Iâm seeing a few people who are still a bit confused, your hamster can still show boredom behaviours in a 600 sq inch cage, they can still show boredom behaviours in an 800 sq inch cage, this is one of the reasons some organizations donât even believe hamsters should have been domesticated as we canât provide nearly what a hamster needs in captivity. Many hamsters will still need and want their cage upgraded even if you consider it large, or you may need to reevaluate the type of enrichments youâre providing and if youâre providing enough. Another issue I see is people labeling their 500/600 sq inch enclosures as massive so their hamster shouldnât be showing boredom behaviours but these enclosures shouldnât be considered âmassiveâ or âhugeâ, when these sizes are only slightly above many of the countries minimums.
Hmm. I have a Syrian hamster living in an Ikea Detolf cage (950 sq. inches I think?) I've really tried to make the setup as enriching as possible for him; I've given him a deep end with 7-8 inches of bedding, made him lots of foraging toys, bought or made just about every kind of toy I can think of (hanging, tubes, buried tubes, hideouts, climbing toys, hide and seek toys, etc.) but he still would rather spend his time hanging from the wire mesh lid like some kind of Spider-Ham. I also scatter feed and take him out for playtime as often as possible, but he just... never seems satisfied. I honestly can't think of any way I could make his setup more interesting, and the Detolf is the best I can afford both moneywise and spacewise. I just don't want him to be stressed. Do you have any tips?
@@angelic.flowerss5843 yea but tbh itâs gonna be hard to change the bare minimum when small hamster cages are still gonna be available to everyone I think that hamster owners should take responsibility and research hamster care before getting a hamster instead of leaving it to the pet store or a friend because even if the bare minimum was set to 600 pet stores still have small cages and nothing can change over night I think pet stores should have bigger cages but letâs be honest all that they want is money and they donât care if a hamster has to suffer
@@zoeeeee3667 true ,this mainly happens because kids don't research anything before getting a hamster (they probably don't even know how research) and the parents wont either so ya this cannot be fixed đą
My little brother has two Russian hamsters. After watching your videos we got rid of the pine shavings that the pet store told us was safe. And we got bigger cages. Not as big as long as yours but they have three levels in them.
Talking from personal experience, I find them way easier to maintain because you only need to occasionally spot clean, and fully clean every 4-5 months. When I had a smaller cage I fully cleaned it out every week and now regret it so much
I had a hamster when i was 12 and realising he did all these things that aren't normal and/or related to stress it makes me so sad that i didnt know đ„
you were only a child and didn't know any better, you need to forgive yourself. The most important thing is that you're educated now and won't make the same mistakes, and hopefully other hamster owners will take your advice and learn from your experience
I had a hamster as an eight year old I regret it but I learned a lot about responsibility i just wish i did it while giving my hamster a good life. RIP waffles + bubbles. ( I had 2 at 2 different times)
i am still a kid and i do have a hamster but i am educating myself and my parents so that we can upgrade and knowing the signs and that she does them i am hoping to upgade
i just got a new hamster. upon research on her behavior and watching your videos, i realized that her tank was causing her so much stress and i felt horrible. she was already in a critter carrier as her home before i adopted her so i felt even worse that i wasnât much better. iâm upgrading her today to a 600 sq in tank instead ! i think sheâll be a lot happier. thank you for being kind with your advice !!
Same. I recently bought my hamster 3-4 days ago and mines was doing all the things she listed such as, chewing the wire, climbing, sleeping of boredom, I immediately got a fish tank. Not AS big as it should but 29 gallon will do for now (I canât afford a 40+ gallon right now). Sheâs much happier and itâs better than nothing.
@@achante2002 so awesome that you got her a bigger tank!! Victoria has a video about bin cages if you're interested ! Basically you get a giant plastic storage container and you cut the top and put mesh on it! i got a giant one at target for 18 dollars! Its definitely a cheaper alternative since glass fishtanks are so pricey!! congrats on your new hamster !!
@@ari-in8ny Omg yesss!!! I saw and I actually tried that and my hamster hated it, as well as I did, so we decided to go with a fish tank. I hope you nothing but wellness and happiness for you and your hamsters journey
â@@ari-in8ny the one way in which the US is better than the UK ... Your tanks and bins are so much cheaper. I had to pay about ÂŁ35 for my hamster's bin. A tank is out of the question for my poor wallet đ
After working on this video for two days I originally wasnât going to post it because lately Iâve been struggling with posting any type of videos without my brain going âNo oneâs gonna watch this, this is like all the other videos youâve posted, theyâre all gonna hate itâ but Iâm just gonna go against what I think because even if this is information Iâve repeated many times before it can help any new viewers/subscribers that havenât seen those videos before. I also wanted a video where Iâm not fixated on â450 SQ inchesâ because in all honesty I think thatâs a small minimum and we should be working towards going for bigger (hence why I own cages that are larger than that).
Don't ever think that about your videos! They are all so informative, entertaining, and you can really feel the amount of effort you put into them. Don't worry about being perfect, because you and your videos are good enough just as they are đ„°
You are amazing and donât let the bad part of your mind control you I will forever watch all of your videos and support you forever!đđ€đđ€đ
Iâm gonna watch every single one of your videos no matter how repetitive they are! (Iâm not saying theyâre repetitive, because they really arenât.đ) I love all of your videos and Iâm being completely honest when I say that every Saturday I look forward to you uploading. đ Have an amazing day. đ
I work at a pet store (we donât sell animals - thank goodness), and I wanted to tell you that I give people your CZcams channel ALL the time! When people ask questions about cages and I recommend things that we donât sell they get so confused so I give them your channel to help them see WHY the cages we sell arenât suitable for their hamsters. I just want you to know that you are fighting the good fight and I am SO happy that you are a resource for new pet parents to learn and improve!
I'm so angry at people who consider hamsters as toys that can be stored in tiny boxes when they are not played with. Hamsters have their own lives too, you know? Every hamster owner should watch this video! It's very informative đ
Yes Victoria they are 14 inches tall so if you put an area with a very thin layer of bedding, you can even put a 12 inch wheel maybe. Also if you bend the mesh into a triangle you may be able to make a lid like that
To my personal opinion, Detolfs arenât suitable. Oopsđ They are very likely to break (as the glass is extremely thin), they are super shallow and not high (which yes; 40 cm is ok for a dwarf; but that doesnât mean it works well). If Ikea would make such things, Iâd rather see them use a different furniture. I rather see a normal 100x50cm aquarium, than a Detolf.
Hamstery Phalene CZcams in my opinion, they are very nice cages, that work well for people who want to provide their hamster with a big, cheap cage. Yes, they may not be the *best* cage, but they are pretty good.
Ya, itâs really true, I mean... imagine if u have a tiny house, and itâs too bright with the colors, and it hurts ur eyes? Thatâs how the hamsters would feel đ
When I got my little hammy (adopted her at 1 y-o from someone who didn't want her anymore and she was in a tiny little cage) she was so lethargic. I didn't know it at the time, I just thought it was her personality but now 6 months later in a huge tank she is a totaly different hamster she is so energetic and active â„ïž it makes me happy to see her have the life she deserves.
I'm helping this guy on discord, he just had his second hamster past in this horrible cage he has! (The first got lost, the second died as it got its teeth stuck in the bars). I'm going to help him find a new one! Even tho its difficult due to the fact I'm in England and hes in Mexico. However, i would never be able to do this if my hamster care was like his. You, Victoria, helped me! And so thank you for helping so now I can help others.
They sell a lot of "rabbit cages" (yuck size for a rabbit but perfect for a hamster) there so if he can find a guinea pig or rabbit cage that is large enough with small bar space, then that may be easier.
finally, am edjucational video abt hamster cages. i feel like so many people mistreat their hamsters and think they are just âthrow awayâ pets and it breaks my heart! thank you for doing what your doing your doing so much good for the hamster community đđč
i feel like Victoria deserves way more hype because her hamster care is AMAZING!!!! and that way if she was more famous more people could know how to take care of their hamster right.
@S B be quiet you donât know my age and Iâm not to old for gatcha. Gatcha is for all ages and many people use âI-â Just because you donât... that doesnât mean I cant. And also- I donât use tiktok. So mind your business
yea me too, my friend has two hamsters (in different cages) and they live in a 10 gallon aquarium, I keep on trying to tell her it's way too small as kindly as I can but she doesn't listen.....
I absolutely love that she showed on the floor what size cage recommendations there were so I could really see. She goes above and beyond. I want to get a hamster and she helps so much. xx
11:09 this is the cage I have right now for my hamster, and every night he chews in the bars. I change up the toys a lot and give him plenty of time to free roam in my room. We are switching to a large glass terrarium so Iâll see how that goes! I really donât want Oreo to get hurt from chewing on those bars đđ„șđč (P.S. i have the large one out of the small cage and large cage) EDIT: wow this is 2 years old, I got a 40 gallon tank and used that for awhile. Iâm soon getting a paw hut large enclosure as I know 40 gallons doesnât seem great!
