Hello! Advice on Multi-storey cages please

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MaDazCo

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Hi, I'm Matt, based in the UK, and currently doing lots of research in preparation of getting a Syrian Hamster soon.
I used to have hamsters when I was a child, but there's been a lot of changes since then (guidelines on minimum sized cages, bedding to avoid, etc).

Apologies in advance for waffling on...
I've got my eye on a few cages. They're all 100cm wide, but wondering how tall is too tall please? I'd like for him / her to have plenty of room to explore but don't want to risk injuring itself from falling.

I'm currently swaying towards the Little Friends cages, if they're suitable. There's the Belfry XL (100W x 54D x100cm H), Plaza XL (100x54x83cm), and Langham XL (100x54x63cm).
I originally planned on getting the Savic Plaza, but think once I put a good chunk of substrate at the bottom for burrowing, then all the accessories, it might look cramped and won't be left with much room remaining, hence wanting extra floors.

So... If I was to purchase a taller cage with 2-3 floors, would you recommend hammocks or additional floors and bridges to try and block some of the gaps to avoid falls? (Pic of the Belfry XL attached)

Thanks in advance!
 

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Hello Matt and welcome to the forum. It is best to get a cage without the levels as a hamster can jump off them. What you can do if you want to add anything at a height (such as water bottle or bowl) is to get a platform instead. So a cage which is one level is great as you can then choose accessories to ensure there are no risks of fall heights.

It is wonderful you are doing your research before getting a hamster. :)

The Savic is a popular cage and would work well for a Syrian.
 
Hello & welcome to the forum.

Generally multi floor cages aren’t recommended for hamsters, one large floor space is better.
I don’t know if it’s generally available yet but there is the 120cm savic plaza which should provide ample space really, even the 100cm is a fairly good space for a Syrian.
 
Hi. The cages are a bit tall and hammocks dont really protect from fall risks from a height. Also people have stopped using them really to avoid fabric in the cage which can be chewed.

It’s tricky finding the right cage - they are either too tall or not tall enough and all are restricted on bedding depth by the base. I had the Savic plaza for a Syrian with 20cm of substrate in but it meant having bedding panels round the inside of the bars to keep the substrate in. Initially it was cardboard but my hanster chewed all the cardboard off!

You can actually get custom made Perspex panels to fit the Savic Plaza. Viking laser sell them. But it doubles the cost of the cage. I have the Perspex panels now. There is still enough height for a Syrian with 20cm of bedding.

I now have the bigger Savic Plaza cage for our Syrian - the 120cm one - it’s great - it’s deeper too and has much better floor area. It’s just a few inches bigger all round. It’s also 2cm taller. It easily fits 20cm of substrate in with bedding panels but no more than that really. However unless you live in Wales it’s not really available widely.

It’s a dilemma at the moment as to have deeper bedding you either need a tank style cage or spend extra on bedding panels for a barred cage. Unless you’re good at diy and can make your own Perspex panels - but Perspex still isn’t cheap.

For a Syrian though, the standard plaza is a good cage. How deep were you thinking of having the bedding?

If you don’t mind some diy there are the IKEA platsa hacks. I think the smallest is 120 by 60cm. It’s just a wardrobe frame tipped on its back. But then you need to make a lid for it.

www.thehamsterforum.com

Show us your cages 2023 onwards

A new thread for 2023 to show cage set ups :) Some may have changed or be new but feel free to add your existing set up again. It's mainly so all current ones are viewable in the same place.
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
Our guideline on here is a minimum of 15cm of bedding (ie fill the base) with a multiroom house that mimics a burrow. But ideally you’d have 20cm or more. If you prefer barred cages the Savic plaza is about as tall as you’d want to go - in fact it’s better with 20cm of bedding as it can be a bit too tall otherwise. It also has a large front opening door which is a benefit f it - for easy access to the hamster and getting things in and out (means you don’t need to take the bars off).

If you were thinking of deeper bedding than that then a tank style cage would be easier - but even some of those aren’t that tall to accommodate say 30cm of bedding.
 
Have you seen the list of cages on here too? :). The Ferplast Criceti 100 has a bit more floor space than the standard Savic plaza. It’s too opening. It comes with a couple of good shelves. But it’s also quite a bit more expensive (£132 to £160) than the Savic Plaza (£80 from Pets at home - more than that from Amazon).

www.thehamsterforum.com

Cages 2025

Here is a list of suitable cages available for hamsters in 2025. Whether you prefer tank style or barred cages, front access or top access, there is, thankfully, plenty of choice in the Uk and Europe. Choice in the US is mainly tanks and tank style or diy. Both tank style and barred cages...
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
Thanks for all the feedback.
I was initially trying to find a cage which had full floors without gaps but no joy (so the higher storeys would fit the entire width of the cage with only a small gap where the ladder goes to the previous floor). But as you've confirmed this style that's available is too risky for them. It looks too open and high.

