In today’s article, we’re going to be exploring the world of PawHut’s hamster cages. As one of the leading UK suppliers of hamster cages, Pawhut offers a reasonably extensive range of hamster cages, with prices ranging from around £30 for smaller, budget options, all the way up to approximately £50 for larger, more expansive cages. Plus, in addition to their regular plastic and metal cages, they also offer something a little different to most hamster cages manufacturers in the form of wooden cages – something we’ll be touching on in this review.
Which PawHut Hamster Cage is the best option for you?
Whether you’re about to welcome a hamster into your family or just fancy upgrading your hamster’s current abode, it’s absolutely crucial that you provide them with the best home you can afford.
But the question is, what type of cage should you buy?
Before we delve into Pawhut’s range of hamster cages and discuss which might be the best option(s) for you, it’s important to briefly touch upon what you must take into consideration before purchasing a new hamster cage. After all, the type of cage you choose will impact your hamster’s health and wellbeing; therefore, it’s crucial to know exactly what to look out for and what to avoid, to ensure you make the right decision.
Essentially, hamsters are little furry hermits who are more than happy to be by themselves. After all, hamsters originate from the harsh desert wilderness, surviving by scrounging for food and water and protecting their territory. Therefore, their protective and solitary disposition should be reflected in what will become their new home.
When looking at buying a new hamster cage, there are two main factors to take into consideration: cage size and cage material(s), so let’s take a quick look at each of these in turn.
Cage Size
A hamster’s natural habitat typically consists of an extensive, maze-like burrow; therefore, it’s always best to purchase the largest cage you can afford and have room for. Not only will bigger cages have more room for your hamster to roam free in, but they will also provide extra space for toys and accessories such as tubes and tunnels, which are the perfect choice for mimicking a hamster’s natural underground burrow.
Cage Materials
The vast majority of hamster cages available today are made from plastic, wire, or glass, although wooden-based hamster homes are increasing in popularity in 2021. But which material is best? Well, there’s no right or wrong answer to this question as each material has its pros and cons, so let’s take a look at these.
Wire cages – cages that are predominantly constructed from narrow metal bars with a plastic tray at the bottom – are easy to clean and provide plenty of ventilation. However, some owners find that hamsters will kick bedding through the metal bars, causing a mess, and will also chew on them, which may irritate some people. If you’re happy cleaning up the odd bit of hamster bedding from the floor and don’t mind a little chewing here and there, wire cages are the best option.
Modular cages – cages made from plastic and often have the option of adding extra accessories, such as wheels and tunnels to the cage itself – are a fantastic choice if you have large amounts of space and have the desire to expand your hamster’s home as much as you can. On the flip side, however, modular cages aren’t as well ventilated as wire cages and are harder to clean. Some manufacturers offer a wire/modular hybrid to give the best of both worlds (see PawHut’s three-story hamster cage below).
Glass aquariums are also a popular choice for housing hamsters. They contain bedding very well, and your hamster will be much more visible to you, but, like modular cages, they can be hard to clean and must be well ventilated using a mesh top that can be securely fixed down.
As mentioned above, in recent years, wooden hamster homes started to appear on the market. Although wood is something that hamsters love to chew (and will no doubt chew at some point), wooden hamster cages are by far the most natural, sustainable, and eco-friendly type of hamster cage.
Ok, so now we’ve discussed the most important factors when buying a hamster cage, let’s take a look at PawHut’s most popular hamster cages, and give you our expert opinion on them.
We’ll start with smaller cages and move through the different sizes, so if you’re looking for large or extra-large cages, feel free to skip the first couple of reviews.
PawHut’s Hamster Cage Reviews
PawHut’s Portable Two-Storey Hamster Cage (Small)
Dimensions: 47cm (length) x 30cm (width) x 27cm (height)
Suitable for: One dwarf hamster.
This is the smallest cage PawHut offers and is more suited to smaller hamster breeds, i.e. dwarf hamsters. Although there’s no reason why a small Syrian hamster couldn’t live in a cage of this size, it’s always better to opt for bigger cages where the larger hamster breeds are concerned.
The cage itself is a wire cage with a plastic bottom and consists of two floors with an easy-to-climb ladder leading from the first to the second floor. On the first floor, there is an exercise wheel and adequate space for bedding, a food bowl, and perhaps a toy or two. On the second floor, there is a small platform with a small hut for your hamster to sleep in. It also has a large front door to make handling your hamster easier, and the bottom tray is detachable to make for easy and straightforward cleaning. Plus, if you need to move the cage, there’s a convenient handle on top.
This two-storey cage also comes complete with a food bowl and water bottle, saving you the time and money of buying them separately.
Our verdict: This PawHut cage is a fantastic choice for those with smaller hamster breeds and also on a budget. Priced at around the £30 mark and complete with several accessories, this cage offers value for money and ease of use.
PawHut’s Portable Two-Storey Hamster Cage with Tunnels (Medium)
Dimensions: 46cm (length) x 30cm (width) x 37cm (height)
Suitable for: One or two dwarf hamsters.
This cage from PawHut is the ‘pimped-up’ version of the cage above. It’s an extra 10cm in height to accommodate the extra accessory that you really can’t miss – the large, brightly-coloured tunnel that goes from the second-floor platform all the way up through the roof of the cage and back round through the side of the cage onto the cage floor. This, as you can probably guess, gives your hamster extra room to exercise, and mimics their natural habitat – something that you should always strive for when creating a hamster home.
