Expanding Your Hamster's Cage

An adult hamster needs a cage that is about 1x2 feet, which is actually quite a bit larger than most commercial cages provide. Using items you probably have around your house (or that you could easily get at your local hardware store), you can double or triple the space your hamster has to roam around. Trust me, your furry little friend will thank you for it.

To start with, you will need:

A plastic storage container (such as Rubbermade or Sterilite), how ever large you choose

A piece of 1 1/4 in PVC pipe, about 4 or 5 inches long

Some means of cutting a hole in the container (I used a Dremel rototool, but scissors or a knife are fine)

Super glue

First, you need to determine where your hamster's existing cage will be in relativity to the new one. Pop out one of the hole covers in the existing cage (the ones that are meant for extension tubes) and put the PVC pipe in so it sticks into the cage about 1/2 inch. Butt the plastic container up against the protruding end of the PVC and trace the pipe on the container with a marker.

Take your scissors or knife and carefully cut out the circle, cutting just a little bit extra to ensure that the pipe will fit through the hole. Run the pipe through this hole so that the pipe connects the hamster's original cage to the plastic container. Poke a series of small holes in the lid of the plastic container before putting it back on so your hamster can breathe. Take your super glue and glue the PVC to the plastic container on the outside edge of the hole you cut. This will make sure that there's no way your hamster will be able to push the pipe out and escape.

And there you have it. Your hamster will soon find the new addition to its home and begin to explore. Mine seemed to be scared of it the first couple days, but now she loves the extra room. If your hamster has been chewing on everything in its cage, this probably means that it is bored and needs extra room to roam. Using this simple, cheap idea, you can prevent this.