Hamster care series #1: Housing

Question: What size cage does my hamster need?

Common Answer: Any cage from a local pets store will do!

 X WRONG X

Hamsters in the wild cover miles and miles of land every single night. Most pet store cages provide very little space and doesn't give any hamster the opportunity to move comfortably. The US minimum cage size for ANY hamster species (many people think because dwarf hamsters are small they can have a smaller cage) is 360 square inches of floor space! Anything less than that size is not suitable for a hamster. 


Bad cage choices include:

- Any critter trail brand cage
- any pet store cage
- any aquariums under 20 gallons long
- cages labelled as travel sized cages



Good choices for cages include:

- 20 gallon long aquariums
- Any bin cage 105 qt or more (tutorial for a bin cage posted in the future :D )
- DIY cages that are 360 square inches or more
- Ikea Detolfs
- Christmas tree bin
- Ikea lacks
- Any aquarium above 360 square inches (ex. 40 gal breeder, 55 gal, etc.)



Please do what is best for your little critter and house it in an appropriate cage size to ensure a long, healthy life.



Tip time!

Did you know that a common answer to the question : why is my hamster chewing the cage bars? Is your cage is most likely to small and it is time for an upgrade!