Dwarf hamster in tiny cage

[thorn]

Hello,
I have a Russian dwarf hamster living in this cage - https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...c-hamster-home.
From what I understand, it's too small to be comfortable for her, but my parents (who never wanted a hamster in the first place, and only agreed because we adopted Snowflake because she was in the pet store for nearly 4 months and no one bought her) are refusing to even talk about getting a bigger cage. According to them, she's 'just a hamster' and is 'going to die soon anyway'. I've tried changing their mind but they don't listen to any of the reasons I give.
I feel so sorry for Snowflake, I don't know what to do. Is there any way I can make her life more enjoyable? Is her cage really terrible or not?

[GhostsInSnow]

Although it is small, there are far worse cages out there and when you have the added stress of your parents not listening to you then it makes things even harder. Not only that but "some" (not all) dwarfs do do better in slightly smaller cages, especially when they've come from a tiny tank in a pet shop. A huge change from a tiny tank to a gigantic cage can be overwhelming to some hamsters.
Have you tried getting together some fact about how active hamsters are in the wild and all of the enrichment they need? Or would they let you save up yourself for a bigger cage, maybe even a bin cage as those don't tend to be too expensive.
If they absolutely won't budge on the cage situation, despite everything you've tried, please don't be too hard on yourself. There are plenty of things you can do such as free-roaming time or making a big playpen out of a box. An empty dry bathtub with some towels for gripping and lots of toys can work well as a playpen also.

[Ria P]

I agree with GhostsinSnow, there are far worse cages on sale and keep in mind that you can offer your hamster a far better life than living in a really small tank in the pet shop.

If your parents don't budge you have to make the best with what you've got and believe me, it isn't as bad as you think.
You can add things for your hamster that don't cost much like a cardboard toilet roll to hide and run through, a cardboard tissue box with the bottom bit cut out so it sits on the substrate and she can make a nest. Put in as much substrate as you can and tear some plain white toilet paper into strips for nesting material. You can make a swing from an egg box and a bit of rope. Toys and puzzles with seeds hidden in them you can make from cardboard etc. Have a look on youtube.
Enjoy your hamster and don't feel bad for her because you're doing all you can. Your parents may even come round to your way of thinking once they see how much enjoyment your little hamster gives you.
When i was a kid my mother nearly had a fit when i came home with a guinea pig. Well, that guinea pig ended up one spoilt piggy who lived in the kitchen and sat on my mother's lap every evening totally ignoring me.

[Petite]

I have the same cage as you, thorn, although happily am able to upgrade and am about to do so. The cage was supplied with two russian dwarfs, and (not being an experienced hamster-owner) I didn't question the size. However, they didn't seem unhappy. I had to separate them when they started fighting, and bought another cage exactly the same; both hamsters seemed perfectly content. Just make the most of the space you have, with run-arounds now and then in a box or play pen, and I am sure your hamster will be fine.

[Ria P]

I forgot to mentionen that most dwarves love a sand bath. Pets@home do a tub of sand (not dust) for £3 that lasts for ages and you can put it in a container like a small ice cream tub, glass jar on its side, ceramic bowl or whatever you have at hand. A small whimzee dog chew for under 50p also keeps them happy.
Like you i've recently adopted a hamster no one wanted and he's been in the pet shop all his life. He's 7/8 months old and i didn't really have the space because i already have a hamster. I set up a medium fish tank i'd like to be bigger and felt guilty for not offering him a bigger and better home.
Thing is, he's still better of with me than the pet shop same as your Snowflake, smallish cage or not because she's got you.
I watched my hamster play for about two hours last night and he didn't even run around his tank because he was too busy running on his wheel and playing in his sand pit. The wheel stands in a pie dish i nicked from my kitchen and its filled with sand.
Any queries and questions or just to share hamster stories talk to us because everyone here loves hamsters.

[GhostsInSnow]

Also, even though as a forum we don't impose cage sizes on people anyway (and I know many people would probably be unhappy with me having the opinion I'm about to state) I would much rather see a hamster that is loved, cared for and treated properly but in a slightly smaller cage than one in a massive cage that's just left to it and never bothered with (Not saying people with big cages do this but I have seen more than my fair share of people who do!).
If you can upgrade in the future then that's fantastic but if not, just make the most of what you have. The fact that you worried enough to post this just shows what a caring and responsible owner you are

[LunaTheHamster1]

Maybe if your parents see how well you are caring for your hamster they may change their minds in the future. In the meantime just do everything you possibly can to help enrich your hamsters life. Recycling cardboard packaging into tunnels and hides is a free way to add more enrichment. Also, if you are allowed maybe in the future you could look out for a larger 2nd hand cage online, but in the meantime focus on what you can change/do for your hamster in her current cage.

