini Duna or Duna cages or Lixit's Rody Hamster cage. These are excellent for dwarf hamsters. The Ferplast mini duna is large enough to house two dwarf hamsters, giving lots of floor space for running around. Easy to clean, no tubes to clean out. A few minor points:- Water Bottles Sometimes these cages come with an unusual style of water bottle. You can easily replace this waterbottle and attach another waterbottle on the outside of the cage using a piece of a velcro strap to hold the regular ball point type bottle onto the suctioncup holder. Alternatively, use sticky backed velcro or other felt & hook stickers to attach a very small bottle to the inside of the cage.
- Wheels The wheel that comes with the cage isn't big enough for a syrian hamster nor does it work very well as it's too large for where it's placed on the edge of the platform. Buy a freestanding solid running surface wheel, preferrably a Silent Spinner wheel. You may want to consider this for dwarf hamsters as well, since the wheel rattles the platform of the cage. Can be slightly noisy depending on the hamster(s) running.
Converted Aquariums
These can be as simple as a special waterbottle hanger, freestanding wheel and homemade wire cover. Make sure that where you put this cage does not recieve direct sunlight as the tank can act like a mini-greenhouse. Other points:- Covers and Escapes Hamsters can, and will, find a way of climbing up to the top of the cage using whatever is in the cage, especially the waterbottle. It's strongly recommended if you build your own lid that it is strong enough to hold a heavy weight or two. This will help prevent escapes as the hamster will be unable to push off the lid. Some dwarf hamsters can be housed without a lid but this isn't recommended for robos or for homes that have cats or dogs.
- Cleaning Cleaning can be difficult as glass tanks are quite heavy. Some people have gotten around this by cleaning the cage in situ, using a combination of a wet/dry vaccum cleaner or using minimal water and a disinfectant (Virkon S) wipe down to clean the tank after scooping out bedding.
Homemade cages - Bin cages
BlackRose's bin cageBin cages are made from plastic storage bins. The basic construction involves making a large hole in the lid, nearly the whole size of the lid, and covering it in wiremesh or parts from another hamster cage or hamster playpen. Add in a water bottle and a wheel and you have a basic house for a hamster. These are essentially a version of the converted aquarium tank. There's no bars to chew and if the cage is well constructed, it should be absolutely safe for the hamster to live in and provides lots of space for running around and various cage furniture and toys.
They can be very affordable compared to storebought cages or aquariums and they're very lightweight so easy to pick up and clean out. They usually have rounded corners which helps with cleaning too. Depending on what you put in this cage, it can be used for syrian or dwarf hamsters. You generally should buy the biggest storage bin you can afford and place in your home. I've seen under the bed storage containers converted to play cages but these should not be used for long term housing of dwarf hamsters and definately not for syrian hamsters as they need to stand up on their hind legs to stretch and you'd never fit an appropriate sized wheel for either species in an underbed storage box usually.