Hamster Cage Size Calculator

Hamster cage sizing is critical for your pet’s health and happiness.

Minimum recommended floor space:

Important guidelines:

• Modern welfare standards recommend a minimum of 620 square inches (4,000 sq cm) of unbroken floor space. This is the German DEGU standard, and it has become the reference figure in English-speaking hamster keeping too. Older sources quoting 360 or 450 sq in predate it.
• Bigger is always better. Hamsters are active animals that run several miles per night.
• Height should be at least 15 inches (38 cm) measured from the floor of the base, so that 6 inches of bedding still leaves room above it.
• Multi-level cages do NOT count. Only continuous floor space matters, because a hamster cannot burrow through a shelf.
• Wire bar spacing should be no more than 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) for dwarf hamsters. Roborovskis in particular will get through anything wider.

Housing two hamsters

Only the dwarf species can ever be housed together, and even then it often fails at maturity. When it is attempted, add 50% to both the minimum and the ideal floor area, so 620 becomes 930 sq in and an 800 sq in ideal becomes 1,200. The extra space is not generosity, it is what lets a bullied hamster get out of sight of the other one.

Syrians are strictly solitary. Housing two together is not a space problem that a bigger cage solves, and they will fight to the death after about 8 weeks of age.

Bedding depth:

• Minimum: 6 inches (15 cm) for burrowing.
• Ideal: 8–10 inches (20–25 cm) in at least one area.

Common cage types:

• Glass tanks. A 40-gallon breeder is 36 × 18 in, so 648 sq in, and it clears the minimum with nothing to spare.
• Bin cages, made from a large storage bin. The cheapest way to hit 620 sq in by a wide margin.
• Commercial hamster cages. Many are far too small, so check the dimensions rather than the marketing.