Which is the better housing option for a Syrian hamster, a wire cage w plastic bin or glass aquarium? So far, I know that wire cages can spread the litter around, but aquariums can be hard to attach stuff to. Please help me out with this and tell what are the pros and cons of each! Thank you so much.
I vote for the bin cage. I’ve had a wire and aquarium cage before and In my opinion, the bin is the best 
The Wire cage has good ventilation, however, if you have an pet who likes to chew on things (which covers most to all hamsters and gerbils) they will target and attack the wire cage bars with no mercy. Even if you don’t mind the noise, it’s not good for the pet because excessive chewing on the bars can misalign teeth and cause health problems that range from the inability to eat, to death, by a tooth puncturing the brain.
The Aquarium cage is a fairly good cage if you have a good screen/wired top that fastens securely to the tank. An insecure wired top was my main issue with the Aquarium cage because I had the most escapes from this cage. If you have a larger tank, like a 20 gallon, it’s a bit heavy to clean (especially hard to get the remaining bedding, dust, and pee once it’s decided to lodge into a corner).
I’m currently using the Bin cage, which you can actually adapt to fit your needs. It won’t get chewed through if you keep any holes high enough so your pet can’t reach it. I incorporated the wired top I used for the aquarium for ventilation on the lid of the bin. the water bottle nozzle goes through a hole that fits so snug that teeth cannot widen it. You can even make a hole to fit connecting habitrail or crittertrail tubes. Best of all, it’s light, large, cheap, and the corners are rounded for easy cleaning. It’s also a nice, creative challenge for the do-it-yourself people.
EDIT:
If you clean the cage as often as you should, there should be no more mould, bacteria, or smells as you would get in a Wire cage. People are concerned about there no being enough ventilation in an Aquarium cage or Bin cage, but think of the little Habitrail dens our hamsters/gerbils sleep in (or other similar plastic hide-outs) that have only a few small holes drilled into them.
When I had hamsters I personally prefered aquariums with a secure top. They were easier to clean.
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Wire cages are better.
For exercise – the hamsters love to climb on the bars, even hang from the ceiling.
For ventilation – fresh air is good for hamsters and help disperse their odor. This keeps their lungs healthier.
For warmth – you can always partially cover a wire cage with a blanket or cloth.
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Both aquariums and metal-barred cages are hard to attach stuff to, because you actually cant. I have 2 gerbils and gerbils are chewers, so I have a 3-story metal barred cage. If your hamster is a chewer, and is noisy in the cage its currently in, get a metal-barred cage. they have 1,2, and 3 stories high. They can come in purple or blue, the three story is $54 and the two story i believe is $43 and the one story i think is $28. If your hamster doesnt chew, or make noise then its up to you to decide, I just now had a glass aquarium, but i couldnt attach anything to it. So it seemed they were bored. So yesterday i went to the pet store and bought the three story cage. They are chewers, and noise makers, but they have a wheel to run on that is attached to the cage, it came attached to it! and also it has no spill dishes! theyre attached to the cage to, but theyre removeable, so i hope you pick the best, oh and dont forget, they get better air venelation, if you have a metaled bar (wired) one. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D
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Wire cages are MUCH better
Yes, they may be able to throw bedding, but really its not a big deal, most hamsters don’t really do this, all 3 of my hamsters don’t throw bedding
It provides much need air ventilation, whereas in a glass tank, it has poor ventilation, and that can lead to respatory problems in the hamster
Also, the hamster will be able to climb the cage bars, which they enjoy alot, in a tank, they only have the ground space
It also seems that the hamster is more apart of the room it is in in a cage, because its easier to get to, see, and hear…in a tank its like its sort of just an edition of the room, rather than a pet (if this makes since to you)
So, i would definately reccomend a cage over a tank
It doesn’t matter how easy it is for you to clean….it matters how healthy and happy it will keep the hamster
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Aquariums, the hamster will hurt it’s self in a wire cage. If you put a lid on and make sure the lid can only come off if you take it of then you can put stuff in the cage for your hamster to play on/in/and, or with.
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I had hamsters for a very long time.
I vote for the bin cage. I’ve had a wire and aquarium cage before and In my opinion, the bin is the best
The Wire cage has good ventilation, however, if you have an pet who likes to chew on things (which covers most to all hamsters and gerbils) they will target and attack the wire cage bars with no mercy. Even if you don’t mind the noise, it’s not good for the pet because excessive chewing on the bars can misalign teeth and cause health problems that range from the inability to eat, to death, by a tooth puncturing the brain.
The Aquarium cage is a fairly good cage if you have a good screen/wired top that fastens securely to the tank. An insecure wired top was my main issue with the Aquarium cage because I had the most escapes from this cage. If you have a larger tank, like a 20 gallon, it’s a bit heavy to clean (especially hard to get the remaining bedding, dust, and pee once it’s decided to lodge into a corner).
I’m currently using the Bin cage, which you can actually adapt to fit your needs. It won’t get chewed through if you keep any holes high enough so your pet can’t reach it. I incorporated the wired top I used for the aquarium for ventilation on the lid of the bin. the water bottle nozzle goes through a hole that fits so snug that teeth cannot widen it. You can even make a hole to fit connecting habitrail or crittertrail tubes. Best of all, it’s light, large, cheap, and the corners are rounded for easy cleaning. It’s also a nice, creative challenge for the do-it-yourself people.
EDIT:
If you clean the cage as often as you should, there should be no more mould, bacteria, or smells as you would get in a Wire cage. People are concerned about there no being enough ventilation in an Aquarium cage or Bin cage, but think of the little Habitrail dens our hamsters/gerbils sleep in (or other similar plastic hide-outs) that have only a few small holes drilled into them.
References :
crittertrail cages, wire. Aquariums don’t have ventilation, which leads to mold and bacteria.
References :
I use a wire cage for my female Syrian hamster where when i had Gerbils i used a tank with a cage top you can buy them from pet shops.
My hamster prefers her cage as she loves to climb the bars as cages give them plenty of exercise climbing as for parts you can buy them any where also cages are easier to maintain.
Using a aquarium your hamster will become bored as they love to climb and explore so best bet is a wire cage or a GERBILARIUM or make your own out of a tank and wire cage and a flooring between each one.
If you don’t want a bored hamster don’t use a aquarium.
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