Selecting the Ideal Cage Size for Your Hamster: A Guide to Making the Right Choice

Your hamster will spend much of its life inside its cage, so having one that meets their needs is of vital importance in terms of both care and maintenance. A good cage should be easy to keep clean while providing ample space for running around and playing as well as being escape-proof!

Hamsters are highly active animals – running up to eight miles a night in the wild! — so the size of cage you purchase should arguably be of greatest consideration. Nonetheless, other factors can have just as big an effect on their wellbeing and happiness as size alone.

This article will outline how to select an ideal cage size and some other important considerations when it comes to keeping a hamster as pets.

Before Starting
While there are over 20 species of hamsters, only three types are typically kept as pets: Syrian Hamsters, Dwarf Hamsters and Chinese Hamsters. Remember to separate different species when housing them together to reduce fighting; similarly sexed ones could easily fight with each other and may need individual cages for each. Each hamster species will require its own individual space requirements such as space requirements and size of cage; Syrian, Dwarf and Chinese Hamsters are most frequently kept as pets.

Step One — Minimum Sizing Requirements
Syrian Hamsters
At minimum, Syrian Hamsters require around 900 square inches of floor space in a cage; with 10 inches of bedding depth. Of course, more space should always be provided than necessary – 24 inches at least of height for bedding storage and small wheel access should suffice as per size requirements.