Iâve been doing a ton of research before getting my first hamster, and it takes literally 3 seconds to find a site that says the small cages arenât good for them. It really is that people donât bother researching or simply donât care, and itâs quite unfortunate. Honestly, the price difference isnât even that large either.
I think the main reason people prefer small cage is because they are more colourful and playful looking. But if you get an aquarium, diy or bin cage and fill it up with all the necessities and extras of a hamster, it will look so much better, and of course more natural and caring. you can even get the colourful bedding if youd like and you can do so much with it (especially if ur cage is diy or an aquarium)
Thank you soooo much Victoria! You helped me from having a tiny tale cage to a massive bin cage! Iâve had done no research when I was getting a hamster and then I found you... You improved my hamster care soo sooo much, I hope you see this comment and you that I am so thankful for finding you on the internet and for your help đđđŒđđŒ
When me and my sister went to pet smart we noticed a hamster that was eating the silicone (it was a SMALL fish tank) and we also noticed that the wheel was so small so my sister (I was too shy to ask) asked the pet smart employee to get a bigger wheel and immediately the hamster started to go on the wheel and stop earring the silicone.
Winters animals more people probably buy the detolf as a hamster cage than as a display cabinet, and the only reason some people donât buy it is because they have to diy the lid!!
Indonesia : Komunitas Pencinta Hamster Indonesia (KPHI) Standard 2000cm2 (dwarves) and 4000cm2 (Syrian) In case anyone from Indonesia are here :) We're always working towards bigger cage but baby steps :)
@@itsme-fm6qr ASTAGAA AKHIRNYA ADA ORANG INDONESIA YANG BILANG GINI:( orang indonesia selalu bodo amat sama perawatannya dan pilih kandang termurah yang akhirnya kecil bgt buat mreka:(
People should know that they spent $50 on a tiny flimsy tiny tales cage when I spent $15 on a bigger bin cage I bought from ikea. Weird that my hammy shows no signs of borederm
@@treefxll9596 yea if there is a ikea online shop website in ur country! It's called samla. I bought it off a $5 discount. But the cover cost $5 more so I did not buy it.
Not your Slytherin omg ye with my hamsters old cage ( he now is in a bin cage) it took so long to set up and he had to stay in the small cardboard box carrier. And when we opened it he dashed out and under my bed đ
@@afrawley339 exactly! XD. My gerbils old bar cage didnât fit on the base very well. My aquarium is much more secure now. And my gerbils chewed it up!
Yes! When I got my first hamster I bought a critter trail! I spent over $70+ for very bad products. Then I realized my mistakes then had another hamster and did proper research and only spent around $10 for a bin cage and maybe $50 for everything heâs now happy and Healthy.
I just want to take a moment to say thank you.†A few days ago I stumbled upon this video and I realized that the bad hamster cages that you certainly should NOT use for your hamster is one that I housed my hamster in a few years back. They sadly passed away but that's a different topic. I've been wanting a hamster for so long after my last hamster which I got a few months after my first hamster that died which I was talking about (I know that's a confusing sentence lol), but I haven't been able to build up the courage to get another one because my second hamster (his name was Oreo) passed away 2 weeks after I got him. I now know that he probably was diseased because I got him from the pet store (I will no longer be buying from these stores and I want you to know that you helped me) This video put everything that my hamsters were doing into perspective (bar chewing, climbing the bars, becoming less active, et.) and I want to tell you how grateful I am for you being on youtube. Since I watched this video, I've been watching all your hamster care videos and I've spent hours writing it all down. I've looked at all the websites you've recommended and I've searched for better cages, better food, better hideouts, everything. I had no idea that I've been treating my hamsters so poorly and I'm now on track to get a hamster that will (hopefully) live an amazing life and you should know that that's because of you. â€đ
I just got a hamster today! He is the cutest thing ever. Yesterday night I went to get some cat supplies and I looked in the pet shop window and there he was! He actually turned around and yawned at me! I thought about out him all night and in the morning I went to get him. I also got a 75 gallon tank for him and he seems very happy. We named him Mochi. Thank you so much for your videos I have learned so much from them!
Got my daughter a hamster. Someone was getting rid of it. Came with what I thought was a nice $75 store cage. Also thought the thing was lazy. đ€Ł Watched your videos. This poor hamster was living in maybe 50 sq inches. I've only owned him for a week and he has moved up to 640 sq inches. He also is exploring and not just sleeping. Gave him some enrichment with tubes. Going to make him a sand bath and get bigger wheel. Gave it about 8 inches of deep bedding as well. Thanks for the advice and teaching me how to make the hamster happy.
Hi Victoria!, ever since I have found your channel I switched from a tiny tales cage to a bin cage! You have helped me a lot with my hammy royale ! Lots of love xoxo- Adriana & royale
My parents think hamsters are small animals and don't need big cages, thankfully I saved enough money to buy a bin cage. My parents also used Wood bedding I'm not sure what it was called. I bought him some paper clean and cozy and he's happy.
Hey there is a certain brands of wood bedding which is safe like aspen but clean and cozy is better anyway well done on improving your hamster care Iâm sure your hamster is very happy
Thatâs what my mother also thinks, my father doesnât which is good. But yeah I had to save up money to buy a big cage for my hamster too, I just buy everything for her now lol
I upgraded my hamster from a 350sq inch cage to a home made 750sq inch cage and she was so much happier this made me so much happier too because seeing her stressed was really upsetting
I just upgraded my cage, I used to have a 450 square inch cage, but then I just bought a new bin cage! Itâs around 900 square inches! I really want my hamster to be happy, you have helped me SO much with my hamster care!
There is no bin cage of 900 sq inches,the bigger one itâs the Christmas tree bin with 830 sq inches of floorspace (or less),probably you have a 100 liter bin (106 qt) that it only 435 sq inches of floorspace,but if you add some bedding it increases to 450 sq inches
My baby passed away last Saturday, but I'm still watching videos on Hamsters Proper Care as I still think I could have made her life better... She lived for over 2,5 years but I wish she would have lived more. When I bought her from the pet store I had no idea the cages they sold there were improper, but I realized really soon once she started biting the cage as crazy. I then set up a cage in my bookcase in my living room and it was definitely an improvement as it was about twice the pet store cage size, but she would still show signs of stress as she kept biting the wire once she got used to the new cage. I would then spend more time with her outside the cage and I realized it was less stressful for her if instead of putting her food in a bowl, I would spread it in the cage so she could gather it and walk around the cage. When she was about 1,5 years old my dad found a piece of old cabinet-like furniture in the streets and then we built a new cage from this. It was about 4 times bigger than the one I set up in the bookcase. And she would still bite the wires once she got used to it. But I realized that this time, biting the wire was her way of calling us because she would only bite it once she heard our voices, otherwise, she would mind her own stuff inside the new cage, which we called "Kimi's Mansion" (Kimi was her name). The last few months have been really cold here in Brazil, so we would put a hot bottle of water right behind her cage's nest spot on the outside so she wouldn't get too cold. This past week she seemed fine. But 2 days before she died she started acting a bit weird and I didn't realize it on time. She wouldn't gather all the food I put inside the cage, which she always did, even if she already had lots of food she would still gather any I gave her, but those 2 days she didn't, she only grabbed some part of it. And she also wouldn't bury herself in her nest, even though it was cold, she would sleep on top of it. Saturday morning I noticed she was walking curved and drowsily in a way she didn't use to do and her eyes were really runny, then I decided to take her to the vet, but it was already 4:00 PM when we got there and when the vet attended us the vet told us she was already dead even though she was moving the whole way there. I had searched a lot about runny eyes before as that wasn't the first time her eyes were runny, but I only found articles stating that this was a normal thing for an old hamster or maybe simply allergies from the bedding. Only after her death, I found an article stating that runny eyes were a sign of pneumonia. Especially if the eyes have rheum, which was her case the past 2 days prior to her death. If I knew back then that runny eyes with rheum were a sign of pneumonia I would have taken her to the vet way sooner and maybe she would still be alive by now... I miss her so much. I still have an alarm to remind me it's time to take her from the cage to play, but she is not there anymore... What makes me happy is being aware of the fact she would probably not get better treatment from other people. at least those are the odds since most people in Brazil and even in the world are not educated on hamster proper care and my girlfriend and I did our best with the resources and knowledge we had.
i love how you dont spend 23 hours talking about why we should subscribe and like, and you get in straight into the video. AND the video is very informative and fun to watch. Thanks!
