Whether or not you’re new to the world of hamsters otherwise you’re in search of some inspiration for upgrading your hamster cage, we deliver you an entire information on how you can arrange your hamster’s cage to make it comfy and enriching to your pet.
A well-set-up hamster cage ought to encourage your pet to maneuver round, discover, dig, forage and be energetic to make use of up their power. A cage that doesn’t present numerous enrichment will trigger your hamster to be bored and careworn, resulting in damaging behaviors reminiscent of cage biting and frantically attempting to flee.
Though it’s simpler to only pop up your pet in a tiny cage with a small wheel and a home, this could make your pet depressing. Hamsters are extraordinarily energetic animals that spend all evening operating round and looking for meals within the wild. They run as much as 6 miles per day, so being cooped up in a tiny cage doesn’t present them with sufficient house and enrichment to occupy themselves.
Right here’s how you can do a correct hamster cage setup, beginning with getting an acceptable cage.
A Appropriate Cage
Very first thing first, to have the ability to arrange a hamster cage correctly, it’s good to have a big sufficient cage. Sadly, these small hamster cages that may be bought in a pet store received’t work as they’re smaller than the really useful minimal. These cages additionally don’t have sufficient room to suit all of the equipment {that a} well-set-up hamster cage wants, reminiscent of deep bedding, a big wheel, a sand bathtub and different necessities.
A hamster cage ought to be at least 640 sq. inches. Your choices are shopping for a ready-made cage of that measurement or larger, utilizing a specious aquarium or making a DIY cage out of a plastic bin or IKEA closet reminiscent of Detolf. I wrote an in depth information on the perfect hamster cages right here so you possibly can see your choices in case your present cage isn’t sufficiently big.
Protected & Deep Bedding
You might have a sufficiently big cage, and also you’re prepared to begin setting it up and making it comfy to your furry potato. The very first thing you’ll want is bedding (substrate).
Hamsters are burrowing animals, in order that they want a deep layer of bedding to dig and create underground tunnels to relax in. They sleep of their burrow, away from all the risks they assume await them on the floor. With the ability to burrow is crucial for his or her well-being.
Sadly, it’s frequent for hamsters to be housed in cages with solely an inch or two of bedding with no choice to burrow. In these instances, house owners typically see their hamsters gnawing on the cage bars and marvel what the problem is. Hamsters get careworn when their wants aren’t met, and so they can’t specific their pure behaviors, so they begin biting the bars. Research has proven that hamsters residing in deeper bedding present considerably fewer indicators of stress, reminiscent of cage biting.
How A lot Bedding to Use?
So let’s get to the specifics – how a lot bedding do hamsters want? The bedding depth is dependent upon the species of hamster you will have. There’s an enormous distinction in measurement between dwarf species and a Syrian hamster, whereas a Chinese language hamster is someplace within the center.
- For dwarf species and Chinese language hamsters, the minimal quantity of bedding they want is 6 inches, though 10 inches is really useful – particularly for Chinese language hamsters, that are a bit bigger.
- Syrian hamsters want not less than 10 inches of bedding as a consequence of their measurement, however 12 inches is preferable.
Right here’s one other means to have a look at it. Think about three hamsters positioned one over the opposite. May you bury them within the bedding? If that’s the case, it ought to be deep sufficient. If not, add extra bedding till the highest imaginary hamster is roofed.
With our hamster bedding calculator, you possibly can simply calculate how a lot bedding it’s good to purchase to your cage, relying on the dimensions of your cage and the specified bedding depth.
What to Use as a Bedding?
Hamster house owners mostly use these two choices:
- Paper bedding
- Aspen shavings
Hemp bedding can also be protected, though it’s not very efficient at holding burrows. You should use it to offer one other texture to stroll on, however greatest to stay with aspen or paper as the first bedding.
Hold the next in thoughts when selecting which substrate to make use of to your hamster cage. The substrate ought to be:
- Non-scented
- Be capable of maintain burrows
- Non-toxic
Mixing completely different substrate sorts so as to add selection and completely different textures to work together with is at all times a good suggestion.
Nesting Materials
Along with the primary bedding (substrate), it’s essential to offer nesting materials that your hamster can use to construct their nest.
Sprinkle some tender hay, reminiscent of botanical or orchard, over their most important bedding so your hamster can use it to construct their nest.
One other good choice for nesting materials is bathroom paper. Rip off a couple of bathroom paper sheets and put them within the cage. Though bathroom paper isn’t very absorbent, it’s positive to make use of for nesting as hamsters don’t are inclined to pee or poop of their nest.
Hidey Home
Subsequent on the setup listing is a hidey home that your hamster can use to cover and really feel protected whereas up on the bottom. Most individuals go for a picket home as a substitute of plastic as hamsters can safely chew wooden.
You will get one with out the flooring, so you possibly can simply scoop it up and clear the leftover meals or poop below it.
A Wheel
Hamsters spend quite a lot of their time operating on the wheel, so it’s essential that the wheel they use is protected and might’t trigger any hurt.
When selecting a wheel to your hamster, hold this in thoughts:
- A wheel must be product of stable materials – No steel bars or mesh that may entice limbs or trigger damage to your hamster’s ft.
- A wheel must be sufficiently big – A wheel that’s too small may cause again accidents in hamsters as a result of they’re at all times operating with their backs curved. Listed here are the minimal wheel sizes for every hamster species:
- 8″ in diameter (20 cm) for dwarf species
- 10″ in diameter (25 cm) for Chinese language hamsters
- 11’’ in diameter (28 cm) for Syrian hamsters
Additionally, don’t use a flying saucer as their main wheel within the cage, as that one isn’t a great substitute for an everyday upright wheel.
