Making our own cages is still the best option, and we can decorate them better, enrich them better, and have way easier access. I love being able to take the entire lid off my cages so I can clean it and decorate it for each season or holiday for my baby. They have a lot of work to do.

Pet stores could EASILY make big fold up enclosures and sell MORE of them on the shelves and give their clients the CORRECT care and teach them that having any animal takes learning and money and most times space. Edit: victoria i love ur new banner its amazing!

I work at “petshmart” and I agree completely that the cages they sell is so tiny. I always tell customers to make and bin set up and tell them to do more research about hamsters. I always recommend your videos lol!

Had an interview for a management position at a new Petsmart opening. Wanted a better income but decided to work at an animal shelter with lower pay. Why? I worked at a Petco and would deny anyone a hamster if they had one of those crap tiny cages and would inform everyone hamsters CANNOT live and thrive in such a cramped cage. Many people would get pissed and leave. I was proud of myself thinking I saved another hamster from suffering. Didn’t even call Petsmart back about the job bc I know I would’ve had to promote these new cages. Couldn’t go back to a job that prioritizes profits over the well-being of animals. Thank you so much for making these videos!

Their goal is immeasurable profit. They don’t care what will actually happen to the pets. It was bad to even watch it at 4:00 as they suffer from the little wheel. They couldn't be serious ... Unfortunately, a lot of people think that what they buy in stores is definitely good ... and they take advantage of that. I am very glad that you are returning to this topic. I'm so grateful to you Victoria!

If Petsmart label products 'quick' 'basic' 'easy' 'comfort' 'convenient' , you already know that its gonna be trash

For over 2 years I was in charge of Pet Care at my store, I always encouraged in depth education about all the animals, I even made my own care guides for everything we sold in store (I watched all 67 or so of your hamster care videos while I was writing the hamster one). The issue isn't always the staff I would say. There are definitely staff members you'll find at any PetSmart who don't care or are just horribly ignorant. I would say the biggest problem isn't that PetSmart would need to make larger enclosures for other animals, its that they would need to admit they were wrong. I once had an interview with someone from corporate during their visit and I brought up the small enclosure sizes for all the animals and how PetSmart loses millions of customers spanning various communities because of this and his response was "no the vets are paid to know what they do." At one point vets thought a goldfish in a bowl was okay but as we learn care guidelines change "no the vets are paid to know what they do." That's not a genuine response, not to mention the fact that the two vets our store works with agree with me "no the vets are paid to know what they do." Every single thing I said he just said nonsense along the lines of the corporate vet is all knowing and perfect and can never ever be wrong and corporate would never do anything not perfect. Basically they've got their heads up their butts to a point where its going to take a long time for things to change. It's a damn shame. It took them how long to create this product line, how many more years until something 5% better?

For about $200, I made our hamster enclosure 2ftx4ft. Our hammie is living her best life thanks to you and your videos! We put a little over a foot of bedding in there and she is a total burrowing queen 🥰

I have been asking my parents for a hamster for a long time. I made a lot of different Google Docs and Google Slides and they told me yesterday that they were planning to surprise me and they made a desition at the beginning of March! When they told me I could get a hamster, we were all a crying mess. I’m getting one in June and I’m so excited! I really need to thank you because they only got me a hamster because I want one really badly and I know so much about them. You were the one to teach me, thank you so much for making my dreams come true. You are the best KZfaqr ever with the best videos!

I got a 40 gallon aquarium for my hamster for $50 dollars and it’s working much better than the tiny cages they sell. These cages remind me of the “Omlet” hamster cages, just made cheaper.

me, a petsmart associate, laughing at your reactions bc they’re valid 😂

Me & my daughter really enjoyed this video! We hadn’t heard of Full Cheeks before. A few years ago I would’ve been the sucker buying the little $200 cage🙄 my daughter, 9, started showing me your videos & soon we became addicted😂😂 once you learn more about hamster care it blows my mind that someone would even consider those over priced cages. There are so many other options these big chain stores could offer, and this is their best😑 thanks for doing what you do!❤️

Bought a hamster for my daughter about a month ago and tried to determine what type of hamster we had after the fact by calling the store and they flat out denied all responsibility if knowing what type of hamster they sell. Telling me all they know is its short haired or long haired. Later I realized that this is so the can also exempt themselves from any responsibility of recommendation for size of cage they sell you. If they know what type of pets the sell they should not in good conscious sell products that are out right too small. Its infuriating as a first time hamster grandma who paid nearly $70 for only the cage that is TOOO SMALLL for a Syrian which i had to google and find out in my own. Grrrr!!!

