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Old 02-15-2020, 03:42 AM   #1
Jadetooth
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Join Date: Feb 2020
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Question Hamster cage views for newbie

Dear All,

I’m hoping to get my first Syrian hamster as a newbie owner soon. I’m hoping for adult rescue Male.

I’ve bought the following cage second hand, but also keep fish and know how important space is for them but didn’t think about it for a hamster.

I got this cage because it seemed the largest of all the second hand ones in my area.

https://www.ferplast.com/gb/hamster-...ster-tris.html

External dimensions are 58 high 30 deep 45 long.

Any views appreciated!
I could resell and buy another although I’m committed to buying second hand for both cost and environmental reasons so would need to wait for another to come up if so.

Thank you for all views!
Jade
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Old 02-15-2020, 09:46 AM   #2
GhostsInSnow
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

Hello there, first of all welcome to the forum. I hop youg et everything you need out of the forum and feel free to pm me if you need any help on the forum or anything.

Secondly, unfortunately the cage is on the small side and Syrian hamsters need floor space rather than height and this cage seems to offer the opposite. Whilst Syrians can be good climbers, they're also accident prone and not very graceful at all! So any cage that has height will need platforms and hammocks etc to break floors. You do need a cage that offers more floor space though so it might be worth looking at zooplus. I'm not sure what country you're in but Zooplus deliver to many places. Check out cages like the Alaska, Alexander and Barney cage as all are fantastic options for Syrians.
I'd like to point out that the forum doesn't have a set rule regarding cage size but it is widely accepted that Syrians need 80x50cm of floor space and over.
There are instances of hamsters NOT getting on well with bigger cages despite making all the necessary changes, however, for the most part they do better with more space.
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Old 02-15-2020, 11:24 AM   #3
Ria P
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

Hi and welcome to HC!

This cage is too small for a hamster but you could take everything out and use it as a hanging basket for trailing plants.

My Syrian lives in the Alaska cage from Zooplus which costs just over £30 delivered. You'll need to get a large house and a large wheel for a Syrian plus substrate, food, hides and tunnels for enrichment plus toys.
A house you can make from a cardboard box like a shoe box and toys you can also make from cardboard. You'll find ideas on youtube.

You could look into the small ads where hamsters are sometimes up for sale including their sometimes large cages or have a look at rescues as they sometimes sell hamsters with their complete set ups.

I'd wait until you find the right cage and you are already doing the right thing by asking for advice here. I wasted quite a bit of money by buying a too small cage, house and wheel then had to replace everything as my Syrian grew.

Have a look at the threat "Let's see your cages" under Housing on the Forum to find out more about hamster habitats.
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Old 02-15-2020, 11:30 AM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

Agree with everything above. You can sometimes find a Hamster Heaven cage second hand. It’s an 80cm x 50cm cage floor area and not too tall - generally considered the minimum size for a Syrian or 75 x 45cm. It is actually better without all the tubes and other plastic things it comes with new SS they encourage abnormal behaviours and lead to nesting and cleaning issues as well as being a possible escape route. The Alaska ftom Zooplus is a good basic cage - good floor size and not too tall but the maximum height you’d want to go. It just needs a house and a Syrian sized wheel adding (they do need a wheel minimum 8 inches diameter - most people find 11” is about right. So they can run easily and with a straight back. Or if you have room the Barney cage is less than £50 usually and comes with a good house and a basic 8” wheel so you don’t need to buy anything else apart from floor toys etc - cardboard tubes and hideouts are fine.

The cage you already have is too tall, even if it has shelves, that leads to risk of injury from falls - a tall cage needs a full level putting in. But your current one could be good to keep as. a play cage - somewhere to put the hamster when you’re cleaning the main cage eg - if set up carefully,
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Old 02-15-2020, 11:37 AM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

The reason they need more floor area and less height is because they’re ground dwellers. They can climb but aren’t good at getting down again! They tend to just let go and drop. Also they have poor eyesight and go by smell. So they will leave scent trails all over the cage base and substrate which is not just territorial - it helps them find their way around. You also need the floor area to have enough space for a good sized house/nesting box and a wheel. One shelf is good as they like to sit under a shelf or climb into it - somewhere else to go and a good place for heavier ceramic items. If you look at the photo of the Barney cage / that is an ideal set up - big house at one end, shelf at the other end. A bigger wheel would stand next to the shelf maybe / then you just need to add items/toys for enrichment and variety. You can set any cage up to look like that.
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Old 02-15-2020, 11:53 AM   #6
sushi_78
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

If you want to buy second hand, places to look are Ebay, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Preloved. I look for second hand cages often, and the big ones can be few and far between, so you might have a long wait. I wouldn't advise getting a hamster now for the cage you linked. It isn't suitable at all for an adult Syrian, not just because of the size, but the design isn't ideal either.

You could also look for second hand fish tanks, but you would also need to make a mesh lid.

While you could resell the cage, it isn't really suitable for any animal to live in. It's too tall to be practical as a carrier. Some people use old wire cages as tank toppers for gerbils, or you could even use the bottom tray as a sand bath in a bigger cage.
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Old 02-15-2020, 05:57 PM   #7
Jadetooth
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

Thank you for all the views!

I think I’ll have to have a big rethink as the cupboard I was planning to put it on doesn’t have much space for something that size and we aren’t doing that well for space.

I’ve got a spare fish tank which is 62 x 39cm floor area which is a bit better although I also don’t have a space for it at the moment.

It’s a real shame, maybe I won’t be able to have fish tanks and a hamster unless I close a tank down.
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Old 02-15-2020, 06:23 PM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

The actual footprint of the Hamster heaven is more like 60 x 40 at the bottom and it wouldn’t matter if there was a bit of overhang. There is also the Grosvenor cage which some people have used - it’s about 75cm by 45 Cm and the footprint at the base will be smaller again. Would that help? I ended up rearranging our living room completely to fit the hamster cage in and make space for an 80 x 50 cage. By the time I’d finished I could have fitted a 100cm cage in! It was quite good as I preferred our living room that way. I got rid of a cupboard and moved it upstairs and had a tall shelf unit instead so I actually ended up with more storage space as well as more floor space

https://www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk...SAAEgIQk_D_BwE
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Old 02-16-2020, 12:34 AM   #9
Ria P
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

The spare fish tank would be ok for a dwarf hamster because their things are smaller and you could put lots of substrate in a tank. My Robo lives in a fish tank.

I also rearranged my lounge to accommodate a 80x50 cage and Ikea does a coffee table with a shelf that's big enough to fit a hamster heaven in. I don't think its that difficult to find a second hand cage big enough. There are a couple of hamster heavens for sale in my area so keep looking.

Chances are that you will be able to create the extra space. I thought that i had no space for a second hamster and now i have managed to make room for four in four cages! Three of them are dwarves though.
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Old 02-18-2020, 01:50 AM   #10
Jadetooth
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Default Re: Hamster cage views for newbie

Thanks so much for all the views - really appreciate it. I’m considering this one:
https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r/cages/437277

I have looked through the whole region and nobody is selling anything even near the right size second hand.

Just want to check you think this one would be good?
Thank you again everyone!
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