Iâve been watching your videos for a year now and the entire time I have been begging my parents for a hamster, today they finally agreed and Iâm getting one in a month! Iâm so happy and will continue to watch your videos to make sure my hamster lives the best life!đčđ€
Itâs incredibly sad how an improper cage can affect hamsters for life. I rescued my dwarf hamster from a tiny barred cage without any way to burrow, no food except sunflower seeds, no wheel, no chews, no enrichment at all. She now has an enclosure a little larger than two square meters. 3450 square inches. (The ikea pax). She became aggressive with her first owners and still is extremely territorial. She always attacks anything that comes into the cage and canât be touched. She has a German setup and still shows signs of stress if I donât change it often enough.
This video was perfect timing! I was just measuring my room for the cage upgrade I wanted to do. My female Syrian is a bin cage around 600sq in and still shows signs of stress, but soon sheâll be in a cage over 1,400 sq in and Iâm very excited!
I recently took your advice and updated my hamsters cage to 750sq inches of floor space. He is so much less bored and so much more active. Thanks for the advice.
i got my hamster last week, buying the biggest cage in the pet shop (375 sq inch) then i watched yours vids and saw that my cage was too small so i bought a 560 sq inch cage and my hamster is loving it! tysmm
You have inspired me so much. My female roborovski used to live in a 10 gallon tank with a 6.5 inch wheel, few chew toys, 1 hideout and 2 inches of cedar bedding. Now, she has the savic hamster heaven, a 12 inch wodent wheel, 10+ chew toys 6 hideouts and 6 inches of carefresh bedding. Thank you for teaching me so much.
Sadly, my poor baby boy passed đ„ș he was a drawf hamster and he was the best. He was the cutest when he escaped, he was the fluffiest little boy ever. He is now playing in heaven with his sissy melody (they lived in different cages and never were together) and I hope my bubs is having fun with his sissy and running on many wheels up there â€ïž
I have 2 guinea pigs, and itâs kind of funny to me that hamsters need more than or the same amount of space as they do. It really goes to show that an animalâs size has nothing to do with how much space it needs. Guinea pigs need a lot of space, but it seems that hamsters need even more to be really happy, but theyâre much smaller! (My guinea pigsâ cage is made of these cnc grids that you use to make storage cubes. Itâs 4 grids by 2 grids; a pretty common cnc cage size for 2 piggies. Just if anyoneâs curious.)
@@thejoshowd6418 minimum cage space for 2 Guinea pigs is around 2 x 4 ft. Heâs right. Guinea pigs also get enrichment from being housed together as they are social animals. Of course, bigger is always better, but my understanding is because hamsters are not social, their cage size should be almost as large as the minimum for Guinea pigs, and that is their enrichment.
I hate small cages SO much. When I first got my hammy, I got a critter trails house cage. I noticed he was biting on the bars and decided to upgrade to a 605 square inch bin cage and he loves it so much. Your videos have helped me so much on my hamster care journey.
Hi! My name is Alec. I am 11 years old and I wanted to appreciate you for whatever you have done to help all of us in our doubts and troubles. Everything I wanted to know about hamsters, you gave me all the info, keep it up and thank you sooo much! I too have a CZcams channel â Alecâs channelâ but I do safari videos and cooking videos.
Hi Tori, I just wanted to say tysmâš u have got me to a point where Iâm helping my best friend rn and telling her all about hamsters.. and without you yes YOU I wouldnât have been able to come here. Youâve helped me sooo much with hamster care and I canât stress enough how much ilyâ€ïžđč
I took my petco cages back after both dwarfs escaped the same night I brought them home. Both animals were exhibiting wall scaling and pacing when i bought them. I have them in large clear totes till i soon get the aquariums set up. Love your channel, saved my hamsters from going crazy. â€ïž
I just wanted to say thank you for showing me and my mom the right way to care for a hamster. At first my mom didnt think that they needed that much space but I told her that Im not getting a hamster if it doesnt have at least a 40 gallon tank but she knew how much i wanted a hamster so we ended up putting my hamster in a 30 gallon tank because my pet store sucks and doesnt have tanks bigger than that which i thought was dumb but that was just temporary and we are working on upgrading to a bincage now with more things to play with, herbs, bigger sand bath etc. Anyways my mom now knows how important my hamster, pablo's care is and I'm happy about it so thank you again. â€
My first hamster used to love to travel - he always knew when we were going to spend the weekend at my nans as he would always come to the front of the cage whenever I said 'we're going to nannys'! This was the only other place, apart from the vets where i would take him, but as he got older, i usually stayed at home with him. but, because the vets is closer to my nan's house, we stayed at my nans cause it was easier to get to the vets if there was an emergency. And he passed away in my arms at my nans, so the whole family was there to say goodbye, and it also meant that I wasn't alone when he passed. He was the most loving hamster I had ever met and everyone loved him, especially my cat, who would always sit and sleep near him or on his cage and she never tried to hurt him and she never left my side when he was taking his last few breaths in my arms. R.I.P. Snowy â€â€â€â€â€
Rachel first off wanted to say I found your channel about 3 months ago and it has helped me so much. I used to have a hamster named Foxy and a few others before hand. At the time when I got my first ever hamster I was very young and we didnât do much research about how to properly give them everything they need. But I am happy to say since I found your channel, all my future hamster I will make sure have the best I can give them. I plan on getting a much bigger cage, sand bath, plenty of bedding and lots more to make sure that they have the best life I can give them. I might would of known more earlier if more pet stores didnât sell such small cages for hamsters. Thank you so much, your videos have already made so many more hamsters lives better. Keep up the fantastic work. â€ïž
Here is one tip for transitioning your hamster into a suitable cage. Since my hamster started out in a Habitrail, and it was super small, when I transitioned to my 800 sq in aquarium, to avoid stress I simply took the lid off of the Habitrail, and actually placed the old cage inside of the new one. This worked well for me because when she was used to her new one, I just took the old cage out. Hope this helps someone!
@@BumbleBee-vl1sx nope way to small, 40 gallons is minimum in America, but youâll need something over 620sq inches in the UK, dunno the gallon size in the uk tho as i donât know how to convert it
@@BumbleBee-vl1sx remember if money is an issue you can usually find suitable ones on Facebook market place for under ÂŁ30, just make sure you ask the measurements x
thank you! I got a hamster about 2 days ago and this helped me go from a tiny tales cage to a bin cage in under 2 days. I'm also considering adding to it and giving him 2 separate bins that are attached by tubes. I really appreciate this and i want my hammy to live a happy life
I also think the reason they have small cages is due to the âcutenessâ factor. People love treating hamsters like entertainment, and itâs much more entertaining (especially for children) to have mini everything. Mini beds, mini food bowls, mini bottles; a mini animal! Itâs gross they commodify their size and exploit childrenâs love for cute things. I used to love those mini kitchens was I was young, and Iâm sure if someone told me owning a hamster was like having a mini dollhouse, Iâd be thrilled! And they know that about children. Unfortunately, that is the thought process that extends beyond those cute, mini pastries and desserts. Thereâs no such thing as pocket pets, it just pets that are smaller, but also deserve as much space to thrive. We should stop looking at pets in comparison to one another, trying to weight/evaluate their âdeservedâ amount of care based on life span/size. Thatâs such a harmful and destructive (honestly somewhat narcissistic) mentality. But, of course, children shouldnât be blamed for being narcissistic. Thatâs kind of an inherent part of being a child, very neutral in its effects, and has to be cultivated or directed by adults. If adults say hamsters are toys, why would a child not treat them like one? But thatâs the equivalent of sticking a chihuahua in a hamper with a mini treadmill, and hoping itâll be happy. Or say a pet, for some medical reason or other, only has a short lifespan. So therefore they deserve to be chained to a fence post outside because thereâs no point in trying to bond with/care for such a short lived animal. When you put it in those terms, it seems so cruel. And thatâs something you need to teach a child, because theyâre not intentionally hurting their pets and obviously want the best life for them. Theyâd be sad if they knew theyâd were depriving their pet. They just donât know any better. Thatâs why _we_ should do better for them. Because corporations clearly donât give a crap, and never will unless theyâre forced to. Such a pity.
