I hear mixed reasons about glass aquariums for dwarf hamsters?

I started out keeping mice and hamsters in wire cages. I had numerous problems with them, over and over. Every cage with a plastic bottom I had a hamster or mouse managed to chew through the bottom and got out, so they all got thrown away. I then had to recapture the escaped hamster, mouse, or on occasion mice, and then buy a new cage. Even the better wire cages I got were not escape proof and I routinely had to recapture my pets. I had mice and hamsters that damaged their teeth chewing on the metal bars of the barred cages, and honestly those cages were small and a pain in the butt to clean. Also depending on the cage, a lot of them were a pain in the butt for me to retrieve my pet from, the doors they put on those cages are often not good, especially for my large hands.

Also depending on the cage style they could be difficult to add to/modify. I lost a lot of water-bottles because of hamsters chewing on them, and the wire cages couldn't accommodate the rounded 'corner-less' bottles I use now.

Since switching to aquariums I have only had 2 escapes, when a Syrian hamster climbed on top of their water-bottle and pushed the wire-mesh lid off. That was remedied by weighting the lids down at first, and then purchasing clips at the store which are made for this. Aquariums have more room, are easier to modify, customize and clean, and much harder for the hamster to get hurt on. I have bred hamsters for years and never had problems with them getting sick from chewing on the non-toxic silicon sealant they use in the corners of the aquariums. I have never had a hamster get confused about a glass reflection while I was watching them nor have I heard of such a thing. I have at one time or another introduced nearly all of my hamsters, mice, rats, and other pets to mirrors to see how they react. They usually get interested for a second, then after a couple of sniffs promptly ignore the mirror. I had one cat that became a little obsessed with a mirror, but he wasn't confused, possibly just a little narcissistic. I use wire/mesh lids and have since I started using aquariums, and never had a problem with ventilation. The pet stores near me all use glass enclosures for their pets and they often have many more pets per enclosure than I do in an equivalent sized aquarium. I breed hamsters and often need access inside the aquarium to check the litter and try not to disturb mom, this is worlds easier with an aquarium, and the babies can't slip through or get stuck in the bars on the aquarium, because an aquarium has no bars. I can add toys, chew materials, bedding, exercise wheels, huts and other accessories to an aquarium with greater ease than a cage, and often I can add things to an aquarium that I was never able to add to a cage, like the chew-proof water bottles that I currently use. To add one of these to a cage I would have to disassemble the cage every time that I gave them fresh water, a pain in the butt in the very least. Additionally half the cages I had would not accommodate the current exercise wheels that I use, at least not in a manner that would be comfortable for the hamster. With a wire-mesh lid and some plastic clips from the store an aquarium is inescapable - especially for a dwarf hamster.

I have heard a lot of laughable things on the advise columns here but one of the people whose responses I generally agree with the most and respect the most disagrees with me totally on the cage/aquarium debate. My advise comes from experience and so does his(hers? I don't know gender). I would say there is a lot of differing experience out there, I can only share with you mine.

I saw somebody reply about using a box, you can use whatever works, although I wouldn't use a box long term. I recently had a situation where I had loaned out 2 of my aquariums and then had some dwarf hamsters start fighting and I had to separate them, I successfully used a cardboard box to house one of them for 3 days until I could safely re-socialize and re-introduce them.

I know others will share different experiences, but my experience comes from years of using both cages and aquariums and all I can tell you is, I wish I had switched to aquariums sooner.

I have a rat. She started in a 10 gallon aquarium, then went to a 20 gallon and is currently in what use to be a bird cage. I prefer the wire cage because it allows my rat to be able to interact with me and the other animals without being outside of the cage. With the aquariums she was behind solid glass. With the wire cage, there is more air flow so the cage does not smell as quickly. I have found that my current cage is MUCH easier to clean. The aquarium was very heavy and awkward. The top of the bird cage quickly comes off of the bottom tray so all I have to do is pull it off, dump the tray, wipe it down, add fresh bedding and put the top back on. It literally takes me maybe 2 minutes to clean. No need to scoop or dump the bedding out of an aquarium. I basically gutted the bird cage except for the 2 wooden perches, I used these as climbing steps. I wired toys I found at a 2nd had store to the sides of the cage to create many platforms for the rat to jump from. The toys include things like a small plastic doll house, toy bus, plastic couch, and even a bird ladder.

