Would this be a good cage/home for a hamster?

Question

18x20" Cage w/ tunnel

Exercise Wheel (plastic w/ no wire so her claws don't get stuck)

Food Bowl

Water Bottle

Chinchilla Sand for her to roll around in

Carefresh Bedding

Kaytee Corn Stick for Hamsters

NutriPhase Hamster & Gerbil Food

Empty Toilet Paper Roll tube

Bits of toilet paper

And this cage would be cleaned out twice a week and disinfected once a week.

How about it? (I haven't even gotten the hamster yet)

Answer 1

Would you take depends as an answer?

What's the bar spacing? - dwarves need them REALLY close together - basically mouse cage spacing or smaller, but you won't find one with enough floor space - you can not safely keep baby dwarves or robos in a wire cage. Realistically all dwarves need a plastic cage or aquarium. They can squeeze through really small spaces - ideally they make it all the way out and escape, but many pet owners have woken up to a stuck and dead or dying hamster lodged between the bars of a cage.

Horizontal or vertical bars - you want bars to be vertical - despite many hamster owners thinking their hamster looks so cute hanging from the bars - they fall and often get seriously hurt. Hamsters do NOT climb trees - they do not need stuff to climb up and hang from. They need horizontal space far more than vertical space.

Cage bars are also a problem because hamsters often chew on them and this can cause serious issues. Yes, hamsters NEED to chew, but they shouldn't be chewing on METAL! Many folks will tell you its fine because the paint is non-toxic and other odd reasons. The metal is too hard and can actually damage, break or misallign your pets teeth which can cause all sorts of serious issues.

NutriPhase is a seed mix correct? (I haven't had coffee, so I can't actually think yet). You should go with a lab block food - Mazuri is good for most pets and readily available - with the seeds, hamsters will often pick out just their favorite stuff to eat and sometimes not end up with a balanced diet. Lab blocks have it all in a pellet form so they can't eat just their favorite bits. You should use seed mix as a treat because it allows them to forage and store food, just not as their primary food.

Corn stick - this wouldn't be good for dwarves - particulary Campbells which as a species are more prone to diabetes. You should also pick out the corn in any seed mix for the dwarf varieties.

Bits of toilet paper are fine - just make sure its plain white and unscented.

You probably also want a house to hide in of some sort.

Tunnel - thinking these are what I call tubes - like on a habitrail? Syrians - can get stuck in many of these - HARTZ makes the tubes with the largest inside diameter.

Dwarfs can fall down them, so they need a "bubble" tube - crittertrail or sam/pennplax has those. NEVER use those for a Syrian the inside diameter is too small and they can get stuck! Pregnant dwarfs sometimes have trouble especially if they tend to throw large litters. You need to be careful with the vertical drops on the tubes for dwarfs - even with the narrower bubble design they can fall and you don't want a long vertical drop.

If you haven't seen them yet, look up "home made bin cages" this are really good for hamsters. Cheap, larger, safer, easier to interact with your pet, fully customiseable - can you tell I'm a fan of bin cages? It's the only thing we use as a permanent cage for our hamsters. We even set up tubes inside these.

Answer 2

VERY cute, i wanted it for my future gerbil but then i found out they couldn't have plastic. The ''basement'' would be good for sleeping, digging, or storing food..just make sure that there is NO way that the hamster can knock over the tower because i heard A LOT of times that happened.

-Amanda

Answer 3

I would say yes. Even though you havent gotten your little furry yet it sounds to me like he/she would be very well taken care of.

Answer 4

This is a very good idea. I like the fact that you said chinchilla sand...excelent! The tunnel in the cage is good to but most hamsters won't use them unless they are dwarf hamsters. The carefresh bedding is a very great product aswell. It cost a little extra than some of the bedding items but it works like a charm, I love it! I think you got this whole question wrapped up yourself...you are ready for the hamster...good-luck

-JoshLuver

Answer 5

Sorry, that cage is not good. I certainly wouldn't use this cage for a Syrian hamster - it is far too small!

You want to find one that has more than double the floor space - the bigger the better really.

If you like those style cages with tubes be aware that Syrians do tend to get too big for them, so make sure they are wide.

Many makes of the tube type cages can be joined together - so if you particularly like this style it would be better to buy two or three units and join them together.

Answer 6

well i would say yes but from the pic i would say no because its like a dome the hamster could get too hot and you dont really need to clean the cage twice a week but other than that it looks fine

Answer 7

Wow! Looks like you've really thought this through. Everything you've mentioned sounds great (expecially the Carefresh bedding, most people use Pine or Cedar shvings which is the completely wrong thing to do as the oils in the wood cause Respiratory problems and some rodents can also be allergic to the stuff)

I don't think you would really need a sand bath though, Hamsters fur don't tend to get as oily as Chinchillas, Gerbils etc. He/She would probably just end up using it as a litter tray (saves on the cleaning!!)

I also agree with the person above me. Balls can be alot of fun. Great exercise for them and hilarious for us to watch!

I don't think it's necessary for you to clean it twice a week, once will be enough.

Apart from that, it looks like you sorted!

Answer 8

yes you are ready for your little friend

Answer 9

yes but to make it even better you could ensure that you give her extra levels...made with ladders and cardboard or buy a plastic tub and cut a hole and put a ladder down they love space so the more the better. the excersize wheel size will depend on the size of the hamster you get ie a syrian needs an 18cm diameter where as a russian needs a smaller one.  also if you buy a hamster potty you can toilet train your hasmter mine go only in there so i only clean this out every other day and the whole thiing about 2x a month as the rest is fine i let mine run in the hallway for an hour-2hours each night they love it but be careful there are no wires for them to chew. nb if getting a small breed be careful it cant slip through the metal bars as many can do this...

Answer 10

Sounds really good. I'd leave out the toilet paper though because hamsters stuff things in their mouths (mostly just food but if it did that to the toilet paper it could be bad news!) they usually have different types of beddings if you want to try that instead.

Answer 11

Hey Erin. i see ur getting a hamster. Yes, that looks like it should be very roomy. the cleand out twice is not really neccessary, i only do it once. I have the same bedding and it seems to be working out pretty well. it is really absorbant. you should look into cotton balls for it to make a nest with and maybe eliminate the bits of toilet paper. i would also suggest a run about ball. it is fun for both you and the hamster. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

I tried getting the toilet and it does really well so the person above me is right. and like she said, let them run outside of the cage at night in the run about ball. that way you don't have to worry about loose wires and stuff like that. one more thing, don't EVER buy pine or cedar bedding, it increases the risk of lung disease according to the people at petsmart.

make sure you get a female.

Enjoy

SB1, MC94-michaelc94