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A debate and a bit of Hamster cage history 
When I first started keeping hamsters about 12 years ago, the Savic Hamster Heaven cage was THE Hamster Heaven – it was seen as huge compared to the average cage of 60cm x 40cm and it was certainly a big improvement for Hamsters. It met the RSPCA guideline of a minimum of 80cm x 50cm at that time. It was one of the most popular cages for many years – partly also because of it’s large front opening door – people could interact with their hamsters easily, Hamsters could come out of the cage easily and it was easy to bond with and tame the hamsters. The majority of hamsters were happy in this cage – some needed more space and showed it.
For many owners we quickly realised – it just wasn’t quite big enough and the 100cm cages from Zooplus in Germany became the norm for Syrian hamsters – the Barney and Alexander cages particularly. They were seen as palaces – the ultimate home for a hamster. And this remained the case for many years, with the Hamster Heaven cage being seen as fine for dwarf hamsters but not for most Syrians. However there was no longer an official guideline for cage size so it became the job of forums like this one, to educate people and encourage them into using larger cages. It was an uphill battle to encourage better welfare conditions for hamsters.
So when two major pet charities produced official guidelines of a minimum size of 100cm x 50cm in about April 2023 there were celebrations within the world of experienced hamster owners. Finally what we knew was right, had been validated and promoted.
Along with this though, was also the encouragement that hamsters needed much deeper bedding, which was a moot point for some. While hamsters do like to dig their own tunnels, many owners had found hamsters happy with just 6” of bedding and a multiroom house that mimicked a burrow – hamsters had a ready-made burrow with the multiroom house and German companies like Rodipet and Getzoo had been making these for a long time. Indeed Rodipet had actually done research in Syria showing the need for such multiroom houses. And they worked very well. The hamsters would build a large nest in the darkest room, and use a toilet in a separate room and have space for hoards. They seemed to like having an ensuite bathroom and everything in its place.
To have deeper bedding means a deeper base on a cage. Most cages only had a 6” base. Historically, the glass aquariums used in Germany and the USA, were prohibitively expensive in the Uk. However the Uk had a large range of excellent barred cages – admittedly most of them from Germany, but then Savic produced a 100cm version of the Hamster Heaven – the Savic Plaza – now known as the Savic Plaza 100. I personally had been pressuring for them to do this for quite some time and then one day a contact from Savic contacted me, discussed it and it became reality. So then it happened. It gradually became THE go to cage for hamster owners, even before the new 100 x 50 guidelines came in, and still is an excellent, reasonably priced cage for a new hamster owner.
We owners devised various ways to achieve deeper bedding, by putting cardboard or grass mats inside the bars, and later aided by a company called Viking Laser making tailor made Perspex panels to fit the cages. And even full Perspex to replace the bars. In the United states, which had never really had any barred cages large enough for hamsters and where glass aquariums were quite affordable, Niteangel appeared and created flatpack wood and Perspex enclosures. Particularly the Niteangel vista with its sloping front, which was the next best thing to a large front opening door on a tank. But at a very high price. I think it was about $300 initially. We in the Uk envied this enclosure – it wasn’t really available in the Uk but it was ok as we had lots of nice large 100cm cages and hamster owners in the US envied our large barred cages. At one point the Savic Plaza became available in the US for a while and there was great excitement.
Owners would look at making similar diy cages with Ikea flatpacks – but these were often significantly more expensive than buying a cage due to the cost of the Perspex or glass, and DIY was not an option for everyone. But it was a way of making a 100cm enclosure.
And then, around mid 2023, a new enclosure gradually came on the market – in an 80cm and a 100cm size. The Bucatstate Perspex and metal tank cage. Bearing in mind, at this stage, most owners still considered 80 x 50cm to be the minimum cage size with 100 x 50cm much better, and many people were getting the 80cm Bucatstate’s initially.
They looked lovely – and still do - a clear view of the hamster all round. And they had a front opening door. A tank with a large front opening door ticked a lot of boxes. However they were also very expensive at £150 to £200 when a cage could be bought for £70 to £80. And even at this time £80 for a cage seemed ridiculously expensive. Pre-pandemic, the 100cm Barney cage was selling for £45 with free shipping. The Bucatstate’s had their teething problems for a year or two as well – issues with door hinges and closures, hamsters chewing them or escaping, Perspex panels bowing or popping out when bedding was in them. Most of this was improved with the Bucatstate 2.
