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Original poster

About to buy first hamster- any advice on cages etc?

51 replies

NeatFreak · 15/01/2010 12:56

We're buying dd a syrian hamster for her birthday and would appreciate some advice on what size of cage to buy and where from. Any other tips on what we might need would be much appreciated- I'm guessing bedding, water bottle, food bowl, house...anything else?

We'd already bought her present (something completely different) so would like to stick to as small a budget as possible

OP posts:

lou33 · 15/01/2010 16:49

we have 3 syrian hamsters, 2 short haired and one long haired

syrian hamsters can have wire cages, if they were the dwarf type ones then you need a glass or plastic one as they can slip through the gaps

we got all 3 of them at varying times from pets at home and they were about 8 - 10 weeks old, the kids found them very easy to tame, in fact within about 48 hrs they were totally at ease with being handled, and they have never bitten

they all have their own cage with plenty of room for food , water, a house, a wheel and room to wander about

we do have a ball but it is rarely used and if it is only for a max of 15 mins at a time and supervised

we have a cat too who initially showed interest but ignores them now

the kids handle them every day, they are very cute (the hamsters i mean, though my kids are too of course )

we have 2 male and one female and tbh havent found any difference in the temperament, aside from one of the males likes to sleep on his back with his balls on display

they called them mimi, peanut and barry

i especially love the name barry (he is the long haired "teddy bear" one)

cages in pets at home are sometimes on special offer, we got one for 20 quid down from 30 i think

junglist1 · 15/01/2010 18:23

I'd say if you're getting a cage with tunnels have the tunnels inside rather than out as it's easier for hammy to escape from an outside tunnel. Also get a wheel with closed rungs so they don't get a paw caught. Bigger wheels are much better than the standard size that come with the cage, you can buy them separately

shallishanti · 15/01/2010 18:34

top tip
when cleaning hamster cage out, put it (hamster) in a small tank or something with sandpaper on the floor - this helps to keep their claws short. Our last one had to be taken to vets several times for claws to be clipped.

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 15/01/2010 18:53

Get the biggest cage you can afford but if you are on a budget are you sure about getting a pet, just because it is an on going expense?

Original poster

NeatFreak · 15/01/2010 19:06

Thanks
When I say we're on a budget all I mean is that we want to be sure to get the best deal on a cage. Dd only just decided this week that she'd like a hamster and we'd already bought her some wii stuff so didn't want to spoil her go overboard. We're aware of the ongoing costs that will be involved and definitely wouldn't be considering a pet if we couldn't afford it.

MIl and FIL are giving dd money for her birthday, which we will use to buy the best/ biggest cage we can find.

OP posts:

Acanthus · 15/01/2010 19:21

We have a Rotastack cage with a tunnel from Pets at Home. Our hamster is only really happy to be handled after about 7pm (he's still asleep now). What time does your DD go to bed? Our hammy belongs to DS2 who is nearly nine so he's still around for a while after hammy wakes up.

Wallace · 15/01/2010 19:42

We got rid of our Rotastak cage because the hamster learnt how to open the lid

southeastastra · 15/01/2010 19:46

i forgot to put the plastic bit back on top of our rotostak and the hamster escaped

Wallace · 15/01/2010 19:55

Also the plastic bit on the top of the bed on the Rotastk is very hard to put back on properly, especially if bedding gets jammed in it, and then can easily be pushed off by the hamster.

southeastastra · 15/01/2010 19:56

ah maybe it opened it itself then? was convinced i'd shut it! (dp has been blaming me all these years!)

Wallace · 15/01/2010 20:06

purpleduck · 15/01/2010 20:17

we got our last hamster cage from the recycle centre. It is huge, and it cost us £4. Obviously we gave it a damn good scrub

Hamsters have different personalities (they are both lovely), but they like different things - one likes to gnaw on wood chewies, the other hates it.
So I woulddn't shell out too much at first - we generally get something new every few weeks/month to add interest.

They both like those dries corn on the cob things

purpleduck · 15/01/2010 20:18

DRIED, not dries!!!!

Summersoon · 15/01/2010 20:34

Re hamsters learning to open their cages: I have found that they are surprisingly smart animals - much more so than their presumably pea-sized brains would suggest. I had one years ago that even learnt a two-stage process (push door sideways and hold while pushing upwards) !

This makes them fun as well though - their antics can be very entertaining once they have woken up.

Acanthus · 17/01/2010 19:59

We have this rotastack:direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-8360.aspx
No problems yet

morethanyoubargainfor · 17/01/2010 20:05

neatfreak, i happen to have a space commander hamster cage (its the same as the one on the PAH link). If you would be interested?

Our hamster never escaped and i found the cage easy to clean etc and i have raynards disease so not much feeling in hands.

Let me know if you would be interested and i can get it packaged and posted to you.

PlanetEarth · 17/01/2010 20:16

Our hamster loved the wire bars on the sides and roof, and spent a lot of time hanging upsidedown .

PlanetEarth · 17/01/2010 20:20

As for escaping, don't worry too much. Our hamster escaped once when we left the cage door ajar accidentally one evening. Spotted this in the morning, but hamster was safely in bed (phew).

A couple of days later I found a chewed carrot in the veg box - she'd got up, had a snack and then gone home again .

MrsL123 · 17/01/2010 20:31

When I was about 8 I had a hamster that was kept on the landing outside my bedroom door, and one morning we found it sat on top of it's cage after escaping. My (older!) brother was so freaked out by the thought of the hamster escaping again and biting him in his sleep, that he made my mum tie up the cage door with string every night! That is truly male logic at it's finest - he believed the hamster was totally capable of opening it's cage, climbing down the bookcase, walking along the landing, opening his bedroom door, climbing up his bed, geting under his covers and biting him, but he thought it wouldn't be able to chew through some string?! Lol

Original poster

NeatFreak · 18/01/2010 11:34

Thanks for all the advice everybody. We are definitely getting dd a hamster but she doesn't know this yet

Morethanyoubargainfor, would it be suitable for a syrian hamster? It suggests on the link that it is for dwarf hamsters but I really do know little about this subject. Would it be tricky to post?

OP posts:

morethanyoubargainfor · 18/01/2010 16:14

neatfreak we had a syrian in it ti think, she loved it. It would be a BIG box but it is fairly light.

Original poster

NeatFreak · 18/01/2010 16:42

Thanks.
How much would you be asking for? Dh was looking into cages so I have no idea if he has already organised one or not but the one in that link looks fab.

OP posts:

Blondeshavemorefun · 18/01/2010 17:59

agree wire cages so hammy can swing and not a glass one where they cant

rottastack are a pita to clean - had friends one at xmas when they were away and drove me insane trying to empty all the sawdust

morethanyoubargainfor · 18/01/2010 20:42

neatfreak not much on top of postage. Our hammy loved it!

Original poster

NeatFreak · 19/01/2010 15:47

THanks. Could you give me a rough price for postage etc so I can speak to dh about it? Thank you for your offer

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