- 1.How To Choose A Hamster Enclosure: An Introduction
- 2.Understanding Your Hamsters Needs
- 3.How Big Should My Hamster Enclosure Be?
- 4.A Discussion on Hamster Welfare: Why Do Different Countries and Organizations Have Different Standards for Hamster Care?
- 5.Different Types of Hamster Enclosures
- 6.Hamster Bedding Depth and The Various Substrate Options
- 7.Enrichment for Your Hamster Enclosure
- 8.Maintaining and Cleaning Your Hamster Enclosure
- 9.Moving your hamster into a New Enclosure
- 10.Enclosures for Elderly, Pregnant, and Special Needs Hamsters
How to Choose a Hamster Enclosure: An Introduction
You’ve decided you want to bring home a hamster but first, you must find the perfect home to live in. If you don’t know where to get started, this guide is perfect for you.
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on choosing the ideal enclosure for your beloved hamster. This guide also acts as supplementary information to our database tools and calculators. This guide will not teach you how to build your own enclosure, but it might help you make design choices that will largely benefit your hamster.
While our enclosure database offers estimations of enclosure floorspace, it's important to note that many enclosures feature irregular shapes, and are using outer dimensions. Therefore, to ensure your hamster enjoys a comfortable and enriching habitat that may be their lifelong home, it's crucial to pay close attention to certain key factors.
Join us as we explore the essential considerations that will help you provide your hamster with a good living space, tailored to their unique needs and preferences.
If you’ve already read this guide and just need a refresher, here are the key takeaways.
- The minimum required floorspace for a hamster cage is 775sqin (5000sqcm). The recommended minimum dimensions are 40in x 20in (100cm x 50cm).
- Your enclosure height should be at least 20in (50cm). This gives you adequate space for burrowing.
- You need at least 8 inches of bedding so your hamsters can burrow. We recommend providing more than that, especially for Syrian hamsters. The bedding must be a safe substrate, see our substrate list.
- Your hamster enclosure must have the following enrichment items: a sizable wheel, a sand bath, a water bottle or bowl, a multi-chamber hide, platforms or stilts, and materials they can safely chew on.