Your hamster’s home if very important to their wellbeing. While you may think they only need a small cage, a large and stimulating environment is required for your hamster to live happily and healthily. This is especially true for hamsters living on their own — they need an exciting home to keep themselves entertained with!
So, how do you set up a hamster cage? What exactly do you need to give your hamster the best life? We’ve got all the information, so keep reading on below to ensure you meet all your hamster’s needs.
What You Need To House Your Hamster
Large Cage With Solid Floor
The first thing you need for your hamster is a large cage. In the wild, hamsters run for many miles every day, so the bigger the cage the better. Many cages that are marketed towards hamsters in pet stores are actually too small for your hamster, so consider getting a cage for a larger animal.
We recommend you get a hamster cage that is at least 450 square inches in size. It should be at least 12 inches (30 cm) deep.
Your hamster cage should have a solid bottom, as hamsters like to burrow and will reach the bottom of the cage at some point. Whether you choose for the rest of the cage to be wire or solid is up to you.
Many Syrian hamster owners opt for a wire enclosure with a solid base, but it is important to remember that other breeds, such dwarf hamsters, could squeeze through the wire and escape. Therefore, a tank or aquarium with a secure, wire lid for ventilation is great for smaller breeds.
Bedding
Your hamster’s home should be filled with at least 6 inches of bedding as these animals like to burrow and make tunnels. In the wild, hamsters create large tunnels with many chambers underground for different activities. Plenty of bedding will also give them space to dig, hoard their food and urinate.
There are different types of bedding available for your hamster, and some that should be avoided. We recommend you use non-scented wood shavings, such as aspen shavings, then put ink-free, soft shredded paper on top. Hay is also a good option.
However, there are other options out there. You should avoid fluffy and fleece style bedding because this can get caught in your pet’s feet, or they could ingest it. We created a list of the best and worst hamster bedding, so you can find the right one for your hamster.
Hideouts and Tunnels
Hamsters need plenty of hideouts and tunnels around their home to stay happy. Often called hamster houses or a nest box, these areas are a place where your hamster can retreat to to keep warm, feel safe and sleep in.
In the wild, hamsters will construct burrows consisting of multiple chambers which they will use to urinate in, hoard food and sleep in. Just like us, they won’t use the same area to eat as they do to go to the toilet. Therefore, we recommend you give your hamster at least five or six places to hide.
Some owners prefer to give their hamster a large house, and then a few smaller hideouts and tunnels scattered around the home. Others prefer a multi-chamber hide.
Whatever you choose, just make sure that there is at least one, if not two or three large hides in their home in which they can move around in and get comfortable. You can then add smaller tunnels for general enrichment.
These hides can be made of many different materials including wood and cork, and ceramic hides can be a great way to keep your hamster cool in the summer. You can also DIY your own hides using cardboard boxes, toilet rolls and PVC pipes.
Read our article on the best hamster hideouts to find out more.
Toys and Enrichment
We have already mentioned tunnels and hides above, which are a great source of enrichment for hamsters. A wheel is also a great way to keep your hamster exercised and entertained. However, they’ll also enjoy some other toys and fun items in their home.
Popular enrichment items include grapewood vines, bridges and cork flats, all of which will add interest to your hamster’s home and encourage them to climb. You can DIY your own toys by using toilet rolls and stuffing them with bedding and treats for your hamster to forage through.
Hamster teeth are constantly growing, so they need things to chew on to grind them down. Chew toys such as wooden toys or pine cones or wood are great for hamsters to keep their teeth in check.
Rocks can also help to file their nails down. To encourage their forging behavior, you can scatter dried flowers and herbs throughout their cage to keep them busy.
There are many different types of toys out there for your hamster, both which you can buy and make yourself. To help you learn more, we’ve compiled an article all about the best toys for your hamster here.
Platforms and Ladders
Platforms and ladders are an excellent way to add extra space to your hamster’s home and encourage them to move around. Providing them with different levels will give them a source of enrichment and allow them to explore their space better.
Platforms can also be a great place to store heavier items on, such as food bowls or large hamster houses. By using a platform instead of placing these heavy items directly on the bedding, the bedding is much less likely to cave in and hurt your hamster when they tunnel through it.
