The Cage and other Items

Sometimes you'll see items in pet shops an you'll think, do I need that? Well, here is a description of the necessities and optional things that you'll find.
Note: This takes quite a while to load! There are LOTS of pictures

The Cage
Bedding
Food
Toys
Other Bits and Pieces
Treats

The Cage 

There's no question about it, this is a necessity
 The Connectable
The Wire Cage
The wire and connectable cage
The Tank/Aquarium

The wire and plastic cage

There are five main types of cage available but of course you can make your own these five types are: Connectable, wire, wire and connectable, wire and plastic and tanks. Wire cages should only house Syrian hamsters and dwarfs can squeeze through the bars.
I personally think that the connectable cages are far too expensive although, what I am going to do is to connect my old aquarium to my cage using adapters and tubes. If you are going to use tubes, make sure your hamster is OK with going down vertical drops-Jet wont go down even for a choccie treat!

Click here for my page of cages.

Its a good idea to get a house too. Most wire cages come with them. If you have a Syrian, make sure it will be big enough for when your hammy is fully grown.

Bedding

And this is also a necessity

Wood shavings
This is SAFE nesting bedding
This is also safe bedding

The floor of a cage should be covered in a 1/2" or so layer of wood shavings. You can always put more in. For nesting material, use either shredded toilet paper or shredded paper or any of the bedding above.

Food

What do you think? NO IT NOT OPTIONAL!

I personally mix Harry the Hamster hamster food by "Supreme pet foods" and 
Pets at home hamster mix. My hammy seems to like the mixture!

You definitely need a water bottle. Water dishes are a big NO NO as the water easily gets infected.

Food bowl. Make sure you get one that is gnaw proof and will not tip over easily. You don't need one, you could always just scatter the food on the floor. Ceramic type ones are best.

<--I have this for Jet. I bought it for 69p on the market!

Toys

I think that a wheel is a necessity as its one way a hamster gets its exercise.
You shouldn't buy a metal runged wheel as a hamster could get its feet trapped. If you do have to buy a metal runged wheel, weave a strip of either plastic or cardboard in and out of the rungs.

These are good wheels. 

This is a bad wheel because of its rungs

These are excellent wheels! They are called "Wodent Wheels". You can buy them from the UK from www.petplanet.co.uk  

A ball is one of those lil inventions I just couldn't live without. It lets your hamster run around while you can keep a beady eye on it. It is also VERY handy when you're doing your weekly cage clean!

A little hammy see saw. I don't have one of these and I'm not sure my hamster would like it because I think she would get freaked out when it went down! LOL!

This is one type of house for you hamster. Its sort of necessary. You might get one with your cage though.

Little houses and tubes are fun to play in.

Other bits and pieces

These are totally optional.

<--I've got Jet this one

 
You'll also need to buy more litter!

Small pet disinfectant is really useful. This is the one I use. It's not necessary, you could just use antibacterial fairy and hot water.

Snack bar. I think this is sooooo cute, an alternative to the food bowl.

Yes! You can get a hammy harness! This allows you to "walk" your hamster for short periods of time! Although, I have no idea where to get it from! And I suppose getting your hamster in it would be a bit of trouble.

Treats

This is a wood chew. Its really good for keeping a hams teeth in trim. Although, after the first few nibbles, my hamster forgets about it! If your hamster does this, try rubbing a treat on it!

My hamster loves these! But you should only give one or two a day. I slit mine in half so I an give Jet  4 halves a day!