Throughout my life and have almost always used glass aquariums. Yes they are easier to clean and I've never had a problem with the reflection thing you mentioned above. Once I used a wire cage and my gosh. Hamsters are escape artists or at least try to be. The hamster I had in a wire cage would often get itself stuck in between either the wires or the door when trying to get out. In an aquarium you can get a top for it to stop that but even then I've had hamsters that get out. Only because they were large hamsters who could somehow balance on the top of their wheel lol. But because your getting dwarfies you probably won't have that problem as long as u get a small appropriate sized wheel and not a big one and make sure not to get toys that let them get close to the top of the aquarium.

Aquariums are very convenient. They are easy to wipe down, and are very simple (no crevices, shelves, ect). The problem with aquariums is their crappy ventilation. Just having a wire top is not enough. Especially with larger rodents (like rats), it can actually be very dangerous to keep them in an aquarium. Also, some rodents (like rats) love to climb everywhere. Aquariums bore them because there is no space to do that. The only rodents I own are rats and chinchillas, so I cant give you personal experience on hamsters. I can tell you that the ventilation issue can turn dangerous, but if that is not an issue to you than that is the only con against it (i dont think hamsters care about climbing?).

I have had teddy hamsters with the glass aquariums. And they can get out the top!

But you can buy a screen topper, so the hamster cannot get out of the aquarium.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=scr...

I've had a lot of hammies in the past, and they all lived happily in the aquarium except for one who got out and the dog... got her...

And now I have gerbils in tanks, and they are old and happy. =]

And for the wire cages, they are easy to clean out too. And you can clip a wheel inside of it. You just take the wire part off, dump the used bedding in the garbage, spray, wipe dry, put fresh bedding in.

And the hamster cannot chew the water bottle because you can stick it through the side, and hook it there.

Each cage has it's ups and downs really. Just go with what you can afford. And for the wired cages, make sure the wire gaps are not too big.

There is also the issue of the plastic bottom to these cages. I don't know if a hamster can chew that part... Personally I'd go with an aquarium.

I would go with a tank as dwarf hamsters could just squeeze through the bars and escape but if you really will get a wire cage make sure the ground is far enough from the bars. Good luck!

Ok honestly I am a very excellent caregiver of my pets. I had a dwarf hamster and kept him in a larger cardboard box lined with tape and he lived a wonderful life. He had great ventillation and was never sick and it was very easy to clean. Dont go buy an expensive cage, all you need is a box. Theyre too tiny to escape from that. My friend and I have raised hamsters in those for years and they lived wonderful healthy lives. IF you must choose between either the aquarium or wire cage go with the aquarium though I find it highly unnecessary. Disregard the comments on them getting confused because as you will discover, the dwarf hamster is an extremely simple creature. Theyre dumb. EVERYTHING confuses them, lol. I would give the box a try before you buy an expensive aquarium. Just be sure to line up the walls with tape as well (boxing tame or lamenating sheets) so they cannot climb or scratch and make tons of noise.

My vote goes for wire cages...or if you insist...at least have a wire topper on an aquarium (don't know if that's necessary for Dwarf hamsters, though...) I just thought I'd warn you..Dwarf hamsters are very small so make sure the spacing is small enough...I had a young one that got out of a cage with 1/2" spacing....but, again, that was a young one...

ventilation is very poor in aquarium tanks. Thats why they are for *aquariums* haha. But i could see why a cage would be bad because they could escape........ hmmmm what about a mesh one? like a tough mesh cage? if you got an aquarium tank that had the top a ventilation thingy very close to it then that would work! hope i helped! and good luck!

Aquarium. Another idea is a plastic tote.