Exercise Wheel
An exercise wheel is a popular toy for hamsters and you should supply your hamster with one. This will help them to fulfil their exercise needs.
However, you have to ensure that the wheel is the right size for your hamster. We recommend a wheel that is no smaller than 8 inches (20 cm). Your hamster should be able to run with a straight back.
The hamster wheel should also be a solid structure and made with a non-slip surface. This surface should ideally be flat with no bars or mesh so it doesn’t hurt your hamster’s feet.
Sand Bath
A sand bath is a dish of pet-friendly sand that your hamster can use to clean themselves. Hamsters are generally clean animals and will clean themselves, so they don’t technically need a sand bath. However, even the cleanest hamsters will end up looking a little grubby from time to time, which is when a sand bath can be very useful.
A sand bath allows your hamster to clean themselves by rolling around in the sand, instead of being bathed in soap and water that would strip the natural oils from their fur.
Sand baths are very easy to set up. You can learn all about sand baths for your hamster here.
Food And Water
Hamsters need fresh food and water every day to keep healthy. They should be fed commercial hamster pellets or a mixture of different seeds, that are specially formulated for them and found in pet shops. Be careful not to feed them a muesli-style mix, because they will leave the parts that are high in fiber and eat the bits that are high in sugar.
You should follow the manufacturers guideline on how much to feed them. If you like, you can scatter feed them by sprinkling the food over the top of their bedding. This will keep them entertained and exploring as they move around their cage to find their food!
You can also give them fruits (apples, pears, bananas, grapes and most berries) and vegetables (carrots, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, romaine lettuce, spinach), as well as hay, such as Timothy, oat and orchard grass.
Hay can help to add fiber to your hamster’s diet, although not all hamster’s will be interested in it. If you use hay for your pet’s bedding, extra hay can be given for eating, too.
When it comes to water, you can give it to your hamster either in a bowl or a bottle. It will depend on what your hamster finds easier. Some owners prefer a bottle because it keeps the water clean and uncontaminated. It’s also much more difficult to knock over! However, other owners prefer a bowl because it keeps the hamster in a more natural drinking position.
Our article on the best hamster diet will help you learn more about feeding your hamster correctly.
Where Should I Put My Hamster Cage?
You may think you can place your hamster cage anywhere in your home, but this isn’t true. Hamsters are quite specific about where they want to live!
Hamsters are very sensitive to high frequency sound, known as ultrasound, so shouldn’t be placed near any objects that emit this as they can find it very stressful. This includes near TVs, fridges, computers, vacuum cleaners, and running water.
You should place your hamster cage in a room where the lights go off at more or less the same time each night, as they need to be near predictable light. Their sleep schedule can be affected if lights are going on and off at different hours each day.
They’re also sensitive to direct and bright sunlight, and shouldn’t be placed near drafts and radiators. These animals can be affected quite a bit by changes in temperature, so try to keep it constant for them. If the weather gets very cold, you should give your hamster more bedding.
Hamsters spend most of the day sleeping, so will need to be kept in a quiet area. They will get woken up if there is a lot of noise. They should also be kept away from any other household pets — a dog or cat can seem pretty scary and intimidating to your hamster and can cause them stress.
Should I Get More Than One Hamster?
Depending on the breed of hamster that you have, you may want to get them a companion. In general, hamsters are solitary animals, and some breeds, such as the Syrian and Chinese hamster are not naturally sociable and should be kept alone.
There are some breeds, like the dwarf breeds, which are more sociable and can be housed together. They should be introduced at a young age, however, to prevent fights.
Whether you get your hamster a companion or not will be up to you. Hamsters of all breeds can live happily on their own as long as they are given enough enrichment.
Learn about housing hamsters together here.
How Often Should I Clean Out My Hamster?
The general rule is that you should spot clean your hamster’s cage every day, to remove any soiled bedding and leftover food. This will help to keep your hamster’s cage smelling clean and prevent any food from rotting.
Depending on how large your hamster cage is, thoroughly cleaning it out often may be difficult. However, you should generally aim to remove all the bedding and replace it every week or so.
A full deep clean of your hamster’s home should happen once a month. This is when you remove everything out of the cage and clean it using hamster-safe cleaning products, before replacing everything.
For instructions on how to clean out your hamster, check our guide here.
