Hamster Central - View Single Post - Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

Pebbles82 · 05-24-2021, 02:21 AM

On the other end of the scale I probably wouldn't go smaller than 60 x 40. Even with small items like a small house and lots of out of cage time. Some of it very much does depend on the hamster and whether they are desperate to get out all the time (at night often when they're most active) or if they are quite content with their environment. It's a bit of a balancing act as some hamsters with a particularly large cage, are so happy with their enviroment, they are not interested in coming out at all and then taming/bonding can be harder. But too small and they can be quite stressed at night and constantly trying to escape.

You might have seen on the forum I currently have a mini duna cage as a hospital cage - it's 55cm by 38cm. When I look at it I think - that might be ok for a shy dwarf hamster - but actually you really can't fit very much in it at all. Although it does have a shelf included. Once that and the ladder are in, there isn't much room to fit anything else.

So I'd say 60 x 40 absolute minimum for a dwarf hamster - depending on the hamster. I think it's better to go with dimensions than square inches so the proportions are right (some cages with the same square inches can be long and narrow or square - and square is better than too narrow!).

Some depends on what size contents you want to put in. I like 80 x 50 because you can fit a small labyrinth house in (and a shelf over it) and still have enough floor space and enough room for a 9" wheel. The labyrinth house gives them that dark "burrow" they crave with room to do hamstery things in the dark, and room to roam outside the house at night.

But a hamster who is happy with a smaller house or digging burrows themselves, may not need an 80 x 50 cage. So if you say 60 x 40 floor space - plus 12cm to 15cm for a depth of a shelf - then it does come to about 70 to 75 cm size cage

With low height - because with the low height you can't really fit anything under the shelf.

Basically if you can fit a shelf, a house, a wheel and 2 or 3 floor toys in (tunnels and hide outs) that would be about the minimum I think.

Technically a shelf or level isn't supposed to count towards floor area, but it depends on the cage really. A level can add to enrichment even if the cage is a bit smaller.

05-24-2021, 02:21 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster On the other end of the scale I probably wouldn't go smaller than 60 x 40. Even with small items like a small house and lots of out of cage time. Some of it very much does depend on the hamster and whether they are desperate to get out all the time (at night often when they're most active) or if they are quite content with their environment. It's a bit of a balancing act as some hamsters with a particularly large cage, are so happy with their enviroment, they are not interested in coming out at all and then taming/bonding can be harder. But too small and they can be quite stressed at night and constantly trying to escape. You might have seen on the forum I currently have a mini duna cage as a hospital cage - it's 55cm by 38cm. When I look at it I think - that might be ok for a shy dwarf hamster - but actually you really can't fit very much in it at all. Although it does have a shelf included. Once that and the ladder are in, there isn't much room to fit anything else. So I'd say 60 x 40 absolute minimum for a dwarf hamster - depending on the hamster. I think it's better to go with dimensions than square inches so the proportions are right (some cages with the same square inches can be long and narrow or square - and square is better than too narrow!). Some depends on what size contents you want to put in. I like 80 x 50 because you can fit a small labyrinth house in (and a shelf over it) and still have enough floor space and enough room for a 9" wheel. The labyrinth house gives them that dark "burrow" they crave with room to do hamstery things in the dark, and room to roam outside the house at night. But a hamster who is happy with a smaller house or digging burrows themselves, may not need an 80 x 50 cage. So if you say 60 x 40 floor space - plus 12cm to 15cm for a depth of a shelf - then it does come to about 70 to 75 cm size cage With low height - because with the low height you can't really fit anything under the shelf. Basically if you can fit a shelf, a house, a wheel and 2 or 3 floor toys in (tunnels and hide outs) that would be about the minimum I think. Technically a shelf or level isn't supposed to count towards floor area, but it depends on the cage really. A level can add to enrichment even if the cage is a bit smaller.