Not to get a new hamster cage?

[hollyfrost]

Hi, I'd be really grateful for some advice from any hamster owners out there.
My DD begged me for weeks about getting a hamster, and I finally gave in after she showed me a hamster up for adoption - we didn't have a cage, so we bought the largest one our pet store had (this one - www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/pets-at-home-wire-grey-hamster-home-extra-large ).
Fast forward a few weeks - DD absolutely adores the hamster- she spent nearly £50 on buying the hamster a 'better' wheel (apparently the old one was too small ) and overpriced toys. Fine, it's her money, I didn't stop her.
But now DD is obsessed with getting her hamster a new bigger cage - I keep telling her that the one we have right now is perfectly fine (it is) and that the hamster sleeps all the time anyway (it does), but she just starts yelling at me for being 'cruel'.
I'm not cruel at all, I just don't think it's worth spending £££ on a hamster which already has everything it needs. Is DD being unreasonable, or am I?

(In case anyone's wondering she wants to get this one - www.zooplus.com/customerpicturedisplay/shop/rodents/cages/rabbit_cage/120_cm_cages/348157 . WAY too expensive for a hamster IMO)

Your last post makes me pretty sad

Your pet is only with you for a small part of your life but they are with you for their WHOLE life.

It's a saying I've heard about dogs but it's the same with any pet that has a lower life span than humans.

Your DD sounds lovely.

You sound pretty mean. Just because an animal doesn't live that long it should still have a decent life.

Youe DD sounds lovely- hope she doesn't take after you...

Think we spent about £2,000+ on our last two pet rats, who lived to 2 and 3 respectively. We were pretty broke too, so it vet bills meant selling some things.

You got a pet, now look after it.

I don't want to spend over £100 on a pet which lives max 2 years.

That doesn't make it ok to treat it cruelly for a year! If you are not willing to give an animal a good life (long or short) then you shouldn't have a pet. It's living creature. Both those cages are bad. The need tunnels and platforms and things to do.

I think it’s great that your daughter cares so much for her little hamster’s well being. I wish more people were like this.

An Alaska cage is £32 in Zooplus. Two of these can be joined together with Savic connectors and a tube. This gives plenty of space.

Alternatively set alerts on gumtree and ebay for the Eco habitat as they do come up for sale second hand.

Look at the IKEA hacks for cages. The Detolf shelves on their back are great if you have room (then create a homemade lid)

You can take the cage back to PetsatHome and tell them it’s unsuitable and that you were given the wrong advice. They will take it back used, without the original packaging. And you can use the refunded cash for the Alaska’s.

^ we did that too!

I’m sure I’m upgraded to an Alexander from a barney if I remember correctly, it was fun to have! I spent a lot on my hammy, no regrets, he had a good life!

Alexander cage from zooplus is good, might want to get rid of the wheel though.
All the wooden levels come with it too.
Ive taken on guinea pigs before in smaller cages than the alexander! Dont know how people cant see how cruel such small cages are.

Thanks for the replies. I understand that the cage isn't perfect, but as horrible as it sounds, I don't want to spend over £100 on a pet which lives max 2 years. I just don't think it's worth it - the hamster's nearly a year old already. Plus its old cage was much, much smaller anyway.
I suppose I could let DD save up for it herself though

Your daughter has better ethics than you

It doesnt matter how small or inexpensive the pet is, the expensive part is looking after it, be it housing, vet treatment, feeding or whatever.

There are ways you can reduce the cost- look on Facebook and Ebay for suitable second hand cages for example, or homebuild or adapt. But ultimately you are an adult who is responsible for an animal and you're telling us that you know that what it has is inadequate but you're not willing to provide what it needs because the animal doesnt have sufficient value for you. Please reconsider.

the cage is small and basic - my daughter was like yours and obsessed with making her hammys life better - because she's a good pet owner - she got this www.omlet.co.uk/shop/hamsters_and_gerbils/qute_hamster_cage/ as a Christmas present - when Mr Fluffles (lord Of The Dark Underworld) past over she got 2 gerbils who also love it - it's worth the money

OP I did the same as you and bought a large Pets At Home cage thinking I was doing the right thing. A short Google later and I found out the cage was far too small so I bought a bigger one from Zooplus (the Barney). You can see the difference in size between the two - the first one wouldn’t even fit her wheel. The Alaska cage is good and about £30 so you don’t need to spend a lot of money on it.

We got a very large glass tank for my dd's hamster on Facebook marketplace for £30. We started off with a crappy pets at home cage but as soon as she joined a few hamster forums she realised the cage we had wasn't good enough.
Ours is the most pampered hamster I know and lives the life of luxury!

OP: am I unreasonable not to buy a bigger hamster cage?

Everyone who actually knows about hamsters: yes, very

OP: oh well, it will only live for another year

🤔

OP, you, as the adult, purchased a live animal. Please make sure you allow it to have adequate living conditions. Currently you are not doing this.

I understand that the cage isn't perfect, but as horrible as it sounds, I don't want to spend over £100 on a pet which lives max 2 years. I just don't think it's worth it - the hamster's nearly a year old already

Then you shouldn’t have bought a hamster. No matter how long they live, they should be allowed a decent quality of life.

Your dds right, you’re wrong.

You should be very proud of your dd.

Also, once you’ve sorted out the cage situation there aren’t any huge costs as hamster food can often be bought 3 for 2 and you can buy a huge bag of substrate like Megazorb for under £15.00. The whole cage doesn’t need to be cleaned every week, just their bed area & toilet area so one bag lasts ages.

If you bought from pets at home you can return the inadequate cage fora full refund if you point out it’s below the minimum size. Happens a lot

Glass and/or wooden cages aren’t suitable for hamsters as they like to climb and chew. But good on her for wanting to give hammy what he needs - too many live in unsuitable small cages.

This one would be much better

www.zooplus.com/shop/rodents/cages/hamster_mouse_cages/hamster_cages/189304

Or this one

www.zooplus.com/shop/rodents/cages/hamster_mouse_cages/hamster_cages/284289

Thomasrichard can your hamster climb up that tube in your picture? That must be great to see!

This was our hamster house (sadly our hamster passed away) My son made it from a unit from ikea (it had a wire lid). It took up our dining room table!

Your daughter is right. It should be illegal for people to keep animals in such small and unstimulating cages. Having said that the one she's chosen doesn't look much better. Get hammy a home with tunnels and a few storeys so it can get roam a bit, poor thing.

@Standingatthedoor yes, I’ve had two in there and both have shimmied straight up and down without an effort. They used the bottom cage for sleeping and the top one for playing.

Thanks! I've just found a video of one on YouTube. So cute! We have guinea pigs who would never do something so energetic!

Get an IKEA Detolf for £60 (much less on eBay), you can turn them on their back and they make a fantastic sized habitat plus they look cool. There are tips for converting them all over the internet.

It’s great that she wants the best for her pet and you should support her. You don’t need to spend £100+ to upsize the environment though.

@Aprillygirl hamsters don’t need tunnels and platforms. They need a large, unbroken floor space with plenty of enrichment (toys/foraging materials), and deep substrate to burrow in so that they can make their own tunnels. It’s fine to have platforms and tunnels but only if they happen to be in a cage which has the unbroken floor space too.