Hamster Central - View Single Post - Difference between hamster and other rodents (newbie q's)

AmityvilleHams · 06-26-2016, 03:42 PM

I think the minimums always sound super tiny

For a hamster to be happy in,around half a square meter up to a full square meter(100 cm x 50 cm to 100 cm x 100 cm)or even larger if you want is a good size.If you wanted to go even larger than that and set up the cage in a way that still allows for hiding,that would be great too!

Hamsters do burrow.Ideally you want lots of substrate instead of creating artificial tunnels,and more substrate is always better which is why DIY cages often work out to be better than storebought wire cages.Wire cages generally don't allow for more than 20 cm of substrate and are around 100 x 50 at most,while wooden enclosures from Germany may be larger.DIY does tend to be cheaper though,especially if you did something like an Ikea hack or you were very lucky with materials costing a small amount!

Interacting with your hamster once it has settled in after between 3 days and 14 days takes care of socialization needs!Allowing your hamster to settle in is important but you can still do things like talk to your hamster or offer pieces of toilet paper with your scent on it during this time,which is very helpful for the taming process.

06-26-2016, 03:42 PM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: Difference between hamster and other rodents (newbie q's) I think the minimums always sound super tiny For a hamster to be happy in,around half a square meter up to a full square meter(100 cm x 50 cm to 100 cm x 100 cm)or even larger if you want is a good size.If you wanted to go even larger than that and set up the cage in a way that still allows for hiding,that would be great too! Hamsters do burrow.Ideally you want lots of substrate instead of creating artificial tunnels,and more substrate is always better which is why DIY cages often work out to be better than storebought wire cages.Wire cages generally don't allow for more than 20 cm of substrate and are around 100 x 50 at most,while wooden enclosures from Germany may be larger.DIY does tend to be cheaper though,especially if you did something like an Ikea hack or you were very lucky with materials costing a small amount! Interacting with your hamster once it has settled in after between 3 days and 14 days takes care of socialization needs!Allowing your hamster to settle in is important but you can still do things like talk to your hamster or offer pieces of toilet paper with your scent on it during this time,which is very helpful for the taming process.