Quick size question

[SimonandSyril]

Is 80 x 50 cm or equivalent still the minimum cage size in the UK? This is what I have been telling friends and family and some people on this forum and I just wanted to make sure this is not outdated information. Please let me know

[cypher]

I think most of us would agree that's about the minimum but there isn't any officially recommended minimum size in the UK.

[Pebbles82]

It is still considered a minimum cage size by a lot of people and by animal charities and welfare groups. The RSPCA themselves no longer state a minimum size but give a kind of vague description of - a lot of space and enough floorspace after houses, toys and wheels etc are in there. They have put the focus more on enrichment - ie the amount of variety, substrate and things to do in a cage, which in itself means a cage needs to be big enough to fit enough enrichment.

I personally think it's a good minimum size but prefer 100cm cage which is the German minimum size. However an 80cm ish cage can be set up well and be fine. I think the size of the hamster can make a difference. We had a very large Syrian and he needed a lot of larger things which filled up an 80cm cage a bit too much. On the other hand rat sized toys are good for most Syrians anyway and they do tend to be quite large.

[Pebbles82]

For a smaller Syrian something 75 x 45 like the Kerry Terrarium or Duna Multy might be ok although personally I'd go bigger. You need to think about cage height as well - tall enough for a larger wheel but not so tall there are fall risks (although you can get round that).

[IamKat]

It's always easier to persuade people to get a bigger cage if it's RSPCA recommended, which is why it's so frustrating that they no longer state a specific size!

But I think Serendipity is right that it does depend on the size of the hamster. I do think 80x50 as a minimum is fine for a medium sized Syrian or a dwarf, but some hamsters will need more space than that. If you require a massive rat wheel like I do, then fitting that in with all the other extra bits and bobs is just too crowded in an 80x50 cage! So I think it's worth mentioning to people that depending on how big your hamster gets you may need to upgrade to something like 100x50. Again, this is hard to get across with no 'official' size recommendations available

[Pebbles82]

Yes it frustrates me too! When they did have a minimum it led to a lot of 80 x 50 cages being available too. The main problem though is there is no legislation on cage size so pet shops can still sell tiny unsuitable ones. They can buy them for about £6 each and sell them for £30.

[Pebbles82]

This is all they say about cage size now (link on home cage from this web page)

"Hamsters need a lot of room (especially at night), so buy as large a cage as you can to provide your hamster(s) with suitable enrichment (such as small boxes and tubes – for example inner cores from toilet rolls – and wooden chew blocks) whilst still allowing generous space for your hamster(s)."

I think words like "a lot" and "generous" are too vague and open to interpretation. On the other hand the German welfare organisations are very upfront about a minimum size of 100cm by 50cm so it's not a bad guideline.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwe...rs/environment

[SimonandSyril]

Okay thank you all for the feedback I was just wondering because I know in America they don't legally have a cage size but their forum (hamster hideout) thought 450 square inches was a good one so I was wondering if there was one on here.

[Pebbles82]

The forum doesn't have a recommended size. For dwarf hamsters the RSPCA used to have a 70cm by 40cm minimum. Some dwarf hamster owners find they need a lot bigger than that, but some find they are happier in a smaller cage, depending on the personality of the hamster.

For Syrians I think anything smaller than 75 x 45 is too small. The National Hamster Council's minimum cage size is only 1000sq cm of useable space! Although I think the word "useable" is vague too and could mean floorspace after houses wheels and toys etc are in the cage.

[SimonandSyril]

I've always seen it as the dwarfs and Syrians need the same space as the energy of the dwarves equal it out