• The ideal temperature range for hamsters is approximately 18-24 degrees celsius. Hamster housing should be located away from strong heat sources such as direct sunlight, wood stoves, or fireplaces. This is especially important if your hamster is kept in an aquarium or modular unit, both of which have poor ventilation and can heat up quickly.

• Don't put your hamster's cage in an unheated room, breezeway, garage, or other cold location. When the temperature falls below 16 degrees celsius, your hamster's activity level will decrease, and temperatures below 10 degrees celsius are likely to prompt hibernation. Temperatures below freezing can kill your hamster.

• Place the cages in a draft-free area (e.g., away from doors and on an elevated surface).

• If you're a light sleeper, remember that hamsters are active at night and you may not want the cage in your bedroom.

• Don't keep your hamster's cage in the kitchen since dirty bedding may be kicked out of the enclosure and contaminate food preparation areas.

• Make sure your hamster's cage is safe from other pets who may see him as prey.

• If you have young children, put the cage in an area where you can control access and supervise child-hamster interactions.
  

       
                   Pet Inn Astro Nature cage                            Rotastak Genus cage

Size: Minimum of 2000 square centimetres, eg 50 (length) x 40 cm (depth).
 
Look for: A 7mm or less of space between bars to prevent escape (hamsters can squeeze through very small gaps; if their heads fit through an opening, their bodies will easily follow).

Solid platforms and ramps: wire flooring can be uncomfortable on small paws (you can easily modify wire surfaces by covering them with cardboard, ceramic or vinyl tiles, or mats available in pet supply stores).

Good housing for: Syrian hamsters (the most common type of hamster; also known as golden or teddy bear hamsters). They're larger, so spacing between bars shouldn’t be a problem. Remember that Syrian hamsters should only be housed one to a cage.

Wire hamster cages may not be appropriate for dwarf hamsters, depending on the spacing between the bars. Wire cages designed for mice or rats may be good choices, but cages designed for rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, or birds won’t be right for hamsters.

Pros: Good ventilation, easy to clean, platforms at different heights provide variety in the hamster's environment, available in a range of styles.

Cons: Openings between the bars of the cage may allow smaller hamsters (particularly dwarf species) to escape; children can stick fingers between bars; cats and dogs can get noses and claws through them.

If you have young kids or other pets, keep the cage in a safe place, or consider using an aquarium, bedding material often gets kicked out of wire cages, particularly if the base is shallow, so cleanup can be more involved; falls from overly tall platforms can seriously injure your hamster.

Aquarium or Bin Type Cages

Aquariums or bin-type cages typically have a solid glass or plastic base and sides. It's important to include a well-fitting mesh cover over the top. Many pet supply stores don’t market aquariums specifically for hamsters, but you can usually find them in the fish and aquatic sections of these stores or online.

                
                     Pet Inn Peter Pan bin cage                           Clear 'n' Fun bin cage

Regular cage cleaning is important for any type of housing, but it's especially critical for aquariums and plastic bin cages. Their poor ventilation means that odours such as ammonia from pet urine can build up quickly. At best, these odours reduce your hamster’s quality of life; at worst, they cause problems and other health issues. Even if your hamster’s aquarium looks clean, bedding material such as recycled wood pulp has a tremendous capacity for absorbing urine and water. The bottom line? Clean the cage thoroughly on a weekly basis and spot clean more frequently as needed.

Size: Minimum 50cm long and 35cm wide for plastic bin cage; 40 litre aquarium tanks are too small. Consider not only size but shape—a long aquarium is better than a tall aquarium with unused height.

Look for: Well-fitting cover with durable wire mesh (hamsters are varsity-level chewers who can easily gnaw through thin screen)

Good housing for: Dwarf hamsters. Aquariums and bin cages have no open bars for the small guys to get through. Unlike Syrian hamsters, most dwarf hamsters can be kept in same-sex pairs or small groups. Just remember that the more hamsters you plan to house together, the larger the aquarium or bin cage should be.

Pros: Solid siding can thwart escape artists and prevent unwanted or inappropriate attention from young children or pets in your household, good for dwarf hamster breeds, transparent siding allows easy viewing of hamster activity.

Cons: Poor ventilation (aquariums need to be kept in well-ventilated areas), harder to clean, can be boring environment for hamsters; you will need to provide increased enrichment

Rotastak Cosmo Pod cage

The various Pod cages from Rotastak features additional ports to combine as many tubes and Rotastak accessories as you like. The tubes and tunnels simulate your small pet’s natural environment because they can burrow and climb through the tubes.

All the Rotastak cages and accessories are made with clear, coloured plastic so you won’t miss a second of your hamster’s antics. The curved tubes simulate your hamster’s natural habitat, which you can replicate even further by adding more and more tunnels and compartments. In the wild, hamster’s homes are complex mazes of tunnels and areas where they sleep, hide food and leave waste. With Rotastak hamster cages, you can recreate exactly that – only it’s much more fun and danger free!

                   
                   Rotastak Maxi Tunnel cage                        Rotastak Pink Fun Palace cage

Size: Habitats generally have smaller base units than wire cages or aquariums, but they often have sections that extend vertically or horizontally to increase the hamster’s room to roam. 

Good housing for: Dwarf varieties. Some modular housing units aren’t a good choice for Syrian hamsters since they can get stuck in the tubing, so choose carefully which design to buy.

Pros: Solid siding can thwart escape artists and prevent unwanted or inappropriate attention from children or pets in your household, easily expandable because of the modular design, may include tunnels for burrowing and different levels to explore.

Cons: Some designs have poor ventilation which leads to odour; numerous small parts make cleaning difficult, promoting bacterial growth; hamsters tend to make nests inside tunnels; cage size may be smaller than needed; larger hamsters may get stuck in tubes; darker-colored siding and small openings can make it difficult to locate and remove your hamster.