Things to Know Before Getting a Hamster

Hamsters are often described as “easy starter pets”, but they actually have much more complex needs than many people realise.

With the right setup, enrichment, and understanding of their natural behaviours, hamsters can thrive in safe, enriching environments that allow them to express natural behaviours.

Before bringing a hamster home, here are some of the most important things every owner should know.

Hamsters Need Large Enclosures

Many cages sold in pet shops are unfortunately far too small.

Modern ethical hamster care recommends a minimum enclosure size of around 100 x 50 cm, alongside deep bedding and plenty of enrichment opportunities.

Hamsters are active animals that naturally explore large territories, dig extensive burrows, forage for food, and create nesting areas.

You can read more in our Hamster Enclosure Setup Guide.

They Need Deep Bedding

Hamsters are natural burrowers and should have deep, compacted bedding to allow them to create tunnels and underground chambers.

Many hamsters become stressed when they cannot display these natural behaviours.

Ethical setups aim for at least 8–10 inches of bedding across a large section of the enclosure.

Hamsters Are Solitary

All hamster species should live alone.

Despite common myths, housing hamsters together can lead to serious fighting and stress, even if they appear calm initially.

In some cases, hamsters may appear to be getting along while one is quietly guarding or hoarding important resources such as food, hides, nesting areas, or wheel access. These stress behaviours can sometimes be subtle and difficult to notice until conflict escalates.

Hamsters Need Enrichment

Hamsters need enrichment to stay mentally stimulated.

This includes:

• Multiple hides
• Sand baths
• Sprays and forage
• Chews and textures
• Dig boxes and substrates
• Safe wheels in the correct size

Creating an enriching setup helps support natural behaviours like foraging, exploring, nesting, and scent marking.

Hamsters Need Safe Time Outside Their Enclosure

Many hamsters also benefit from additional exploration time outside of their enclosure in a secure playpen or fully hamster-proofed room.

This allows them to explore new textures, scents, and enrichment in a safe and controlled environment.

Free roaming should always be supervised, and the area must be completely secure with no escape routes, unsafe gaps, wires, or hazards.

Hamsters Require Daily Care and Time

Although hamsters are small pets, they still require regular time, care, and observation.

Owners should be prepared for regular enclosure maintenance, spot cleaning, refreshing water and substrates, providing enrichment, and carrying out routine health checks.

It is important to regularly monitor your hamster for changes in behaviour, appetite, weight, activity levels, breathing, coat condition, and mobility, as hamsters can sometimes hide signs of illness until they become seriously unwell.

Caring for Elderly or Ill Hamsters

As hamsters get older or become unwell, their needs and behaviours may change.

Some elderly or disabled hamsters may struggle with mobility or navigating their enclosure in the same way they previously could.

In some cases, adjustments may be needed to help them remain comfortable and safe. This can include adding easier access routes, lowering height variations, changing enclosure layouts, offering softer substrates, or making food and water easier to reach.

Older hamsters may also require more regular monitoring for weight loss, mobility changes, breathing issues, tumours, reduced activity levels, overgrown nails, or difficulty grooming.

Some hamsters may eventually require ongoing medication, more regular nail trims, assisted feeding, or additional supportive care depending on their health needs.

Adapting care as your hamster ages is an important part of ethical hamster ownership and helps support comfort and quality of life throughout their later years.

Hamsters May Not Enjoy Handling

Some hamsters become very confident and social, while others prefer minimal interaction or may never fully enjoy handling.

Building trust takes time, patience, and respecting each hamster’s individual personality and boundaries.

It’s important to respect each hamster’s personality and boundaries rather than expecting them to behave like highly social pets.

It is also important to remember that hamsters are nocturnal or crepuscular animals, meaning many are most active late at night or during the early hours of the morning. Some hamsters may naturally wake up long after their owners have gone to bed.

This means they are not always the best choice for people expecting a pet that will regularly be awake, interactive, or enjoy daily handling sessions.

Vet Care Can Be Expensive

Hamsters are small animals, but they can still require specialist veterinary care.

