# Hamster advice



## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

So my daughter has decided she would like a hamster for her birthday!
To be honest I am delighted as she's been wanting a stick insect or a skunk for over a year now, so a hamster is nicely normal.

Any advice on what to get, where from and what kind of stuff we need. Also what type of cages are best - plastic or bars??


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

Can't help much with the cage etc but just wanted to say that when I was younger I had a syrian hamster called Bobby and he was a great pet. He was really big and was easy to hold, he would come out for hours every evening


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

I'm not the best person to ask (eccentric perhaps) but if you're anything like me don't waste money on a small cage - you'll only want to replace or upgrade it within 2 weeks!

I started out with a ferplast mary, then added an Imac fantasy on top, then finally attached those onto a ferplast jenny.

Must admit, I do like the jenny because its a great size, but mine is a bugger to clean out because of all the stuff in it. Personally, I prefer barred cages to solid ones because you can add stuff more easily (I cabe tie things to the sides and tops)

As for what to put in it - I'm currently using... plastic shelves, cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, plastic hamster houses, two sizes of fiddlesticks, willow mats, a hay tunnel, two willow tunnels, a hay nest box thing, plastic tunnels, wooden blocks, a wooden maze thing, a basket thing, and a large (over 8 inch) wooden running wheel.

The one thing I personally don't use for rodents is a food bowl - I scatter feed, hide it in boxes etc so that they can forage naturally. Obviously being a syrian Dita just collects it all up and stores it in one place anyway.

I'm not keen on buying animals from pet shops, although Dita came from the pah "adotion" section. There's plenty of hamsters in rescue as a rule, as well as private rehomes.


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Colette said:


> I'm not the best person to ask (eccentric perhaps) but if you're anything like me don't waste money on a small cage - you'll only want to replace or upgrade it within 2 weeks!
> 
> I started out with a ferplast mary, then added an Imac fantasy on top, then finally attached those onto a ferplast jenny.
> 
> ...


Thats great!! Thank you - I was going for larger rather than smaller anyway, simply because I can't resist bigger and better (my husband despairs!!!)
I was thinking bars would be more fun anyway.....am I right in thinking hamsters will climb on the bars?
Good tip for food too - I never would have thought of that!
:biggrin::biggrin:


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Yeah, I bought the Mary because I knew it was "big enough" (it meets the 50x80 minimum) and compared to normal hamster cages it does look big at first.... I regreted it within a fortnight. Once I'd put in a wheel, a nestbox, and a couple of toys it looked tiny already. I'm lucky - my OH has been infected by my cage obsession - we have great plans for building a hamster mansion when we get a house big enough!

Hamsters will climb bars, but they're not very good at it... I would be careful to have various levels close together so there are no big drops. (My levels are all part levels (ie not the full size of the cage) but they overlap, and I've made it easier to move around in using tunnels, wooden blocks etc. 

The food thing was something I picked up at college. They pointed out that for most rodents the two main natural behaviours are foraging and nest building. So what do we do - give them a ready made bed and all their food in a bowl! 
I'm mean too - gave her a bonio in the bottom cage, then watched her spend ages trying to lug the thing all the way up to the top level, which is about 5 foot high. She did it though, on the first night.

I do the same with nesting material too incidentally - I don't put it in a bed area; I put pieces of it everywhere so she has to collect it herself.

I should add, some people prefer to use food bowls so they can monitor how much is being eaten. Each to ones own of course, but as Dita moves her food anyway I can't see it helping much. And fortunately for me her food store is easily visible.


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Thats all great, thanks.
I would have thought that I can monitor what he/she eats by noting the food i put in and then seeing whats left uneaten when I clean the cage out.


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Was it specifically a syrian you were thinking of, or one of the other species? 

Syrians are easier IMO, partly because you can go for a huge cage without so many issues with bar spacing, and partly because the dwarf hamsters tend to be faster and potentially harder to handle.


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## Acid (Aug 8, 2011)

i agree ^ theyre a great starter hamster, easy to tame, handle and catch.. plus look how cuddly they are


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

I have the smaller of the zoo zones and an iMac fantasy with an extension. The zoozones are good cages IMO but don't have the bars, the larger one is apparently better but ash is in what I already had and it's his retirement cage anyway 

The igor would be my dream cage at the minute and you can get it up to 102cm in length but just look about and see what takes your fancy. Hamster central forums have a cage review section on which I find useful


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Thanks for all your replies guys.......we were definately thinking of a Syrian rather than a smaller breed. I want Amber to be able to handle it confidently (as well as the rest of us too) and have read that the smaller breed hamsters can be a bit fast and nippy. 
I have looked at all the cages you suggested and love the look of the zoozone ones.... Amber has seen this one, (link below) and is really taken with it though obviously cause it's pink!) It doesn't have bars though and as I said earlier I was thinking of one with bars......what do you think? Also is it to small?
If so does anyone know of one suitable in either pink or purple? :biggrin:

Pink Palace Housing Unit by Rotastak | Pets at Home


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

Bella Beagle Mum said:


> Thanks for all your replies guys.......we were definately thinking of a Syrian rather than a smaller breed. I want Amber to be able to handle it confidently (as well as the rest of us too) and have read that the smaller breed hamsters can be a bit fast and nippy.
> I have looked at all the cages you suggested and love the look of the zoozone ones.... Amber has seen this one, (link below) and is really taken with it though obviously cause it's pink!) It doesn't have bars though and as I said earlier I was thinking of one with bars......what do you think? Also is it to small?
> If so does anyone know of one suitable in either pink or purple? :biggrin:
> 
> Pink Palace Housing Unit by Rotastak | Pets at Home


Ohhh Rotacrap, they have many problems including being too small especially for some of the larger syrians.
Rotacrap are designed to be aesthetically pleasing rather than built for the animal is is marketed for.

