Is this a suitable cage?

N678 · 02-26-2019, 02:17 AM

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, and sorry for rambling on 😅 I'm new 😊
I'm looking into getting a syrian hamster in a good few months time. I know to give him/her the biggest cage I can get. I've been looking around and stumbled across the savic zeno 3 empire- its meant for rats/chinchillas, but the bar spacing is just under 1cm, so I thought this would be a decent cage for a syrian. Its 100cm long, 50cm wide and 116cm tall. (Hopefully I will have managed to attach an image of it &#128514

Is this a suitable size for a syrian? I'm more worried about the height- is it too high for the hamster if he/she was to accidentally fall from one of the levels? Or is there a way I could diy something to prevent him/her from falling? (If the base isn't deep enough, I do have some glass panels lying around I could use to make a large digging area)
I also have a pair of gerbils in my room- where the hamster will be kept. The gerbils will be out of sight to the hamster, but I'm worried that the hamster will find their smell stressful, will this also be an issue? I'm not worried about the hamster stressing the gerbils- they've accidentally met my labrador, when he wandered upstairs (he's not meant to due to health reasons) and they were so interested and not phased by him at all! So I assume if a 85lb lab doesn't bother them, a hamster living in the same room but that can't be seen won't bother them either!
I want to give the hamster the best life possible and if I can't provide what the hamster needs, I won't be getting one 😊
Thank you!

souffle · 02-26-2019, 03:08 AM

This is much to high for a hamster. They are not natural climbers and if it fell that far it would be badly injured. Take a look through our cage reviews section and see if you can find anything more suitable that you like.

N678 · 02-26-2019, 03:10 AM

I thought it was a little high, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not! Thanks for confirming! I'll have a look at other options

alpacassei · 02-26-2019, 03:36 AM

There’s a hamster version of that cage! Its the Savic Plaza. Its got a much lower height so yheres no fall risk. The Alexander, Barney, Eco Habitat, Criceti 100, and Borneo cages are also suitable.

I doubt the smell of gerbils will bother your hamster. My hamsters aren’t bothered at all by the smells of my dogs, cat, and guinea pigs.

mangoandmimi · 02-26-2019, 04:16 AM

The eco habitat (large) would be a good option for a Syrian, there are ways to make it more chew proof and the lid will need meshing. But no bars which is safer and it’s a better size for them, it also allows for deep bedding which is often overlooked but is really important.

Pebbles82 · 02-26-2019, 04:28 AM

I second the Savic Hamster Plaza. It is about 48cm tall internally. Still slightly on the high side but fine for a Syrian if you put plenty of depth of substrate in. I have the Barney cage from Zooplus - the Savic plaza hadn't been made when I got my cage or I would have got that one because it has a nice big front opening door. The Barney has a bit more floorspace though as it's slightly deeper. And I have no problems with the cage. But it may depend if the size of "footprint" is ok for you. The Savic Plaza and Alexander cages are 100 x 50cm whereas the Barney is 100 x 54cm. 4cm deeper doesn;t sound like much but it does make it a bulker cage that sticks out further, but to stand on top of something it's fine to have overhang.

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...r-and-rat-cage

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/174238

As well as the cage you'll need a Syrian sized wheel. All cages come with a tiny wheel that is only suitable for dwarf hamsters. Although the Barney does come with a basic 8" wheel - it's not great and flimsy but would do as a starter wheel

You also need a decent sized house in the Savic Plaza. They need a good sized house to build a big cosy nest in - the little plastic ones aren't suitable and get messy inside. A house that's open underneath and sat on top of the substrate is best - gets some ventilation and they can also then burrow down to be cosy and bury hoards under the nest.

The Barney and Alexander come with good houses, but all the wood needs painting with plastikote (pet safe) or it can get stinky and you can't get replacement parts.

Or you can just make a house/nesting box out of a shoebox

N678 · 02-26-2019, 04:57 AM

Thanks everyone! I was considering the Alexander cage if this one wasn't suitable, I'd of loved to have gotten future hammy an ikea detolf like my gerbs, but I don't have another space over 5ft at the moment, without keeping it pretty much where the dog sleeps, and I'm certain stacking them would not be a good idea at all!

I've still got plenty of time to plan and find a suitable cage though since I'm in no rush to impulse buy/adopt a hamster and I'd rather take my time getting everything perfect, thanks again!
I was planning on either a 28cm trixie wheel that looks like the wodent wheel, or a wooden one thats also 28cm, and a variety of different wooden hides like the woodlands cottages etc along with tonnes of wooden and sisal chews and other toys

Pebbles82 · 02-26-2019, 06:00 AM

Both wheels are fine. There is also the 12" Silent "Runner" (not Silent "Spinner") that is very popular. Although it's 12" diameter it's not bulky - about the same depth as the 28cm wood wheel. It's a silent wheel with ball bearings like the wood one, but also has a cage attachment so you can screw it to the bars and have it higher up in the cage so the substrate in the wheel area doesn't need to be lower. It's not a cheap wheel though. £25 for the wheel and about another £5 for the cage attachments.

Wheel choice may depend on cage choice and vice versa. The Alexander cage is a bit limited as to where you can fit a 28cm wheel. Usually in the centre at the back which means either leaving the middle shelf out or having the middle shelf at the front two join the other two shelves.

In the Barney and Savic Plaza, they both have a flat roof and the wheel can go anywhere as they only have the one shelf and no height restrictions, but you may want another shelf in anyway. So the Silent runner works well in both those cages. And the other two wheels are fine in any of the cages but limit the depth of substrate in the wheel area.

The wood wheel needs plastikoting on the wood and cork though, so it's wipe clean or it gets stinky in no time. I think the Silent Runner is a good investment though - it's the only wheel I've had that hasn't broken and still working fine after 2 to 3 years. But it might be better to put more towards the cage and get a cheaper wheel - some Trixie wheels last for ages as well - just luck really.

Cage decisions aren't easy. There is a good choice of the 3 100cm cages. Very sensible to get everything sorted and the cage set up before getting a hamster

So you can leave them to settle in without having to change things initially.

The Alexander always used to be one of the most popular cages - plenty of floor space, almost another full level and it comes with some good sized houses (all the wood needs plastikoting though!) Doesn't take long really.

But 100cm cage with a large front door was what people hankered after for a long time, and it arrived with the Savic Plaza

There is a bigger cage - the 120cm Borneo cage on Amazon.de but it's very tall so would need setting up carefully. Also has a front door and a top door.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00...KWAZB98XT3WZR4

There's also this - which is 100cm by 75cm - part cage, part tank - lots of floor space but very expensive.

https://www.amazon.de/PETGARD-M%C3%A...San+Marino+100

They may be too big if you don't have space for a detolf. The 100cm cages like the Alexander and Plaza would easily just sit on top of a chest of drawers.

N678 · 02-26-2019, 07:02 AM

Thanks so much! I'll have a look and see which will work best for the space I have, I think I can fit anything up to 130cm in length, and 50- just under 60cm in width. I don't mind doing a bit of diy to alter the cage to make it more suitable though

mangoandmimi · 02-26-2019, 07:07 AM

Bit difficult getting cages of those dimensions but this is another option (large one)

https://www.zooplus.de/shop/nager_kl...agarien/111219

Apart from the access I’d say it’s a better option than regular barred cages as you can get enough bedding in. About £130 delivered which isn’t a bad price really.