I'm SO GLAD you're doing a video on these!!

This has to be one of the worst cages I've seen compared to the scale of the syrian inside...it's like keeping them in a carrier their whole life. it's one thing to continue selling crappy old small cages in their stores, but someone, in 2022 has designed this and thought it was a good idea. Completely lost faith in the human race.

Hey Victoria. My hamster Tori sadly passed away on March 1 I still think about her everyday but I was so lucky to find your channel for her to have a happy life and has the right enclosure and everything, I cried a lot even though she is just one little hamster but she generally had a really big spot in my heart, thank you so much Victoria for giving my hamster Tori a good life!

I wish pet stores valued the health of the animals over profit, these cages are just terrible, ugh! great editing on this video though, I really love how you edit! I picked up some full cheeks bedding the other day and I’m at least happy that on the package it says hamsters need 4”-6” of bedding, which still isn’t that great but better than the 1” from before 😑

I met a little girl at my job a few weeks ago that was all excited about her grandma's plan to buy her a hamster. I asked her a few questions and then pulled out a paper and open, wrote down your name and asked her to watch your hamster related videos first. I wish everyone that was planning to adopt small pets would do research first on how to best care for them! Thank you for your expertise Raechel! 🧡

I got a hamster about a year ago when I was 10 years old, I was so excited and I finally got my hamster and called her gizmo. We ended up getting a cage that had 340 square inches of floor space and gave my hamster pellets for a while. I had the full cheeks pet hamster town home, and I never added over two inches of bedding and I thought it was fine. She quickly started to chew the bars, which is when I got worried. I did lots of research and found out so so so many things from you. I realized that I needed a bigger cage, I should add more bedding, I should give her a bigger wheel, and I should give her seed mix and not pellets. I saved up my money and got a new cage with 1400 square inches of floor space. I can’t believe I fell for PetSmarts dumb trick. I soon started to put my hamster in a hamster BALL! I didn’t know they were bad at the time, and she would go into her ball every night for an hour. I then realized I needed to stop and I did. I am now 11 years old and know how to take care of my hamster, thanks to you!! Luckily she was only in a smaller cage for about 5 or 6 days and only went a hamster ball for 3 days. Thank you so much for your help! Your completely right about everything in this video. Petsmart is cruel to hamsters and I hope people understand what environment a hamster needs.

I’m my opinion, niteangel is the BEST brand for hamsters. They have enclosures easy to setup and well over 450+ square feet! Their products, like sand baths are very deep and wide. It’s a little expensive, but worth every penny!

I genuinely don’t understand why they don’t make cages that actually meet the minimum requirements? That can still make a ton of profit because as it is, other than bin cages, getting cages that are big enough is not overly accessible. They can have both profit, good pet care, and consumer accessibility. Why not do it !?!

Seeing so many terrible cages made me cringe so much. When I went to get my hamster I saw sooo many kids throwing tantrums wanting their parents to get a hamster and you know the parents got the hamster for these kids. I’m 99% sure some parents aren’t aware of what a hamster need to be happy/doesn’t care (Of course I’m not saying every parent does this) And that made me sad to see so many worth lives forced to live in small ass cages only because a kid wants it and is going to be forgotten in some months-

literally been consistently watching your videos since i first subscribed around early last year, and i just now believe i’m ready to commit to owning a hamster. you are seriously appreciated xx

You'd think after twenty+ years of shifting/new information about hamsters coming out, and backlash from terrible products that are Years old at this point, Pet Smart would learn that listening works. But, no, they don't want to actually listen. So they continue to get scrutinized under the public eye and wasting money on their end. You could argue that they're still making money off of pet owners who don't know any better and will still buy their undersized or unfit cages, because they technically are. But if they followed some company's example ~~cough NightAngel cough~~, imagine how much better they could do... In general. It doesn't make sense from any angle you look at it. It's just thoughtless greed.

im sorry but WHAT?! 200 usd for a cage that small?! you can buy bigger cages than that for half the price

I was given a hamster a couple of days ago and he came in a tiny tales cage..with tubes that he could barely bring his savings up to the top without them staying there and him getting stuck.. We soon moved him to a much much larger cage and now he is thriving because the 19 year old didnt want him so we were given him because he was neglected of love so when you would handle him he would bite gently but as soon as he got more love he hasn't bit since.