Looks like I'll probably stick with my initial thought of the Savic Plaza 100 (120 not available where I live atm).

Yes, I ideally want the substrate deep enough to make them happy but as you say, the base isn't that deep on these cages. I've been considering the perspex option to fill it higher, or potentially a bottomless box to one side with substrate filled to the top leading to the base substrate (so they'd have a good 12 inches or so to burrow in to at 1 side at least). Still playing around with ideas and looking at what is feasible, and safe for them.

I probably need to get the cage and appropriate sized wheel first and work from there, seeing what I can fit where!

The DIY enclosures do look great, but not sure how handy I'd be at making them myself.
 
The Plaza 120 can be delivered - but they only do pallet shipping which costs £50. The cage itself isn't too badly priced for the size at £114. But with another £50 on top for delivery it makes it expensive. The standard Plaza is a good sized cage for a male Syrian, but female syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space - so not sure if you'd decided on male or female!

The focus seems to be on having a lot of enrichment at floor space these days, but one level or shelf is important for extra places to go and things to do.

What I did was have a wood shelf made to fit across one end (an ebay seller does them and they'll cut one to size), because the green shelf and ladder take up quite a bit of space. And then have a "roof run". Which consists of a rat sputnik partly hanging over the shelf, with a rat tube leading out of the other side (tied to the roof), which led to a second rat sputnik and the access to the second one was from a smaller shelf screwed to the bars.

That was my set up in the Plaza before getting the bigger one. So instead of lots of levels, it's a roof run - and it gives overhead cover as well so they don't feel too exposed from below. So that kind of thing adds to just the floorspace too.

So this might give you some ideas :) Instead of extra levels.

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Rodipet make a 120 tank style cage. That may be easier for adding deep bedding.
 
It's a good size cage as well :-) - It costs about £235 but no diy. That one isn't for female syrians either though unfortunately (according to the manufactuerers) as they have been known to chew their way out. It's on the cages list.
 
MaDazCo said:
Hi, I'm Matt, based in the UK, and currently doing lots of research in preparation of getting a Syrian Hamster soon.
I used to have hamsters when I was a child, but there's been a lot of changes since then (guidelines on minimum sized cages, bedding to avoid, etc).

Apologies in advance for waffling on...
I've got my eye on a few cages. They're all 100cm wide, but wondering how tall is too tall please? I'd like for him / her to have plenty of room to explore but don't want to risk injuring itself from falling.

I'm currently swaying towards the Little Friends cages, if they're suitable. There's the Belfry XL (100W x 54D x100cm H), Plaza XL (100x54x83cm), and Langham XL (100x54x63cm).
I originally planned on getting the Savic Plaza, but think once I put a good chunk of substrate at the bottom for burrowing, then all the accessories, it might look cramped and won't be left with much room remaining, hence wanting extra floors.

So... If I was to purchase a taller cage with 2-3 floors, would you recommend hammocks or additional floors and bridges to try and block some of the gaps to avoid falls? (Pic of the Belfry XL attached)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Just make sure what cage/enclosure you choose has a base deep enough for 6-8 inches of bedding, and enough space above the bedding for a 9-12 inch wheel. Multi story cages aren't the best kind of enclosure due to hamsters not being the best climbers, yes their paws are built for climbing but they still aren't the best. They need more of a longer/wider area to explore. Hammocks or little cozy's should be fine as long as they arent super fluffy (doesn't have any strings that the hamsters paws can catch onto) as long as the base of the cage/enclosure has an area of at least 450 inch², it should fine, and if possible try to get above 450 inch², youd have more space and wouldn't be cramped obviously. A good height recommendation would be about 15 inches to 25 inches.
 
Hi Zero. We don't recommend any cloth hammocks or string (or toys hanging by chains) due to chew risks. With chains it's more "hanging by a broken leg" risk! Sisal string is ok for attaching things to bars though, but not cotton string. I like the plastic rat sputnik hammocks - providing the hamster can access them easily (eg if they're hung over a shelf).

Uk pet charity guidelines are at least 100cm x 50cm x 50cm tall for a cage now (about 800 square inches or 40" x 20" x20" tall). The forum recommended size is the same, with 80 x50 cm (600 square inches) being a bare minimum.

You are quite right they are not good with climbing :) Actually Syrians do climb - the problem is they can't get down again, so just let go and fall.
 
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