You’re all set to begin your wonderful hamster odyssey. Time spent on researching which hamster is best for you, as well as nutrition and health, has proved invaluable.
Then you start checking out hamster cages for your imminent, cute arrival. Feeling overwhelmed? Likely, you’re not alone in that.
The amount of information available on choosing the best hamster cage is mind-boggling. So if you want some straightforward ideas on choosing the best hamster cage, then read on!
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Getting started with Hamster Cages
Before you buy the shiniest cage on the block, spend a bit of time on the nitty-gritty of hamster cage wisdom.
- The size of your hamster should influence the type of enclosure you use.
- Although all cages should be safe and spacious, they also need to be escape-proof.
- Where do you intend to keep the cage and if there are limitations on cage size.
- Some cages vary in design complexity. Lots of tunnels, for example, as well as other add-ons, will mean more time spent on cleaning/maintenance.
- Finally, if your new arrival is for a child, this might influence cage style – some designs facilitate lots of viewing entertainment.
The best hamster cages – Our Top 5 at a glance
- Savic Hamster Heaven Hamster Cage
- Favola Hamster Cage
- Ferplast Hamster Cage
- GNB PET Hamster Cage DIY Habitat
- Ferplast HAMSTERVILLE Hamster Habitat Cage
Note: Clicking the above links will take you to further information, current prices and customer reviews on Amazon.
Hamster Cage basics
Whatever the type, all cages should have sufficient room for your hamster to explore, feel safe and play.
It’s recommended that cage heights should be a minimum of 40 cm, with higher cages the ideal. Hamsters need lots of bedding to feel secure so the bigger the cage the more material you can provide for them.
Cage structures vary, from wire to glass and plastic – avoid wooden structures, as tiny teeth will cheerfully gnaw at these. Cages should contain food and water bowls [or water bottles], as well as stimulating toys and cozy nest areas.
Hamster Cage types
Wire hamster cages
Wire cages all share the same structure principles – wire sides supported by a plastic bottom tray base. The advantages of wire cages are varied.
- Hamsters enjoy climbing which makes the wire bars ideal.
- You can see through the wire, which will give you plenty of viewing pleasure
- Smaller hamster breeds could get stuck or even escape, depending on the size of gaps between bars. So ensure you check this is suitable before making a purchase.
- Wire cages can be messy with bedding and substrate escaping between the gaps.
- Multiple level cages will provide space for your hamster.
- Split level living – wire tops for space and deep bottoms for burrowing/nesting without the mess.
- a good tip for viewing your hamster more is to opt for a transparent base. But make sure your furry little friend has a secluded area such as a house to hideaway in!
Glass hamster cages
They are often purchased as aquariums and can be very effective as hamster enclosures. pretty much escape-proof, spacious for plenty of nesting materials, and easy to keep clean. Being glass, they’re heavy enclosures so if you order online, factor in shipping costs.
Hamster activity won’t keep you awake at night if they’re in one of these, plus on a purely aesthetic level, these cages look stylish.
Being fairly large, consider what space you have to accommodate one in your home – go for a minimum size of around 30-40 gallons, while they can go up to 80+ gallons.
If space is a premium but you like the idea of a hamster tank, try a wire tank topper on a 30-40 gallon enclosure to give your hamster lots of room.
- Look stylish and are mainly escape proof.
- Can be very heavy.
- Good for stacked levels.
- Easy to maintain and clean.
Plastic hamster cages
Far lighter than glass, they look similar and these cage types come in many weirdly wonderful colors – good for a children’s pet hamster. Available in varying degrees of design innovation, they are easy to maintain – although, if there are lots of different levels and activity areas, all of the components will need regular cleaning.
You can get really imaginative by adding lots of activity options such as ramps and tunnels, plus there’s scope for stacked levels.
A real positive about these cages is their visible entertainment value, which is good for bonding with your hamster.
- Multiple levels an option.
- Brightly colored and quirky – ideal for a child’s pet.
- If using several add-ons, be prepared for lots of cleaning.
- Always ensure the plastic cage meets the minimum size standards for your breed of hamster.
