what type of cage is best to house a hamster? wire type or see through ones?

Answer 1

The wire ones aren't that great. There's a some big things against them. First, hamsters kept in wire cages can become obsessive bar chewers. Something that many people find annoying and can lead to a permanent hair loss condition called bar rub. Second, given the burrowing nature of hamsters, they will kick the bedding out of the cage making a mess around where the cage is housed. Third, most wire cages are quite small, without much area for the hamster to move around. Finally the wheels that come with the wire cages are TOO SMALL! (Please anyone else reading this that has one of these wheels, watch your hamster as it runs on one of these and see how it has to arch it's back into a "U" in order to fit into it? This is not natural and uncomfortable to the hamster).

The wire cages to have one thing in their favor, they're inexpensive.

As far as the see through cages go, I assume you mean the habitrails/critter trails/ SAM cages. I do not recommend these at all. It is hard to get the hamster out of these cages if it's not already friendly. They are hard to clean, especially the tubes and there isn't enough air circulation through it.

Aquariums ($10) are good but you need to get the wire screen lids ($10- sold in the reptile isle) as opposed to the lightweight plastic and screen ones. Get the 10 oz chew-proof, climb-proof water bottle sold by Lixit for $6. Then get the 8 1/2" solid plastic exercise wheel made by Super Pet for $5-$8. The "old" bar wire wheels are bad as their feet will slip through causing their "shins" to hit and form callouses. Also buy a hut for around $5. This will get you a perfect cage set-up for less than $40.

One of the new alternatives that we hamster breeders are using are plastic bins. These make great cages! They are very inexpensive in that you can buy a bin for less than $10. There is a little bit of manual labor involved but it's worth it. The bins are light and very easy to carry and move and best of all, they are extremely easy to clean. The bedding doesn't stick to them the way it does in any of the above mentioned cages. Get a clear bin and you can easily see your friend. Get one that's tall enough to hold the wheel when the lid is on.

Here is a California Hamster Association article on how to convert a plastic bin:
http://www.geocities.com/calhamassoc/FeatureBin.html

Good Luck!
-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

I've been keeping hamsters for almost 5 years now... And in my opinion, the see through ones are better than the cage (wire type)... Because the see through ones are easier to clean and looks more neat than the wire ones, and sometimes, the stench of the poop of the hamsters can be smelled with a wire type cage. But using a see through one would somehow prevent that smell from coming out... Also, creepy crwalers and other insects might get inside the wired ones...It's just an opinion though...

Answer 3

Not the wire! I had a hamster in a wire cage. He was really smart and had a lot of personality. I couldn't believe a hamster could have a BIG personality. Anyway, rodents can squeeze their bodies through small open spaces. He did that and got stuck and died the next day.

Answer 4

Fact: A hamster will chew through a plastic cage.

We have glass aquarium bottoms, covered with hamster bedding, and two levels up of wire cage. This way, the hamsters can run around on 3 levels, they can't chew out of their cage, and we can see them.

Answer 5

Wire cages can sometimes be dangerous and the aquarium cages can easily be gotten out of with a "screen" top. What I have found is the newer cages at the "chain" stores that are specially made for hamsters are great. They are colorful, they usually are simple to put together and they are usually supplied with everything you need so you don't have to worry about finding things like exercise wheels, water bottles, etc.

Answer 6

The tank is best with a screen top. Hamsters can sometimes squeeze through wire cages, mine did and I had to set a trap. The problem with the cages with the tubes is it makes it really hard to catch the little guy. You spend more time trying to get him out of a tube than actually playing with him.

Answer 7

Hamsters have awfully small feet for their large body, so consequently there's a lot of weight on those small feet (especially hind feet). If those feet should for some reason get cut and infected, it can present a big problem. An easy way for this to happen is by walking on wire floors. Many cages sold in pet stores will have wire ladders, extra floors, or even a single-floor cage with a wire floor. I cringe when seeing that. Imagine living your live on a wire floor and not wearing any socks or shoes to protect yourself.
Bumblefoot starts out as a small red bump on the heel of the hind feet. If untreated, this can turn into a sore, and if it progresses even farther, it will bleed easily. I lost my hamster Hamlet to bumblefoot, and it wasn't until afterwards that I learned how to treat it. His bumblefoot was so serious that he had a very large, swollen, purple sore on the back of his hind feet, and the slightest tug at the scabs covering the sores would cause them to burst out bleeding-usually at the mercy of my favorite shirts. He was in danger of dying of blood loss, but you'll have to visit his web page to see what our final solution was.
When my second male hamster, Jeff got bumblefoot, we used a product called Blu-Kote, bought off the RMCA merchandise page. It was a very small price to pay for Jeff's health. By using this product (which I discovered appears blue under flourescent light, yet purple under normal light) Jeff's bumblefoot went away after a few weeks, and he never had a recurring problem. In his case, as well as Hamlet's, I believe he developed bumblefoot because they were big, beefy boys. Hamlet had been on wire when he was very young, but not since I had gotten him, and Jeff had never been on wire.

For this reason, I advise you check your hamster and REMOVE any wire in his/her cage.

NO: WIRE FLOORS
YES: SOLID PLASTIC FLOORS
(ANY AREA THE HAMSTER WALKS ON)

Answer 8

I personaly like the glass 10 gallon tanks because hamsters tend to kick there bedding out of the wire cages.

wire cages are beter for air circulation

Answer 9

I have had both kind, and both were okay, except hamster odors seem to escape through a wire cage a little easier.

Answer 10

i have both kinds and it depends. but the wire ones, the hamsters chew on them all the time. (it makes noise) most clear ones dont have a spot where you could change the wheel that it came with for a quieter one. so if you wanted to buy a quieter wheel, i would suggest a wire cage. they are also easier to get into if you wanted to hold your hamster.