I personally thought they looked amazing but was quite happy using my Savic Plaza cages – I loved the ergonomics of the cage and the large front opening door, the ability to set it up with both ground level enrichment and safe roof runs, and bar attachements, and the ease of use for storing and cleaning, the excellent ventilation and the fact that the bars allowed for the hamster to have closer interaction with the human environment and smell cooking aromas and just feel closer. And I had long been a proponent of – 100cm being the sweet spot – when the cage was large enough, hamsters don’t chew bars. I firmly promote that, from years of experience and having had many hamsters in 100cm cages. If the space is right and they aren't overcleaned, they don’t have that stress so don’t chew bars - exceptions were rare and that was often if the hamster's cage was in a bedroom and they knew you were there at night so it would be to get attention and want to be let out. Usually exceptions were female Syrians, but not all of them. So I was very happy with 100cm barred cages and the idea of spending £150 to £200 on a hamster enclosure, however nice, seemed unthinkable. However I longed for one just that bit bigger.
Many of us for years had wanted a 120cm cage. 100cm was great but – we saw the 120cm rabbit cages and guinea pig cages and wished for a 120cm hamster cage. Some people actually did mesh guinea pig cages to achieve that. At the time I had a particularly active male Syrian who wanted to be out every night, (Raffy), owned the living room and kept me up very late at night as he claimed his territory in the living room for hours and I thought – he could do with something bigger.
I had been in discussions with Savic for some time – about a barred cage that was 120cm or a barred cage with a much deeper base for bedding and they then released the Savic Plaza 120 in about December 2022. Frustratingly it wasn’t available in the Uk for another few months, but as soon as it was, I bought one. I and many others were incredibly excited! A 120cm barred cage FOR HAMSTERS! With hamster bar spacing. I loved that cage, and I still do. It was huge – very deep as well as long. My Syrian boy Raffy also loved the extra space. Although it didn’t stop him wanting to come out and spend all night roaming the living room!
Even better news was, that there was ANOTHER 120cm cage on the way from Savic with a much deeper base. The Savic Aura 120 plexi.
At this stage the Bucatstate was still quite a new thing and also very expensive. Whereas the Savic Plaza 120 was a typical hamster cage and only cost £100 - which was still a lot of money!. I applied my existing Perspex panels to it for the deeper bedding that had just become the new recommendation from the Blue Cross and PDSA.
It was an exciting time – a major UK pet store was stocking two 120cm cages for hamsters. When the one with the deep base came out I was kindly given one to review (having badgered for it to be produced for a few years!). The Savic Aura 120 plexi. The perfect cage that so many hamster owners had wanted for so many years. A deep base that held 10” of bedding, narrow 6.5mm bar spacing so suitable for smaller species, and still that large front opening door and also a large door on top as well.
The bubble burst with the major pet store and they stopped selling the 120cm cages and they became hard to get hold of, and also Bucatstate produced a new 120cm version of their Perspex tank also – the Bucatstate 3 in 100cm and 120cm sizes.
And so, in the past year or so, it seems the Bucatstate has become the new Hamster Heaven – the go to Hamster cage or enclosure that everyone seems to get and seems to have become the standard.
I have mixed feelings about this. It is good that it is easily available, in many countries – Europe, the Uk and the USA. It is good that it is large and holds plenty of deep bedding easily. Most owners consider the ventilation is enough, although more would be better. However, it is a good enclosure and is extremely popular.
So my mixed feelings? The cost. Both Bucatstate enclosures are over £250. Having a hamster as a pet didn’t used to be about cost - it was about bonding, care and love. We could buy second hand cages cheaply – and I will add that you still can! Second hand Savic Plazas. It is wonderful that people want to give their hamsters the best, but I worry about the pressure for those who can't afford a £250 enclosure. Then there is also the cost of filling a large 120cm tank with bedding and the cost of the platforms needed – no bars to screw shelves to so platforms need buying - and all the enrichment needed. I will admit to feeling bah humbug about the idea that hamsters should all have a multiroom house when they have 10” of bedding, because they don’t actually need a multiroom house to mimic a burrow if they just dig a burrow under it and use it as a porch! When they had 6” of bedding they actually used the rooms! One for nesting, one for toileting – and it didn’t collapse on them like a real burrow as it was made of wood!
