Housing your Hamster

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From the Book / Experienced / Different types of cages

From the Book
Several types of cages are available that are suitable for housing hamsters. Many of these units come equipped with cage "furniture" such as exercise wheels, tunnels and nest boxes as added luxuries. Such accessories, as well as sufficient litter depth within which to burrow, are desirable for the pet's psychological wellbeing. Cages should be constructed with rounded corners to prevent chewing. Hamsters will readily chew through wood, light plastic and soft metal; so recommended caging materials are wire, stainless steel, durable plastic and glass. Beware that glass and plastic containers drastically reduce ventilation and can lead to problems with humidity, temperature and odor concentration. These materials make suitable cages when at least one side of the enclosure is open for air circulation. In addition, make sure that the enclosure is escape proof, because these little rodents are known escape artists.
Hamsters do very well in solid bottom cages with deep bedding and ample nesting material. Bedding must be clean, non-toxic, absorbent, relatively dust free, and easily acquired. Shredded paper or tissue, wood shavings and processed corn cob are preferred bedding. To prevent a potentially serious bedding-use mistake, please visit this site to make sure that the bedding you buy isn't fatal for your hamster, dosn't hurt your hamsters lungs, etc. Be sure that the wood shavings and ground corn cob are free from mold, mildew or other contamination before using. Cotton and shredded tissue paper make excellent nesting materials. Never use pine or cedar bedding. (click the link for reasons).
Adult hamsters require a minimum floor area of 19 square inches and a cage height of 6 inches. Female breeding hamsters require much larger areas. Optimal temperature range for hamsters is between 65o to 80oF, with babies doing best at 70o to 75oF. The relative humidity should be between 40% and 70%. Twelve hour light cycles are preferred, with hamsters being more active during the night.

Pet hamsters are generally housed singly. Mature female hamsters tend to be very aggressive towards one another and should never be housed together. Females are also larger and more aggressive than males, thus males usually need to be separated immediately after breeding. Males may also fight when housed together, but tend to be less aggressive than females.
As a rule of thumb, the cage and accessories should be cleaned thoroughly once to twice weekly. An exception to this schedule is when newborn babies are present; wait until they are at least two weeks old to disturb the cage. Other factors that may require increased frequency of cleaning are the number of hamsters in the cage, the type of bedding material provided, and the cage design and size. Cages are sanitized with hot water and nontoxic disinfectant or detergent, then thoroughly rinsed. Water bottles and food dishes should be cleaned and disinfected daily.