It amazes me that even as more and more people realize that hamsters need large cages, Petsmart still continues to make inproper sized cages

I watched your videos for a while and I just wanted to say you have helped me so much thank you

I was in pet smart the other day getting hay for my bunny, and there was this family with there little girl getting a hamster and I was just like “aw cool” or whatever And then I saw them checking out and they had all the supplies and a cage and when I tell you the cage was small it was extremely small it was so sad to see I wanted to say something so bad but my social anxiety stopped me from doing so. After they checked out and left though they came back in after like 5 minutes and they said they said they were gonna pick out a different cage so I really hope they got a bigger one. 🤞🏼

Thank you so much for this video on the "updated cage" I've been wondering :) P. S so glad I found you BEFORE I got my hamster 🐹🥰🕺

I spent 300.00 at petsmart because of my 17.00 hamster. 200.00 for the “ideal” full checks cage & then 50.00 for the 40 gallon tank - that was on sale that day.. ugh. Watch all of Rachel’s videos before getting a hamster! 💕

I actually really like the concept of the first, and if it were around 500-600 sq inches (and decently priced) I would probably consider buying it. I think they’re starting to get the right idea, they have made them a bit bigger and added burrowing space. They just need that final kick away from what they are used to.

So glad you reviewed the “Townhouse”, the Ferplast Favola was my first cage and my hamster hated it because it was tiny. After watching you I now have an IKEA Detolf :)

I bought that cage in the beginning and my syrian hamster would run on the wheel and fall into the bottom bedding, returned the cage after getting a bin in a day. After my first bin, I had to get a bigger bin 700sqft after a month. Bin only cost me $50 compared to the cages Petsmart is selling

The 1st cage you talked about is the one that I got . But I started watching you’re videos and I switched to a bin cage thanks you

I’ll be honest I was stupid and did no research when I got my hamster, the lady at the pet store said here this is an amazing cage and it had like no floorspace. I then for Christmas got the ferblast cage and as she said it’s still to small. I then found Victoria and knew I was doing it all wrong. I then took off the the plastic top and filled the bedding up to 6 inches put in a cork log and gave him a sand bath. I still couldn’t give him the best life. But the moral of this story is do your RESEARCH! Great job to everyone who really cares for their hamster. And thank you Victoria for having me learn so much!

I've been doing research for like a month to give my first hamster the best possible house (he's now happily sleeping in his first ever burrow inside a 80x60x48cm bin cage) and it physically pains me to see these cages after all the enclosures I keep seeing in my "for you page". I've grown used to people actually doing their research and giving their hamsters a decent enclosure and it's so weird to think that these companies come up with a cage the size of a shoebox and give themselves a pat on the back

Very interesting, thank you for all the good notes and hamster care you have helped us with!

I just got my hamster a 12” wheel and he has never been happier!! I also am beginning to make a custom cage for him inspired from your video!!

The first enclosure my friend bought for her very tiny hamster, I can actually say it’s pretty big in my opinion, not for a large hamster for sure, but her small hamster loves it! And the bin is like 7 inches deep 🤷🏼‍♀️, and u can honestly put whatever food you feel is right for it into it’s feeder tube, and she also added some clip-on bowls to also hold other foods that help enrich little Quazzy’s diet, and it was on sale for 40$ so for that price it was well worth it for her

your amazing!!! thanks for bringing attention to important topics like this

Pet smart had a chance to really do it right. Imagine the money they would have made had they actually created larger cages. The overall designs are good they are just not big enough. Had they just said hey this is great but lets mimic a large bin set up so large wheels and more bedding can be incorporated. I don't understand why they didn't just go the extra mile.

