Downsizing cages? Need more room?

Thrifty Hamster · 03-08-2014, 04:52 AM

I know that those Crittertrail cages are absolutly not recommended, but I might just have to downsize my hamsters cages to them because cleaning out three twenty gallon tanks each every other week is getting expensive and tiresome.

Is it that big of a deal if I downsize? I'd be donating the tanks I had leftover plus other stuff lying around the house to the Humane Society, which they really need it.

I was thinking of getting these for my hamsters (and replacing the wheel with better quality ones, a Comfort Wheel for my Syrian and a Silent Spinner for my Winter White Hybrid and my other one - my eldest ham doesnt really run anymore so I'm thinking of just taking hers out.) :

CareFRESH® Complete Dwarf Hamster Kit - Sale - Small Pet - PetSmart

Kaytee CritterTrail® Clear Habitat - Sale - Small Pet - PetSmart

Super Pet CritterTrail One - Sale - Small Pet - PetSmart

And my question is - Do hamsters really NEED that much room? All they do is sleep during the day and yeah sure I can understand why a person would think a hamster needs a lot of room because it's curel to keep them cramped, but do they NEED so much room if all they do is sleep 24/7 and when they do become 'active' they just slowly crawl around and then run in their wheel and then sleep again?

All my ham does is sleep in one corner, he doesnt even use his house, but I keep it in there anyway, and then he eventually runs in his wheel, eats, poos, pees, etc. So whats the point in having an oversized cage if he doesnt even need the huge amount of space? I guess if he's stresed, monkeybaring, chewing, etc. Then I'd move him back to the tank he was originally in but I'm just saying that there doesnt really seem to be a need for his tank that much anymore.

cutiehamster · 03-08-2014, 06:15 AM

I definitely would not recommend downsizing below 80cm x 50cm. The problem is that since hamsters are nocturnal, and have to be solitary (Syrian, I presume?) They only have themselves, their cages and their general habitat to entertain them while we are asleep. Sure we can get them out in playpens during the day etc but when it comes down to it their natural awake time is at night when we're all asleep. So basically, they do need plenty of room, to play, for toys, and to prevent cage paralysis. This is basically where their back half becomes weak and their health seems to be deteriorating. I don't know a lot about this condition though I have heard of it before and that is just one out of many reasons to have the largest hamster cage you possibly can

BrainGirl · 03-08-2014, 06:23 AM

Are you sure you need to do full cleanouts every time? A 20 gallon is a bit on the small side (though ok by American standards) so perhaps you need to. The truth is that the more bedding you have the less you'll need to clean! Mine live in 40" x 20" (100cm x 50cm approximately) cages and though I use a lot of bedding at each change, I seldom do full changes. Spot cleans for the most part and just add a bit of fresh bedding each time. Full cleans are once every other month or so

m00nbeam · 03-08-2014, 08:25 AM

Why don't you just add more bedding as said above ^ and clean one a week so each cage is cleaned every three weeks. In the gaps just spot clean their nests and peeing/pooping areas. Please don't downsize them to the horribly small cages !!!! The tubes will be much harder to clean than a tank which you can just wipe clean and chance the bedding

m00nbeam · 03-08-2014, 08:25 AM

Sorry change the bedding not chance

Thrifty Hamster · 03-08-2014, 09:04 AM

Hey guys, I'm thinking of what you all said. Just spot-cleaning once a week because I cant stand looking at the dirty bedding all the time X_X

Though I do wish I had more room...

evel_lin · 03-08-2014, 09:27 AM

Syrian hamsters can be easily potty trained. My 3 all have a tub with some sand in which they dig around in and then use as a potty. One of mine also has a jam jar with substrate in near his bed because he's a lazy boy. I'm not entirely sure how he fits in it but he seems to manage lol

cowgirlskipper · 03-08-2014, 09:45 AM

I can tell you those cages, especially the first one, are a ton smaller than they appear. I haven't used the middle one, but that clear plastic will stain if the hamster pees on it. The first one has room only for a basic food bowl, waterbottle, and a small wheel. Imagine a guinea pig. Mine can barely turn around in it, I use it as a travel cage.
Tubes, are an absolute pain tbh. My hamsters only ever peed in them. This f course was waayy before I ever came to HC. Now they all have tanks and bins.
Have you considered switching to bin cages? They aren't very hard to make and are inexpensive. They are a lot, and I mean a lot easier to clean than tanks because they are so much lighter to lift. If this isn't an option, I advise what the others have said above, I hope this helped!

HollyHamster · 03-08-2014, 01:26 PM

Actually, the larger the cage, the less frequent one has to clean it out fully. Just FYI. Also, Critter trials are a pain and a half to clean out so I don't think that they are even an option if you don't like to clean out cages.

I second considering bin cages, they are cheap, easy to make and light weight. It takes me less than 5 minutes to dump my bin cage out, and put fresh bedding in, and maybe another 5-10 minutes to scrub down the cage accessories like houses and wheels.

There is also endless ways to customize the bin cage to look the way you want. Its much more versatile than a critter trial.

Please, PLEASE, don't cram you Syrians into teensy tiny critter trails.

Munchalot · 03-08-2014, 01:46 PM

^Agreeing with everything already said.

I have big bin cages that are way bigger than that, but I only do full clean out once every 3 weeks at minimum, providing that I spot-clean every few days. The bigger the cage, and the more subtsrate you use, the less frequently you need to clean.
Bin cages are great. They are easy to clean as they are light weight, so you can just tip the substrate right out, disinfect and rinse them out, and fill them back up with substrate in less than 10 mins.
Plus, as you make them to what you want, you can put the ventilation mesh on the front instead of the top, so you can stack them on top of eachother. That way all three cages need take up only one corner of the room.