Shop Bought Cages
On these pages I want to help out those who arent 100% sure which cage to buy for their hamster. If you want to make your own cheap, easy to make and super safe cage see the 'Bin Cages' page!
Where to start?!
Finding a place to start when it comes to choosing a cage can be hard work so we are going to start with the absolute basics. Cage size!
Bellow are the recommended cage sizes for Syrians, Dwarfs and Dwarf Colonies. These are seen as the typical standard in the UK and most hamster owners prefer to have larger cages.
However, some hamsters may need a cage to suit their specific wants rather than the minimum size ranges.
For example a Syrian in an 80x50cm cage may be very skitish and scared, when out in the open, down sizing the cage to 70x40cm may improve the hamsters attitudes BUT I would never recommend any smaller than that.
Remember - Always buy a minimum size cage first and then upgrade or downgrade once your hammie is tame and you have observed their personality/whether they need more or less space. NEVER buy a small cage under the assumtion that the hamster wont like a big cage as most of hams love them.
Syrian
Cages 80cm x 50cm minimum
Dwarf Hamsters
Cages 70cm x 40cm minumum
Colonies of Dwarf Hamsters
Cages 100cm x 50cm minimum for groups of 4
(For every 2 more in the group add 20cm onto length and width eg 6 dwarfs would = a cage 120cm x 70cm minimum)
Note: Typically cages this size cannot be bought with narrow enough bar spacing on the everyday market and must either be made to order or be built by you - This can easily be done by purchasing a large rabbit cage and meshing the bars.