# Syrian Hamster climbing cage



## ianh000 (6 mo ago)

Hi all,

Me and my partner bought a Syrian Hamster today after much planning and research. We bought a 3 storey cage for it and lots of environmental stimulation such as a bigger wheel than came with the cages and various other stuff.

We brought the hamster home today and put him in the cage but he has went nowhere near anything like the wheel or tunnels. All he keeps doing is climbing to the top corners of the cage and gnawing at the bars! If he is stressed about something in the cage, we were told not to bother him in the first couple of days so scared to remove anything! He has also barely slept or burrowed at bottom of the cage since bringing him home

Is this normal behaviour for a hamster settling into a new environment and am I just a panicky first time pet owner? Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

PS, is the cage too small? This is the one we have - Amazon.co.uk


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## GKM92 (Jul 27, 2014)

Unfortunately the cage is too small, unbroken floor space is more important than levels/height, and a much deeper base for several inches of bedding is needed for burrowing


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## ianh000 (6 mo ago)

Much appreciated GKM92! After also catching someone at work about this who has a syrian, I have ordered a larger cage with unbroken floor space and depth for burrowing - Savic Sky Metro Syrian Hamster Cage X Large | Pets At Home

Coming tomorrow, just hope the hammy isn’t too stressed in the original one tonight!
Thanks for taking the time to reply!


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## Knighterist (Feb 10, 2020)

ianh000 said:


> Much appreciated GKM92! After also catching someone at work about this who has a syrian, I have ordered a larger cage with unbroken floor space and depth for burrowing - Savic Sky Metro Syrian Hamster Cage X Large | Pets At Home
> 
> Coming tomorrow, just hope the hammy isn’t too stressed in the original one tonight!
> Thanks for taking the time to reply!


Ah I am a little too late to this. Unfortunately the Savic Sky Metro you have there is still a little too small for Syrian hamster. The Savic Plaza is the only one that [email protected] carries that is within the requirements. For Syrians whilst the recommended is 80x40cm cage, the Savic Sky Metro may fall below because the tub base tapers and so falls below this size. Secondly for Syrian the minimum recommendation is 100x50cm. You may need to consider upgrading as the little one grows.

In terms of burrowing, most tub based cages don't allow much deep bedding. You would ideally need to aim for 10" of bedding at a deep end to allow digging and burrowing. You can use cardboard and things to block off the bedding from the bar top to prevent it rolling out easily.

Also a note about the wheel. Wheels that come with the cage are way too small. For Syrian minimum size is 28cm diameter (33cm is even better) to avoid any back arching when running on the wheel.

Another note about tubes, typical hamster cage tubes are a bit small for Syrian hamsters and they could get stuck in there too! You can get bigger tunnels from the toys section like those bendy ones.


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## Soph x (9 mo ago)

I bought this cage for my little one, he's still relatively young (2-3 months) so is perfect for him for now, however, I am ready for his booty to get bigger and need a bigger cage:





Savic Gerbilarium Gerbil, Hamster and Mouse Cage | Pets At Home


ProductShortDescription is available to buy online at Pets at Home, the UK's largest pet shop with fast delivery and low prices




www.petsathome.com





The base is tall so can fill with a good amount of substrate to allow for burrowing. I mix treats in with the substrate to encourage him to do it and he *loves* it. Also have some toys, a tube hideaway for him to chew, and also a coconut hideaway. I like ripping up kitchen roll and hiding small treats in there too, so he gets to play and burrow in different textures.
I have gotten rid of the very top shelf and instead have a coconut hideaway hanging from the top and a large lava rock to help keep his teeth and nails worn down.
Middle shelf has his wheel, water bottle, food bowl and a small carrot chew again to help keep his teeth down.

To prevent bumble foot with the wire shelf flooring, I simply put plain cardboard on there. He doesn't chew it or go toilet on it so works out pretty well.

Plenty of enrichment makes for a happy hammy!


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