I have a hamster (Russian Dwarf) and itâs cage is so.. horrible and tiny. Itâs under the bare minimum and I feel so awful for it. But Christmas is coming up! And I though I should get it a HUGE cage and make it very natural and expensive so it can have a big upgrade. I canât wait to spoil it and give it a happier life! And thanks to you I realised all this
I love how much effort Victoria puts into her videos. The amount of research and planning really shows within every video she posts. She just really makes my day and I'm so thankful she does this for all of us hamster owners :)
Thank you so much for this video! I will be buying my hamster a large cage now! Because I see how happy they are with a large cage! My hamster is in a small cage right now and she is always chewing on the bars but now I know sheâs not happy and i want her to feel happy
hey victoria! i was just watching your vids and it made me early to this one :) i just wanted to say that you have helped me so much with my hamster care journey, thanks to you i made a lovely natural cage and perfected all my mistakes! my current cage is a bin with a mesh top and it measures 762 square inches of floor space đđđ
Girl, you inspired me a lot. My robo cage was switched from a 54 sq inches wire cage to a DIY 930 sq inches enclosure. He seems to be happy now, I donât know but I did my best to give him a better life at least when living in my home. Once again, thank you so much. Keep giving the community more awareness
My parents refuse to let me get a bigger bin with the excuse of âyou alrdy got the biggest bin,thereâs nothing bigger,â but they wonât even let me properly go out and look, I really feel so bad for my poor hammy, her bin is basically a bit bigger than the standard storage bin and she always tired to escape. I love my baby and I want her to have the best life but Iâm so mad that I canât. Edit: her floor space is around the bare minimum but I want her to have a full life
My parents wonât even let me get a bigger than a crittertrail for my two dwarf hamsters!! Iâm going to try and convince them soon but if they donât Iâm going to try and find a better home for them :) I stayed up today and I was crying bc I want them to be happy so I decided to watch some of Victoriaâs videos :,(
My detolf is actually a centerpiece in my living room, its completely natural and Ive even built a raised lid for it! it's a tiny piece of nature in my home and I cant imagine anything smaller. đ
Awesome video, very informative :D You did miss a point that I think tends to put people off about larger cages, which is how you clean them. Most people with small cages get nervous about the idea of cleaning a large, immovable cage (as opposed to just dumping out a whole crittertrail into a trash bag). They don't realize how easy it is, and how much less often you have to do it.
this was perfect timing because i am currently looking for bins i can use for my next hamster! and dont worry tori, i will always watch your videos đ
I love how you make vids to help us Iâm getting a hamster đč soon and I wanted to know how to take good care of it Iâve watched your vids for a long time and your my idol đ
Honestly so grateful that you mentioned South Africa in this video. Iâm trying to find a good size cage for my Russian Dwarf hamster and I cannot be more thankful for this
i have a winter white, just got him today, and i got just a standard cage from the pet store to keep him in for the time being before we get him a proper cage which will be soon. ever since we brought him home, heâs been climbing the wiring on the cage and falling asleep and i just thought he was finding a comfortable spot. thank you for making this video!! will definitely be fixing his home
I got my first hamstera couple years ago and tbh when my parents said I could get one the first thing that came to mind was getting one of those cute colorful cages from the pet store. I had had rats before and I knew they required a lot of space and a lot of enrichment because they are so active and intelligent. I didnât realize that hamsters where the same, I thought they were a low maintenance animals that sleeps all day. I was so lucky I found tour channel or my poor hammy would have suffered. :( Itâs great that you are putting correct information out there and you are doing a good job! I love your educational videos because I always learn so much
Iâve learned so much through your videos! I had a hamster as a kid and we knew nothing. Surprisingly she lived 4 years. But now as an adult we got a hamster and learned so much with you to properly care for them! Going to def upgrade her cage. Thanks!
Iâm so glad my hamster doesnât show any signs of boredom or a small cage. The cage is very big, and she has a lot of enrichment toys. If you cannot afford enrichment toys you can make lots of toys out of things like cardboard, toilet paper, and wood! Please take care of you and your hammy. â€
ME: Just finishes my pancakes ALSO ME: clicks on vid VICTORIA: Today we are going to be talking about hamster cages, so grab a snack and maybe even a drink! ME: **hates myself**
I'm in the UK and it's super hard to find large inexpensive cages. At first I went with a bin cage 606 sq inches then I recently went on argos and typed 160 l box. It's a much larger bin cage and 800 sq inches of floorspace it is about ÂŁ32 and it has wheels underneath. I haven't purchased it yet but I will soon.
Thank you. Itâs not boring, it is informative. Iâm not a hamster parent. They belong to my bro daughters. Just nanny the baby while the family are away on holiday. Your channel has honestly open my eyes. I even visited a hamster speciality shop recently so as to understand more on how to take proper care. Wanted to upgrade the enclosure but the shop want me to bring the girls down so they can be taught on how to properly take care and ensure a good life for the hamster. Thanks again.. đ from Singapore đžđŹ
Iâm seeing a few people who are still a bit confused, your hamster can still show boredom behaviours in a 600 sq inch cage, they can still show boredom behaviours in an 800 sq inch cage, this is one of the reasons some organizations donât even believe hamsters should have been domesticated as we canât provide nearly what a hamster needs in captivity. Many hamsters will still need and want their cage upgraded even if you consider it large, or you may need to reevaluate the type of enrichments youâre providing and if youâre providing enough. Another issue I see is people labeling their 500/600 sq inch enclosures as massive so their hamster shouldnât be showing boredom behaviours but these enclosures shouldnât be considered âmassiveâ or âhugeâ, when these sizes are only slightly above many of the countries minimums.
Hmm. I have a Syrian hamster living in an Ikea Detolf cage (950 sq. inches I think?) I've really tried to make the setup as enriching as possible for him; I've given him a deep end with 7-8 inches of bedding, made him lots of foraging toys, bought or made just about every kind of toy I can think of (hanging, tubes, buried tubes, hideouts, climbing toys, hide and seek toys, etc.) but he still would rather spend his time hanging from the wire mesh lid like some kind of Spider-Ham. I also scatter feed and take him out for playtime as often as possible, but he just... never seems satisfied. I honestly can't think of any way I could make his setup more interesting, and the Detolf is the best I can afford both moneywise and spacewise. I just don't want him to be stressed. Do you have any tips?
Youâre the best hamster owner Victoria raechel
@@angelic.flowerss5843 yea but tbh itâs gonna be hard to change the bare minimum when small hamster cages are still gonna be available to everyone I think that hamster owners should take responsibility and research hamster care before getting a hamster instead of leaving it to the pet store or a friend because even if the bare minimum was set to 600 pet stores still have small cages and nothing can change over night I think pet stores should have bigger cages but letâs be honest all that they want is money and they donât care if a hamster has to suffer
@@zoeeeee3667 true ,this mainly happens because kids don't research anything before getting a hamster (they probably don't even know how research) and the parents wont either so ya this cannot be fixed đą
My little brother has two Russian hamsters. After watching your videos we got rid of the pine shavings that the pet store told us was safe. And we got bigger cages. Not as big as long as yours but they have three levels in them.
I think that really large cages are not only better for the hamster but also look alot nicer too
They are better because hamsters need a big space
Ya they are so cool and so nice looking
Talking from personal experience, I find them way easier to maintain because you only need to occasionally spot clean, and fully clean every 4-5 months. When I had a smaller cage I fully cleaned it out every week and now regret it so much
ye
Yeah those kaytee cages are ugly as crap
i feel like you need to say this so many times because people arenât listening. itâs like youâre a teacher instructing a loud class.
Ikr
shes the kind of teacher which would teach her students taking all her time until her student get it, she would be a great math teacher
And were the favorites that get good grades
yes, and the class is louder than the teacher
The thing is that people listen, but they prefer ignoring đ
I had a hamster when i was 12 and realising he did all these things that aren't normal and/or related to stress it makes me so sad that i didnt know đ„
same :( My old hamster always chewed the bars and used them as monkey bars
(this was a long time ago and my new hamster does not)
you were only a child and didn't know any better, you need to forgive yourself. The most important thing is that you're educated now and won't make the same mistakes, and hopefully other hamster owners will take your advice and learn from your experience
Me too like I'm watching her videos and realizing that i had some of the stuff that shes saying that's bad for them :(
I had a hamster as an eight year old I regret it but I learned a lot about responsibility i just wish i did it while giving my hamster a good life. RIP waffles + bubbles. ( I had 2 at 2 different times)
i am still a kid and i do have a hamster but i am educating myself and my parents so that we can upgrade and knowing the signs and that she does them i am hoping to upgade
i just got a new hamster. upon research on her behavior and watching your videos, i realized that her tank was causing her so much stress and i felt horrible. she was already in a critter carrier as her home before i adopted her so i felt even worse that i wasnât much better. iâm upgrading her today to a 600 sq in tank instead ! i think sheâll be a lot happier. thank you for being kind with your advice !!
Same. I recently bought my hamster 3-4 days ago and mines was doing all the things she listed such as, chewing the wire, climbing, sleeping of boredom, I immediately got a fish tank. Not AS big as it should but 29 gallon will do for now (I canât afford a 40+ gallon right now). Sheâs much happier and itâs better than nothing.
@@achante2002 so awesome that you got her a bigger tank!! Victoria has a video about bin cages if you're interested ! Basically you get a giant plastic storage container and you cut the top and put mesh on it! i got a giant one at target for 18 dollars! Its definitely a cheaper alternative since glass fishtanks are so pricey!! congrats on your new hamster !!
