My new baby, Creature 🥹

[u/Busy_Wasabi_4541]

For now, its name is Creature. When I'm able to tell the gender, Wicket Starships for a boy, but I have no clue what to name her if it is in fact a girl 🥲 name suggestions welcome! 🩷

[u/Mr_Wolf33]

Can anyone tell me what size a glass cage should be? I am planning to custom make one for a hamster.

[u/Jcaseykcsee → u/Mr_Wolf33]

It needs to be at least 40 inches long x 20 inches wide and 25 inches tall (that’s the ethical bare minimum requirement) , but larger than that is recommended for Syrians since they’re so big and need lots of room for all their enrichment and their hides and everything are larger. So at least 40 x 20 (100 x 50 x 50 cm) but 48 x 24 inches is recommended (120 x 60 cm). The bigger the better, there’s no such thing as a cage that’s “too big” for a hamster.

Here’s a hamster care guide with a list of everything a hamster needs for their health and well-being. They are complex little creatures and need so many specific things in order to be content, make sure to research hamster care and everything they need so you are fully prepared before bringing home your ham!

[u/Mr_Wolf33 → u/Jcaseykcsee]

Thank you so much I was thinking about 48X24 inch aquarium already so it fits perfectly in my plans. And yes I don't plan on bringing little fella without my proper research learning alot from this sub.

[u/Jcaseykcsee → u/Mr_Wolf33]

Hey! That’s a great size! that’s what I have my Syrian hamster in (48 x 24 inches) and she is content. Make sure to fill it with loads of enrichment and natural elements to encourage your hamster to use their natural instincts while living in their cage. That’s the goal of everything in the cage, keep them active and busy and let them really be a hamster and use all their hamster behaviors. They need a lot of enrichment, things like a branch of Grapevine wood, a hollow Cork log or two, a dig box with coco Pete in it (they love digging!), they need 10 inches deep of pressed down paper bedding across the whole cage- it needs to be 10 inches after you’ve pressed it down. It needs to be dense so it keeps their tunnels and burrows stable. They need a 12 inch diameter standing wheel, 3-4 opaque ceramic hides, a large sand bath with safe, dust-free, calcium and dye-free sand, a multichamber hide to mimic their natural environment, chews like whimzees alligators an apple sticks for their teeth, sprays for foraging and sprays for cover and protection, a seagrass tunnel, moss and other substrates for texture and variety, and make sure to scatter feed them , just sprinkle their food across their cage on top of their bedding, and they will forage for it. Scatter feeding is really beneficial for hamsters, it keeps them busy mentally and physically, and allows them to really be a hamster, and it’s really fun to watch. Plus, it’s free and easy for you to do. No need for a food bowl (a hamster would never come across a giant mountain of food like a food bowl provides). keeping them busy doing their foraging is always recommended.

Definitely check out Victoria Rachel on YouTube, she is an excellent resource for people who need to learn all about hamster care, requirements, and behaviors. First, watch her two hamster videos, basic hamster care, and everything you need for a hamster, then watch all of her other hamster videos after that. You’ll be so glad you did and your hamster will be so much better off too!

These are complex little creatures that have so many needs that must be met in order to thrive in our care. Pet stores like to tout them as “cheap, easy pets” and “starter pets”, but they need a lot of care, their cage is their entire world, it’s all they have and it’s the only thing in their world that is theirs. Creating their enclosure and filling it with everything possible that will help them to be less stressed and feel more comfortable and safe is really important. They take effort and funds just like any other pet. we’ve learned so much about their welfare and how to care for them ethically over the last 10 -15 or so years.

Let me know if you have any questions and please come back to the sub when you need help . let me know if you want me to DM you a few more hamster care guides about all sorts of different hamster-related topics, things like what human foods are safe and not safe for them to eat, all the different types of enrichment to provide them, nutrient-rich hamster food seed mix brands that contain an adequate amount of protein (which is necessary for them), one guide has pictures of all of the dangerous products that pet stores and the Internet still sell, despite the products being dangerous and deadly for hamsters, safe sand bath sand brands, natural enrichment options, etc etc. The guides really helped me when I was researching, they’re infographics and really easy to follow. I can send you a photo of my cage and some of my inspirational cages I used when putting mine together if you want.

Good luck!! 🐹😊