As is the case with all of PawHut’s wire and modular/wire cages, its solid construction from non-toxic materials provides a secure and safe home for your hamster. Furthermore, it comes with an exercises wheel, water bottle, food bowl, and house, meaning you’ll be good to go as soon as you get your new hamster home.
Although this is slightly bigger than the first cage, it is still a relatively small cage; therefore, it’s not particularly suitable for larger hamster breeds, such as Syrians. However, it will be more than adequate for one or perhaps two dwarf hamsters given its extra capacity and added tunnel.
Our verdict: Slightly larger and with more accessories than PawHut’s entry-level hamster cage, this offering is perfectly suited to one or two dwarf hamsters. Priced at the around the £34-£35 mark, it is only fractionally more expensive than the aforementioned entry-level option. As it offers more room and more accessories, we highly recommending opting for this cage if your budget allows.
PawHut Three-Storey Hamster Cage with Accessories (Large)
Dimensions: 40.5cm (length) x 28cm (width) x 55cm (height)
Suitable for: One or two dwarf hamsters or one large hamster.
Upon first viewing, this three-storey cage appears to be a veritable box of delights for hamsters, but is it really as good as it looks? Let’s find out.
Although slightly shorter and narrower than the two smaller cages listed above, this cage’s height is almost 20cm higher, meaning that it provides a lot more space over its three floors. But this offering from PawHut isn’t just about more space over three storeys; it’s also about lots more accessories and options for your furry little friend.
Alongside the expected food bowls (yes, two food bowl with this cage), water bottle, carrying handle, detachable base, and large door, this cage boasts a myriad of extra accessories, including: two wheels, a sunroom, and a pipeline system that can be expanded via the cages seven holes (and even attached to other cages if you so desire), giving your hamster(s) plenty of exercise and exploration options. Plus, additional accessories (sold separately) can be added to this cage to make it even bigger, more fun, and basically like a mansion for hamsters!
The cage itself is a hybrid of the traditional wire cage and the more modern plastic modular cage, combining the best of both worlds. Given its size, it’s more than suitable for up to three dwarf hamsters and one or maybe two larger hamsters, such as Syrians.
Our verdict: For the price (around £43), this offering from PawHut is a solid mid-level hamster cage, perfect for one or two hamsters. With all its added bells and whistles, I’m sure your hamsters will never get bored and will find endless ways to entertain themselves! Moreover, it’s construction from non-toxic materials, and solid (as opposed to metal bar) flooring makes this exceptionally safe for your furry little friends.
PawHut Five-Storey Hamster Cage with Accessories (X-Large)
Dimensions: 46cm (length) x 30cm (width) x 58cm (height)
Suitable for: Up to three dwarf hamsters or one or two larger hamsters.
Ok, let’s cut to the chase; this is a mammoth of a hamster cage. But is bigger really better?
By now I’m sure you’ve got the picture about PawHut hamster cages. Each model comes with food bowl(s), a water bottle, exercise wheel, carrying handle and large door as standard, but each time you go up a price-point, you get something extra. And as you can probably imagine from this XL cage, you get a whole heap of extras, namely four additional floors (not including the ground floor), four easy-to-climb ladders, a house, and an extensive pipeline system that can be expanded via the cages seven holes (and even attached to other cages if you so desire). It truly is a hamster mansion. And let’s be honest, if you were a hamster, you’d be choosing this as your house, no question!
Our verdict: If you’re looking for an extra-large hamster cage for several hamsters, Pawhut’s five-story offering should certainly be on your list of potential cages. It’s safe, well, constructed, offers a plethora of exercise and exploration opportunities for your furry friends, and priced around the £47 mark; it’s not too expensive.
And finally…
PawHut Wooden Hamster Cage (Large)
Dimensions: 60cm (length) x 35cm (width) x 42cm (height)
Suitable for: One or two dwarf hamsters or one large hamster.
We did mention we’d be discussing wooden hamster cages, so here we finally are. On the face of it, a wooden hamster cage (or cage for any small animal with teeth for that matter) may seem rather novel, if not a bit strange. After all, small rodents have a penchant for chewing on anything and everything they find, and wood is a prime example of a material that most small furry pets will chew on in a heartbeat.
But should this put you off buying this wooden hamster cage from PawHut? Well, let’s take a look at what it offers.
Upon first viewing, it’s certainly no ordinary hamster cage, that’s for sure. Wooden construction with two glass viewing ‘windows’ (that also act like doors) on the front, and a mesh ‘sunroof’ to provide adequate ventilation. Internally, it has two levels (not including the ground floor), and several platforms of different heights, which of space for movement and exercise.
However, unlike most other hamster cages and certainly all of the above offerings from PawHut, this cage doesn’t come with accessories. Looking at its design, it wouldn’t be suitable for more than a couple of toys alongside a water bowl and food bowl; however, a small, freestanding wheel should fit on the second floor.
Our verdict: Making a direct comparison to other cages on this list probably isn’t a wise idea as it’s kind of like comparing apples to oranges – even though they’re all hamster cages! The aim of PawHut is pretty obvious; they’re looking to create a range of more sustainable, natural, and eco-friendly hamster cages and make them available at an affordable price.
Should you buy it?
Well, if you’re happy for your hamster to have a moderate amount of space and a few accessories, and you’re keen on more sustainable and eco-friendly products, then yes, you should definitely opt for a wooden hamster cage over a plastic or metal one. If you’re concerned about chewing, providing chew sticks and toys is a great way to allow your furry friend to release their innate desire to chew!