@@ari-in8ny Omg yesss!!! I saw and I actually tried that and my hamster hated it, as well as I did, so we decided to go with a fish tank. I hope you nothing but wellness and happiness for you and your hamsters journey
â@@ari-in8ny the one way in which the US is better than the UK ... Your tanks and bins are so much cheaper. I had to pay about ÂŁ35 for my hamster's bin. A tank is out of the question for my poor wallet đ
After working on this video for two days I originally wasnât going to post it because lately Iâve been struggling with posting any type of videos without my brain going âNo oneâs gonna watch this, this is like all the other videos youâve posted, theyâre all gonna hate itâ but Iâm just gonna go against what I think because even if this is information Iâve repeated many times before it can help any new viewers/subscribers that havenât seen those videos before. I also wanted a video where Iâm not fixated on â450 SQ inchesâ because in all honesty I think thatâs a small minimum and we should be working towards going for bigger (hence why I own cages that are larger than that).
my cage is 1350 square inches:)
Don't ever think that about your videos! They are all so informative, entertaining, and you can really feel the amount of effort you put into them. Don't worry about being perfect, because you and your videos are good enough just as they are đ„°
You are amazing and donât let the bad part of your mind control you I will forever watch all of your videos and support you forever!đđ€đđ€đ
Iâm gonna watch every single one of your videos no matter how repetitive they are! (Iâm not saying theyâre repetitive, because they really arenât.đ) I love all of your videos and Iâm being completely honest when I say that every Saturday I look forward to you uploading. đ Have an amazing day. đ
Keep on posting! I love watching all of your videos and it's great that your uploading videos because so many people have cages that are too small!
I work at a pet store (we donât sell animals - thank goodness), and I wanted to tell you that I give people your CZcams channel ALL the time! When people ask questions about cages and I recommend things that we donât sell they get so confused so I give them your channel to help them see WHY the cages we sell arenât suitable for their hamsters. I just want you to know that you are fighting the good fight and I am SO happy that you are a resource for new pet parents to learn and improve!
Nice! But I hope you donât get fired.
that's great!
we need more workers like you
You're such an amazing person, this actually made my day, im glad that there are people out there actively trying to improve the lives of pets (:
You are an amazing person, and I bet you're making a difference to all the hamsters adopted by your customers!
I am planning on getting a hamster and I wanted to do research before I get one and omggg this woman is a goddess she is seriously so helpful â€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïžđ€©đ€©
Happy to help!
@S B No such thing when caring for a pet.
@S B okay grandma your right as always...
@@isaoost1891 all of grandmas teeth fell out because she told too many lies...
Frr lol i thought the smaalll was fineee thankyouu
We basically re-arranged our whole dining room to allow for our cage to fit.
And we don't regret it in the slightest.
that's really nice, I'm also now quite curious how it looks â€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïž
Pictures?
I hope to get my hamster a bigger cage soon. But my parents say a 290 square inch one is 'perfectly fine' -_-
@@ruby23876 you wouldnt house a puppy in a 290 square inch a hamster shouldnt have to suffer in cruel way either
@@ruby23876 Itâs been a year, is there any updates on the cage or hamster?
I'm so angry at people who consider hamsters as toys that can be stored in tiny boxes when they are not played with. Hamsters have their own lives too, you know? Every hamster owner should watch this video! It's very informative đ
Someone should really tell ikea they should build lids for detolfs and sell them as hamster cages
They aren't always suitable either as they too low for a wheel suitable for Syrians
@Mojo & The Budgies Doesn't mean they don't work for dwarfs :) The Detolf can also fit an 11" wheel which does work for a syrian.
Yes Victoria they are 14 inches tall so if you put an area with a very thin layer of bedding, you can even put a 12 inch wheel maybe. Also if you bend the mesh into a triangle you may be able to make a lid like that
To my personal opinion, Detolfs arenât suitable. Oopsđ They are very likely to break (as the glass is extremely thin), they are super shallow and not high (which yes; 40 cm is ok for a dwarf; but that doesnât mean it works well).
If Ikea would make such things, Iâd rather see them use a different furniture.
I rather see a normal 100x50cm aquarium, than a Detolf.
Hamstery Phalene CZcams in my opinion, they are very nice cages, that work well for people who want to provide their hamster with a big, cheap cage. Yes, they may not be the *best* cage, but they are pretty good.
I really hope in the future small cages are banned everywhere
Ya, itâs really true, I mean... imagine if u have a tiny house, and itâs too bright with the colors, and it hurts ur eyes? Thatâs how the hamsters would feel đ
Pretty sure there banned in Germany? If so thatâs a great step for hamsters :)))
SAME!!
same here!!!
Yes
When I got my little hammy (adopted her at 1 y-o from someone who didn't want her anymore and she was in a tiny little cage) she was so lethargic. I didn't know it at the time, I just thought it was her personality but now 6 months later in a huge tank she is a totaly different hamster she is so energetic and active â„ïž it makes me happy to see her have the life she deserves.
I'm helping this guy on discord, he just had his second hamster past in this horrible cage he has! (The first got lost, the second died as it got its teeth stuck in the bars). I'm going to help him find a new one! Even tho its difficult due to the fact I'm in England and hes in Mexico. However, i would never be able to do this if my hamster care was like his. You, Victoria, helped me! And so thank you for helping so now I can help others.
It's great you're trying to help him! Maybe he can build his own DIY cage?
I use discord :)
They sell a lot of "rabbit cages" (yuck size for a rabbit but perfect for a hamster) there so if he can find a guinea pig or rabbit cage that is large enough with small bar space, then that may be easier.
@@rock2946 the "rabbit cages" always make me sad.
my guinea pigs are in a c&c cage, and I'm going to make it bigger in January.
@@rock2946 you can also put wire mesh around bars that are too wide!
finally, am edjucational video abt hamster cages. i feel like so many people mistreat their hamsters and think they are just âthrow awayâ pets and it breaks my heart! thank you for doing what your doing your doing so much good for the hamster community đđč
Thank you!
i feel like Victoria deserves way more hype because her hamster care is AMAZING!!!! and that way if she was more famous more people could know how to take care of their hamster right.
Thank you! That means a lot!
For everyone watching this petco currently has their $1 a gallon sale going on at the moment.
Ye but my parents didnât want too buy a hamster đ
I-
@@puglover6113 then dont get a hamster !!
@S B be quiet you donât know my age and Iâm not to old for gatcha.
Gatcha is for all ages and many people use âI-â
Just because you donât... that doesnât mean I cant.
And also- I donât use tiktok. So mind your business
@@tealilly9895 You tell em, love you btw
I really hope that more people understand that small cages are really really really bad to the hamsterâ€â€â€
yea me too, my friend has two hamsters (in different cages) and they live in a 10 gallon aquarium, I keep on trying to tell her it's way too small as kindly as I can but she doesn't listen.....
@@sunflower-id1kd you could send her Victoria's videos maybe she will reconsider upgrading the aquariumsâ€
I absolutely love that she showed on the floor what size cage recommendations there were so I could really see. She goes above and beyond. I want to get a hamster and she helps so much. xx
Glad it was helpful!
@@VictoriaRaechel Thank you for replying! It was thank you I love your channel!
11:09 this is the cage I have right now for my hamster, and every night he chews in the bars. I change up the toys a lot and give him plenty of time to free roam in my room. We are switching to a large glass terrarium so Iâll see how that goes! I really donât want Oreo to get hurt from chewing on those bars đđ„șđč
(P.S. i have the large one out of the small cage and large cage)
EDIT: wow this is 2 years old, I got a 40 gallon tank and used that for awhile. Iâm soon getting a paw hut large enclosure as I know 40 gallons doesnât seem great!
Man I hate when people donât buy the larger cages. They need more space.
Iâve been doing a ton of research before getting my first hamster, and it takes literally 3 seconds to find a site that says the small cages arenât good for them. It really is that people donât bother researching or simply donât care, and itâs quite unfortunate. Honestly, the price difference isnât even that large either.
I think the main reason people prefer small cage is because they are more colourful and playful looking. But if you get an aquarium, diy or bin cage and fill it up with all the necessities and extras of a hamster, it will look so much better, and of course more natural and caring. you can even get the colourful bedding if youd like and you can do so much with it (especially if ur cage is diy or an aquarium)
I like your profile picture being chali from inquisitormaster
@@BetterBetta yes a lot of times itâs even cheaper
ok but like the time's iv told my parents and the just say o well it a lot of money
me :shows bin cage .
mom: yeah but that's a lot of work
like bruh
I'm so sad that hamsters have so little caces and I'm really happy that you are telling people that that wrong.
Yass same
Thank you soooo much Victoria! You helped me from having a tiny tale cage to a massive bin cage! Iâve had done no research when I was getting a hamster and then I found you... You improved my hamster care soo sooo much, I hope you see this comment and you that I am so thankful for finding you on the internet and for your help đđđŒđđŒ
i'm so happy to hear that!
When me and my sister went to pet smart we noticed a hamster that was eating the silicone (it was a SMALL fish tank) and we also noticed that the wheel was so small so my sister (I was too shy to ask) asked the pet smart employee to get a bigger wheel and immediately the hamster started to go on the wheel and stop earring the silicone.
