Everyone remembers their first furry friend, and everyone loves fuzzy little creatures with cute faces. What we tend to forget is that even the tiniest of creatures lead big lives. Our little hamster friends seem content to burrow away to the bottom of their houses and stay there, but what we don’t know is that while we are sleeping, they are as active as ever. Since they are small, people often make the mistake of giving a small creature a small home. As a matter of fact, these fuzzy friends need space to roam and toys to play with.
Two popular, but inadequate, homes for a hamster are a CritterTrail or a Kritter Keeper. Kritter Keepers come in four sizes; mini, small, medium, and large. These homes advertise themselves as stackable homes for small animals and other critters, but these homes are so small that the only thing I would dare consider it a home for is a ladybug. These leave no room for running or foraging, which is an essential part of a hamster’s routine.
They leave room for a water bottle, a food bowl, and a little hide house. On average, a wild hamster can run up to five and a half miles a night. So these little creatures, without a doubt, need a wheel to run on in their home. Kritter Keepers will not fit a properly sized wheel. CritterTrails are better than Kritter Keepers, but they are not at all appropriate for keeping a fuzzy friend in. They say that tunnels imitate the burrowing that the hamsters do, but in reality, it restricts them from tunneling themselves. The digging and creating the tunnels is a good simulation of what the creatures would do in the wild. We want to give our fuzzy buddies as close to what they would have if they weren’t in captivity as we can.
A proper home for them can be a multitude of things. One of the least expensive cages is a bin cage, they can be as large and detailed as you want because you create them.
An old bookshelf or dresser that you don’t use anymore can be converted into a multi-story hamster home. It takes some work but the outcome is an amazing quality home for your buddy. Another good option for a proper cage is an aquarium. The minimum size would be a 10-gallon tank. A good option for people who don’t have the adequate space for a huge cage would be the Alexander Small Pet Cage from Zooplus. It comes with pet-safe wood accessories for climbing and hiding, and it also comes with a deep set tray on the bottom so you can layer the bedding and the hamster can burrow.
There are many proper options for your little loved one. Their lives are short so make sure to give them the fullest, happiest life they can get. You’re all they have so love them immensely!