However it is still nice for them to have a multiroom house as somewhere to go even if they don’t use the rooms and it’s a nice big porch and makes a bit of a platform as well.
So where am I going with these mixed feelings? Well – back to the cost. There are two things. 1) Many people who would be good hamster owners, just cannot afford a £250 cage and another £250 more on bedding and contents. That is £500 to own a hamster minimum taking that route. 2) The reality is there are still vast numbers of families just going to a large major pet chain and buying a hamster and a small own brand cage. And smaller than 80 x 50 even. These people are not on hamster social media sites - they probably don’t ever google anything hamster related or go on any hamster websites. They just buy a hamster and a cage, and are sold all the wrong things. So unless there is legislation, pet stores will still sell small cages.
Some of these owners end up on this forum when they have a problem – the hamster is bar chewing or has chewed a hole in the cage base and escaped. They are worried about the hamster. And they find they need to buy another cage. That is bad enough for new owners when they find they have to spend more money on a bigger, more secure cage to solve the issue. Some of them do indeed go on to spend £250 on a Bucatstate. Many will be looking for a second hand Savic Plaza.
Conclusion:
So – if the Bucatstate is the new Hamster Heaven, the Savic Plaza 100 remains the trusty mini car – the everyman cage – it does the job, it’s inexpensive, it’s functional and provides a perfectly good home for a pet hamster. Adding a bit of cardboard and a few grass mats doesn’t break the bank and it doesn’t cost as much in bedding as a 120cm x 60cm Bucatstate.
So the point I am getting to is – I find it very sad that there now seems to be this large trend, in so many places online, influencing people negatively about barred cages - with information that barred cages are bad, inadequate, ugly or whatever the latest criticism is. And that is not the case.
I will always stand up for barred hamster cages! Some of the criticisms have become ridiculous – not liking to see a hamster behind bars. Well that is no difference to a hamster being behind a Perspex wall – it is a psychological reaction not a pet welfare reaction. On the contrary it could be argued that there is a lot of space between those bars for the hamster to sniff the air in their environment and feel part of the home more closely. An enclosure is an enclosure whether it has bars or whether it is solid sided. Because hamsters need to be kept safe or they would run away and get injured or die.
Admittedly the bases are still not deep enough. However there are now many many more barred cages with deep bases for bedding. It seems the manufacturers of these new 120cm cages with deep bases may have missed the boat however, as the Bucatstate is now king.
The Bucatstate is a wonderful enclosure and suits many people and makes a great home for Hamster. I am just saying that some people still prefer barred cages and they should not be knocked either. These are personal preferences, for many reasons. Whether it be physical stamina and physical ability, just a preference or ease of finding the right space in a home to stand something on, or cost, or many other reasons.
I think it’s great there are now so many 100cm and 120cm options for hamsters and that a section of the world and internet in some countries, accepts that hamsters need a lot of space.
However not everyone is from the USA, Europe or the Uk. There are hamster owners in countries where large cages aren’t available, safe bedding isn’t available.
And that is why a forum like this is important – it’s a place for people to go to get help with finding solutions, where they will not be judged and where they will not feel that the only good way to keep a hamster is to own a Bucatstate tank.
Finally, I know many members on here own Bucatstate’s and it is lovely to see so many wonderful hamster set ups. And it is great that they are so easily available now. And maybe one day I will get one – although I already have 3.5 barred cages so don’t really need one!
This piece really was just to show how fast things have evolved since the Hamster Heaven. The Bucatstate is the new Hamster Heaven. But I am very keen to ensure that people who cannot afford one, do not feel it is the only acceptable option.
So what are your thoughts? Has anyone else come across a lot of anti-barred cages information in places or myths?
