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Hi lovely people! I’d like to bring something to your attention.

Pet smart and most pet stores sell hamsters (duh). They also sell cages for those hamsters. The problem is that these cages that they market are way too small to be healthy. The critter trail cages, depicted here:

Are about 180 square inches and 2 inches deep for bedding. The MINIMUM healthy uninterrupted floor size for these lil creatures is ~450 square inches and about five to six inches deep for bedding. While it’s understandable that sometimes, a space that big isn’t available in every person’s home, the typical crittertrails and other cages sold by pet smart are much much too small (and overpriced). Properly sized alternatives include cheap plastic bin cages, 30+ gallon aquariums, and (more expensive) large cages you can buy.

Large pet stores tend to sell these and market them as good for the hamsters. They are NOT. In the wild, hamsters usually have much much much more space, and can sometimes burrow 30 inches into the ground. When domesticated, these hamsters are sometimes put into too small cages, resulting in stress and even an early death.

There are other issues with these cages as well, including the fact that they’re escapable and the tunnels can suffocate the hamsters. The diameter of most CritterTrail wheels are around 5.5 - 6 inches. Syrian hamsters need at least 8 inches. Hamsters who run on their wheel with their back curved can experience back problems, requiring an exotic vet.

When petsmart sells these, a lot of people understandably assume that they’re A-okay for hamsters, and that’s misleading on the store’s part.

Please sign this petition to get these cages out of petsmart and more humane cages sold, and reblog to spread the word!!

http://chng.it/dFDDT5s2pT