[Happy]

Hello,

German hamster owner here to hopefully clarify this a little bit.

First of all, here in Germany most informed hamster owners don't use store-bought barred cages because they're usually far too small and compared to the prices of big enough barred cages it's much cheaper to build your hamster a DIY cage or use aquariums (or terrariums, but only with enough ventilation).

The general minimum size for a Syrian hamster habitat in Germany is 100x50 cm.
However, most German hamster owners exceed the minimum size by far with their hamster homes.
Our federal ministry of agriculture and the veterinarian association for animal welfare views this as the absolute minimum, too.
Since 2014, it's also required by law that pet shops inform customers about this minimum of 100x50.
Of course I would prefer that they didn't sell animals at all, but at least it's a start in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Peanut84

I think it says either 100x100 or 200x50, so an overall habitat of 1 square meter

The 1 m² (one square metre) recommendation stems from a study in which it was scientifically proven that from 1 m² of floor-space onwards, Syrian hamsters begin to show natural behaviour and stereotypical behaviour patterns begin to lessen or disappear entirely. One square metre can be, for example, 100x100 or 200x50 cm.
I think this is around 1550 in² (square inches), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Many German people do have hamster homes with at least 1 m² of floor-space, myself included, because they've realised from experience that especially female Syrians are very active and need the space, otherwise they'll act like what we call a "Randaleweib".

However, the best recommendation you would get on a German hamster board or forum is to build as big as possible. Even if you have to move a bit of furniture around, in my opinion it's definitely worth it to give your hamster an adequate home.

This means basically, if there is enough space for 250x50 cm or something like that then that's great, but if they can only spare 100 or 120 cm of ground space then it's still possible to put together a decent habitat.

For example, if someone only has very little space in the room in which they want to put the habitat, they can use the height to their advantage and build a higher DIY-cage with many additional floors (as long as the floor area is at least 100x50 cm).
For examples of this, you can google "Hamster Pax" to see some converted IKEA Pax wardrobes.


I hope this helps.

Have a good day.