Best hamster cages available to buy now – Reviews
Savic Hamster Heaven Hamster Cage
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The Savic Hamster Heaven metro hamster cage does exactly what it says on the box! The large bottom tray footprint is ideal for larger hamsters who require more floor space for exercise as opposed to verticle climbing space. The huge list of add-ons and accessories provide hours of entertainment for your hamster (and you!) and save any additional purchases. Included in the box are tunnels, platforms, slides, 2 houses to give your critter a choice of bedding, exercise wheel, toilet, food bowls and drinking bottle.
The bottom tray base of the hamster cage is very sturdy and provides enough depth to fill up with a substrate to allow for burrowing and tunnelling. The wire cage is strong and secure and fits in the bottom tray perfectly. All of which gives you peace of mind safe in the knowledge that any escape attempts will be met with a strong and secure obstacle!
All of the accessories are designed with the larger hamster in mind. Which is great if you are keeping Syrian hamsters. Smaller hamsters may find themselves challenged by some of the climbing accessories such as the stairs. But overall we wouldn’t see this as a downside. The accessories provided make the hamster cage hugely configurable, which we think is a great way of keeping things interesting for your furry friend!
On the downside, the Savic hamster heaven metro cage is relatively expensive. But this we feel is justified by the size of the cage, excellent build quality and an impressive list of accessories.
Manufacturers Specs and Features
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED: the cage comes with lots of accessories including tunnels, exercise wheel, two houses, a penthouse, a water bottle and more.
- HUGE SIZE: The hamster heaven metro cage lets you build a heavenly home for you hamster. The cage measures 80cm x 50 cm x 50cm with 9.5mm bar spacing.
- LARGE BASE: The large lower area ensures your pet will have lost of frolicking and tunneling fun.
- EASY TO MOVE: the cage comes with two large handles so you can move the cage to any location. The large door gives you easy access to your hamster.
- The cage is proudly made in Belgium. Additional tubes are available to customize you hamster house.
Pros
- Huge! perfect for your busy Syrian hamster. Smaller hamsters would also be more than happy living in one of these
- Packed full of accessories
- Good build quality
- Easy to assemble
- Great fun for you and your hamster!
Cons
- Quite expensive
- The top crawl tube is reportedly weak so it important to monitor for gnaw marks and potential escape attempts!
Favola Hamster Cage
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The Ferplast Favola Hamster cage is a well built, solid no fuss kinda cage. The split level arrangement provides a good footprint on the lower deck for exercise and burrowing, with the upper level reserved for relaxing, eating and drinking. A cool feature of this cage is the transparent base, which allows you to take a peek into what your little furry friend is up to when burrowing into the substrate (of which the base provides ample depth for)
The modular connection system on the Ferplast Favola hamster cage is also a great feature. This allows you to expand your hamster’s habitat with a wide selection of add-ons and accessories. creating new and fun routes and hideouts whenever you feel like it!
The Furplast Favola Hamster cage is complete with accessories such as a nest for your buddies bedding, bowl for food, drinking bottle with a special steel nozzle and a wheel for your hamsters favorite past-time.
A useful door in the top of the cage allows for quick everyday maintenance. For a full clean, then the cage is detachable from the bottom tray using a series of clips.
Although the Furplast Favola Hamster cage is fairly large and would meet the recommended minimum standards for a larger Syrian hamster, we have found that the wheel and add-ons are more suited to a smaller hamster.
Manufacturers Specs and Features
- Hamster Cage Includes 2 Spacious Floors; First floor is a deep 4.75 height inches to promote playful borrowing w/ a Hamster friendly plastic ramp (no pinched toes) for easy access to the plastic top level where their food dish, water & hide away preside
- Fully equipped & modular designed hamster cage; Favola includes a food dish, water bottle, hide away, 5.5 inch exercise wheel & a connecting port for play tubes to connect to other hamster cages
- Easy Maintenance Hamster Cage: Top panel features an access door & entire wire portion & middle plastic section of the cage disconnects from the transparent base for easy cleaning access
- Large Living Space: Hamster cage measures 23.6 length x 14.4 width x 11.8 height inches, deep base measures 23.6L x 14.4W x 4.75H (approx. 340 square inch base), wire top mesh is 1/4 inch wide, exercise wheel is 5.5 inch diameter
Pros
- Strong and well built
- A good set of accessories as standard
- 2-level design provides ample room for exercise and rest
- Easy to assemble
- See-thru bottom tray allows for observation when burrowing
Cons
- The wheel is somewhat on the small side.
