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Old 03-29-2020, 03:34 AM  
AmityvilleHams
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: New hamster owner in need of some advice

It really depends on the species you end up getting as far as cage size is concerned, but making cages out if wood furniture is a bit risky as hamsters do often chew their enclosures which is obviously not safe with treated woods and such.

Soil isn't a good idea. It can harbor parasites, mold, pesticides, and much more, but if you want something similar you can look for a high quality coconut husk product.

Regarding levels in general, they're pretty dangerous for hamsters. Hamsters definitely aren't meant for climbing - it's unnatural for them and they have very poor vision! You'd be a lot better off with a cage that has one continuous floor space that is larger, typically those with dwarf experience have agreed that hybrids do better in something around 80 cm x 50 cm or ideally 100 cm x 50 cm - both sizes being a good amount larger than your planned DIY cage! For robos and Chinese hamsters, while a lot of others will say around 70 cm x 40 cm a properly laid out 80 cm x 50 cm to 100 cm x 50 cm or even larger cage can work very well.

If you've seen a quoted "450 square inch" minimum in the US, that minimum is very inaccurate and honestly shouldn't exist in the first place. It was the most people would budge to on a particular forum no matter how much evidence there was of hamsters doing far better in 600+ square inch cages(dwarf hamsters, not so much Syrians who often will end up needing double that or more even though that is even an unpopular opinion here - any species can do great in 1000+ square inches though as long as the cage is properly laid out which a lot of people fail to do). The size was just barely larger than the previous equally unscientific and highly inaccurate 360 square inch "minimum", but it was still chosen for human convenience over animal welfare.
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