It is a personal preference and depends on budget as well.
When I first started keeping hamsters about 12 years ago, the Savic Hamster Heaven cage was THE Hamster Heaven – it was seen as huge compared to the average cage of 60cm x 40cm and it was certainly a big improvement for Hamsters. It met the RSPCA guideline of a minimum of 80cm x 50cm at that time. It was one of the most popular cages for many years – partly also because of it’s large front opening door – people could interact with their hamsters easily, Hamsters could come out of the cage easily and it was easy to bond with and tame the hamsters. The majority of hamsters were happy in this cage – some needed more space and showed it.
For many owners we quickly realised – it just wasn’t quite big enough and the 100cm cages from Zooplus in Germany became the norm for Syrian hamsters – the Barney and Alexander cages particularly. They were seen as palaces – the ultimate home for a hamster. And this remained the case for many years, with the Hamster Heaven cage being seen as fine for dwarf hamsters but not for most Syrians. However there was no longer an official guideline for cage size so it became the job of forums like this one, to educate people and encourage them into using larger cages. It was an uphill battle to encourage better welfare conditions for hamsters.
So when two major pet charities produced official guidelines of a minimum size of 100cm x 50cm in about April 2023 there were celebrations within the world of experienced hamster owners. Finally what we knew was right, had been validated and promoted.
Along with this though, was also the encouragement that hamsters needed much deeper bedding, which was a moot point for some. While hamsters do like to dig their own tunnels, many owners had found hamsters happy with just 6” of bedding and a multiroom house that mimicked a burrow – hamsters had a ready-made burrow with the multiroom house and German companies like Rodipet and Getzoo had been making these for a long time. Indeed Rodipet had actually done research in Syria showing the need for such multiroom houses. And they worked very well. The hamsters would build a large nest in the darkest room, and use a toilet in a separate room and have space for hoards. They seemed to like having an ensuite bathroom and everything in its place.
To have deeper bedding means a deeper base on a cage. Most cages only had a 6” base. Historically, the glass aquariums used in Germany and the USA, were prohibitively expensive in the Uk. However the Uk had a large range of excellent barred cages – admittedly most of them from Germany, but then Savic produced a 100cm version of the Hamster Heaven – the Savic Plaza – now known as the Savic Plaza 100. I personally had been pressuring for them to do this for quite some time and then one day a contact from Savic contacted me, discussed it and it became reality. So then it happened. It gradually became THE go to cage for hamster owners, even before the new 100 x 50 guidelines came in, and still is an excellent, reasonably priced cage for a new hamster owner.
We owners devised various ways to achieve deeper bedding, by putting cardboard or grass mats inside the bars, and later aided by a company called Viking Laser making tailor made Perspex panels to fit the cages. And even full Perspex to replace the bars. In the United states, which had never really had any barred cages large enough for hamsters and where glass aquariums were quite affordable, Niteangel appeared and created flatpack wood and Perspex enclosures. Particularly the Niteangel vista with its sloping front, which was the next best thing to a large front opening door on a tank. But at a very high price. I think it was about $300 initially. We in the Uk envied this enclosure – it wasn’t really available in the Uk but it was ok as we had lots of nice large 100cm cages and hamster owners in the US envied our large barred cages. At one point the Savic Plaza became available in the US for a while and there was great excitement.
Owners would look at making similar diy cages with Ikea flatpacks – but these were often significantly more expensive than buying a cage due to the cost of the Perspex or glass, and DIY was not an option for everyone. But it was a way of making a 100cm enclosure.
And then, around mid 2023, a new enclosure gradually came on the market – in an 80cm and a 100cm size. The Bucatstate Perspex and metal tank cage. Bearing in mind, at this stage, most owners still considered 80 x 50cm to be the minimum cage size with 100 x 50cm much better, and many people were getting the 80cm Bucatstate’s initially.
They looked lovely – and still do - a clear view of the hamster all round. And they had a front opening door. A tank with a large front opening door ticked a lot of boxes. However they were also very expensive at £150 to £200 when a cage could be bought for £70 to £80. And even at this time £80 for a cage seemed ridiculously expensive. Pre-pandemic, the 100cm Barney cage was selling for £45 with free shipping. The Bucatstate’s had their teething problems for a year or two as well – issues with door hinges and closures, hamsters chewing them or escaping, Perspex panels bowing or popping out when bedding was in them. Most of this was improved with the Bucatstate 2.
