watch out for rotastack - not good for syrians!! they gt stuck

id go for a wire cage - witha plastic bottom - no tunnels at all - buy them separately - they have special ones for larger hammys

just talk to a decent pet shop - they willadvise you on the best type of cage to get

i almost bought another syrian today lol!! i ave a cage but i had to say no!!!

I have just been reading about that very problem, that they can get stuck in the tubes, so we are back to the drawing board for a cage The ordinary wire cages look so boring but i would rather hammy is safe.

My local pet shop only had one girl hammy but are expecting some more on Friday, we tried another shop but the girl didnt seem to have a clue which were male and which were female so we wont be getting it from there

I get the feeling this is going to cost more than i first expected

well expect 50 quid plus

40 quid for a decent cage - then food, toys,bedding etc

you can get a 40 quid guinea pig cage lol!!! -and they are cool lol

it is definately an expensive startup!!

Please meet Sulu...[looks round for Patch...]

He is officially my son's hamster, but I do most of the hard work.
He is a male syrian...in all honesty it's pretty hard to tell the sex so what your daughter doesn't know....

He has a Ferplast cage which was fine when he was a babe (it cost about £30) but I felt it became a bit small as he's quite a large hamster, so we bought an extension.

I've read that the round cages with lots of tubes aren't great for them as the hamsters like to curl up in corners, so that may be something to think about.


The trick is to spend a lot of time with them in the first month or so, initally acclimatising them to you and your daughter and the surroundings etc. Ours bit my son about 6 times but is now happy to be picked up and handled and doesn't bite (...famous last words).

You can 'train' them to wake up when you want them to by feeding them and handling them at a set time. You shouldn't purposefully wake them up...but ours knows the sound of his food box and cage opening now and bingo...there he is...even at 10 am sometimes.

Sulu is a lovely little guy and even my OH who didn't want my son to have one, has come round to him!

We got Sulu and his first cage and a starter kit from PAH, he is a year old shortly.

Remember NOT to get the bedding that looks like candy floss stuff, only the shredded paper bits as the former can actually make them choke and cause probelms in their pouches...it can kill.

Good luck!

http://www.ferplast.com/peteng/produ...3/Default.aspx

our start up cage. Wolfie has hers in one of these too...it's pretty spacious and would be more than adequate...ours is just spoilt!!!!

Thanks Ramble, i didnt think of the "it is a female" when its a male line

This is the cage she wanted to get, is this not suitable then?

thats not a bad cage

there are bigger ones with wire on them.... which you can have levels - and extend - they like to always try and escape so give them plenty to do lol!!!


tbh you would be better with the largest cage you can afford

In my opinion Syrians are definately the best pets for children. I had four hamsters as a kid, three syrians and one russian - I couldn't touch my russian! My dad used to put an ice cream tub lid for her to climb onto, and then scoop her into her ball whilst I was cleaning her out, complete with thick gloves! She was vicious! I was later told by a pet shop that russian hamsters should not be sold as pets to children...

Yes, we have decided on a Syrian, thats definite its just finding the right cage now.

She had set her sights on the Crittertrail (see above pic) but now i'm not sure

You may find this usefull

http://www.vitakraft.de/en/ar/ha/hame.htm