your opinion on habitrails for dwarf hams?

[hammyhamstar]

Hello! this is something iv thought of for a very long time. It's not something I plan to do anytime soon but I have been considering getting a dwarf hamster in the future.

I have owned in my lifetime 4 hamsters, all Syrians, I have been keeping hamsters for over 5 or 6 years but haven't had one in many months since my last one had passed away from old age. But I have never had a dwarf hamster ever.

Something I have heard when I researched before when I was younger was about how dwarf hamsters actually could be kept in habitrails connected together? as in several habitrails with tubes connected to eachother.

first thing first: Does this still hold up? what is the communitys general conesus as far as keeping dwarf hamsters in these sorts of setups? is it not enough space?

second: If it IS okay to keep dwarf hamsters in cage setups like these is it very hard to clean compared to bin cages/tanks? iv heard it is notoriously hard to clean them

I am mostly interested in these sorts of habitrail setups because as a kid i always used to marvel at all the tubes and loved to watch videos of them going through their tubes. I have heard from some sources all sorts of conflicting information...even that hamsters dont like tubes? personally i highly disagree as i used to put just loose tubes in my old hamsters enclosure and they would actively choose to go into them sometimes even over and over.

Honestly i feel like the hamster standards in the community have gone from "20 gallons long is a big space for a hamster" to "i only allow my hamster to have a minimum floorspace of a condo...anything less it evil" haha (this part is purely a joke odviously space is very important for hamsters im just joking!)

[AmityvilleHams]

I would honestly have to say they're cruel to me as an actual living space. These sorts of enclosures are nothing more than a toy if that.

You also have a lot of impracticality involved with modular enclosures like this. The tubes get stuffed with substrate, urinated in, etc(which can lead to respiratory health issues but they also encourage behavioral problems). It's also significantly more difficult to clean all those tiny bits and pieces than it would be to simply occasionally spot clean a proper enclosure all on one floor space with no modular additions and such.

Definitely keep in mind that these modular cages do not increase the actual floor space. For more actual floor space, it has to be directly together with no interruptions like holes tunnels etc.

[flowerfairy]

Hamsters do best with large floor space so lots of tunnels connecting cages would not be suitable.

It is a cool idea having lots of interconnecting cages. I read of someone who had 15 large cages all joined by tunnels and her hamster would use all the space and would also run to the cage neares the door when it was food time!

[cypher]

Definitely not suitable, a dwarf hams needs aren’t that different to a Syrian in that they need one large floor space, I fine cages around 80x50cm work for most although some of mine have needed larger cages, you also need an 8 or 9” wheel so the cage needs to be tall enough for that plus substrate.
I think the idea is that this kind of cage set up mimics natural burrows but hams need to be able to make their own burrows in deep substrate, tubes, tunnels etc can be added to the cage for extra hides & enrichment but the large floor space & deep substrate is the most important thing.

[Ria P]

A habitrail is the kind of cage my rescue hamsters lived in before i bought their freedom and helped them to a better life.

Have a look at the thread "Let's see your cages" on the Forum under Housing for alternatives.

[hammyhamstar]

Originally Posted by Ria P

A habitrail is the kind of cage my rescue hamsters lived in before i bought their freedom and helped them to a better life.

Have a look at the thread "Let's see your cages" on the Forum under Housing for alternatives.

Good for them I suppose!! I appreciate the effort but I do not own a hamster right now and am aware of the other more suitable cage alternatives but thank you.

[hammyhamstar]

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Hamsters do best with large floor space so lots of tunnels connecting cages would not be suitable.

It is a cool idea having lots of interconnecting cages. I read of someone who had 15 large cages all joined by tunnels and her hamster would use all the space and would also run to the cage neares the door when it was food time!

Yeah thats sort of what i was wondering about! having several units connecting units and other cages and things. It got me just thinking is all from things like this Hamster Village Review Many Cages Connected Together for hamsters or small pet habitats square inch - YouTube . The man who owns this setup says he has gotten his information from " small mammal biologists". He says he actually did attach it to a bin cage and the hamsters preferred the units instead. There is also a scientific study that was done comparing stress signs in these sorts of habitats vs other open spaced enclosures where they showed fewer signs of stress in these sorts of habitrails. I think it's very interesting you should read his comments if you'd like to know more about his research w his hams.

[hammyhamstar]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

I would honestly have to say they're cruel to me as an actual living space. These sorts of enclosures are nothing more than a toy if that.

You also have a lot of impracticality involved with modular enclosures like this. The tubes get stuffed with substrate, urinated in, etc(which can lead to respiratory health issues but they also encourage behavioral problems). It's also significantly more difficult to clean all those tiny bits and pieces than it would be to simply occasionally spot clean a proper enclosure all on one floor space with no modular additions and such.

Definitely keep in mind that these modular cages do not increase the actual floor space. For more actual floor space, it has to be directly together with no interruptions like holes tunnels etc.

I do agree that the cleanup especially for lots of modules and things would seem very very difficult! i cant imagine having to clean that many tubes hahaha. Do you know if their is a source to the floor space needing to have no interuptions? I have always heard it but have never seen its origin actually scientifically. Or maybe i just don't grasp it properly and it would be helpful for it to be broken down and explained to me?

[hammyhamstar]

Originally Posted by cypher

Definitely not suitable, a dwarf hams needs aren’t that different to a Syrian in that they need one large floor space, I fine cages around 80x50cm work for most although some of mine have needed larger cages, you also need an 8 or 9” wheel so the cage needs to be tall enough for that plus substrate.
I think the idea is that this kind of cage set up mimics natural burrows but hams need to be able to make their own burrows in deep substrate, tubes, tunnels etc can be added to the cage for extra hides & enrichment but the large floor space & deep substrate is the most important thing.

I am not considering or have a hamster in a smaller enclosure at all right now by any means when i ask this, but do you know how the sorts of minimums for floorspace came from? Like is there any scientific studies that have been done to reach the standards i could read? For dwarf hamsters i mean in particular if it exists.

[cypher]

I don’t know of any real scientific studies done regarding cage size, most scientific info regarding hams comes from labs so doesn’t have any relation to keeping hams in a good environment, there may have been some in Germany but I’m not sure.
I think most of the good info regarding keeping hamsters just comes from an accumulation of experience from the many people who have kept them for years & found what works best for them.