What Do Pets Need

Small pets

Cage size, bedding, wheels and everyday food for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and other small pets.

What does a Syrian hamster need?A cage or tank at least 100 x 50 x 50 cm, bedding 25 cm deep, a 12 in solid wheel, a warm room and a life alone. What does a dwarf hamster need?A cage at least 100 x 50 x 40 cm with 7 mm bars, an 8 in solid wheel, deep bedding, and what each source says about pairs. What do guinea pigs need?A cage of 11 sq ft (1.02 m²) or more for a pair, 182 x 61 cm for two males, a run, a companion, hay all day and vitamin C daily. What do rabbits need?A living space of 3 x 2 x 1 m for a pair, open all day, a hutch of 1.8 m as the shelter, a companion, a cool spot and hay. What do gerbils need?A glass tank of at least 100 x 50 x 50 cm for two, bedding 20-30 cm deep to burrow in, company and a 12 in solid wheel. What does a chinchilla need?A tall multi-level cage of 2 x 2 x 1 m or more, a daily dust bath, a 15 in solid wheel, a cool dry room and hay. What does a ferret need?A cage of 1.5 x 1 x 1 m for two, hours out of it every day, another ferret, a cool room and a complete ferret food. What does a hedgehog need?A cage with at least 2 x 3 ft of solid floor, a warm room of 24-29 C, a solid wheel, bedding to burrow in and insectivore food. What does a sugar glider need?A tall cage of 2 x 2 x 2 m by RVC's minimum, a companion, two hours of contact a day, warmth and an insect-based diet. What do guinea pigs eat?Mostly hay, a fresh portion of pellets with vitamin C every day, vegetables and herbs, and the foods each source says to avoid. What do rabbits eat?85% hay and grass, 10% leafy greens and 5% nuggets, with a calculator for daily nuggets by your rabbit's weight and the foods to avoid. What do hamsters eat?Pellets, a teaspoon or two of fruit, veg and herbs a day, water from a bottle, and the foods Woodgreen and RSPCA say to keep out. What size wheel for a hamster?12 in for a Syrian hamster, 8 in for a dwarf, 12 in for gerbils, 15 in for a chinchilla, and solid, never wire. Guinea pigs get none. Bedding for small petsHow deep and what kind of bedding hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas and hedgehogs need, by source, and what to keep out.

Cage size and company for small pets

The minimum cage on each page, the bigger one where the sources differ, and who the pet lives with
PetMinimum cageCompany
Syrian hamsterAt least 100 x 50 x 50 cmAlone (RSPCA, Woodgreen, RVC)
Dwarf hamsterAt least 100 x 50 x 40 cmAlone is safest; the sources split on pairs
Guinea pigsAt least 182 x 61 cm for a pair of malesAt least one other guinea pig, not a rabbit
RabbitsAt least 3 x 2 x 1 m for a pairA suitable rabbit companion
GerbilsAt least 100 x 50 x 50 cm for twoPairs or groups formed early in life, never alone
ChinchillaAt least 2 x 2 x 1 m, with levelsAt least one other (RSPCA, RVC); VCA: alone or a pair
FerretAt least 1.5 x 1 x 1 m for twoOther ferrets, in pairs or groups
HedgehogAt least 2 x 3 ft of floorAlone (RVC, MSD manual, VCA)
Sugar glidersAt least 2 x 2 x 2 m, tall, with small meshA pair or a small group, never one alone

Cage sizes are length x width x height. Adult gerbils put together for the first time will fight (VCA). Each page lists every source’s minimum.

Where we get our information from

Cage sizes and company come from pet welfare charities, the Royal Veterinary College, VCA and the MSD Veterinary Manual. Checked against published data from Royal Veterinary College, MSD Veterinary Manual, RSPCA, VCA Animal Hospitals and Woodgreen Pets Charity (plus 4 more).

See all 33 sources
  • RSPCA, Hamsters: environment, company and diet
  • RSPCA, Gerbils: environment, company and diet
  • RSPCA, Guinea pigs: environment, diet and company
  • RSPCA, Chinchillas: environment, diet and company
  • RSPCA, Rabbits: environment, diet and company
  • Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF), Space recommendations
  • PDSA (UK vet charity), Hamsters as pets
  • Woodgreen Pets Charity, Caring for hamsters; What to feed your hamster
  • Woodgreen Pets Charity, How to house your gerbils
  • Woodgreen Pets Charity, Guinea pigs: housing, day-to-day guide, and poisonous food and plants
  • Woodgreen Pets Charity, Caring for rabbits
  • Scottish SPCA, Keeping gerbils as pets
  • Scottish SPCA, Caring for your rabbits
  • RSPCA Australia knowledgebase, How should I care for my ferrets?; What should I feed my ferrets?
  • RSPCA Australia knowledgebase, Where should I keep my guinea pigs?; What should I feed my guinea pigs?
  • Royal Veterinary College (Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital), Hamster care, December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Gerbil care, December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Guinea pig care; Guinea pig feeding guidelines, December 2022 (PDFs)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Chinchilla care, December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Ferret care, December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, African pygmy hedgehog care, December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Sugar glider care, December 2021 (PDF)
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, pet-owner edition), Providing a home for a gerbil
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, pet-owner edition), Providing a home for a guinea pig
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, pet-owner edition), Providing a home for a ferret
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, pet-owner edition), Providing a home for a rabbit
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, pet-owner edition), Providing a home for a sugar glider
  • MSD Veterinary Manual (Merck, veterinary professional edition), Management of four-toed (African pygmy) hedgehogs
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Housing rodents
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Chinchillas: housing
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Ferrets: housing
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Hedgehogs: housing; Feeding hedgehogs
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Sugar gliders: owning; Feeding sugar gliders

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General care guidance from animal welfare charities, vets and makers' published sizes. It isn't veterinary advice: if your pet seems unwell or has eaten something it shouldn't, call your vet.