Want advice please! Friend has hamster in tiny cage

JSHammie · 12-23-2018, 07:51 AM

Hi, I have a large cage for my female Syrian with lots of toys, a wheel, sand bath, hides etc. My friend has had a hamster for a few months now, a large female Syrian. They just had a tiny 6.5 inch wheel the hamster didn’t use and a few chew toys it doesn’t chew. The cage is a small pets at home one. It is barely 280 inch square. The hide house is too small for it and the poor thing just sleeps wedged into it’s tube. There is a sprinkling of sawdust and a small amount of paper nesting material and nothing else. I have the hamster now for Christmas. I feel so sorry for it. I took the wheel out and put an 8?inch one in but can’t fit a bigger one in there. I’ve also put in apple twigs and a small sand bath but no room for anything else. I offered her a friend’s Alaska cage she was giving away free but she says she only just has room for the cage she has and doesn’t want a bigger one. So the poor thing is stuck in this tiny cage with nothing to do. It does run on the new wheel now. Pretty sure the sawdust is pine too.

Can someone recommend a website which has all information in one place? She probably won’t watch YouTube. I want something which informs how bad small cages are, wheel sized and how Syrian females are bigger and need more space. Also about wheel and ball sixes, and how important toys, sand baths are etc. If I refer her to more than one site I know she won’t bother to read them. Also need some advice on what to say when I send it so she doesn’t get fended but gets the point that she needs to give her hamster better care!

Pebbles82 · 12-23-2018, 06:12 PM

It's a difficult one and some people just don't want to know. The RSPCA has the welfare law on their page with the five welfare needs - which are vague and open to interpretation but you could give her something else along with it.

This page explains the duty of care under the animal welfare act and the second link is the link from that page to the details of the animal welfare act.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwe...dents/hamsters

https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/en...imalwelfareact

It's vague in that it doesn't specify what normal behaviours are that need to be allowed for - because the animal welfare act is for all pets, not just hamsters.

Maybe the best info for normal behaviours and what is needed in a cage is on this link.

https://woodgreen.org.uk/pet-advice/...r-feel-at-home

As you say you don't want to offend so it needs to be done tactfully. If she thinks the Alaska is too big to manage then maybe suggest the grosvenor cage - not too big, not too small. Explain it can sit on top of a chest of drawers or something and a bit of overhang at the sides doesn't matter. It will fit an 11" wheel and has a good shelf. It would be a lot better than she has now. And give her the printed out sheets and just be careful to say you are not wanting to offend her but wanted to share what you have learned about hamsters needs and also help her avoid problems as hamsters can end up with spinal problems and need vet care with a small wheel and develop stress in a small cage which leads to ill health and also vet bills.

I don't envy you - it's a difficult thing to do but I am sure you will manage. Meanwhile, as well as the 8" wheel just put lots of extra substrate in to make it cosy and lots of toilet paper strips for nesting material and out of cage time. Pine shavings aren't too bad (assuming they are shavings and not actual sawdust) - they have to be kiln dried by law in the Uk. Most people now do use something else as kiln drying doesn't remove all the phenols. There are varying opinions on whether pine shavings are ok or not - so I wouldn't worry about that aspect too much. But if you mix some Carefresh or Fitch in with it she might decide to use that instead.

Pebbles82 · 12-23-2018, 06:15 PM

Only thing is I don't agree with the bit on the wood green article about taking wheels in and out! But hopefully that won't be relevant. And they also suggest regular cleaning out which again it's best not to clean out too much and use a litter tray. Tell her about litter trays!

JSHammie · 12-24-2018, 07:05 AM

Thanks so much, those links are really useful. I’ll check out that cage too. Good idea about the substrate, i’ll put a load of paper bedding in there. I agree about the wheel as that should always be in there. It is really hard as she’s a nice person but has done no research and just relied on what the pet shop told her.