I personally thought they looked amazing but was quite happy using my Savic Plaza cages – I loved the ergonomics of the cage and the large front opening door, the ability to set it up with both ground level enrichment and safe roof runs, and bar attachements, and the ease of use for storing and cleaning, the excellent ventilation and the fact that the bars allowed for the hamster to have closer interaction with the human environment and smell cooking aromas and just feel closer. And I had long been a proponent of – 100cm being the sweet spot – when the cage was large enough, hamsters don’t chew bars. I firmly promote that, from years of experience and having had many hamsters in 100cm cages. If the space is right and they aren't overcleaned, they don’t have that stress so don’t chew bars - exceptions were rare and that was often if the hamster's cage was in a bedroom and they knew you were there at night so it would be to get attention and want to be let out. Usually exceptions were female Syrians, but not all of them. So I was very happy with 100cm barred cages and the idea of spending £150 to £200 on a hamster enclosure, however nice, seemed unthinkable. However I longed for one just that bit bigger.
Many of us for years had wanted a 120cm cage. 100cm was great but – we saw the 120cm rabbit cages and guinea pig cages and wished for a 120cm hamster cage. Some people actually did mesh guinea pig cages to achieve that. At the time I had a particularly active male Syrian who wanted to be out every night, (Raffy), owned the living room and kept me up very late at night as he claimed his territory in the living room for hours and I thought – he could do with something bigger.
I had been in discussions with Savic for some time – about a barred cage that was 120cm or a barred cage with a much deeper base for bedding and they then released the Savic Plaza 120 in about December 2022. Frustratingly it wasn’t available in the Uk for another few months, but as soon as it was, I bought one. I and many others were incredibly excited! A 120cm barred cage FOR HAMSTERS! With hamster bar spacing. I loved that cage, and I still do. It was huge – very deep as well as long. My Syrian boy Raffy also loved the extra space. Although it didn’t stop him wanting to come out and spend all night roaming the living room!
Even better news was, that there was ANOTHER 120cm cage on the way from Savic with a much deeper base. The Savic Aura 120 plexi.
At this stage the Bucatstate was still quite a new thing and also very expensive. Whereas the Savic Plaza 120 was a typical hamster cage and only cost £100 - which was still a lot of money!. I applied my existing Perspex panels to it for the deeper bedding that had just become the new recommendation from the Blue Cross and PDSA.
It was an exciting time – a major UK pet store was stocking two 120cm cages for hamsters. When the one with the deep base came out I was kindly given one to review (having badgered for it to be produced for a few years!). The Savic Aura 120 plexi. The perfect cage that so many hamster owners had wanted for so many years. A deep base that held 10” of bedding, narrow 6.5mm bar spacing so suitable for smaller species, and still that large front opening door and also a large door on top as well.
The bubble burst with the major pet store and they stopped selling the 120cm cages and they became hard to get hold of, and also Bucatstate produced a new 120cm version of their Perspex tank also – the Bucatstate 3 in 100cm and 120cm sizes.
And so, in the past year or so, it seems the Bucatstate has become the new Hamster Heaven – the go to Hamster cage or enclosure that everyone seems to get and seems to have become the standard.
I have mixed feelings about this. It is good that it is easily available, in many countries – Europe, the Uk and the USA. It is good that it is large and holds plenty of deep bedding easily. Most owners consider the ventilation is enough, although more would be better. However, it is a good enclosure and is extremely popular.
So my mixed feelings? The cost. Both Bucatstate enclosures are over £250. Having a hamster as a pet didn’t used to be about cost - it was about bonding, care and love. We could buy second hand cages cheaply – and I will add that you still can! Second hand Savic Plazas. It is wonderful that people want to give their hamsters the best, but I worry about the pressure for those who can't afford a £250 enclosure. Then there is also the cost of filling a large 120cm tank with bedding and the cost of the platforms needed – no bars to screw shelves to so platforms need buying - and all the enrichment needed. I will admit to feeling bah humbug about the idea that hamsters should all have a multiroom house when they have 10” of bedding, because they don’t actually need a multiroom house to mimic a burrow if they just dig a burrow under it and use it as a porch! When they had 6” of bedding they actually used the rooms! One for nesting, one for toileting – and it didn’t collapse on them like a real burrow as it was made of wood!
