New hamster owners almost always get the small cage. Small, mesh, plastic. Whether or not she has tubes is not important; it’s still a little plastic cage.
Hamsters need SPACE. No vertical space either (multi-story cages).
They need something they can lean against, burrow into, breathe and not chew on.
I have always used aquariums.
Every time I go to the local pet store for supplies, I always see this family. Dad just bought the kids a hamster, and they have the cute little cage. Oh, how nice it will be to see the hamsters walking through the tubes like in the movies!
I say to myself: “Give them a week”.
Nobody ever keeps this shit.
Bad quality. She is chewed in a day (indicating stress). Tiny. Nothing about them is positive. Hamsters get rid of stuffed animals as they dig a burrow. It ends in a mess.
Even if you buy more than one and tie them together, you end up spending two to three times as much money as you could be, all for a handful of shoddy products.
Take an aquarium over 20 gallons.
Listen to this. I had a small Chinese dwarf hamster named Macy. It was about 5cm long. An ignorant person would think giving him as much space as me is crazy.
We had an old 150 liter aquarium. So we put it to use. This thing could have held a hamster three or four times its size very comfortably.
Macy ended up living three times her life expectancy, until she was four years old.
Why ?
- To get to her food, her water, her wheel, or whatever, she had to run or walk a distance. Basins are inherently longer and wider than regular hamster cages, requiring it to exercise to get where it wants.
- More room to forage, dig, sleep and burrow. This means the tank didn’t get dirty as quickly, she was able to dig around the tank for a long time (exercise), and she felt more relaxed. She could stretch out and change where she was (change is good!). No tightness or entrapment.
- The larger space allowed dust to break up more quickly and air to circulate more cleanly. Almost any type of burrow material you use, whether it’s shavings, lint, or all-natural, organic, gluten-free pine, gives off dust. In a small aquarium or a small cage, it is stagnant and can cause respiratory problems.
- She didn’t really need to be changed. I mean, literally. Clean the “pee corner” and it’s done.
- She was discouraged from escaping. The space was large, airy and bright. She could do whatever she wanted and had room for lots of toys, chews and physical activities. It eliminates the feeling of “I need to get away from it all” and boredom. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t have succeeded; a closed aquarium is much better than a cage when it comes to potential escape. I suggest putting something heavy on your aquarium, though.
Small creatures need a big space. It’s essential.
They need to exercise more. They use the toilet area more.
I strongly believe that its long life is attributed to its huge living space.
Nothing I did outside of that would have made him live longer.
Normal diet, normal food levels. Normal water, no extra vitamins or supplements. Normal wheel, normal toys.
More space is better. You can put more activity in it, the hamsters can do more in it, and it encourages them to do lots of beneficial things. the initial investment is worth it.