Hello, I'm thinking about getting a hamster

Frozenembers · 02-01-2019, 02:29 PM

Hello, I have two cats, a snake and a mouse. I don't have a hamster yet, I had one in the past and the poor hamster was sick when I got it and died a week later. I currently have a senior male mouse in a prevue 528 cage, which is like 610 sq inches, so when he passes, I'm unsure whether to get more mice or try a Syrian hamster.

mangoandmimi · 02-02-2019, 09:36 AM

I do think the prevue is on the small side for Syrians - might be just about ok for some more laid back hamsters but I wouldn’t put a female in there. That sized cage gets full very quickly once a suitably large wheel and house are in there. It’s best suited to dwarf hams really.

Sasha04 · 02-04-2019, 08:34 PM

Hey and welcome to HC!
I agree with mangoandmimi, the precue is on the small side for a Syrian. Here is a thread for cages for a Syrian hamster What's the best Cage type and set up for a Syrian Hamster.

Frozenembers · 02-05-2019, 06:45 PM

I live in America (sadly) and the minimum cage size for hamsters is 450 square inches, the prevue 528 small animal cage is 608 square inches, so larger than the American minimum. I took a look at the suggested cages, but most are either not available in America, or they are expensive. I can build a bin cage, but with the prevue 528, I can climb in the cage myself, so I don't think it is too small. I'm not trying to argue because any type of pet deserves the biggest cage a person can provide. I will either get a dwarf, or go with mice, but right now I don't know.

mangoandmimi · 02-05-2019, 07:17 PM

The 450sq inch value doesn’t have much meaning if any, experience shows that most Syrians need much more room than that. And Syrians showing signs of boredom in cages the size of the prevue is an ever popular thread topic on this forum, that’s why its difficult to recommend it. But it is impossible to say that any cage will be the right size before you put the hamster in there as it’ll be different for each individual.

cypher · 02-06-2019, 01:17 AM

I think that cage is like a US version of the Alaska cage here so it would be on the small side for a Syrian hamster, some people have kept them ok in that cage but as mangoandmimi said it's unlikely to suit a female & even some males may find it too small, it's not ideal for a dwarf ham either unfortunately unless you take a lot of care with how yo set it up as it's quite a tall cage for a dwarf & there is a lot of potential for accidents from bar climbing, they are quite good at climbing up but have little idea how to get down so they just tend to let go & fall! You would need ledges & shelves all the way around to prevent them climbing up high & falling & you would have to take care to be sure if there was anyway they could fall it wouldn't be onto a hard surface.

PumpkinSpice92 · 02-06-2019, 06:07 AM

The prevue is fine for syrian hamsters - yes if you are able to go bigger then definitely do, but if you're wanting to use the cage you already have and would really like a ham, the go ahead!
Sasha04 - I don't understand why you've told the OP that the prevue is too small then linked them to somewhere reccomending two cages the same size (HH and the Alaska)
I also thought that the general consensus on this site (which I agree with) was that dwarfs need the same size cage as syrians, so I don't understand why a dwarf was suggested either
The HH and the Alaska are shown many times on this website as one of the best cages for our hams, so I really don't see an issue with a ham being kept in the prevue if it's got the same amount of floorspace

mangoandmimi · 02-06-2019, 06:19 AM

Some people do think 80x50 ish cm is ok for a Syrian but that isn’t to say the forum in general thinks it’s acceptable. Yes typically people assume Syrians and dwarfs need the same amount of room but the number of dwarfs showing signs of boredom (mainly bar chewing) in cages that size compared to syrians is really quite small. With the difference in body size added which means a bigger wheel, house & toys for Syrians it makes sense that they do require more room.
I personally don’t think it’s fair to recommend a particular sized cage to a new owner knowing that there is a very high chance of the hamster finding it too small.

alpacassei · 02-06-2019, 09:29 AM

The Prevue/alaska might be okay for a male Syrian but I find it very difficult to fit in Syrian size toys and leave enough room for running around. 100 x 50cm really is a better minimum for Syrian hamsters. I recently upgraded one pf my Syrians because I just couldn’t fit enough in the Alaska/Prevue to create an enriching environment. Could you make a DIY or Ikea hack cage? The Ikea Linnmon cage is a really good and affordable option. The Detolf is also popular but I think its little shallow abd narrow for a Syrian tbh

If you want to use the Prevue though, I recommend getting a Russian dwarf hamster. They so much better in smaller spaces and dwarf size toys are a lot easier to fit in the cage.