Cage Minimums

[CookieBlossomBella]

Hello everybody and sorry if it feels like I am making a new thread every 5 minutes :/
So I was just wondering, what is the current minimum cage size in Europe (excluding Germany)? I hear some people saying that it is 450 square inches of floorspace but I hear others saying that it has moved on to 589 square inches of floorspace. Either way this does not affect me as my cage fits both of these minimums, I am just curious!

[cypher]

I don't know about the rest of Europe but in the UK there is no official minimum cage size, most of us tend to agree that it should be around 80-100x50 but that's just personal choice.

[Pebbles82]

What Cypher says. I thought the 450 square inches was a US guideline (unofficial still but widely accepted). The old RSPCA guideline in the Uk used to be 80 x 50cm and some animal welfare groups still recommend that (eg Wood Green). The RSPCA just say they need a lot of floorspace after leaving room for houses, wheels etc. 600 square inches is about 80 x 50cm (ish) so sounds about right. I think 450 sq inches is about the size of a standard duna multy, which is also ok but depends what you want to put in in terms of size of house, wheel etc.

[Fluffagrams]

Different sources and organisations will have their own minimums and will quote different figures but there is no minimum enforceable cage size within the UK. The figures quoted by the RSPCA used to be 80cmx50cm but this was removed as there was not sufficient research to back it up to make it an enforceable size. They now prefer to state 'as large as possible' leaving it more open to interpretation.
The National Hamster Council cites 1000cm2 of usable floor for a Syrian hamster and 800cm2 of usable floor space for dwarf species as the absolute minimum a hamster in any circumstances should be kept in but aside from that, it depends on the needs of the hamster. Not every hamster is happy in an 80cmx50cm cage, some need more space, others are more content with less space and this forum recognises that every hamster is different. Because of this we do not have a recommended cage size. Any sizes you see quoted will be the opinion of the individual member and do not represent any kind of ruling on the subject.

[SimonandSyril]

Previously it was 80x50cm in the UK (recommended by the RSPCA) but now they say this -Hamsters need a lot of room (especially at night), so buy as large a cage as you
can to provide your hamster(s) with suitable enrichment (such as small boxes
and tubes – for example inner cores from toilet rolls – and wooden chew blocks)
whilst still allowing generous space for your hamster(s).
Personally, I use 80x50 cm as a guideline and if my hamster shows signs of stress from a small cage I upgrade.

[IKrines]

Where I live the recommend minimum size is 80*40 cm and 35cm in height for syrian(I have no idea how they would put a wheel with that height).
And for a dwarf it was 50*40 with a 25cm height.
However animal charities says 80*50 with a minimum height of 40cm for both which I think it is more realistic.