Do I need to get another cage?

Hamily · 05-20-2017, 05:37 AM

Recently I have found out that the required floor space needs to be continuos and expansions do not count towards overall space and my hamster cage/cages does not meet this requirement for space.

He has three cages in total connected by tubes and the total area of the 3 is about 950 sq inches. However the biggest cage total around 350 sq inches (not sure on the exact measurement, I've forgot and I'm not at home to measure) alone. He is 100% happy in the cages however I'm worried because it doesn't meet the advised requirement.

Is this a big deal? I know he doesn't have continuos space but he does still have lots of space.

I can't afford to buy a tank and I don't want to get rid of the cages since I spent money on them, so I was considering making a bin cage of 450 sq inches and then connecting the cages to it. But it's a lot of effort if it's not necessary. When I only had 2 cages I could tell he was stressed but now that he has 3 is is so so much happier in there, so I don't really know what to do.

What do people think about this and what should I do?

flowerfairy · 05-20-2017, 12:02 PM

A picture of your hamster's set up would be really helpful.

cypher · 05-20-2017, 11:06 PM

I agree with FF that it would help if we could see your set up but bear in mind that those measurements are guidelines, although they have the same basic needs all hams are different & if your ham seems happy then don't rush into a change that he may not need.

Hamily · 05-21-2017, 03:08 PM

https://onedrive.live.com/embed?cid=...KRmJWmt2ws1Z8A this is the setup

Pebbles82 · 05-21-2017, 03:53 PM

I think it looks fine if he is happy with it

Ideally when you have connected cages, one of them needs to have floorspace of about 80cm by 50cm. I can't tell how big your biggest cage is, but if your hammy seems happy with the set up then it's probably fine. The way you have them set up, it's almost a playpen

My only comment would be possibly having more substrate in one of them at least.

cypher · 05-21-2017, 11:10 PM

What Serendipity said

BoredHamsters · 05-21-2017, 11:36 PM

His cage looks great! I wouldn't change it if he seems happy with it.
If you want you could add a bin cage to it just so he has more floorspace in it.

Pebbles82 · 05-22-2017, 12:52 AM

Maybe the thing to think about is - when he gets older and starts to slow down and be less active, and only uses one cage, whether one of them is big enough to fit in everything he needs - eg his wheel, house, enough substrate and some toys. If it is then it could be a good retirement cage. If it would be too small for that, then adding a larger one now could help when he is older. How big is the largest of the cages?

JLPrairie · 05-22-2017, 04:47 AM

Your cage is great, but on the left cage there appears to be a really big ladder with gaps. Ladders with gaps should never be used, because the hamster could slip through.

Hamily · 05-22-2017, 11:14 AM

I've thought more about it and I think I'm gonna make him a bin cage and sell one of the cages. I feel like he might be happier with one even bigger cage as the largest one isn't much bigger than 320 sq inches.

Does anyone have any recommendations about which bins/boxes would be best? I live in England and distance isn't a problem.