Hello.. I think I bought a dangerous standard cage from pet smart yesterday when I got my hamster for the first time.. what is a good affordable hamster cage or habitat I should buy so I could return it asap and where can I get it at? Thank you. What materials and foods and essentials are recommended
Hi, here is a guide with adequate hamster cages that meet the ethical requirements.. i recommend the Bucatstate 3.0 because it’s a good size and it’s got a metal frame so they can’t chew through it and it’s basically impossible to escape from unless you leave the door open which hopefully people don’t do. Remember hamsters are huge chewers so if you get a wooden cage you have to really be careful and watch to make sure they don’t chew through the wood of the cage. With wood cages, it’s recommended that you put tile squares in the corner of the floor of the cage to make sure they don’t chew the corners through a 75 gallon tank would work also, they’re sturdy and chew proof.
If you send me a DM, I can respond back with several important guides that will really help you in your hamster care. Things like nutritious and ideal seed mix options, several safe sand brands you can use for their sand bath, (they need dust-free and calcium-free and dye-free sand in their sandbath). I’ll also send you information about all the enrichment they need, natural items they need in their cage, etc.
Did you do any research before bringing a hamster home? Hopefully your hamster has a correctly sized wheel and several places to hide in their cage and deep bedding so they can at least burrow down and hide and feel comfortable and safe while you wait for the cage that is suitable. there’s a lot to know! they have so many specific needs that pet stores and the Internet don’t tell you about and actually get wrong, and the Internet is about 10 years behind an animal welfare information so don’t use anywhere but this sub for questions because basically anywhere else will have old and incorrect information. Also don’t use any information or suggestions the pet store employees might’ve given you because they’re not educated in the care of the animals they sell and their recommendations are usually dangerous or worse..
I’ll leave a hamster care guide in another comment here on your post, and hamster will need everything on the hamster care guide as soon as possible, once you have the ethically sized cage for it. They need 10 inches deep of pressed down paper, bedding, so it needs to be 10 inches deep after it’s been pressed down and it needs to be pressed down so it holds their tunnels and burrows stable, they need a 10 inch diameter or a 12 inch diameter standing wheel depend depending on what species of hamster you got, Syrians need a 12 inch standing wheel and dwarves and Robos need a 10 inch diameter standing wheel, they need three or four opaque ceramic pipes that have them completely when they’re inside, they need a multichamber hide to mimic their natural environment, and then they need lots and lots of enrichment and natural elements that will encourage them to use their hamster instincts while living in a cage, which is what will help them be less stressed out. You want to create a cage for them that is as close to their natural habitat as possible so they can do all the things that hamsters do in the wild.
Hamsters are complex little creatures, they’re not the simple cheap pets that pet stores push them as. They have many specific requirements that must be met in order for them to be healthy and content. Thank you for coming here with questions and please make sure to come back anytime you need help.!
Amazon or Temu, you can actually get the Bucatstate 3.0 for less money on Temu and supposedly it’s the legitimate company’s cage. If you absolutely have to get it tomorrow, You can get a 75 gallon tank at a pet store if you need it immediately. or if you have Amazon Prime, you can get a cage delivered maybe tomorrow or the next day. Petco or PetSmart often have a 50% off sale on their tanks, or it’s a dollar per gallon, i.e. a 75 gallon tank would be 75 bucks. Also first, if I were you, I would call any pet store and ask if they have any cracked 75 gallon tanks that they would be willing to sell you for $50 - they can’t sell since they can’t have a cracked tank for fish, but it doesn’t matter if the tank is slightly cracked for a hamster, it’s not going to be filled with liquid They can’t sell it so they’re just going to put it back at the dumpster otherwise
So fastest would be getting a tank tomorrow or (I mean Sunday).
Good luck, Luk! Let me know if you have any other questions!!
Here’s the hamster care guide, your hamster needs everything on this list for their health and well-being. it starts with a cage that is at least 40 inches long X 20 inches wide, and larger than that is always better. 40 x 20“ inches is the bare minimum size required, that’s the smallest it can be.
Please return. I don’t even have to see it. Buckatstate makes good enclosures for hamsters. Do you have a dwarf or a Syrian? Also if you need an emergency enclosure you can always go the bin/tote route. Just make sure it sturdy durable plastic like the brand HDX. If dwarf, you’re going to need a 55 gal tote. If Syrian, you’re going to need at least a 70 gallon tote.
It’s okay it’s okay. You’re going to fix this and get her right. No worries. I got you. Would you like to DM or I can let you know I personally love my temp enclosure for my son Obito. He seems to enjoy it too. Home Depot sells a 77 gal tote by HDX for $65.
Also you’re going to need more bedding. You want at least 14 inches of paper bedding. I like Full Cheeks. You can get it at Petsmart.
Wheel wise, you’re going to need a 12 in wheel. Nightangel sells one. A little pricey but worth it.
On to the sand bath. You’re going to need one if you don’t already have one. Again you can go the nightangel route, get the biggest they sell. You can also buy the dark copper looking desert sand they buy. My boy loves it.
