Minimum hamster cage size

Caring for a pet hamster includes providing a cage with bedding, food, and water. You want to provide a big enough cage so your hamster can get enough exercise every day and has access to plenty of minimum hamster cage size stimulating toys. For Syrian hamsters, minimum hamster cage size, the minimum amount of floor space needed per hamster is square inches, or 40 x The height should be 24 inches to allow for several inches of bedding.

Even though hamsters are very small they actually require a lot of space, it is not uncommon for hamsters in the wild to run 9km in one night. It is the minimum cage size for ALL species of hamsters including Dwarf. Please note this is a minimum of unbroken floor space not levels , the more space the better. Pet shops usually always sell cages which are far too small, this is because they are often cheaper for customers to buy and they save on shop floor space. If you buy a cage which is too small, your hamster will sadly live a miserable life. Blue Cross say a cage should be no smaller than cm x 50cm x 50cm for ALL species of hamsters.

Minimum hamster cage size

A hamster cage is an enclosure designed to house one hamster. It is recommended that hamster cages contain at least x 50 cm in of floor space , although there is evidence that hamsters experience less stress if housed in larger cages. The recommended cage size for a hamster is a minimum of 50 centimeters by centimeters, and at least 18 inches tall. The ideal floor for a hamster is solid and covered with bedding. A wire-top cage is a plastic base with an overarching wire structure. A wire cage with wired stairs may cause bumblefoot. Wire-top cages for hamsters are often marketed in two varieties; [10] one version for larger Syrian hamsters, with approximately 12 mm 0. It is recommended to choose a wire-top cage that has at least square inches 5, square centimeters of unbroken floor space and a plastic base with a height of at least 8 inches 20 centimeters. Well designed wire-top cages have doors that are specifically placed to allow humans to open them as needed, accessing any part of the pen. The wobbling may upset hamsters, who prefer stable ground. Plastic tank cages range from simple boxes to elaborately designed structures with tubes, tunnels, and separate rooms to encourage exploration. These modules are generally sold separately.

Tubes and branches Tubes and branches are used to hide in or under. A Glass Tank! Hamsters will exploit any opportunity to escape from their cage.

Here in North America, most hamsters are kept in cages much too small. Insufficient cage space can cause physical and psychological health issues for your hamster. Syrian hamsters are the largest species of pet hamsters and I see stress behaviors like bar chewing, pacing and obsessively trying to escape when hamsters are housed in cages under square inches. This minimum cage size is similar to the requirements in Europe. Are you wondering how big your cage at home is? Take a measuring tape and measure the length of the and width of the cage at the base , multiply those numbers and it will give you a calculation of floor space.

Pet Keen is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Since your hamster will be spending the majority of its life inside its cage , it is essential to have the right size cage for them to live in. The right cage for your hamster should be easy to clean, spacious, roomy enough for them to run around in, and of course, escape-proof!

Minimum hamster cage size

Your hamster may be tiny, but in the wild, it can easily cross over five miles in a night. How does that translate into cage size? The majority of hamster cages are too small for hamsters. When hamsters are confined to small spaces, they exhibit more stress-related behaviors. These behaviors are a cry for help from the hamster. These include monkey barring or climbing up the walls of the cage. Not only are the cages too small, but the attached wheels are also too small. When the wheels are too small, the hamster has to arch their backs while running, which leads to back pain. The bare minimum cage size for hamsters should be square inches of floor space. Studies conducted on hamsters show that the smaller the cage, the more stressed the hamster.

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It is best to use play sand or reptile sand with no added dyes or calcium. Sign up for weekly pet health tips and insights from our veterinarians. Your hamster's cage needs to be cleaned regularly. Behavioral and Neural Biology. Scatter feeding rather than just putting food into a bowl encourages the hamster to forage for its food as it would in the wild. If you choose a cage with multiple levels, make sure there is no place where your hamster could fall a long distance. Back to forum. The dwarf species can sometimes live in pairs or small groups if care is taken to provide enough space and resources. Hamster houses, or hide boxes , provide this. Hamsters and other small rodents need plenty of space to move about as they are highly active at night.

Do you want your hamster to be happy? As we learn more about our pets, we discover that the gear that was once widely accepted may not be in their best interest. We see this with the evolution of pet nutrition, the development of new toys, and, of course, the perfect habitat for small animals like hamsters.

Hamster Society Singapore. Use profiles to select personalised content. When you are choosing a cage for your Syrian hamster , you need to consider several factors. No matter what style of cage you use, make sure you can provide a nice deep layer of bedding for burrowing. In some cases, two or three dwarf hamsters may be housed together if they are of the same sex and come from the same litter. Featured Image: iStock. Scroll down to view some options. Please help rewrite the content so that it is more encyclopedic or move it to Wikiversity , Wikibooks , or Wikivoyage. Recommendations for the best first hamster cage include the Savic Hamster Heaven Metro Cage , which is complete with an assortment of accessories. Enrichment is a very important way of allowing the hamster to behave in normal ways and provide stimulation. Retrieved 15 April