IKEA makes better cages then pet smart and Ikeas âcagesâ arenât even made for hamsters
That is accurate
@@VictoriaRaechel too accurate-
IKEA should sell a mesh lid for their detolf so it can be used as a hamster cage too. There would probably be more people buying it!
@@afrawley339 yes! We made one ourself so when we got one for my little hammy
Winters animals more people probably buy the detolf as a hamster cage than as a display cabinet, and the only reason some people donât buy it is because they have to diy the lid!!
Indonesia : Komunitas Pencinta Hamster Indonesia (KPHI) Standard 2000cm2 (dwarves) and 4000cm2 (Syrian)
In case anyone from Indonesia are here :)
We're always working towards bigger cage but baby steps :)
Indonesian here! I have a 120x50cm (6000cm2 = 930 sq inches) aquarium for my syrian! đđč
Miris di Indonesia hamster carenya belum sebagus luar negeri untuk kebanyakan orang :(
@@itsme-fm6qr ASTAGAA AKHIRNYA ADA ORANG INDONESIA YANG BILANG GINI:(
orang indonesia selalu bodo amat sama perawatannya dan pilih kandang termurah yang akhirnya kecil bgt buat mreka:(
Beli bedding yang sesuai dimana ya?
Wow ada org indo
This is crazy! People treat there hamsters like trash. It makes me want to đ cry
Thanks for the cage info!! My hamster lived in a tiny tales cage and now she lives in a 600 sq inches bin cage. Thank you! đ
People should know that they spent $50 on a tiny flimsy tiny tales cage when I spent $15 on a bigger bin cage I bought from ikea.
Weird that my hammy shows no signs of borederm
And this is why ikea is the proper hamster cage shop đ
Wait can I find this ikea cage online?
Same lol
@@treefxll9596 yea if there is a ikea online shop website in ur country! It's called samla. I bought it off a $5 discount. But the cover cost $5 more so I did not buy it.
Measurements are above 600 sq inches. Kinda small still but 209 sq inches bigger than my previous cage
Not to mention small cages are so expensive and hard to set up. Meanwhile large bin cages are super cheap and easy to set up.
Not your Slytherin omg ye with my hamsters old cage ( he now is in a bin cage) it took so long to set up and he had to stay in the small cardboard box carrier. And when we opened it he dashed out and under my bed đ
@@afrawley339 exactly! XD. My gerbils old bar cage didnât fit on the base very well. My aquarium is much more secure now. And my gerbils chewed it up!
Yes! When I got my first hamster I bought a critter trail! I spent over $70+ for very bad products. Then I realized my mistakes then had another hamster and did proper research and only spent around $10 for a bin cage and maybe $50 for everything heâs now happy and Healthy.
I just want to take a moment to say thank you.â€
A few days ago I stumbled upon this video and I realized that the bad hamster cages that you certainly should NOT use for your hamster is one that I housed my hamster in a few years back. They sadly passed away but that's a different topic. I've been wanting a hamster for so long after my last hamster which I got a few months after my first hamster that died which I was talking about (I know that's a confusing sentence lol), but I haven't been able to build up the courage to get another one because my second hamster (his name was Oreo) passed away 2 weeks after I got him. I now know that he probably was diseased because I got him from the pet store (I will no longer be buying from these stores and I want you to know that you helped me) This video put everything that my hamsters were doing into perspective (bar chewing, climbing the bars, becoming less active, et.) and I want to tell you how grateful I am for you being on youtube. Since I watched this video, I've been watching all your hamster care videos and I've spent hours writing it all down. I've looked at all the websites you've recommended and I've searched for better cages, better food, better hideouts, everything. I had no idea that I've been treating my hamsters so poorly and I'm now on track to get a hamster that will (hopefully) live an amazing life and you should know that that's because of you. â€đ
I just got a hamster today! He is the cutest thing ever. Yesterday night I went to get some cat supplies and I looked in the pet shop window and there he was! He actually turned around and yawned at me! I thought about out him all night and in the morning I went to get him. I also got a 75 gallon tank for him and he seems very happy. We named him Mochi. Thank you so much for your videos I have learned so much from them!
Got my daughter a hamster. Someone was getting rid of it.
Came with what I thought was a nice $75 store cage. Also thought the thing was lazy. đ€Ł
Watched your videos. This poor hamster was living in maybe 50 sq inches. I've only owned him for a week and he has moved up to 640 sq inches. He also is exploring and not just sleeping.
Gave him some enrichment with tubes. Going to make him a sand bath and get bigger wheel. Gave it about 8 inches of deep bedding as well.
Thanks for the advice and teaching me how to make the hamster happy.
It's always so rewarding seeing them explore and show natural behaviours!
@@VictoriaRaechel I know right!
Omg! This is so true
Aww :)) thatâs so cute. Gotta love a happy hamster!
I feel like the reason your hamster live to be so old is because you give them proper cages and careâ€
Jup I have mine for 2 years now and if you just take care of it
Every time me and my dad walk by or go into a forest, I always ask him: "is there a hamster living here"? Lol
Hi Victoria!, ever since I have found your channel I switched from a tiny tales cage to a bin cage! You have helped me a lot with my hammy royale ! Lots of love xoxo- Adriana & royale
My parents think hamsters are small animals and don't need big cages, thankfully I saved enough money to buy a bin cage. My parents also used Wood bedding I'm not sure what it was called. I bought him some paper clean and cozy and he's happy.
It's amazing that you've taken responsibility like that!
Hey there is a certain brands of wood bedding which is safe like aspen but clean and cozy is better anyway well done on improving your hamster care Iâm sure your hamster is very happy
Thatâs what my mother also thinks, my father doesnât which is good. But yeah I had to save up money to buy a big cage for my hamster too, I just buy everything for her now lol
I upgraded my hamster from a 350sq inch cage to a home made 750sq inch cage and she was so much happier this made me so much happier too because seeing her stressed was really upsetting
I just upgraded my cage, I used to have a 450 square inch cage, but then I just bought a new bin cage! Itâs around 900 square inches! I really want my hamster to be happy, you have helped me SO much with my hamster care!
Btw, for your next video can you do a new 2020 daily routine?
There is no bin cage of 900 sq inches,the bigger one itâs the Christmas tree bin with 830 sq inches of floorspace (or less),probably you have a 100 liter bin (106 qt) that it only 435 sq inches of floorspace,but if you add some bedding it increases to 450 sq inches
@@HYDROCARBON_XD, I mixed two bins together to create a big cage. Itâs also pretty rude to assume things.
My baby passed away last Saturday, but I'm still watching videos on Hamsters Proper Care as I still think I could have made her life better... She lived for over 2,5 years but I wish she would have lived more.
When I bought her from the pet store I had no idea the cages they sold there were improper, but I realized really soon once she started biting the cage as crazy. I then set up a cage in my bookcase in my living room and it was definitely an improvement as it was about twice the pet store cage size, but she would still show signs of stress as she kept biting the wire once she got used to the new cage.
I would then spend more time with her outside the cage and I realized it was less stressful for her if instead of putting her food in a bowl, I would spread it in the cage so she could gather it and walk around the cage.
When she was about 1,5 years old my dad found a piece of old cabinet-like furniture in the streets and then we built a new cage from this.
It was about 4 times bigger than the one I set up in the bookcase. And she would still bite the wires once she got used to it. But I realized that this time, biting the wire was her way of calling us because she would only bite it once she heard our voices, otherwise, she would mind her own stuff inside the new cage, which we called "Kimi's Mansion" (Kimi was her name).
The last few months have been really cold here in Brazil, so we would put a hot bottle of water right behind her cage's nest spot on the outside so she wouldn't get too cold.
This past week she seemed fine. But 2 days before she died she started acting a bit weird and I didn't realize it on time.
She wouldn't gather all the food I put inside the cage, which she always did, even if she already had lots of food she would still gather any I gave her, but those 2 days she didn't, she only grabbed some part of it. And she also wouldn't bury herself in her nest, even though it was cold, she would sleep on top of it.
Saturday morning I noticed she was walking curved and drowsily in a way she didn't use to do and her eyes were really runny, then I decided to take her to the vet, but it was already 4:00 PM when we got there and when the vet attended us the vet told us she was already dead even though she was moving the whole way there.
I had searched a lot about runny eyes before as that wasn't the first time her eyes were runny, but I only found articles stating that this was a normal thing for an old hamster or maybe simply allergies from the bedding. Only after her death, I found an article stating that runny eyes were a sign of pneumonia. Especially if the eyes have rheum, which was her case the past 2 days prior to her death. If I knew back then that runny eyes with rheum were a sign of pneumonia I would have taken her to the vet way sooner and maybe she would still be alive by now...
I miss her so much. I still have an alarm to remind me it's time to take her from the cage to play, but she is not there anymore...