Sand Bathtub
Though hamsters are extraordinarily clear animals and don’t draw back from grooming themselves, a sand bathtub helps hold their pores and skin and fur good and glossy.
Hamsters ought to by no means be bathed in water because it’s pointless and too irritating. A sand bathtub works nice for eradicating the grime and oil that has gathered in your pet’s coat.
It’s straightforward so as to add a sand bathtub to your hamster’s cage. All you want is a shallow container sufficiently big for the hamster to roll round in full of hamster-safe sand.
What’s hamster-safe sand? Listed here are the choices:
- Reptile sand – pure shade, with no added minerals or calcium (reminiscent of Reptisand)
- Chinchilla bathing sand
- Kids’s play sand – warmth handled. If it’s not warmth handled, it ought to be sanitized by baking it within the oven for 20 min at 350°F (180°C). It’s additionally really useful to sift it via a sifter to take away the bigger chunks that might irritate your hamster’s pores and skin.
What sort of sand to keep away from:
- something labeled as “mud” or “powder” as these are too positive and might trigger respiratory an infection
- scented sand
- clay-based sand
- coloured sand
- sand with added minerals or calcium
You may discover that your hamster makes use of a sand bathtub as their bathroom, however this may make spot cleansing that a lot simpler. Should you’d choose to maintain the sand bathtub clear, you possibly can present two sand baths in numerous components of the cage. That means, in case your hamster does determine to pee and poo in a single, it would hold the opposite for bathing.
Meals & Water Equipment
Whereas it’s greatest to scatter feed your hamster to encourage foraging and motion across the cage, a meals bowl can nonetheless be useful to place recent meals in in order that it doesn’t get misplaced within the bedding and spoil.
For water, you need to use both a water bowl or a bottle. Some folks assume utilizing a bowl is unsafe as hamsters can drown, however the bowls we use for water are so small there’s no means a hamster can drown in them. So whether or not you’ll use a water bottle or a small water bowl is as much as you – each are utterly protected.
Should you’re utilizing a water bottle, do common inspections to test if it’s working correctly. Bottles can get caught, and being with out water for only some days could be detrimental to your pet’s well being.
Cage Equipment
Now that we’ve added the important cage provides, it’s time to make the cage much more enjoyable and enriching by including completely different equipment starting from bridges and cork logs to tunnels and chew toys.
It may be onerous to maintain your pet entertained as they at all times appear to have limitless power, however these equipment ought to assist hold them occupied.
Listed here are some accent concepts for the cage.
Cage furnishings:
- Cork logs
- Hideouts
- Wood bridges
- Wood ladders
- Tunnels
- Platforms
Chewables:
- Chew toys
- Herbs and foraging crops
- Branches – for those who use branches collected outdoors, be certain the wooden is protected for hamsters. The branches also needs to be cleaned and dried to kill bugs or parasites earlier than use. Keep away from branches and twigs you discover close to closely used roads or which may have been sprayed with chemical substances.
- Cardboard tubes
- Willow balls
Nesting materials:
- Delicate hay, reminiscent of orchard or botanical hay – sprinkle hay throughout their cage as hamsters use it to construct their nest and nibble on it.
- Rest room paper sheets and paper napkins – hamsters love utilizing them for his or her nest.
Different equipment:
- Rocks to file nails – if you wish to use a rock that you just discovered outdoors, give it a great scrub with scorching water and cleaning soap earlier than placing it within the cage.
Dangerous Hamster Cage Setups: What To not Do
Now that we lined the whole lot a hamster cage must should hold it’s resident glad and comfortable, let’s go over some examples of unhealthy hamster cage setups. The next gallery is exhibiting some fairly horrible setups which might be, sadly, nonetheless typically seen amongst hamster house owners.
Among the commonest errors are:
- a cage that’s means too small
- not sufficient bedding (normally solely an inch or two of bedding)
- a kind of bedding that’s not appropriate or doesn’t enable burrowing
- a too small wheel
- not sufficient enrichment to present hamster one thing to do
Let’s take a look at some examples on what to not do when organising a hamster cage.
How Typically to Change Hamster Cage Setup
Hamsters get bored simply, so you possibly can change issues round sometimes when doing an entire cage cleanout. When doing a deep clear, bear in mind to at all times hold not less than ¼ of their previous bedding to reuse within the cage. This retains the hamster’s residence smelling acquainted to them and stops them from getting careworn.
Should you’re utilizing the really useful minimal cage measurement of 620 sq. inches, the cage ought to be good for a month earlier than it must be utterly cleaned. That’s if the cage is commonly spot cleaned to take away any dirty bedding. You’ll be able to take that chance to make a cage overhaul, swap issues up, and add some new enjoyable equipment.
Why a Good Cage Setup Is Important for Your Pet’s Properly-being
Cage setup is the one factor that can take advantage of vital distinction in your pet’s high quality of life. Do not forget that your hamster’s cage is their entire world. They spend virtually the whole day in it, so it must be set as much as fulfill their wants and permit them to specific their pure behaviors. It ought to be capable to mimic their pure habitat and supply them with related enrichment that they’d get within the wild.
Attempt to see issues out of your pet’s perspective when organising their cage, have their pure habitats and behaviors in thoughts so you possibly can present a glimpse of that of their cage.