If you want a pink bared cage you can always plasticote one a pink colour


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

Looks good to me  .... I had a similar one for Bobby when I was younger, it was great fun watching him go through the tubes

ETA sorry B3rnie, cross posted. I didn't realise they were bad quality. I suppose 15 years ago they were considered ok


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

Goldstar said:


> Looks good to me  .... I had a similar one for Bobby when I was younger, it was great fun watching him go through the tubes


Sorry gonna have to disagree here, Rotacrap are not suitable cages, there is nowhere to put a suitable sized wheel for a start.


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Sorry but going to be brutally honest here... I HATE these things!!

They are tiny - I could fit all that into a ferplast mary with room to spare. not only are they small inside, they are not space-efficient - so take up lots of room in your house, but still being tiny for the hamster.

The tubes are too narrow and a large syrian could potentially get stuck.

There is sod all ventilation.

They are a right pain to clean out etc as you have to take them all apart and rebuild every time.

With the tiny space and lack of bars you are extremely limited in what enrichment you could provide; most items will be simply too big, you can't wall mount anything, and I think the cages are too small for an adequate (min 8 inch) wheel.


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Sorry gonna have to disagree here, Rotacrap are not suitable cages, there is nowhere to put a suitable sized wheel for a start.


I did edit my post after I realised what you said.

I don't think the cage I had was called rotastack, it was similar with the tubes


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

Goldstar said:


> Looks good to me  .... I had a similar one for Bobby when I was younger, it was great fun watching him go through the tubes
> 
> ETA sorry B3rnie, cross posted. I didn't realise they were bad quality. I suppose 15 years ago they were considered ok


Yeah 15 years ago they were all the rage, even I had one at one stage  But we now know that those cages are more problems they are worth IMO :lol:


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Yeah 15 years ago they were all the rage, even I had one at one stage  But we now know that those cages are more problems they are worth IMO :lol:


The one I had was black and green, don't think it was called rotastack, probably a copied version of it though as it had all the compartments and tubes, I remember getting it from woolworths


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

I know the one you mean, they were a knock off to the Rotacrap but just as bad lol.

It is much better now that we have so much choice for cages  I remember a day when you could only choose between one or two cages max LOL


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

I'm not so great with advice  but I think you've been given some good stuff here 
Syrian hamsters are great, I have 7 of them


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Phew.....I guess the pink ones out then!!! Very glad I asked!!!

At least there is a lesson in life here for my daughter - she can learn that the needs of your pet have to come before the look of your bedroom!!! TBH a pink one would probably get lost in amoungst all the rest of the pink plastic crap she stores in there!!!:001_rolleyes:


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## Claireglynn (Dec 9, 2011)

Hi,

Sorry cant help you with the owning of a hamster but my friend has a syrian hamster and has this cage (well its her 7 year old daughters), she said its brilliant, the tubes are plenty big enough for her hamster and plently of room for play things but the hamster does spend alot of the evening in a small playpen area where they have tubes and things set up.

http://www.ideas-4-pets.com/dinky-3-pink-hamster-cage-art-897-rp-p-4866.html

Sorry if people dont think its suitable, only posting what she has just told me, Blame her!!


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## Acid (Aug 8, 2011)

that is a nice cage but its floor space is tiny :/


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

thanks for that - looked at the web-site, they seem to have loads of different ones - some quite large too and some even pink.........we may have found a compromise!!
Thanks for that!


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Acid said:


> that is a nice cage but its floor space is tiny :/


I am a bit confused......how much floor space do they need.......if there is room to explore, play and have a run around, oh, and fit all the extra toys and treats in what extra floor space do they need? 
I am not being flippant or sarcastic i genuinely would like to know.

Also could you advise me on what you think of this one......If I'm forking out, I want to get the right stuff from the start!
Thank you 

Madison 3 Hamster Cage - ART 961 (RP) | Small Pet Products | Hamsters | Hamster, Gerbil and Mouse Cages


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

As much space as you can give but 50cm x 80cm i think is what is the smallest. 
Mine is in a Freddy 2 rat cage its big but prefect for her, its filed with toys,hammocks e.t.c and she loves it!

You could look at a hamster heaven i think it is. 

honestly if she wants pink, buy the biggest cage you can afford and you Plastikote to spray it pink (or purple/gold/bright green  ) 

Normally hamster cages are far to small as they need a large wheel thats rat size (11in i think??)