What makes me happy is being aware of the fact she would probably not get better treatment from other people. at least those are the odds since most people in Brazil and even in the world are not educated on hamster proper care and my girlfriend and I did our best with the resources and knowledge we had.
i love how you dont spend 23 hours talking about why we should subscribe and like, and you get in straight into the video. AND the video is very informative and fun to watch. Thanks!
This is super useful for anyone who doesn't know much about much about cages. Thank you for this đ
Hope it can help future owners!
@@VictoriaRaechel I'm sure it will
The dislikes are from the workers at habitrail
Iâve been watching your videos for a year now and the entire time I have been begging my parents for a hamster, today they finally agreed and Iâm getting one in a month! Iâm so happy and will continue to watch your videos to make sure my hamster lives the best life!đčđ€
Congrats!
@@VictoriaRaechel omg- I did not think youâd reply! Love you đ
Itâs incredibly sad how an improper cage can affect hamsters for life. I rescued my dwarf hamster from a tiny barred cage without any way to burrow, no food except sunflower seeds, no wheel, no chews, no enrichment at all. She now has an enclosure a little larger than two square meters. 3450 square inches. (The ikea pax). She became aggressive with her first owners and still is extremely territorial. She always attacks anything that comes into the cage and canât be touched. She has a German setup and still shows signs of stress if I donât change it often enough.
This video was perfect timing! I was just measuring my room for the cage upgrade I wanted to do. My female Syrian is a bin cage around 600sq in and still shows signs of stress, but soon sheâll be in a cage over 1,400 sq in and Iâm very excited!
I recently took your advice and updated my hamsters cage to 750sq inches of floor space. He is so much less bored and so much more active. Thanks for the advice.
I remember when I used to watch you when I was younger. Your content made me so happy when I was a kid.
Iâm a kid right now, and she makes me happy too!
@@eshxlla aww great
Am I the only one that gets excited when she posts a video, and scroll through her video page to see what videos i haven't watchedđ đ đ
U arenât the only one đ
I ... do that....
I would be glad if I turned out to be a hamster of Victoria Raechel in my next life if I die.
i got my hamster last week, buying the biggest cage in the pet shop (375 sq inch) then i watched yours vids and saw that my cage was too small so i bought a 560 sq inch cage and my hamster is loving it! tysmm
You have inspired me so much. My female roborovski used to live in a 10 gallon tank with a 6.5 inch wheel, few chew toys, 1 hideout and 2 inches of cedar bedding. Now, she has the savic hamster heaven, a 12 inch wodent wheel, 10+ chew toys 6 hideouts and 6 inches of carefresh bedding. Thank you for teaching me so much.
I'm happy I could inspire you!
Sadly, my poor baby boy passed đ„ș he was a drawf hamster and he was the best. He was the cutest when he escaped, he was the fluffiest little boy ever. He is now playing in heaven with his sissy melody (they lived in different cages and never were together) and I hope my bubs is having fun with his sissy and running on many wheels up there â€ïž
My hamster jumped off his cage the cage is near my bed when i woke up its in my hair sleeping with me
Lol that's so cute
That is so cute!!
I have 2 guinea pigs, and itâs kind of funny to me that hamsters need more than or the same amount of space as they do. It really goes to show that an animalâs size has nothing to do with how much space it needs. Guinea pigs need a lot of space, but it seems that hamsters need even more to be really happy, but theyâre much smaller! (My guinea pigsâ cage is made of these cnc grids that you use to make storage cubes. Itâs 4 grids by 2 grids; a pretty common cnc cage size for 2 piggies. Just if anyoneâs curious.)
Uhmm... No.. I'm scared to see your guinea pig enclosure... Guinea pigs need way more space than hamsters..
@@thejoshowd6418 Hamster require a large cage, as well. However, guinea pigs do need more.
@@teafulhusky that's just what I said-
@@thejoshowd6418 4 grids by 2 is around five feet by 3
@@thejoshowd6418 minimum cage space for 2 Guinea pigs is around 2 x 4 ft. Heâs right. Guinea pigs also get enrichment from being housed together as they are social animals. Of course, bigger is always better, but my understanding is because hamsters are not social, their cage size should be almost as large as the minimum for Guinea pigs, and that is their enrichment.
I hate small cages SO much. When I first got my hammy, I got a critter trails house cage. I noticed he was biting on the bars and decided to upgrade to
a 605 square inch bin cage and he loves it so much. Your videos have helped me so much on my hamster care journey.
Finally, after having problems with my payment method, i finally solve it and manage to purchase membership again hehe, I miss this derpy emoji
How did you do thodse emojis
@@dominikalenckowska Membership
@@itztomato44 membership to what?
@@qwertyuiop6519 CZcams membership I think!.
@@qwertyuiop6519 to Victoriaâs channel
Hi! My name is Alec. I am 11 years old and I wanted to appreciate you for whatever you have done to help all of us in our doubts and troubles. Everything I wanted to know about hamsters, you gave me all the info, keep it up and thank you sooo much! I too have a CZcams channel â Alecâs channelâ but I do safari videos and cooking videos.
That's a very very good video! I also heard of this study and I'm glad to have a 1550"ÂČ enclosure. I never knew the detailes of this study tough.
Hi Tori,
I just wanted to say tysmâš u have got me to a point where Iâm helping my best friend rn and telling her all about hamsters.. and without you yes YOU I wouldnât have been able to come here. Youâve helped me sooo much with hamster care and I canât stress enough how much ilyâ€ïžđč
that's so lovely to hear!
The 7 people who disliked had their phones upside down.
they put their hamsters in pet smarts recommended size cages.
@@autumnlynn964 ya lol
Not even 10 minutes old yet someone has already disliked.
Lemme guess, petsmart?
Edit: HA you thought this was gonna be the amount of likes I got?
LMAO
BAHAHAHHA
Ugh of course it was petsmart đđ
oh dang
HAHAHAHAHA
I took my petco cages back after both dwarfs escaped the same night I brought them home. Both animals were exhibiting wall scaling and pacing when i bought them. I have them in large clear totes till i soon get the aquariums set up. Love your channel, saved my hamsters from going crazy. â€ïž
I just wanted to say thank you for showing me and my mom the right way to care for a hamster. At first my mom didnt think that they needed that much space but I told her that Im not getting a hamster if it doesnt have at least a 40 gallon tank but she knew how much i wanted a hamster so we ended up putting my hamster in a 30 gallon tank because my pet store sucks and doesnt have tanks bigger than that which i thought was dumb but that was just temporary and we are working on upgrading to a bincage now with more things to play with, herbs, bigger sand bath etc. Anyways my mom now knows how important my hamster, pablo's care is and I'm happy about it so thank you again. â€
Me: Yessssss!
Thank you, Victoria!
Without you, my hamster wouldnât be happy!
But he is because you helped me!
I'm happy to hear that!
My first hamster used to love to travel - he always knew when we were going to spend the weekend at my nans as he would always come to the front of the cage whenever I said 'we're going to nannys'! This was the only other place, apart from the vets where i would take him, but as he got older, i usually stayed at home with him.
but, because the vets is closer to my nan's house, we stayed at my nans cause it was easier to get to the vets if there was an emergency. And he passed away in my arms at my nans, so the whole family was there to say goodbye, and it also meant that I wasn't alone when he passed. He was the most loving hamster I had ever met and everyone loved him, especially my cat, who would always sit and sleep near him or on his cage and she never tried to hurt him and she never left my side when he was taking his last few breaths in my arms. R.I.P. Snowy â€â€â€â€â€
I cried while reading this
iâm planning on getting and hamster so iâm literally watching all ur videos right now and omg so helpful đđ subscribed !!
Thank you for subscribing!
Rachel first off wanted to say I found your channel about 3 months ago and it has helped me so much. I used to have a hamster named Foxy and a few others before hand. At the time when I got my first ever hamster I was very young and we didnât do much research about how to properly give them everything they need. But I am happy to say since I found your channel, all my future hamster I will make sure have the best I can give them. I plan on getting a much bigger cage, sand bath, plenty of bedding and lots more to make sure that they have the best life I can give them. I might would of known more earlier if more pet stores didnât sell such small cages for hamsters. Thank you so much, your videos have already made so many more hamsters lives better. Keep up the fantastic work. â€ïž
Here is one tip for transitioning your hamster into a suitable cage. Since my hamster started out in a Habitrail, and it was super small, when I transitioned to my 800 sq in aquarium, to avoid stress I simply took the lid off of the Habitrail, and actually placed the old cage inside of the new one. This worked well for me because when she was used to her new one, I just took the old cage out. Hope this helps someone!
Harper Willingham
Hi, do u know if a 20 gallon aquarium is suitable for a Syrian??