Before getting a hamster, it’s important to consider potential costs for exotic vets, medication, and emergency treatment.

Unfortunately, hamsters often become visibly unwell outside of normal vet opening hours, meaning emergency out-of-hours treatment may sometimes be needed.

Not all regular vets are experienced with hamsters or other exotic small animals, meaning you may need to travel further to access an experienced exotics vet.

If you are unsure where your nearest experienced exotics vet is located, we have also created a UK Exotics Vet Map to help owners find hamster-experienced veterinary practices.

Research Matters

Unfortunately, outdated hamster care information is still extremely common online and in pet shops.

Learning about modern ethical hamster care before bringing a hamster home can make a huge difference to your hamster’s wellbeing and quality of life.

Understanding enclosure sizes, enrichment, bedding depth, wheel sizing, diet, and natural behaviours helps you create a setup that allows your hamster to feel safe, secure, and able to express natural behaviours.

If you are ever unsure about your setup or hamster care, we are always happy to help — feel free to send us a message. Supporting owners and helping improve hamster welfare is a huge part of what RoseLark is about 🤍

Preparing Before You Bring a Hamster Home

Hamsters can be incredibly rewarding pets, but they rely entirely on us to provide an environment that meets their physical and behavioural needs.

Taking time to research ethical hamster care before bringing a hamster home can make a huge difference to their wellbeing and quality of life.

It is also important to remember that recommended minimums are exactly that, minimums. Some hamsters may need significantly more space, deeper bedding, additional enrichment, or more opportunities to explore outside of their enclosure depending on their personality, activity levels, and individual needs.

If your hamster begins displaying stress behaviours such as bar biting, monkey barring, pacing, excessive climbing, or persistent attempts to escape, this is often a sign that changes may be needed to their setup or routine.

This may include upgrading to a larger enclosure, increasing enrichment opportunities, adding deeper bedding, or providing more regular supervised time in a secure playpen or fully hamster-proofed room.

Creating a suitable environment from the start helps support natural behaviours like burrowing, foraging, nesting, and exploring — allowing your hamster to feel safe, secure, and truly at home in their enclosure.

Every hamster is different, and part of ethical hamster care is learning and adapting as you get to know your hamster’s individual personality and needs 🤍

Hamsters are often described as “easy starter pets”, but they actually have much more complex needs than many people realise.

With the right setup, enrichment, and understanding of their natural behaviours, hamsters can thrive in incredibly enriching environments.

Before bringing a hamster home, here are some of the most important things every owner should know.

Hamsters Need Large Enclosures

Many cages sold in pet shops are unfortunately far too small.

Modern ethical hamster care recommends a minimum enclosure size of around 100 x 50 cm, alongside deep bedding for burrowing and plenty of enrichment opportunities.

Hamsters are active animals that naturally explore large territories, dig extensive burrows, forage for food, and create nesting areas.

You can read more in our Hamster Enclosure Setup Guide.

They Need Deep Bedding

Hamsters are natural burrowers and should have deep, compacted bedding to allow them to create tunnels and underground chambers.

Many hamsters become stressed when they cannot display these natural behaviours.

Ethical setups aim for at least 8–10 inches of bedding across a large section of the enclosure.

Hamsters Are Solitary

All hamster species should live alone.

Despite common myths, housing hamsters together can lead to serious fighting and stress, even if they appear calm initially.

In some cases, hamsters may appear to be getting along while one is quietly guarding or hoarding important resources such as food, hides, nesting areas, or wheel access. These stress behaviours can sometimes be subtle and difficult to notice until conflict escalates.

They Need More Than Food and Water

Hamsters need enrichment to stay mentally stimulated.

This includes:

• Multiple hides
• Sand baths
• Sprays and forage
• Chews and textures
• Dig boxes and substrates
• Safe wheels in the correct size

Creating an enriching setup helps support natural behaviours like foraging, exploring, nesting, and scent marking.

Hamsters Need Safe Time Outside Their Enclosure

Many hamsters also benefit from additional exploration time outside of their enclosure in a secure playpen or fully hamster-proofed room.

This allows them to explore new textures, scents, and enrichment in a safe and controlled environment.