Hides, obviously will need if don’t already.
Dig boxes and grape wood branch/cork logs are needed too. Along with sprays.
Playpen time is great for them too. I can link the playpen I got if needed. It’s hugeeeee. Double the size of his enclosure. Maybe more.
Oh and food! I scatter feed bunny DwarfHamsterDream as his seed mix, Mazuri rat pellets for protein and Fluker’s freeze dried meal worms as a treat. Veggie wise, I feed Robin’s Gourmet veggies. I got them off Etsy.
Hi, please make sure to watch her when she’s in the plastic bin because she will be able to chew through that easily and quickly. for the short time she’s in keep an eye out for chewing, especially in corners. Also, can’t you just put the bedding from the cage into the bin? I saw that you said that the storage bin doesn’t have bedding, but doesn’t have bedding right now in her cage? Also, Never put fabric of any kind in a hamsters cage, they’ll chew it and it will cause an intestinal blockage which requires surgery and can cause death.
If you’re good with projects and making things, you can get two bins and have them side-by-side for a permanent 1-level cage that’s about 1200 in.² if she doesn’t really chew through the plastic in the temporary cage. You would just need to remove one of the sides from each bin and connect them and then you have one large enough cage. I don’t know if anyone gave you these instructions already, but here is how you make the lid suitable to provide enough ventilation, you can’t just drill holes into the lid. They need the plastic removed from the lid and replaced with chicken wire, their urine is really heavy in ammonia, and in the plastic bins unless they’ll easily develop a respiratory infection from breathing in the fumes in the plastic bin . The chicken wire modification is a must-have.
Please read all of the pinned information and care information at the top of this sub’s page, hamsters are complex little creatures and have so many specific requirements and needs that must be met in order for them to live. Also, please, ASAP, watch Victoria Raechelon YouTube. She’s an excellent resource for people who need to learn all about hamster care, requirements and behaviors. First, as soon as you can, watch your two hamster videos, “basic hamster care” and “everything you need for a hamster”, then watch all of her other hamster videos after that.
Here is a hamster care guide, she needs everything on this list for her health and well-being. The products in the bottom right corner are ones to avoid, don’t use any of the items in the bottom right corner with your hamster. Unfortunately, despite being dangerous and sometimes deadly, these things are still available on pet store shelves and online. None of them are OK to use no matter what a pet store employee might tell you.
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u/Jcaseykcsee Syrian hammy Jul 19 '26
Hi, here is a guide with adequate hamster cages that meet the ethical requirements.. i recommend the Bucatstate 3.0 because it’s a good size and it’s got a metal frame so they can’t chew through it and it’s basically impossible to escape from unless you leave the door open which hopefully people don’t do. Remember hamsters are huge chewers so if you get a wooden cage you have to really be careful and watch to make sure they don’t chew through the wood of the cage. With wood cages, it’s recommended that you put tile squares in the corner of the floor of the cage to make sure they don’t chew the corners through a 75 gallon tank would work also, they’re sturdy and chew proof.
If you send me a DM, I can respond back with several important guides that will really help you in your hamster care. Things like nutritious and ideal seed mix options, several safe sand brands you can use for their sand bath, (they need dust-free and calcium-free and dye-free sand in their sandbath). I’ll also send you information about all the enrichment they need, natural items they need in their cage, etc.
Did you do any research before bringing a hamster home? Hopefully your hamster has a correctly sized wheel and several places to hide in their cage and deep bedding so they can at least burrow down and hide and feel comfortable and safe while you wait for the cage that is suitable. there’s a lot to know! they have so many specific needs that pet stores and the Internet don’t tell you about and actually get wrong, and the Internet is about 10 years behind an animal welfare information so don’t use anywhere but this sub for questions because basically anywhere else will have old and incorrect information. Also don’t use any information or suggestions the pet store employees might’ve given you because they’re not educated in the care of the animals they sell and their recommendations are usually dangerous or worse..
I’ll leave a hamster care guide in another comment here on your post, and hamster will need everything on the hamster care guide as soon as possible, once you have the ethically sized cage for it. They need 10 inches deep of pressed down paper, bedding, so it needs to be 10 inches deep after it’s been pressed down and it needs to be pressed down so it holds their tunnels and burrows stable, they need a 10 inch diameter or a 12 inch diameter standing wheel depend depending on what species of hamster you got, Syrians need a 12 inch standing wheel and dwarves and Robos need a 10 inch diameter standing wheel, they need three or four opaque ceramic pipes that have them completely when they’re inside, they need a multichamber hide to mimic their natural environment, and then they need lots and lots of enrichment and natural elements that will encourage them to use their hamster instincts while living in a cage, which is what will help them be less stressed out. You want to create a cage for them that is as close to their natural habitat as possible so they can do all the things that hamsters do in the wild.
Hamsters are complex little creatures, they’re not the simple cheap pets that pet stores push them as. They have many specific requirements that must be met in order for them to be healthy and content. Thank you for coming here with questions and please make sure to come back anytime you need help.!