@@BumbleBee-vl1sx nope way to small, 40 gallons is minimum in America, but youâll need something over 620sq inches in the UK, dunno the gallon size in the uk tho as i donât know how to convert it
Emily Josephine thank you so much. I will make sure to buy a larger one before I get my little baby x
@@BumbleBee-vl1sx remember if money is an issue you can usually find suitable ones on Facebook market place for under ÂŁ30, just make sure you ask the measurements x
Emily Josephine I will check it out. Thanks for all your help x
Victoria : hamsters need large cage
Me : ok why should I pay for a cage when I have a room for her
MOOD LMAO
thank you! I got a hamster about 2 days ago and this helped me go from a tiny tales cage to a bin cage in under 2 days. I'm also considering adding to it and giving him 2 separate bins that are attached by tubes. I really appreciate this and i want my hammy to live a happy life
I also think the reason they have small cages is due to the âcutenessâ factor. People love treating hamsters like entertainment, and itâs much more entertaining (especially for children) to have mini everything. Mini beds, mini food bowls, mini bottles; a mini animal!
Itâs gross they commodify their size and exploit childrenâs love for cute things. I used to love those mini kitchens was I was young, and Iâm sure if someone told me owning a hamster was like having a mini dollhouse, Iâd be thrilled! And they know that about children.
Unfortunately, that is the thought process that extends beyond those cute, mini pastries and desserts. Thereâs no such thing as pocket pets, it just pets that are smaller, but also deserve as much space to thrive.
We should stop looking at pets in comparison to one another, trying to weight/evaluate their âdeservedâ amount of care based on life span/size. Thatâs such a harmful and destructive (honestly somewhat narcissistic) mentality.
But, of course, children shouldnât be blamed for being narcissistic. Thatâs kind of an inherent part of being a child, very neutral in its effects, and has to be cultivated or directed by adults. If adults say hamsters are toys, why would a child not treat them like one?
But thatâs the equivalent of sticking a chihuahua in a hamper with a mini treadmill, and hoping itâll be happy. Or say a pet, for some medical reason or other, only has a short lifespan. So therefore they deserve to be chained to a fence post outside because thereâs no point in trying to bond with/care for such a short lived animal.
When you put it in those terms, it seems so cruel. And thatâs something you need to teach a child, because theyâre not intentionally hurting their pets and obviously want the best life for them. Theyâd be sad if they knew theyâd were depriving their pet. They just donât know any better.
Thatâs why _we_ should do better for them. Because corporations clearly donât give a crap, and never will unless theyâre forced to. Such a pity.
that is 100% true! this comment needs more likes! *likes comment*
thank you for putting it in a different perspective!
I have a hamster (Russian Dwarf) and itâs cage is so.. horrible and tiny. Itâs under the bare minimum and I feel so awful for it. But Christmas is coming up! And I though I should get it a HUGE cage and make it very natural and expensive so it can have a big upgrade. I canât wait to spoil it and give it a happier life! And thanks to you I realised all this
That's what I'm doing!
I love how much effort Victoria puts into her videos. The amount of research and planning really shows within every video she posts. She just really makes my day and I'm so thankful she does this for all of us hamster owners :)
Having gotten too many toys has made me getting a larger cage XD
Thank you so much for this video! I will be buying my hamster a large cage now! Because I see how happy they are with a large cage! My hamster is in a small cage right now and she is always chewing on the bars but now I know sheâs not happy and i want her to feel happy
hey victoria! i was just watching your vids and it made me early to this one :) i just wanted to say that you have helped me so much with my hamster care journey, thanks to you i made a lovely natural cage and perfected all my mistakes! my current cage is a bin with a mesh top and it measures 762 square inches of floor space đđđ
I'm happy I could help!
My hamsters sand-bath being basically as big as petsmarts bare minimum:
I give my hamster a HUGE sand-bath. How else do i spoil my little bean?
Girl, you inspired me a lot. My robo cage was switched from a 54 sq inches wire cage to a DIY 930 sq inches enclosure. He seems to be happy now, I donât know but I did my best to give him a better life at least when living in my home. Once again, thank you so much. Keep giving the community more awareness
Itâs awesome you were able to upgrade! Iâm always happy to hear I could help!
My parents refuse to let me get a bigger bin with the excuse of âyou alrdy got the biggest bin,thereâs nothing bigger,â but they wonât even let me properly go out and look, I really feel so bad for my poor hammy, her bin is basically a bit bigger than the standard storage bin and she always tired to escape. I love my baby and I want her to have the best life but Iâm so mad that I canât.
Edit: her floor space is around the bare minimum but I want her to have a full life
@Sarah Shourds Thank you so much I will try! Also love ur pfp!
Same... so annoying I really wish I could give my hamster a better life I think Iâm slowly convincing my mom
Iâve looked online to I might get it there
i have the same problem
My parents wonât even let me get a bigger than a crittertrail for my two dwarf hamsters!! Iâm going to try and convince them soon but if they donât Iâm going to try and find a better home for them :) I stayed up today and I was crying bc I want them to be happy so I decided to watch some of Victoriaâs videos :,(
That one dislike is petsmart or petco
My detolf is actually a centerpiece in my living room, its completely natural and Ive even built a raised lid for it! it's a tiny piece of nature in my home and I cant imagine anything smaller. đ
Awesome video, very informative :D You did miss a point that I think tends to put people off about larger cages, which is how you clean them. Most people with small cages get nervous about the idea of cleaning a large, immovable cage (as opposed to just dumping out a whole crittertrail into a trash bag). They don't realize how easy it is, and how much less often you have to do it.
this was perfect timing because i am currently looking for bins i can use for my next hamster! and dont worry tori, i will always watch your videos đ
I love how you make vids to help us Iâm getting a hamster đč soon and I wanted to know how to take good care of it Iâve watched your vids for a long time and your my idol đ
Honestly so grateful that you mentioned South Africa in this video. Iâm trying to find a good size cage for my Russian Dwarf hamster and I cannot be more thankful for this
i have a winter white, just got him today, and i got just a standard cage from the pet store to keep him in for the time being before we get him a proper cage which will be soon. ever since we brought him home, heâs been climbing the wiring on the cage and falling asleep and i just thought he was finding a comfortable spot. thank you for making this video!! will definitely be fixing his home
I got my first hamstera couple years ago and tbh when my parents said I could get one the first thing that came to mind was getting one of those cute colorful cages from the pet store. I had had rats before and I knew they required a lot of space and a lot of enrichment because they are so active and intelligent. I didnât realize that hamsters where the same, I thought they were a low maintenance animals that sleeps all day. I was so lucky I found tour channel or my poor hammy would have suffered. :( Itâs great that you are putting correct information out there and you are doing a good job! I love your educational videos because I always learn so much
I'm glad you were able to find the channel before going out and getting a small colorful cage! Thank you!
CZcams really did send the notification 6 minutes lateđđ
better than a whole day!
@@VictoriaRaechel true tho, once youtube sent me a notification that the video was 1 week agođâïž
Iâve learned so much through your videos! I had a hamster as a kid and we knew nothing. Surprisingly she lived 4 years. But now as an adult we got a hamster and learned so much with you to properly care for them! Going to def upgrade her cage. Thanks!
Iâm so glad my hamster doesnât show any signs of boredom or a small cage. The cage is very big, and she has a lot of enrichment toys. If you cannot afford enrichment toys you can make lots of toys out of things like cardboard, toilet paper, and wood! Please take care of you and your hammy. â€
i feel like i'm in class being learning about hamster ( i can't stop looking at Lenny he is so cute)
ME: Just finishes my pancakes
ALSO ME: clicks on vid
VICTORIA: Today we are going to be talking about hamster cages, so grab a snack and maybe even a drink!
ME: **hates myself**
đđđ
@@VictoriaRaechel I just realized I misquoted you! Oops! Great video though, you made amazing points and explained the history pretty well!
@Lillienne Elliott hehe! I actually wanted to wake up at about 6 a.m because I had a very important project, but I couldnât wake up then, đ© wah!
I'm in the UK and it's super hard to find large inexpensive cages. At first I went with a bin cage 606 sq inches then I recently went on argos and typed 160 l box. It's a much larger bin cage and 800 sq inches of floorspace it is about ÂŁ32 and it has wheels underneath. I haven't purchased it yet but I will soon.
did you get it? how was it if you did
My dwarf hamster has the IKEA Detolf and he loves it.
This is ironic how Iâm looking at a new hamster cage and this pops up
I just wanna say I appreciate how long it must have took you to mark out those cage sizes in tapeđ
At least an hour đ
Thank you. Itâs not boring, it is informative. Iâm not a hamster parent. They belong to my bro daughters. Just nanny the baby while the family are away on holiday.
Your channel has honestly open my eyes. I even visited a hamster speciality shop recently so as to understand more on how to take proper care.
Wanted to upgrade the enclosure but the shop want me to bring the girls down so they can be taught on how to properly take care and ensure a good life for the hamster. Thanks again.. đ from Singapore đžđŹ
Victoria raechel can you hire me as a assistant to answer questions in the comments section đ€Ł
same
When Bumble came in I started to have tears in my eyes