Free roaming should always be supervised, and the area must be completely secure with no escape routes, unsafe gaps, wires, or hazards.

Hamsters Require Daily Care and Time

Although hamsters are small pets, they still require regular time, care, and observation.

Owners should be prepared for regular enclosure maintenance, spot cleaning, refreshing sand baths and water, providing enrichment, and carrying out routine health checks.

It is important to regularly monitor your hamster for changes in behaviour, appetite, weight, activity levels, breathing, coat condition, and mobility, as hamsters can sometimes hide signs of illness until they become seriously unwell.

Caring for Elderly or Ill Hamsters

As hamsters get older or become unwell, their needs and behaviours may change.

Some elderly or disabled hamsters may struggle with mobility, or moving around large enclosures in the same way they previously could.

In some cases, adjustments may be needed to help them remain comfortable and safe. This can include adding easier access routes, lowering height variations, changing enclosure layouts, offering softer substrates, or making food and water easier to reach.

Older hamsters may also require more regular monitoring for weight loss, mobility changes, breathing issues, tumours, reduced activity levels, overgrown nails, or difficulty grooming.

Some hamsters may eventually require ongoing medication, more regular nail trims, assisted feeding, or additional supportive care depending on their health needs.

Adapting care as your hamster ages is an important part of ethical hamster ownership and helps support comfort and quality of life throughout their later years.

Hamsters May Not Enjoy Handling

Some hamsters become very confident and social, while others prefer minimal interaction. Building trust takes time and patience.

It’s important to respect each hamster’s personality and boundaries rather than expecting them to behave like highly social pets.

It is also important to remember that hamsters are nocturnal or crepuscular animals, meaning many are most active late at night or during the early hours of the morning. Some hamsters may naturally wake up long after their owners have gone to bed.

This means they are not always the best choice for people expecting a pet that will regularly be awake, interactive, or enjoy daily handling sessions.

Vet Care Can Be Expensive

Hamsters are small animals, but they can still require specialist veterinary care.

Before getting a hamster, it’s important to consider potential costs for exotic vets, medication, and emergency treatment.  Often when you notice that your hamster is unwell it is out of the usual vet opening hours and they will require an out of hours emergency vet.

It is also important to remember that not all regular vets are exotics experienced, meaning you may need to travel further to access an experienced exotics vet.

Vets Near you – Google My Maps

Research Matters

Unfortunately, outdated hamster care information is still extremely common online and in pet shops.

Learning about modern ethical hamster care before bringing a hamster home can make a huge difference to your hamster’s wellbeing and quality of life.

Understanding enclosure sizes, enrichment, bedding depth, wheel sizing, diet, and natural behaviours helps you create a setup that allows your hamster to feel safe, secure, and able to express natural behaviours.

If you are ever unsure about your setup or hamster care, we are always happy to help — feel free to send us a message. Supporting owners and helping improve hamster welfare is a huge part of what RoseLark is about 🤍

Preparing Before You Bring a Hamster Home

Hamsters can be incredibly rewarding pets, but they rely entirely on us to provide an environment that meets their physical and behavioural needs.

Taking time to research ethical hamster care before bringing a hamster home can make a huge difference to their wellbeing and quality of life.

It is also important to remember that recommended minimums are exactly that, minimums. Some hamsters may need significantly more space, deeper bedding, additional enrichment, or more opportunities to explore outside of their enclosure depending on their personality, activity levels, and individual needs.

If your hamster begins displaying stress behaviours such as bar biting, monkey barring, pacing, excessive climbing, or persistent attempts to escape, this is often a sign that changes may be needed to their setup or routine.

This may include upgrading to a larger enclosure, increasing enrichment opportunities, adding deeper bedding, or providing more regular supervised time in a secure playpen or fully hamster-proofed room.

Creating a suitable environment from the start helps support natural behaviours like burrowing, foraging, nesting, and exploring — allowing your hamster to feel safe, secure, and truly at home in their enclosure.

Every hamster is different, and part of ethical hamster care is learning and adapting as you get to know your hamster’s individual personality and needs 🤍