Appropriate housing conditions for hamsters in amateur rearing - a survey study

Hamsters are very willingly kept in homes as companion animals. However, despite
this, very hard to find reliable information on the requirements associated with the maintenance of these rodents. However, this does not change the fact that accommodation for a
hamster must meet its normal physiological and behavioral needs, including resting, nesting, grooming, exploration, climbing, hiding, digging, searching, storing and chewing food.
In order to check whether the level of public knowledge about keeping hamsters and their
needs is adequate to the popularity of these rodents and whether it is sufficient to provide
them with appropriate conditions in an average amateur breeding farm, a questionnaire
survey was used in which as many as 80.3% of the respondents admitted to having or owning a hamster, and when asked about the appropriate size of the cage, they preferred larger
sizes such as 80 x 40 cm (34.7%) or 90 x 45 cm (25.1%). However, noting that housing in
small cages causes chronic stress in hamsters, the rule of thumb should be: the bigger the
better. As many as 619 (80.1%) respondents state that a good amount of litter significantly
improves hamster welfare. It has been proven that at least 40 cm of bedding really increases
the level of hamster welfare. In addition, the absolute majority of respondents stated that the
satisfaction of behavioral needs affects (22.6%) or is even dependent on hamster welfare
(69.7%).The results obtained from the survey data highlight the need for new studies that
would provide the opportunity to update the knowledge already available and correct unclear guidelines related to hamster housing. This would allow us to optimize the conditions
of keeping hamsters in amateur breeding conditions and ensure their good or even high
welfare.