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)

Also we take our hammy out every evening and let him run around on a big bed or sofa, they like to play and snack on seeds

We've got the same cage (the pets at home one) and it's perfectly sufficient for our Syrian hammy..

Except it’s not, as people on this thread have repeatedly explained.

It’s not adequate.

Adequate cages are only subjective once they meet a certain minimum size.

There has been research done into cage sizes. Please educate yourself.

I know a lot about hamsters having raised many rescues. People VASTLY underestimate the space these little animals need. None of the cages I’ve ever seen in any pet stores are big enough. We had cage bins custom made for our rescues.

Syrians - MINIMUM 80cm X 50cm cage size (much bigger if able)

Dwarfs - MINIMUM 70cm x 50cm (much bigger if able).

Additionally, it the hamster is a Syrian the wheels that come with the cages are miles too small. A Syrian hamster requires an 11” in diameter wheel. Any arching of the back is extremely detrimental to the hamsters health.

Your daughter sounds bright, lovely and caring towards animals! A beautiful trait!

I highly recommend the Hamster Haven website and their Facebook page for advice and guidance. The lady who runs it has a phenomenal amount of knowledge on hamster care:

hamsterhavenhamsterrescue.weebly.com/

Please stop buying animals! Do not buy a rabbit!!! I have two amazing rabbits, they are not cuddly and definitely they will not fit in that cage! Rabbits can live for 10 years.

I've ignorantly bought a hamster cage that, although recommended, was vastly undersized. You know what I did? I bought an adequate sized cage.

I am really passionate about animal/pet welfare, so this sort of thing really upsets me. I have seen it so much of it the reptile community and the consequences of poor husbandry. Pets are expensive, it's not just the price of the pet, it's the lifestyle support afterwards, when my hamster needed the vet, you know what I did? I took it despite it "only living 2 years" and costing a small percentage of the vets fee.

It makes me wonder if the pet trade should vastly increase pet prices so people pay it the respect they deserve, like for example, so of the most difficult reptiles are by far the cheapest to buy, so people buy with out the ability to maintain its immediate or long term care needs. if the animal was 6x the price, in keeping with its long term care needs, then it's more likely people will only buy if they are able to maintain those care needs.

But I'm off on a rant.

But the bigger cage, don't get a rabbit, just because pets at home sell it doesn't mean it's right or humane.

Having owned the cage in question (and being an ex employee at pets at home) I can confirm that the cage is in fact to small for a syrian hamster.

The pets at home rat savic cage (around £75) is much better, and actually meets RSPCA reccomended standards for hamster cages. In the wild hamsters roam large areas and so need large cages with a lot of floor space (not climbing space as this won't make up for lost floor space).

It is cruel to keep a hamster in a cage to small, they will start bar chewing and will become stressed. your daughter is right, they need 10" to 12" wheels to prevent back issues.

My hamster is perfectly happy in the pets at home rat savic cage, no bar chewing!!
All the pets at home hamster cages are way to small!

Jesus, don't buy a rabbit. Your responses continue to show a total disregard for the welfare of animals in your care ("I honestly don't see the issue in having a slightly smaller cage"). You need to take a good look at yourself.

Do not buy anymore animals.

I can't take you seriously

Credit to your DD. Why would you buy a rabbit and then want to put it in a cage that you admit you know is too small? You can't even look after a hamster!!!

Absolute joke

Rabbits are in no way cuddly!!

Yes they do tend to live longer, but they require vaccinations, lots of care, and in the UK they shouldn't be left outside in cages in the winter like most people do (I wouldn't even leave mine outside overnight in summer, he lived indoors).

So many rabbits are bought for children, and so many end up being sold on or put up for adoption because people don't realise they hate cuddles, will scratch you to pieces and like to be left to roam around without much interruption. Guinea pigs are much more friendly, but again they would need a large indoor cage.

I would buy my future children a hamster or guinea pig over a rabbit anyday.

Hamster in too small a cage
Talk of putting a rabbit in too small a cage; possibly buying one cage / plastic tank for any pet
Not seeing the issue of having a rabbit in a cage too small as they'll just have less space
Drip feed of a budgie needing a new cage recently

I'm not convinced that OP isn't just trolling us now. Not that I'm necessarily troll hunting. More wishful thinking I guess.

