Good cage for a Chinese hamster?

[FurFinFeathers]

Hi, my sister is thinking of getting a Chinese dwarf. What cage would be best? I'm leaning towards getting a tank, because im worried about her squeezing out of the bars, but how many gallons would it have to be? Are wire cages okay? If so what type? Thanks

[Bekki2308]

You're looking for a minimum of a 20 gallon long I think they are over your way, its hard to work in gallons as tank volume doesnt always tally with floorspace which is important. 360 sq inches of floorspace is a minimum used over the pond x

[POLAR WHITES]

For the best cage I would recommend a fun duna,

[racinghamster]

Hi. If you look in the Chinese hamster section on here and go through the threads, you will get a lot of answers from there. Chinese hamsters can indeed escape from bars that are too wide, so unless you can find a cage that has 7mm or 8mm bars, I would go with a tank style cage, but do remember that Chinese hamsters are good climbers, so they still require safe climbing opportunities within their tank.

They are shy creatures, but bold once tamed. Very sweet in nature, but they can be nippy if not given the correct handling or approach. Chinese hamsters do need understanding and they are not for everyone, so do your research before getting one. They can also be prone to diabetes, so can`t have fruit, sugars, honey, syrup or molassed foods or treats. Feeding a good hamster mix with small amounts of fresh raw vegetables and millet mixes are enjoyed and safe.

[Anthorn]

The Ferplast Duna Fun has 10mm bar spacing which I wouldn't recommend for any dwarf. The Ferplast Kora or the larger Kios mouse cage has 7mm bar spacing and more suitable for a dwarf.

[CreamSyrian]

No, the duna fun has 7mm bar spacing just like the grill on the mini duna and duna fun itself. Also, I wouldn't recommend the kora because the base is very shallow. The kios, zoozone 1, imac bingo and the duna fun/duna fun large are my favourites for a chinese.

[racinghamster]

The member is in the USA though so I don`t think she would manage to obtain any of these cages easily?

[Truffle]

Firstly Chinese Hamster aren't dwarf.... even though they are the same size as many of them. There are only three species of dwarf hamsters, Robo, Winter Whites and Campbell's (Winter White and Campbell's aren't very common so there are Russian hybrids- a cross between the two.) Chinese are genetically not classed as dwarfs

A duna funa is to small for a hamster as they need at least 70 x 40 though bigger is better. A duna fun large is this size but I would still go for something bigger is you can. Anyway since you live in the USA the cages mentioned above aren't really available. A 20 gallon tank is the bear minimum but tanks can be very expensive. If you have a Ikea near you, the Ikea detolf makes a brilliant cage (I have it.) it is a tank style cage but is about half the price of one, basically it is a glass shelving unit but there on instructions on the internet so that you assemble on its back. This makes a huge aquarium style hamster cage. If you don't have access to Ikea try looking on the USA cages thread, just make sure that the bar spacing is 7mm or less. Some people in the USA have got hold of Zoozone 2 and Ferplast Furet Plus in small independent stores but this is very unlikely, basically there is a Mablem 100, Marchioro Kevin 82 and Gabbia Tamburino available in the USA these are quite expensive. If you want a cheaper option you could try making a bin cage if you search the internet you will find loads ideas. Bin cages are a great cheaper option for hamster cages, you can find bins in target and walmart. Just make sure that the bin is at least 120 QUARTS, if you can't find a bin this size you could make a two storey cage. Just make sure what ever cage you buy it is at the very least 360 sq inchs. Please do not be tempted to buy a Crittertrails, Habitrails, Petstore cage, Critter keepers, 10 gallon or smaller tank or the Carefresh cage these aren't suitable for any hamster. I hope that I helped

[FurFinFeathers]

Thanks, this is super helpful!