However it is still nice for them to have a multiroom house as somewhere to go even if they don’t use the rooms and it’s a nice big porch and makes a bit of a platform as well.
So where am I going with these mixed feelings? Well – back to the cost. There are two things. 1) Many people who would be good hamster owners, just cannot afford a £250 cage and another £250 more on bedding and contents. That is £500 to own a hamster minimum taking that route. 2) The reality is there are still vast numbers of families just going to a large major pet chain and buying a hamster and a small own brand cage. And smaller than 80 x 50 even. These people are not on hamster social media sites - they probably don’t ever google anything hamster related or go on any hamster websites. They just buy a hamster and a cage, and are sold all the wrong things. So unless there is legislation, pet stores will still sell small cages.
Some of these owners end up on this forum when they have a problem – the hamster is bar chewing or has chewed a hole in the cage base and escaped. They are worried about the hamster. And they find they need to buy another cage. That is bad enough for new owners when they find they have to spend more money on a bigger, more secure cage to solve the issue. Some of them do indeed go on to spend £250 on a Bucatstate. Many will be looking for a second hand Savic Plaza.
Conclusion:
So – if the Bucatstate is the new Hamster Heaven, the Savic Plaza 100 remains the trusty mini car – the everyman cage – it does the job, it’s inexpensive, it’s functional and provides a perfectly good home for a pet hamster. Adding a bit of cardboard and a few grass mats doesn’t break the bank and it doesn’t cost as much in bedding as a 120cm x 60cm Bucatstate.
So the point I am getting to is – I find it very sad that there now seems to be this large trend, in so many places online, influencing people negatively about barred cages - with information that barred cages are bad, inadequate, ugly or whatever the latest criticism is. And that is not the case.
I will always stand up for barred hamster cages! Some of the criticisms have become ridiculous – not liking to see a hamster behind bars. Well that is no difference to a hamster being behind a Perspex wall – it is a psychological reaction not a pet welfare reaction. On the contrary it could be argued that there is a lot of space between those bars for the hamster to sniff the air in their environment and feel part of the home more closely. An enclosure is an enclosure whether it has bars or whether it is solid sided. Because hamsters need to be kept safe or they would run away and get injured or die.
Admittedly the bases are still not deep enough. However there are now many many more barred cages with deep bases for bedding. It seems the manufacturers of these new 120cm cages with deep bases may have missed the boat however, as the Bucatstate is now king.
The Bucatstate is a wonderful enclosure and suits many people and makes a great home for Hamster. I am just saying that some people still prefer barred cages and they should not be knocked either. These are personal preferences, for many reasons. Whether it be physical stamina and physical ability, just a preference or ease of finding the right space in a home to stand something on, or cost, or many other reasons.
I think it’s great there are now so many 100cm and 120cm options for hamsters and that a section of the world and internet in some countries, accepts that hamsters need a lot of space.
However not everyone is from the USA, Europe or the Uk. There are hamster owners in countries where large cages aren’t available, safe bedding isn’t available.
And that is why a forum like this is important – it’s a place for people to go to get help with finding solutions, where they will not be judged and where they will not feel that the only good way to keep a hamster is to own a Bucatstate tank.
Finally, I know many members on here own Bucatstate’s and it is lovely to see so many wonderful hamster set ups. And it is great that they are so easily available now. And maybe one day I will get one – although I already have 3.5 barred cages so don’t really need one!
This piece really was just to show how fast things have evolved since the Hamster Heaven. The Bucatstate is the new Hamster Heaven. But I am very keen to ensure that people who cannot afford one, do not feel it is the only acceptable option.
So what are your thoughts? Has anyone else come across a lot of anti-barred cages information in places or myths?
It is a personal preference and depends on budget as well.
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