Hamsters are among the most commonly kept small pets but are frequently housed in conditions that severely restrict their natural behaviours, causing chronic stress and shortened lifespans.
Hamster welfare is widely compromised by inadequate housing sold and promoted in pet shops. Standard barred cages with plastic bases are far too small and too shallow for burrowing. Hamsters in inadequate housing show stereotypic bar-chewing - a welfare indicator of chronic frustration - that is sometimes mistaken for normal behaviour. The minimum recommended cage floor area of 900 square centimetres (from German animal welfare guidelines) far exceeds most commercial cages. Deep substrate allowing natural burrowing and a solid-surface wheel at minimum 28cm diameter are baseline welfare requirements that most commercially available setups do not meet.