height or cage

[peun19]

So i was in the process of building a cage. I was looking at doing 24"Wx24H"36"L but would i be better doing 24"W x 18"H x 48. would have multiple levels in it.

[cypher]

Which species of hamster are you planning on getting? If you get a Syrian then you want enough height to allow for a 12" wheel plus substrate under the wheel, allow for several inches of substrate overall, other than that floor space is much more important than height & levels aren't really necessary.
Most Syrians need a cage around 100x50cm not sure what that is in inches off hand!

[Engel]

Originally Posted by cypher

Most Syrians need a cage around 100x50cm not sure what that is in inches off hand!

12" is roughly 30cm. 6" is 15cm approx. Using this as a starting point and rough guide.

40" - 100cm
20" - 50cm

Answering peuns question. I'd go with 24"W X 48"L. Which is 1152 sq" of floor space which would be perfect for ANY species.

Remember levels add enrichment ONLY, not extra space. I'd only add 1 shelf for food and water really. The rest would be filled with substrate.

Have you got a picture of what you're aiming for or 'blueprints'? Can we see them

[peun19]

i am getting a Russian Dwarf. I decided i had the space so doing a 24"x24"x36" due to space where i am putting them. is that enough space?

[Engel]

Originally Posted by peun19

i am getting a Russian Dwarf. I decided i had the space so doing a 24"x24"x36" due to space where i am putting them. is that enough space?

Yes that'll be fine 😊

[peun19]

Thanks you so much i am pretty excited!

[cypher]

With a Russian hybrid you wouldn't need so much height as an 8" wheel is adequate, I would be wary of making the cage too high, even with levels there is always a danger of falls so you would have to be careful how you set up the cage, also hams tend not to like having too much space overhead.
I would try to go for more floor space if you can, that sounds a bit on the small side to me.You might be surprised how much space is taken up with a good size house, sand bath & wheel alone as well as space for other things like hideouts, tubes or tunnels etc.

[peun19]

i took your advices i decided to make it 72 inches long and 23 inches wide and 24 inches high.

so total square space is 1656 squared inches or 10683 sq cm

[Pebbles82]

I would keep the height to 18" personally. With one level. There can be fall risks leading to injury if a cage is too tall. However it depends how you intend to set it up. 18" is good if you only plan to have say 6 to 8" deep substrate. If you plan to have very deep substrate - eg 12" then the 24" height is fine as there is less actual "height".

[peun19]

i put in 6 inches of substrate not a really a second level unless you count how she gets to super tall digging spot of 12 inches that has a ladder up to it