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Honestly the colour is the last of the priorities! My daughter knows that pets are more than just the accessories..............if she can't understand that the hamster needs a bigger cage to be comfortable she can have the smaller pink plastic cage and zuzu hamster to go in it! 

But really she is a real softie with our pets - I know she'll be fine when we explain why.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

I would definitely recommend the Hamster Heaven they are great cages for Syrians and have fantastic access to clean :cornut:


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

B3rnie said:


> I would definitely recommend the Hamster Heaven they are great cages for Syrians and have fantastic access to clean :cornut:


I've been looking at these just now, I think it will be one of these that we get! We have decided that the hamster can have a pink ball to run around her bedroom in the evening in...........as long as these are fine.............please tell me these are allowed????????????


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## Claireglynn (Dec 9, 2011)

Hi again,

ZooPlus have the Hamster Heaven for £69.90 at the moment and 10% off your first order, i love pink so have filled my rat cage with pink accessories (hammocks, sputnik, basket, house, fleece etc).

Here is the link for you
Hamster Cages: great selection at zooplus: Hamster Heaven 80 Cage

I have ordered from this website before and they are very good.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

Bella Beagle Mum said:


> I've been looking at these just now, I think it will be one of these that we get! We have decided that the hamster can have a pink ball to run around her bedroom in the evening in...........as long as these are fine.............please tell me these are allowed????????????


Yep balls are fine, personally I don't like them but so long as you keep the sessions short they are fine 

You can always by the hammy a Karlie Wooden Bogie wheel and then plasticote that pink too :biggrin5:


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

I wanted to plastikote my explorer pink and yellow but my oh wouldn't let me  meanie! Lol

Defo get a pink sputnik and pink hammocks etc even if the hammy is a boy lol


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

LostGirl said:


> I wanted to plastikote my explorer pink and yellow but my oh wouldn't let me  meanie! Lol
> 
> Defo get a pink sputnik and pink hammocks etc even if the hammy is a boy lol


That would have looked awesome, your OH is a bully


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

B3rnie said:


> That would have looked awesome, your OH is a bully


I know right?! If I can find another one I think i may just get my dad to take my B&q and do it when he's at work lol


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## Acid (Aug 8, 2011)

Bella Beagle Mum said:


> I am a bit confused......how much floor space do they need.......if there is room to explore, play and have a run around, oh, and fit all the extra toys and treats in what extra floor space do they need?
> I am not being flippant or sarcastic i genuinely would like to know.
> 
> Also could you advise me on what you think of this one......If I'm forking out, I want to get the right stuff from the start!
> ...


they need as much as possible as hamsters dont climb well, they also run up to 8 miles each night in the wild which makes a 46cm by 30cm cage running space seem like a closet in comparison, i know youre not being sarcastic  its good to know some people are genuinely interested in an animals needs

a hamster heaven deluxe or regular as already mentioned is probably your best bet at a nice cage but ive added a few more just for browsing:

Super Pet Chin Hut House Cage for Rats Chinchillas Pet 3-storey wooden | eBay

Super Pet Chin Hut House Cage for Rats Chinchillas Pet 3-storey wooden 2012 New | eBay

Savic Freddy 2 Rat & Ferret Cage | eBay

Indoor Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Rat Home (Large) | eBay - zoozone 2 100cm by 50cm

ROSEWOOD LUNA 200 RAT/SMALL ANIMAL CAGE LADDER, TUNNEL & RUNNING WHEEL. , NEW | eBay

Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Rat Indoor Home (medium) | eBay this is quite nice but im not sure if itd need meshing, its a bit on the small side at 72cm by 46 but an 8 inch wheel and lots of outside time (ball or playpen) would make up for it, plus its pink! 

looking at rabbit hutches and rat cages is much nearer to something suitable when looking online for a cage but there shelving must be place closer to the floor to prevent injury and shelves and flooring cannot be barred or it could cause bumble foot. (thickly wooded) rabbit hutches are perfect after a bit of plasticoting the inside to make the wood wee proof as long as the front meshing is small or you cover the front with fine mesh (a rabbit hutch for a hamster can even be kept indoors in the bedroom if the rooms large enough)


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

Hamster balls are alright, but you'd need a rat size one for it to be comfortable. I don't like them as they must be boring for the poor hamster. I think it's better to make a play pen and put toys in that so the hamster can climb and sniff stuff.


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2012)

Rotastak Creepy Castle | eBay

this is the type of cage i have. although my hamster died recently so its empty atm =(


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2012)

Howldaloom said:


> Rotastak Creepy Castle | eBay
> 
> this is the type of cage i have. although my hamster died recently so its empty atm =(


I'm sorry but they are just horrible cages


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

B3rnie said:


> I'm sorry but they are just horrible cages


i think for the extra £10 you could get an freddy 2 rat cage or hamster heaven new!


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## Bella Beagle Mum (Jan 24, 2012)

Thank you everyone...................I am so overwhelmed by all the advice we have been given. We have decided on the hamter heaven as this seemed to offer the best space while at the same time beeing quite funky for my daughters room. But I do really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to offer their opinions and advice, I have listened to it all!


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