- Relatively expensive
- Awkward to remove your hamster from the bottom level without removing the entire wire cage
- cleaning the bottom level is difficult because of the textured finish
Ferplast Hamster Cage
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A colorful and happy habitat for your lively hamsters! The Ferplast Laura hamster cage has been designed to be attached to other hamster habitats thanks to the special connection caps.
The Ferplast Laura hamster cage is complete with accessories making it very comfortable: a plastic bowl for food, a drinking bottle for water, a nest for pets relaxation, as well as tubes and wheel for playing. Besides, a plastic shelf fixed to the cage creates a practical floor where your small pet can rest. The Ferplast Laura Hamster Cage is easy to keep always tidy and has access doors on the front and top of the wire mesh, which makes it very handy for everyday maintenance. full cleans can be done by removing the plastic bottom tray, and by lifting out the bedding from the included hamster house.
Again this model is aimed at a smaller critter due to the diameter of the wheel and tunnels.
Manufacturers Specs and Features
- Interactive Hamster Cage ; Laura hamster cage features fun tubes to promote playful and healthy hamster exploration of their habitat ; Hamster cage measures 18.11L x 11.61W x 14.76H, wire mesh is 5.25L x .5W and plastic base is 3.25 deep - inches
- Great Starter Hamster Cage ; Laura hamster cage includes 1 food dish, 1 water bottle, 1 hamster hide-out, 1 exercise wheel and play tubes, everything you need to get started.
- Easy Maintenance Hamster Cage ; A deep 3.25" plastic base contains bedding and can be removed to dump litter / etc. for routine cleaning, other plastic accessories and wire top can be cleaned with a mild, hamster-safe detergent
- Convenient Top and Front Door Access ; Simply lift the top door to gain access to your hamster and the accessories for cleaning or food / water refills
Pros
- Strong and well built
- Large footprint and lots of exercise space
- Lots of accessories
- Easy to assemble
- Great for climbing hamsters
Cons
- Tubes can be difficult to clean
- Wheel diameter is quite small for a larger hamster.
- Awkward to remove your hamster from the bottom level without removing the entire wire cage
GNB PET Hamster Cage DIY Habitat
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The GNB Super Large Hamster cage is a great cage for those who like a certain amount of DIY activity! It comes with quite a few parts, and from what we found without instructions! But this shouldn’t put you off if you enjoy a challenge.
The Cage is really big. Really really big. The tubes are adequately sized for a large critter, and there is plenty of floor space in the bottom tray for scurrying around and exploring. There isn’t any house or hideaway for your furry little critter’s bedding, but plenty of room on the base for an additional structure.
The sheer number of parts allows you to be very creative with your designs, and if that isn’t enough you can purchase an expansion pack to add even more tunneling fun!
The GNB Super Large Hamster cage great value, too. You will probably want to add your own wheel, but there’s plenty of space for that.
Manufacturers Specs and Features
- Super big habitat and playing areas for hamsters, Teddy bear hamsters, gerbil and exotic pets.
- Included tubes for pet exercising and playing to get the Ulimited DIY fun.
- Plastic base and upper wire net structure with added safety, they are Non-toxic material, safe for your little buddies.
- It' s easy to assemble. And it' s easy to clean thanks to its removable base.
