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Old 05-23-2021, 03:22 PM   #1
Vierville
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Default Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

Hello.

I know that recommended standards vary drastically from country to country, but I was wondering what the most universal consensus is on minimum habitat size for a dwarf hamster?

I am absolutely in favour of giving one's hams plenty of space and stimulation-as much as is possible- and that almost every pet shop sells and promotes disgustingly unsuitable cages and habitats for hamsters. They love running around, exploring and burrowing and they love having lots of options to hide, sleep and stash their hoards.

I was reading on a local rescue website that the minimum required habitat size according to them is 5000cm2 of unbroken floor space excluding any wheels, bridges, sand boxes, houses etc. So pretty much every dwarf ham habitat would have to be well over 5000cm2.

Also, they say that a habitat made up of two smaller cages or bins joined together does not meet the above requirement even if the combined floor area exceeds 5000cm2.

My hams each have two-part habitats joined with tunnels that do exceed 5000cm2 together but the floor space is not unbroken- ours have wheels, bridges, flying saucers, sand boxes, logs, seesaws, tunnels etc as well as areas of 20cm deep substrate, so it is not all unbroken floor space to run on.

What are everybody's thoughts?
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Old 05-23-2021, 03:34 PM   #2
Ria P
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Default Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

I've always believed that it depends on the individual hamster.

For a dwarf, i'd consider a 70cmx40cm cage to be the absolute minimum but prefer a 80cmx50cm habitat for the simple reason that i couldn't fit everything they need into anything smaller than that.

Opinions will vary a lot on this one so this could be a very interesting thread.
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Old 05-23-2021, 04:18 PM   #3
Vierville
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Default Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

Ria P I totally agree. It very much depends on the individual hamster. Our Monty barely used large areas of her living space as she was not the most active ham even as a youngster, preferring to come out for food and then go straight back into the one nest (of three) that she almost exclusively used.

Norman is much like Monty but he comes out for only a brief nightly run on his flying saucer. He ignores both his wheels complely. Admiral Nelson, Baldrick and Nanuk were all much more active and used all of their living space but definitely never showed signs of not being happy with their habitats that were comprised of two cages each joined by tunnels with a cumulative area of +/- 4800cm2

I must agree that 80cm x 50cm sounds like a good minimum size, that comes out at 4000cm2 which is still 1000cm2 below what the rescue organisation specifies as a bare minimum just for unbroken floor running space though...
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Old 05-23-2021, 04:42 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

The old RSPCA minimum recommended size for a dwarf hamster used to be 70cm by 40cm and most people seem to agree with that. I also think 80 x 50 is better. But yes it can depend on the hamster and some people have found a very shy dwarf may even prefer something a bit smaller than 70 x 40. But with 70 x 40 or 80 x 50 you can set it up to have lots of enrichment and fill it with things so the floorspace is busy with hides and tunnels etc. I think the main thing is that the cage is not too high as they can fall and have injuries and 38cm is about the maximum height it should be really. And they need a shelf - it's overhead cover - something to dive under and they like climbing up on it.

One thing I've found strange about hamsters is they can be nervous about open space above them in a cage at substrate level, but don't seem the slightest bit bothered about being exposed when they're on a shelf! Maybe because they're nearer the roof and it feels more enclosed or because it's a solid surface and a place to go rather than ground level dwelling.

I found 80 x 50 was only just big enough for our robo - but robos can be much more active than dwarf hamsters.
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Old 05-23-2021, 05:19 PM   #5
Vierville
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Default Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

Serendipity7000 you make some really good points.

I also found that my dwarves all disliked being out in the open at floor level.

I completely agree about the dangers of high cages and the risks of falling injuries too.
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Old 05-24-2021, 02:21 AM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default 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.
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Old 05-25-2021, 11:27 AM   #7
Fluffagrams
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Default Re: Recommended minimum habitat size for dwarf hamster

I am a strong believer in an individual approach and what would be my minimum for one hamster may be vastly different from the minimum I would deem to be acceptable for another. I had one Chinese Hamster who lived in a n 80x50 cm cage for most of her life and for a hamster like her, I wouldn't have considered anything smaller than 60x40 but I had another Chinese Hamster who was a bag of nerves and found that even the 60x40cm cage was too intimidating for him at times so I had to go a bit smaller. I'm fortunate I suppose in the fact that I do have cages of varying sizes and types so that I can choose the most appropriate cage for that hamster's needs as opposed to them having to live in a particualr cage because that is all I have.

I currently have five hamsters (3 Robos and 2 Chinese) and at present they are all living in cages that are 60x40cm and although that might not seem particularly big to some people it seems to suit the needs of my current hamsters well.

I have used cages smaller than this on a temporary basis as hospital cages or as cages for very young dwarf hamsters but then I find that the reason that they need such cages usually means that they don't want to be out playing or running on wheels anyway... usually if they start to show signs of wanting to spend more time out of the nest, I will be looking to upgrade them into something larger.
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