[Pebbles82]

It's all been said really. Enriching her cage will help with hidey places, tubes, maybe different textures and a good depth of substrate. Plenty of out of cage time will help too. If you did want to upgrade her at some point you could maybe make a bin cage. The Ikea samla bin (78cm one) is only about £10 although the lid is extra. But if she seems happy in the current cage I wouldn't worry too much, especially if you interact with her a lot. Also give her plenty of nesting material. They love building big cosy nests. The best nesting material is plain white toilet paper torn into strips. Put a heap of it in the cage somewhere and she can forage for it and take it into the house to keep adding to her nest. If you've been sold anything like fluffy bedding then bin it as it's dangerous.

One thing that can cause them stress is full weekly clean outs. They aren't necessary. If you have a good depth of substrate you can spot clean mainly - taking the odd handful out and replacing it. Always best not to clean everything at the same time too, so something always smells familiar. So if you do change the substrate after a few weeks, don't clean anything else at the same time, and keep back a bit of clean old substrate to sprinkle on top so it smells familiar. You can do the wheel a different week and any toys a different week again.

Their nest can be left alone for a very long time if not pee'd in. Hoards can also be left unless pee'd on although eventually may need pruning. If you do have to remove the hoard, or part of it, always put new food back in exactly the same place. Same with the nest. If it's pee'd in and has to be removed, then try and leave a little bit behind that is dry and not too whiffy, and put more toilet paper strips out so she can rebuild it.

They are very precious about their nest and hoard.

[Bearclaw]

Originally Posted by thorn

I have a Russian dwarf hamster living in this cage - https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...c-hamster-home.

I had this exact same cage when I first adopted my Robo! It was the least objectionable thing Pets at Home had in stock, and he had to live in it for a few weeks before we managed to get him a decent upgrade. Even though I didn't know a whole lot about keeping hamsters to start, just looking at the cage made me feel claustrophobic, so I know exactly how you feel...

The good news is, I've had a bit of experience trying to find creative ways to make the most of the cage during the time my hamster spent in it, so hopefully I can be of help!

First of all, if you haven't already, ditch ALL of the flimsy plastic nonsense that came inside of it. The wheel is too small and emits headache inducing squeaks, the water bottle leaks, the "hide" barely holds together really, and the ramp was too slippery for my hamster to climb, making it a waste of space, which there isn't much of to start with...

If your dwarf is on the small side, you can comfortably fit a 6.5" silent spinner in the cage, so the wheel should be easy enough to replace. Should you need a larger one, I think there might be potential to fit in something up to 8”, but I can’t swear by it as I haven’t tried it myself – make sure to double check the overall height of the wheel with the stand if you want to go for something bigger.

I replaced the bottle that came with the cage with just the 75 ml Classic – they are easy to find and only cost a couple of pounds. Without the default cage fixings though, you will also need some sort of a stand. You can either buy something like this (I don’t know how good the bottle that comes with the stand is, as I haven’t tried it myself), or just make a stand yourself out of a toilet roll tube and/or lollipop sticks – there are easy tutorials for this online

Other than the two areas with the wheel and the bottle (which I put in two corners) you can load up the rest of the tray with bedding to the brim – the total depth is about 4.5”, which may not be ideal, but isn’t that bad either. While my Robo wasn’t exactly able to build burrows and tunnels in there, he still enjoyed diving under the substrate as much as he could I would suggest scatter feeding too – not only will it encourage your hamster to do a bit of digging, but it will save some precious space that would otherwise be taken up by a food bowl.

And for the main part, the furnishings. I generally found that if you use the space well, you should be able to fit in 1-2 hides and 2-3 toys. For me, the key to keeping things interesting was changing things up as much as possible. I would change the hides out for different ones once a week or two (except for the one my little guy was residing in at the time, not to disturb his home), and swap the toys out every couple of days. I think overall I had around 5 different hides and 8-10 different toys in rotation… And you don’t need to buy a whole lot of stuff either, you can easily make great things for your hamster out of cardboard, toilet paper tubes, egg boxes, lollipop sticks, etc.

For added enrichment, I used a small sauce bowl as a sand bath, and still managed to fit in a couple of small chew toys and a foraging toy stuffed with seeds made out of toilet roll tube. The bars at the top are also pretty good for hanging things from, so I went ahead and attached this and that – extra toys at no cost in floor space!

Overall, though I really didn’t like keeping my hamster in that cage and would never recommend it as a permanent enclosure, as a few people have already mentioned above, it’s definitely not the worst thing out there… It’s also worth pointing out that during the few weeks he spent in it, my Robo never showed any obvious signs of stress.

I’m really sorry to hear your parents won’t let you upgrade your cage, but it’s really uplifting to see that you clearly care about your hamster. I’m sure that as long as you’re actively looking out for his best interest, he will have a good life

[Fluffagrams]

I just wanted to add my reassurance that although the cage is on the smaller side, there are cages that are far worse on the market. I have two of these cages myself and at the moment both are in use by ten week old Chinese Hamsters. Both girls seem quite content in them at the moment and if your hamster isn't showing any signs that she's unhappy with her environment, the chances are that she may be quite content.

I think the key with a smaller cage is making sure that you make the most of the space you have available... a nice substrate depth will provide your hamster with a greater opportunity to burrow and really make her cage feel like home and an upright wheel as opposed to a saucer type wheel will leave you with more floor space.