Cage layout multistorey or single

[patricials]

Hi,
Going to have my first Syrian hamster and was given a couple of cages, one small and one medium. I'm wondering which way best set them up and connect them, side y side, or one or top of the other20190118_193611.jpg

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Hope the pictures show it clearly!
Many thanks for any advice! (PS cages not ready to welcome their guest yet!)

[Pebbles82]

Both are a bit small. The larger one looks like the pets at home large cage (which isn’t actually large!). If the larger one is big enough - eg about 80 x 50 cm - then it’s fine to add another cage but two smaller cages joined together doesn’t give a big enough continuous floor area. The small cage is tiny - almost pet carrier sized. I used it once for a very old sick hamster. But if the main cage is big enough it is probably a nice extra place to go.

Is it for a Syrian Hamster? A couple of issues - not good for them to have to use the tubes to get from one area to another - Syrians have been known to get stuck in the tubes. Also if the main cage is big enough they would probably ignore the add on - unless they had to go there for food or water and then it’s back to them having to use the tubes whether they want to or not. The two joined together would take up quite a bit of space as well - and one slightly larger cage would be much better and take up less space.

Nice that you have been given a couple of cages but it’s quite important the hamste has a cage that’s suitable from the start. It is possible to upgrade them later but a cage change is always stressful and the may have developed bar chewing behaviour by then.

The larger one doesn’t look tall enough to fit a Syrian sized wheel in and they need a wheel big enough the can run with a straight back. Usually 11” but minimum 8” diameter.

A good budget cage for a Syrian Hamster is the Alaska cage from Zooplus which costs about £35 and free postage. Tubes and tunnels as shorter length floor toys are better and Syrians need rat sized toys and tubes really. So the plastic tubes on some cages aren’t good. They usually end up being blocked up with bedding and get stinky.

Was it a dwarf or Syrian Hamster you were thinking about? The Alaska is a bit on the high side for a dwarf hamster - it can be got round and there are other options.

[Pebbles82]

This is the Alaska cage. It looks a bit plain but has a nice big door on the front that helps with interacting with the hamster and taming. It needs a house and a wheel. Zooplus sell an 11” wheel that’s popular for about £8.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...SABEgLrUvD_BwE

[Pebbles82]

I wouldn’t use the two cages you have for a Syrian - they need more space to move around in and a wheel that’s big enough. The hamster is likely to bar chew in that set up. I would definitely keep the little cage though as it would make a good pet carrier or hospital cage (if you ever need to go the vets). And the other cage is a good size for a temporary holiday cage - if you ever needed to take your hammy on holiday with you - or as a play cage if you needed somewhere to put them when doing some cleaning etc in the main cage.

The Alaska is the cheapest option. That and the Barney and Alexander cages on Zooplus are the most popular cages suitable for Syrians under £70.

[alpacassei]

The larger cage is only around 60 x 30 cm and the other one is even smaller so they’re both unsuitable unfortunately (even when they’re connected). Hamsters need atleast 80 x 50cm of uninterrupted floor space to run and burrow. I also recommend the Alaska cage as well as the Barney cage (also from Zooplus).

[Pebbles82]

Just a tip to resize your photos which have come out rather large! If you open them in paint (on Windows) and select resize, then choose pixels rather than percent and set the first figure to 650 (the other figure will change as well) then save as - so you save a shrunk version of the photo - and then upload that. There are other apps to do it on phones and tablets as well but the pixel width needs to be no more than 700 really.