Hi Victoria! I just want to say you helped me with my hamsters sooooo much. Just one example of that is I got pumpkin a new 12 inch wheel for my birthday (before she had a 9 inch one!) so thanks 😁💗

Three years ago, I made the mistake of purchasing a Tiny Tales cage from PetSmart. Two weeks later my daughters hamster was missing and one of the tubes had been chewed thru. Luckily we found Coconut quickly. That day, I found your channel, binged watched all your videos, and set up an appropriate cage for Coconut. Thank you for the wonderful videos.

Great video! Next can you do a video on the full cheeks rabbit supplies?

Hi again Victoria, just wanted to tell you I am going to get another hammy! This time he is going to 100% get a bigger cage. (Most likely a bin cage or a DIY), a better diet, more bedding, and 100% love. Thanks for educating me properly, making sure I dont make the same mistakes again! 💕

Your channel has been so helpful to my partner and I. I had a hamster as a kid and definitely didn’t know enough to give her a fulfilling life. My partner and I got a Syrian yesterday and have a 75 gallon tank that she is in. Her name is Persephone and we are working on making sure she has a good life.

The first cage used to be my old cage but when I watch your videos I was worried about my hamsters back then I watch the video about how big should your cage be? And then I got the Nite angle bigger world cage and a new 11 inch woodent wheel and I was much happier! Thank you Victoria for all you did to make the world a better place! Keep working hard!

Hello Raechel! i have two Syrian Hamsters, peanut & butter. I've learn so much from you, keep up the good work! you're helping me and the other starters! ♥️

Hi, My female Syrian hamster is showing signs of boredom (wall scaling in bin cage) it is a 50 gallon bin cage but the dimensions they say it is is not really as it gets smaller near the bottom compared to the top of the lid. I was looking into upgrading her cage and giving it some more accessories. Right now I only have chew toys, sand bath, wheel, 6 chamber hideout, and a strawberry ceramic hideout thing. I feed her sunburst and Mazuri bites, and have a water dish. I have 2 questions: 1.Which cage do you recommend with good size? I've thought about the Nite angel bigger world (large of course) but that's super expensive at $240 USD and some people say the rubber bands are a pain.. For DIY cages, I am the complete opposite of handy and I don't want to mess up and waste $100 USD or so. What cage would you recommend? 2. What enrichment ideas would you recommend to me? And if you can, tell me where to get them from. Thanks! Sorry for the long message. Victoria help lol or someone else please respond/give your advice!

We got a hamster and watched all your videos and found your videos incredibly helpful! We upgraded to a detolf!

I’m getting a hammie at the end of April! It either gonna be a dwarf or not I don’t know! And THANKS SO MUCH for making these types of videos! I have done so much research! And I do have a bin but it’s like the bin you put your clean clothes in! But thank you for making these videos! I love you Victoria!😍😀

Aw, yes, I just learned abt petsmarts rebranding. I litterally never shop at petsmart so I didn't know. Excited to see you react to their new cage 😒 :)

So sad that companies care more about the money they make from the cages than the well-being of the hamsters. Thank you Victoria for making this video! Your have really helped me with my hamster care! 🐹💕

I love this. I work at Petsmart and never recommend "our" products, especially for buns, guinea pigs, and hammies, and customers are always shocked, even when i tell them they can get larger enclosures for cheaper/ same prices. I always recommend some youtube research before buying the animals, so I'll be sure to recommend your channel!

VICTORIA RAECHEL USING THE BRAZILIAN NAZARÉ MEME IS EVERYTHING! HAHAHAHA! Thank you for the laughter! Love you, Victoria!

I got a job at petco last month and I feel like an undercover hamster advocate lol- I already convinced 8 customers to go buy a bin cage at home depot instead of a crittertrail (or a similar sized cage)

We bought a 200qt. Christmas tree storage bin for my daughters dwarf hamster for $40. It equals out to I believe 980 sq. In. , FOR $40 BUCKS. I honestly can't believe people are spending this outrageous amount of money for total junk.

Hi Victoria! You haven’t posted yesterday or today. I cannot live without watching your new vids one a week! Love your vids!

