View Single Post
Old 06-13-2019, 09:37 AM  
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Where does the continuous floor space rule come from?

It is vague and over-simplified. Particularly the "as big as possible" which could be anything. The RSPCA in the Uk used to recommend 80cm x 50cm minimum for Syrians and 70cm x 40cm minimum for dwarves. Now they just say - as big as possible, allowing enough room after houses, wheels etc, and that they need a lot of space at night. Not much of a guideline and very vague!

In Germany there is a welfare minimum of 100cm x 50cm for a Syrian hamster, and a recommended minimum of 1 metre square.

I think anything between 80cm and 100cm cage is good for a Syrian but some hamsters will need much more space than that. Dwarf hamsters also vary in personality - some much more active and some shy and nervy - however I think 70cm x 40cm minimum ish for a dwarf is a good guideline. And some people would give a whole detolf to a dwarf hamster.

Enrichment is basically - ensuring they can have normal behaviours in a cage - such as enough substrate for digging, burying hoards, foraging, having somewhere dark to retreat to (a good sized house or nesting box) or shelf to sit under. Plus variety to keep their lives interesting and prevent boredom - so different levels at substrate level, a platform to climb onto etc. I've had a roof run in my cages a few times - things tied to the roof such as large rat tunnel leading from a shelf to a sputnik next to another shelf.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote