The pick for most owners is the PawHut Sliding Tray Hamster Cage at £56.99. Its tray runs the full 100cm length of the cage, so soiled bedding can be drawn out from the side or reached from above through the openable top.[1]
- Best Overall: PawHut Sliding Tray Hamster Cage, £56.99. A 100 x 54cm tray running the full length of the cage.[1]
- Best for Moving to Clean: PawHut 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage, £84.99. Four wheels with two of them locking, above a 94.5 x 47.5cm tray.[2]
- Best for a Raised Tray: PawHut 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage, £80.99. The cage stands on a 60cm storage shelf, so the tray is not at floor level.[3]
- Best for a Separate Bedding Room: PawHut Two-Room Hamster Cage, £87.99. A clear divider splits the floor, with a 63cm tray under the larger room.[4]
The RSPCA advises against wooden cages and prefers mesh or barred sides to solid ones.[6] These four are for owners who have already settled on wood, where the tray is the part keeping urine off the timber, so coverage is what separates them.
How We Choose
Few wooden cages have a tray that slides out from the side.
- A tray that slides or pulls out. Cages whose floors unclip or lift away were left out, because that means handling the whole level.
- A tray size given in centimetres. Without one there is no way to tell how much of the floor the tray actually catches.
- A second opening. A tray clears the floor but not the platforms, ramps and huts above it.
Wooden Hamster Cages Compared by Tray, Size and Price
| Best For | Model | Overall size (L x W x H) | Tray size | Cleaning access | Price |
| Best Overall | PawHut Sliding Tray Hamster Cage[1] | 100 x 58 x 38cm | 100 x 54 x 3cm | Sliding tray and full-size openable top | £56.99 |
| Best for Moving to Clean | PawHut 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage[2] | 99 x 50 x 69cm | 94.5 x 47.5cm | Pull-out tray, front door and opening roof | £84.99 |
| Best for a Raised Tray | PawHut 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage[3] | 84 x 53 x 110cm | 79.5 x 48.5 x 5.5cm | Pull-out tray and latch top door | £80.99 |
| Best for a Separate Bedding Room | PawHut Two-Room Hamster Cage[4] | 100 x 50 x 50cm | 63 x 48 x 4cm | Sliding tray and openable roof | £87.99 |
Note: Prices are accurate at the time of writing but may change. Please check the live product pages for the latest prices and details.
PawHut Sliding Tray Hamster Cage (Best Overall)[1]
The Sliding Tray Hamster Cage keeps its floor as one open area rather than a stack of tiers, which is the layout the PDSA prefers to tall multi-level cages.[5] At 38cm tall, the whole base stays within arm’s reach once the top is open.
| Specification | Details |
| Overall size | 100 x 58 x 38cm, the lowest of the four |
| Tray size | 100 x 54 x 3cm, covering the full length of the floor |
| Cleaning access | The tray slides out from the side, and the whole top lifts clear |
| Top opening | 100 x 58cm, matching the full footprint |
| Included | Cage and instruction manual only |
Best suited to: A single-level setup on a table or shelf, where bedding is banked across one open floor and the whole base is reached from above.
Pros:
- Its mesh pitch is published as 1.2 x 1.2cm, which none of the other three states.[1]
- The acrylic front panel shows bedding depth without the roof being opened.
- The main house measures 98 x 54cm inside, so little of the footprint is lost to the frame.
Con:
- The main house is 34cm tall inside, so the PDSA’s 25cm of bedding leaves just 9cm of headroom.[5]
Who should choose another option: Choose the 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage[2] if the cage has to move to be cleaned, or the 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage[3] to keep the tray clear of the floor.
PawHut 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage (Best for Moving to Clean)[2]
The 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage rolls on four wheels with two of them locking, so a bedding change can happen at a sink or out of the way rather than where the cage lives. Its tray stops only a few centimetres short of the walls, leaving little floor to sweep by hand.
| Specification | Details |
| Overall size | 99 x 50 x 69cm, three levels on a wheeled base |
| Tray size | 94.5 x 47.5cm, under a 99 x 50cm base |
| Cleaning access | A pull-out tray, plus a front door and a roof that opens |
| Top opening | 99 x 50cm, matching the full footprint |
| Included | Cage and instruction manual only |
Best suited to: A room where the cage can be rolled to a sink or out of the way at cleaning time, rather than emptied where it stands.
Pros:
- The front door is 88cm wide, close to the full 99cm length of the cage.
- Both upper platforms run 95.8cm long, so each level carries a real walking room along its length.
- Two huts and two ladders are part of the structure rather than loose accessories.