Because of your brilliance, when we got our first hamster 9 months ago, we found your vid’s just in time (returning the wire one we’d bought) & made a wonderful homemade enclosure. My daughter and I totally would love you to create your own products for sale! We’d definitely purchase! Thank you for all you do, we have learned everything about how to care for Celestio (winter White Russian dwarf) in the best way possible! 🐹 💜😄

I almost clicked "Dislike" on this video because those cages make me sad and angry! ;) I got my two hamsters from a shelter after a litter of 9 was found abandoned in a cardboard box, so the most diplomatic thing I can say is those cages are better than that situation. For real though, it's so ridiculous that I spent less than $60 to construct two 850 sq inch cages for my Syrians.

Great video ❤️ ilysm Victoria

My daughter (11) has wanted a hamster hamster the last two years. I admit that I was really ignorant at first re: info. I've watched your videos and have learned so much. We're going to make our own cage based on one of your videos. Thank you so much!! 💓

Thank you! I saw the biggest one and was hoping you'd do a review

For the first cage you reviewed it can hold 6” of bedding I’ve done it but my mom told me I put to much so when I wasn’t home she took some bedding out. And when she wasn’t home I added more. Edit: I’m currently trying to convince her to buy a bigger cage. Since I still live in her house I really can’t just go buy it. I’am an adult but I’m a adult with autism and other disabilities so I really don’t have much of a say but I feel bad because my DeeDee deserves better.

I have the quick clean cage and my hamster seems to love it

me and my bf are buying a bin to add to this so he has a huge place but for the first cage are you suppose to put bedding on the top? or just the bottom

I dont understand why they can't just make a suitable cage?? Like whys it so hard?? I literally don't get it...

I have some millets from this brand, didn't know it was all living things! wow, these cages are horrible... ps can you do a review on the "healthy henrys hamster diet" ? i have it as a second main hamster seed mix, and it has the proper nutrients, it's just not a "seed" mix. :D thanks!

Pet stores should get rid of all there bad cages and replace them with bins or tanks, then after you get the bin you can go to a little room and make it into a hamster cage yourself! And get all the right sized wheels and nice bedding and toys

Hello! This is totally random from this video but how often should you clean/take out the hamsters bath sand? I love your vids❣️

Hi Victoria I was in my local pet store and this woman brought in her like two-year-old to get a hamster and they were going to dwarf hamsters and they were getting a tiny cage and I didn’t say anything because I’ve already tried to say things to my local pet store and they just ignored me it’s so sad that hammys are assumed as starter pets

Hi Victoria I got a sand bath by full cheeks so is that okay it’s very big for rolling and moving with a big door but I’m nervous

I’m rubbish at DIY so I managed to get a “rabbit enclosure” for my hamster. It looks a bit like the zoo plus. Chloe my winter white dwarf has lots of space and enrichment plus time out each night in her playpen. Love watching your channel. I really hope that pet companies will improve the enclosures for all pets. I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to give their pet the very best quality of life, whether it be a hamster, fish etc.. Your channel and some others are helping to change the lives of small pets for the better. 🙏

love your added clips/memes, had me laughing

i have the first cage (saving for a bin cage) and the pullout mechanism is, you can literally take the whole bottom out. and the ramp, you can adjust is so it stays up

I love your videos! I can’t believe before I found your channel, I had a hamster living in a critter trail. And now I have a cage that is 600 sq in! And my hamster is happier than ever! Thank you :-)

My son and daughter and I really enjoy your videos. Billy our Syrian hamster also really appreciates you because her accommodations really improved after watching your videos. We are on our third bin cage and after bad advice from other youtube videos we finally have a great bin cage going for Billy. 🐹 ❤

Thanks to you I am obsessed with hamsters and my hamsters has a big enclosure in wich Vino can dig in. 🥰 she loves digging

When I bought my hamster around a month ago, me and my parents didnt know too much about how big the cages need to be. We knew they needed to be big but we didnt know what ones to choose. On the day we bought him, we bought the cage. The woman who helped us was nice and all, but she recommended the 2nd cage you reviewed, and the hamster we got was literally a syrian hamster. She knew that, but still told us to get that cage. So we did. We then realized in a few days that the wheel was way too small for him and his back was curved, so we wanted to get a new wheel, but no other wheel could fit in that cage. So we wound up doing some more research and we bought him a much bigger cage and a bigger wheel so his back isnt bent at all now, and my dad is planning on building him a new cage, kind of like the ones you use, just not as huge. (still a perfect size for the hammy though) Thank you for these videos to help people better their hamsters environments and lives.

