Syrian hamster cage advice

Courts · 03-21-2022, 04:44 PM

Hello everyone!!
So I am making my own diy cage out off wood and a front pannle of thick plexiglass, with a total of 1050sq of unbroken floor space. I would love to house it to a syrian however I know they thrive on a large cage. But I don't want to get one if it will likely be un happy and be bored in that size off a cage. So I was wondering what your advice would be on that!
I currently have a dwarf ww in a same style diy cage of 980sq, so if not I will just happily give my little dawrf the upgrade. Thank you for any advice 💕

Ria P · 03-23-2022, 04:49 PM

Hello and welcome to HC!

I think a Syrian hamster would be very happy in a cage that size. Usually male Syrians are easier to please than female Syrians when it comes to cage size.

heidii · 03-23-2022, 08:02 PM

I think a Syrian should be fine in that enclosure, but they are all different and super picky. I think some Syrians you could even give 2000 or 3000sq inches of floorspace, and it still wouldn't be enough.

I made a DIY enclosure that was roughly the same size, I think 1115 square inches? and it has been quite a hassle.

My acrylic came bent & with a small crack right in the middle, which I had to temporarily DIY to make it suitable for the hamster. My Syrian boy is still a baby but he seems quite content in it, no signs of boredom or attempts of escape (knock on wood). I'd also really recommend a lid if you haven't already, since I'm really limited as of the moment since I thought I'd be okay. I can still offer about 10 inches to burrow, but I'd like to go even more at at least one section of my cage.

Hope it all goes well for you though!

AmityvilleHams · 03-23-2022, 08:17 PM

I think for a male Syrian that size should be fine. I do have some general DIY cage advice though!

As far as large one piece panels go, they can be a bit awkward to move if you had to take the cage apart ever or even just during cage assembly. It can interrupt the view slightly, but even things like acrylic panels will be easier to manage in sections rather than one big piece.

The other very important bit of advice is to never try using aquarium silicon to secure acrylic in place - to put it simply, it just won't, because silicon just doesn't bond to acrylic. Aquarium silicon is great for sealing edges for example, but it's not structurally secure with acrylic and you'd inevitably have the cage just fall apart that way. Screws are much better for actually securing acrylic properly, and you won't have a cage fall apart.

Proper ventilation is also really important, preferably including a partially meshed side at least. A lid is absolutely essential and needs to be a fully meshed one - they're critical to hamster safety even if you think they won't escape. They will inevitably find a way at some point or another if you don't have a secure enclosure including a proper mesh lid, and it's often in a way you'd never imagine being possible!

cloudy · 03-24-2022, 01:37 AM

Hello Courts and welcome to the forum.

heidii · 03-24-2022, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

I think for a male Syrian that size should be fine. I do have some general DIY cage advice though!

As far as large one piece panels go, they can be a bit awkward to move if you had to take the cage apart ever or even just during cage assembly. It can interrupt the view slightly, but even things like acrylic panels will be easier to manage in sections rather than one big piece.

The other very important bit of advice is to never try using aquarium silicon to secure acrylic in place - to put it simply, it just won't, because silicon just doesn't bond to acrylic. Aquarium silicon is great for sealing edges for example, but it's not structurally secure with acrylic and you'd inevitably have the cage just fall apart that way. Screws are much better for actually securing acrylic properly, and you won't have a cage fall apart.

Proper ventilation is also really important, preferably including a partially meshed side at least. A lid is absolutely essential and needs to be a fully meshed one - they're critical to hamster safety even if you think they won't escape. They will inevitably find a way at some point or another if you don't have a secure enclosure including a proper mesh lid, and it's often in a way you'd never imagine being possible!

I'm not going to lie, I used extra strength tape for my enclosure. I was advised that it probably wouldn't work that well, but it actually worked really well, to the point that even if I tugged hard it would be much more likely to crack the acrylic than the sheet coming off. This is the one I used, it's relatively clear but has small grids within the tape. It should be completely fine for as long as there's no exposed tape that the bedding or hamster could be exposed to.