It's 90cm by 50 I'm sure that meets the requirements also we got a large wooden wheel in the cage which he uses

If I'd known how much space our guinea pigs would need, I'd never have bloody bought them!
The pets at home cage was fine actually when they were babies, but they have quadrupled in size since (as has their cage).

FFS. You shouldn't own animals given your responses and frankly, lack of empathy for them. Sure, you and your daughter could live in one room as it is just a smaller space right, but it wouldn't give you much quality of life would it? Please do some research.

I hate pets at home. I was in there buying some bulk food as my online zooplus order went missing. I overheard an employee telling a woman she could have six goldfish in a 50 gallon pond with no filtration. I saw another family buying a rabbit and the cage the employee recommended was smaller than the one I had my last hamster in. Finally I saw them telling a family to just get one rat because they could then buy a smaller cage which again was tiny. These people may not have done research and are trusting pets at home to steer them correctly.

I've talked to DD and placed an order for the Alaska cage so hopefully it'll be okay.
I admit I don't know much about keeping guinea pigs or rabbits, but it gets very frustrating having to constantly replace cages - although I would definitely get a new one if my pet was visible unhappy. As for the budgie, its cage was always quite big but we decided to upgrade because we're getting it a friend (it was quite lonely, I think).
I am very fond of my pets, take them to the vet etc. but always buying new things (when they don't appear necessary) seems a bit ridiculous to me.

You wouldn't have to keep buying new things if you did the research in the first place though

"Measure twice, cut once"

As others have said, rabbits are much harder work than you think, if you want them to be happy and healthy. If you think that cage is enough for rabbits to run around in, you must have never seen a rabbit running!

My 11 year old is a lone rabbit (his pal died of a disease which my bun is almost certainly a carrier of as a result of contact, so it wouldn’t be right to expose another rabbit to it). Even as a geriatric rabbit, he still needs exercise, stimulation, and plenty of company to make up for living alone.

A rabbit will hide unhappiness or pain, they would be eaten in the wild if they showed weakness. As someone further up said, they are the most neglected of pets, but you no longer have ignorance as an excuse. Please don’t get a rabbit.

I’ve just come here after seeing a post on Facebook about a rabbit with severe muscle wastage from being kept in a 3 ft cage - the poor thing’s intestines are now resting against the skin of the stomach and there’s nothing vets can do - to see OP wants to get a rabbit and keep it in a guinea pig cage! OP, are you meaning to come across as such a cold hearted cunt or are you just incredibly ignorant?

Why do you think you know best when you appear to have done NO research whatsoever? I feel so sad for the rabbit you’ll end up adopting and keeping alone and in a tiny cage

If you don’t care to listen to all the great advice you’ve had here, please at least read what the Rabbit Association and Welfare Fund has to say about what’s involved in caring for rabbits. They need access to AT LEAST 10 x 6 ft every day, regardless of what you personally think is adequate.

The rabbit was called Emma and the post by Windwhistle Warren Rabbit Rescue OP if you’d like to see the effects of attitudes like yours on living breathing animals.

@EveWasShamed
I just read the rescue’s post on Emma. That’s really upsetting, poor girl. Rabbits are so full of life and mischief, what’s been done to her is awful.

"You wouldn't have to keep buying new things if you did the research in the first place though"

This can't be stressed enough!!!

Stupid, ignorant people

We've got the same cage (the pets at home one) and it's perfectly sufficient for our Syrian hammy..

For transporting it home from seller or taking it to the vet, otherwise, it's not. We made this mistake, soon rectified it, but keep that small cage for transport.

I am very fond of my pets, take them to the vet etc.

I’m very fond of my children. Take them to the doctors etc.

Odd thing to say.

You don’t have to keep replacing cages if you buy a decent one in the first place. HTH.

Blimey the hypocrisy on here is outstanding. Keeping an animal in a cage is still keeping an animal in a cage. We shouldn’t be buying hamsters and the like at all. They should be left to live in their natural habitat.

I can’t bear people who lecture others but then happily go on about keeping these animals as pets themselves but at a ‘better standard’. You are no better whatsoever.

'We shouldn’t be buying hamsters and the like at all. They should be left to live in their natural habitat'. Yes because humans have a great track record for not destroying the environment and not allowing species to become extinct.