- Extra tunnels available for purchase (search B0792923CZ)
Pros
- Tunnels
- Platforms
- Ramps
- Food bowl
- Drinking bottle
Cons
- Not for everyone if DIY isn’t your thing
- No Assembly instructions
- Exercise wheel not included
Ferplast HAMSTERVILLE Hamster Habitat Cage
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Made from Wood coming only from sustainably managed forests, The Ferplast Hamsterville wooden cage is a robust eco-friendly product entirely designed for your pet’s comfort. Thanks to its Original structure with many levels, your furry friend will have space to exercise and play freely. Inside the habitat, special levels with ladders connect the different floors.
The shelves have a special liquid-resistant coating making them very practical and easy to maintain. On the bottom level, the Ferplast Hamsterville hamster wooden cage has a pull-out bottom tray for easy cleaning.
The bottom tray is nice a deep and makes it very practical and tidy when cleaning out your pet
There’s a decent set of accessories included as well, including a hamster house, a wheel for exercise, drinking bottle and Feeding bowl.
Manufacturers Specs and Features
- Beautiful Natural Wood Hamster Cage | Unique hamster cage is made with all natural, sustainable, liquid resistant wood & a robust wire net structure
- Hamster Cage Includes All Accessories | Hamsterville comes equipped with a plastic 5.5" exercise wheel, .04-gallon plastic water bottle, plastic food dish, hamster hide-out, 3 wood platforms & ladders
- Easy Maintenance Wood Hamster Cage | A 2.6" deep plastic base contains bedding & can be removed to dump litter / etc. for routine cleaning, other plastic accessories & wire top can be cleaned with a mild, hamster-safe detergent, removable plastic base measures 22.75L x 12.25W x 2.6H inches
- Convenient Front & Top Door Access | Simply lift the top door to gain access to your hamster & the accessories for cleaning or food / water refills
Pros
- Eco-friendly.
- Easy on the eye wood construction
- Good list of accessories
Cons
- Can be a bit tricky to assemble the different levels
- The wheel is OK, not great.
- Small doors make it a bit tricky for everyday maintenance and cleaning.
- Very heavy
Hamster size and cages
When choosing a hamster cage, think about what will best suit your particular hamster.
Obviously, these enchanting little critters come in varying sizes – a factor in their popularity – so cages should be as secure as possible.
Here are a few examples, based on size and breed.
The best hamster cage for Dwarf hamsters
Being small, they can move very quickly and are bundles of energy. You don’t want your dwarf hamster getting stuck in tubes or tunnels, as well as escaping.
Although small, dwarf hamsters vary in temperament – for example, Campbell’s Russians can be nervy so they need plenty of hiding places.
On the other hand, dwarf winter whites are friendly little busybodies so set up a petting area for interaction. Chinese hamsters can be nippy if bored, and aren’t keen on being handled – glass tanks are a good choice for them, with space for toys and burrowing.
In general, for most dwarf hamsters opt for solid-sided cages to prevent escape, with lots of visible activity areas for observation without stress.
The best hamster cage for Robo hamsters
Tiny and super quick, they’re adorable bundles of energy who need lots of mental and physical exercise.
Go for cages with solid sides to keep them safe, and provide tubes, tunnels, and wheels to keep them fit and well.
Plastic/glass enclosures are fine, where you can opt for multiple levels, toppers, and add-ons to give your robo a stimulating environment.
The best hamster cage for Syrian hamsters
Otherwise known as teddy bear hamsters, their relatively larger size is suited to most cages, including wire.
They need lots of space, so a glass tank of 40+ gallons is good, as is a large plastic cage. Plastic is particularly good if you’re short on space, but both options facilitate multiple levels.
The ideal is a spacious cage that has a large bottom tray, with lots of room for wheels, tunnels, and other fun toys.
However, Syrian hamsters are known to gnaw on connector tubes so you’ll need to monitor this to prevent escapology antics.
Conclusion
There isn’t a broad consensus among hamster enthusiasts but that’s not surprising. What are the best hamster cages depends on several factors. These include home space and hamster breed, as well as how much time and effort you want to put into cage maintenance.
Do your research on the specific needs of your hamster – its size, temperament, and exercise levels – and you won’t go far wrong. Making the right choice from the start will give your hamster the perfect home to settle into.
Ready to Buy? Here is a reminder of our top 3.
