The golden rule with Syrian hamsters is:
One Hamster - One Cage because as soon as they become adults, they will fight.
Many 'starter' hamster cages for sale in pet shops are far too small in my opinion. I would say always buy the biggest cage you can afford, especially if you only have one or two hamsters. As I have quite a lot of hamsters, space is a premium. I use quite a range of cages but they all have a floor space of around 60cm x 30 cm (roughly 2ft x 1ft). I don't like tall cages because of the risk of falls, hamsters do like to climb.
I would not recommend Rotostak, Habittrail, Crittertrail or Ovo cages, they are difficult to clean out, lack ventilation and the modules have very small floorspace.
I mainly use home-made bin cages because they are easy to clean out and replace if the hamster chews them.
I would not recommend Rotostak, Habittrail, Crittertrail or Ovo cages, they are difficult to clean out, lack ventilation and the modules have very small floorspace.
I mainly use home-made bin cages because they are easy to clean out and replace if the hamster chews them.
Wire Cage
The cage in the photo is a Savic Cambridge, it is a good size wire cage, floor space 62cm x 36cm with 2 platforms. There is plenty of room for toys and a large wheel.
Plastic Tank Cage
This is a plastic tank type cage and the floorspace is approx. 55L x 35W x 27H. The downside to this sort of cage is that some hamsters will chew their way out of them. They do prevent the hamster kicking the substrate out of the cage.
Bin Cages
I do have lots of 'bin' cages for my hamsters. You can buy a large clear plastic tub for quite a reasonable cost. Transforming it into a hamster cage is relatively easy but involves using tools such a dremel drill and soldering iron so this is a job for a responsible adult.
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