You always make my day I used to watch your vids with my hamster but I had to put her down yesterday

I'm really glad for all the research I've been doing, When I first had the thought of getting a hamster, I thought these 2 story apartment looking cages would be perfect because of the space I would save, I am very glad I kept watching videos and reading around, because it would have sucked to have bought it and only learned after. The more videos I watched and reading I've done, i found an actual cage that I know will not only give my hamster enough space but help me keep it safe.

After watching a lot of your videos we got rid of our hamster cage and made him a bin cage following your tutorial. Best decision we’ve ever made and our chubby boy (he’s a Syrian) loves it 😊

I have the full cheeks small pet quick clean apartment.p I used to use it for my hamster but now I use it for my gerbil I removed the wheel because he kept chewing on it and it was too small is it ok for my gerbil to live in it?

I’m thinking about getting one of these cages to add on to my current hamster cage. Idk I’ve always felt like adding a small cage to my big one

Hi I got a baby teddy bear hamster yesterday I don't have a cage for her yet. what cage size would you recommend because I cannot put her with my dwarf hamsters.

When we got our first hamster, we got one of those cages without hesitation because we thought it was what's good for them. That same night, we binged your videos and felt SO bad. We went out the next day to buy the largest plastic bin we could until we could organize building our hammy a proper home.

Today was my hamsters birthday! He just turned a year old and it was so exciting because I had been counting down till 5th of april 🥳 happy birthday fluffy!

Hi it would mean a lot of you answered this because my Long haired Syrian hamster is 1 ish and he has a big wheel but I don’t see him use it often can you tell me what I should do ? 😊

For $239 I could make my own amazing huge enclosure , 12” niteangel wheel and give a hammy incredible enrichment and best food and bedding etc like everything

I absolutely adore the savic plaza hamster cage and its from pers at home! Its huge abd takes up almost my full desk

I wish I had seen this before buying the "easy clean apartment" (the "easy clean" tagline sold me--I'm LAZY!) But as soon as I saw our new Syrian run on that wheel I could instantly tell it was too small. I threw away the box already, so I am not sure if I can return it. Great video! My daughter and I will be watching more!

my theory is that petsmart heavily relies on parents buying hamsters for their children as toys, so if they started selling such big enclosures they would lose this income. even tho it would be a good thing if people actually realized that a hamster requires lots of care, it’s not a good economic move for them. now they’re definitely trying to compromise between that type of buyers and the pets community, with scarce results💀

thank you for all you do. my hamster's luxurious quality of life (i wouldn't have it any other way) is largely thanks to your advice, when the right information is so hard to find anywhere else. you are a hamster guardian angel. also, lovely manicure!

Knowing you as a great pet owner, I love recommending you to different people on the topic 'pets'. I always look up to you with that topic, and I always will :)

Ahh! New channel banner, I just noticed! I love it, its adorable! ❤ Did you draw it yourself? Edit: I checked your channel desc, if I had insta I would check out the artist who made your banner art. They're so talented!

I work in a pets store. And I always, always mention bigger cages, and that our own cages are way too small. Thankfully people listen and buy either the massive cages we sell or make their own. So, dont hate the people working there. I love my hamsters and advocate for better cages in our store, maybe one day it'll happen. But for now, it's about advising people the right stuff. I even tell them to watch your videos 😂 so yeah, I promise there are some people fighting for better cages! I'm one of them x

Hamsters are often marketed as an easy pet for kids. The small cages make them look easy to manage and take up less space, something that will sit on a kids desk in the room, or on a shelf out of the way - which is more appealing to parents. If a parent saw how much space a hamster REALLY needs, they might be less likely to buy it. PetSmart needs people to keep buying hamsters so they can sell them the food, cages, accessories etc and make their money. Making these small cages and marketing hamsters as little pocket pets it’s profitable for them, unfortunately

I can’t imagine the day we’re Petsmart makes a good cage

Thanks for the video it was very helpful.