Best Hamster Cages of 2020 – Reviews and Where to Buy
Hamsters make great pets for people of all ages. Your hamster’s cage is one of the most important investments you will make for their happiness and health. So, what makes the best hamster cage? …
Large, huge, big …. Size!
Why do hamsters need such a large cage?
In the “wild”, hamsters are used to traveling large distances at night. They are the hyperactive runners of the rodent world. Hamster cages ALSO require a bunch of supplies to meet all their needs:
- Hamster food and a dish
- a water bottle
- a hidey hut
- a wheel to run on
- bedding
- something to chew on (chew toys, paper rolls, etc)
- and an enclosure.
It can get crowded in there!
*We have also created an article about the Best Hamster Cages of 2021, so make sure you check out our new list as well as this one!
Large and Extra Large Hamster Cages
Hamsters need a minimum of about 450 square inches of floor space. Many advertised cages are way under the minimum and, because of the too-small size, your hamster will quickly get bored. (for more information about hamster cages, make sure you read our article called Hamster Cages – Information, Size, and Q&As)
(Large DIY Cage combining several brands and a fish tank! Source: Pinterest)
*Edit: The cage in the photo above is not suitable as it is too small & does not meet the size requirements.
Is your hamster showing signs of stress? … gnawing on the bars and climbing the sides of the cage? Biting and being grumpy?
We’ve got a cage for that!
The cages below are all excellent choices … which meet the minimum size and safety requirements for hamsters.
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Let’s dive in with the boring-but-huge Prevue cage …
Prevue 528 Cage Review
Floor space: 608 sq inches
This cage is often overlooked because of it’s drab grey colour. Don’t let this put you off because you can buy colourful toys and accessories to make it more fun.
This cage comes with a deep tray and a ramp up to a second level. The deep tray allows for more bedding which hamsters love burrowing around in.
It has two available doors to access, one in the front and the other on the top (roof) of the cage. This makes picking up hamster a lot easier.
The dimensions of the cage are 32 ½’’ L x 19’’ W x 17 ½’’ H, which equals to about 608 sq inches of floor space. This cage has lots of room for toys and accessories. It comes with a deep tray (6″) so there won’t be as much of a mess.
You can find it on Amazon here:
- Designed to home a wide variety of small animals
- Tight 3/8'' wire spacing. Large tubby base offers room for exercise and accessories
- Extra deep 6 1/4'' tubby base
Savic Hamster Heaven Metro Cage Review
Floor space: 620 sq inches
This cage is colourful, provides more than the minimum amount of floor space, and has tubes for your hamster to crawl in. It comes with a deep tray and a wheel, 2 huts, a water bottle, + more.
Fill the bottom tray with a few inches of bedding and allow your hamster to burrow away!
Note: If you are getting this cage for a bigger Syrian hamster you will need to replace the wheel because it isn’t large enough and can hurt their backs. You just pop it off, and place a stand alone wheel that’s Syrian size. A smaller Syrian and all the smaller hamster breeds (robo, etc) should be fine.
You can find it on Amazon here:
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED: the cage comes with lots of accessories including tunnels, exercise wheel, two houses, a penthouse, a water bottle and more.
- HUGE SIZE: The hamster heaven metro cage lets you build a heavenly home for you hamster. The cage measures 80cm x 50 cm x 50cm with 9.5mm bar spacing.
- LARGE BASE: The large lower area ensures your pet will have lost of frolicking and tunneling fun.
Ferplast Favola Hamster Cage Review
Floor space: 799 sq inches of floor space
This is a very large cage with plenty of room to run around in. This cage comes with a couple platforms and a deep tray.
One of the advantages to the Favola is the clear bottom tray. This means you can spend hours watching your hamster burrowing away, playing and sleeping.
(Ferplast Favola cage with tunnel add ons … imagine the possibilities)
Note: If you are getting this cage for a bigger Syrian hamster you will need to replace the wheel because it isn’t large enough and can hurt their backs. You just pop it off, and place a stand alone wheel that’s Syrian size. A smaller Syrian and all the smaller hamster breeds (robo, etc) should be fine.
You can find it on Amazon here:
- Hamsters cage on two floors, designed for the several animal activities
- Base made of transparent plastic to allow visibility of the animal
- The upper part, made of sturdy wire mesh, grants great ventilation inside the habitat
Kaytee CritterTrail SUPER Habitat Review
Floor space: 450 sq inches … if you buy two. Which you MUST.
This is one of our smaller recommended cages, and intended to be part of a hamster cage SYSTEM. We include it based on the all the cool designs the cage – tunnels- lookouts, etc can become. Go look at Pinterest for a thousand cool ideas.
You will need use the tubes to connect two (too small on their own) CritterTrail cages together for an awesome hamster village! We also recommend that you get the big blue Super Habitat so that your hamster has 540 square inches of interrupted floor space to roam around, burrow, etc and then extend off of that to save more money and trouble later on.
Check out this Hamster “City” built out of Kaytee tubes and cages:
*Pro tip: Use clear packing tape to secure the joining pieces for added safety. The tubes can sometimes wiggle loose near the cage hole, and along the complex designs you see on Pinterest. Hamsters are real escape artists!
EDIT: Make sure you at least have 1 of the cages meet the requirement. If you purchase Crittertrail enclosures, the SUPER Habitat is required because it’s the only one that meets it on it’s own.
- If you decide to create the Hamster City in the video, make sure to modify it to fit the required uninterrupted floor space rule.
You can grab all the Kaytee cages, tubes and tunnel accessories here:
Fish Tank Aquarium and/or Tank Topper for Hamsters Review
Size: 40 gallon tank or bigger (without topper)
An aquarium tank is a great option. They are available at pet stores and online. They also provide plenty of space for bedding and other accessories you may want to have in their enclosure.
There are also “tank toppers” that sit on top of the tank and offer the best of both worlds … a glass burrowing space, and also an open air cage for feeding and interacting.
(Photo credit: Pinterest)
Just watch that the size isn’t too small as many of the “gerbilariums” are really meant for smaller pets like gerbils and mice.
The Ferplast Gabry 60 (pictured above) has an acceptable size and verticle layers to add variety to your hamsters playtime.
Dimensions: 24.6 x 20.5 x 13.6 inches
Floor space: 480 sq inches
You can grab this on Amazon here:
- Two-storey cage for gerbils and other small pets, suitable to accommodate these animals in your house in complete safety and comfort
- Solid glass tank, spacious and deep to allow the animal to hide and dig into the sawdust, the glass case ensures a complete view of the animal inside
- Upper structure in painted wire mesh, equipped with opening door with a safety hook, useful for daily maintenance operations
Ikea Detolf – DIY Hamster Cage Review
Floor space: 1024 sq inches (Yes, 2 thumbs up!)
If you are interested, check out our article called IKEA Hamster Cage Ideas for some great DIY hamster cages.