Con:
- It is the only three-level pick here, and the PDSA prefers single-level cages because hamsters see poorly and can fall from height.[5]
Who should choose another option: Choose the Sliding Tray Hamster Cage[1] for one open floor on a single level, or the Two-Room Hamster Cage[4] to bank deep bedding on one side.
PawHut 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage (Best for a Raised Tray)[3]
The 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage stands on a 60cm storage shelf, so its tray sits around 60cm off the ground rather than at floor level. For anyone who finds kneeling to clean awkward, that changes the job more than any other feature here.
| Specification | Details |
| Overall size | 84 x 53 x 110cm, the tallest of the four |
| Tray size | 79.5 x 48.5 x 5.5cm, the deepest tray here |
| Cleaning access | A pull-out tray, with a latching door on the top |
| Top opening | 84 x 27cm, about half the footprint |
| Included | Cage and instruction manual only |
Best suited to: Anyone who would rather not kneel to clean, with room for a cage that stands 110cm tall.
Pros:
- No other pick here states a deeper tray, so more substrate stays inside when it moves.
- The storage shelf runs the full 84 x 53cm footprint, so bedding and food sit directly under the cage.
- Non-slip feet and a reinforced frame steady it at full standing height.
Con:
- Its floor is 84 x 53cm, under the 100 x 50cm minimum the PDSA cites and the smallest of the four.[5]
Who should choose another option: Choose the Sliding Tray Hamster Cage[1] for a bigger floor on one level, or the 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage[2] to move the cage rather than raise it.
PawHut Two-Room Hamster Cage (Best for a Separate Bedding Room)[4]
The Two-Room Hamster Cage splits its floor with a clear divider, giving a 63cm room on one side and a 30.5cm room on the other, both 46cm deep. Bedding can be banked deep on the larger side while the smaller one stays shallower.
| Specification | Details |
| Overall size | 100 x 50 x 50cm, split into two rooms |
| Tray size | 63 x 48 x 4cm, covering the larger room only |
| Cleaning access | A sliding tray, with a roof that opens across the cage |
| Top opening | 100 x 50cm, matching the full footprint |
| Included | Cage, water bottle, two seesaws and instruction manual, the only pick here with accessories |
Best suited to: An owner who wants one side banked deep for burrowing and the other kept shallower, with the roof opening across both.
Pros:
- A 9cm doorway links the two rooms, so the divider does not cut either side off.
- Both rooms are 45cm tall inside, the most headroom of the four, so the PDSA’s 25cm of bedding still leaves 20cm clear.[5]
- Platforms sit at three heights on each side, from 10.5cm to 34cm off the ground.
Con:
- Its tray is 63cm against a 100cm cage, so it serves the larger room rather than the whole floor.
Who should choose another option: Choose the Sliding Tray Hamster Cage[1] for a tray that covers the whole floor, or the 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage[3] to raise the tray off the ground.
What a Pull-Out Tray Does and Does Not Solve
A tray changes how bedding leaves the cage, not how much the cage holds.
Tray Depth Is Not Bedding Depth
The PDSA advises a bedding layer of no less than 25cm so a hamster can burrow, sleep and store food as it would in the wild.[5] The trays here run 3cm to 5.5cm deep, nowhere near it, and that is not what they are for.
The cage walls hold the bedding. The tray sits underneath as a floor, catching urine and carrying soiled substrate out when it slides. What matters is how much of the floor it reaches, not how deep it is. That is why the Sliding Tray Hamster Cage leads on a 100 x 54cm tray while the Two-Room Hamster Cage, the dearest of the four, covers only its larger room.
What Wood Means for Smell
The RSPCA says a cage floor should be solid, so bedding can absorb the small quantities of urine a hamster produces.[6] Bare wood takes that urine up instead of leaving it in the bedding, and that is usually where smell starts.
A tray covering the whole floor is what answers this in a wooden cage. Anyone who wants an enclosure that can be wiped down throughout will be better served by another material.
Which Wooden Hamster Cage Should You Buy?
Each of the four wins on a different measure.
- Full floor coverage: The PawHut Sliding Tray Hamster Cage has a 100 x 54cm tray under a 100cm cage.[1]
- A cage on wheels: The PawHut 3-Tier Wheeled Hamster Cage has four, with two that lock.[2]
- A raised tray: The PawHut 2-Tier Shelf Hamster Cage stands on a 60cm storage shelf.[3]
- Two separate rooms: The PawHut Two-Room Hamster Cage splits its floor into a 63cm side and a 30.5cm one.[4]
Whichever you choose, the PDSA advises at least 25cm of bedding, so check the internal height before the overall height.[5]
If you are still weighing wood against mesh or glass, Types of Hamster Cages cover what changes with each material.
FAQs
1. How often should you clean a hamster cage?
2. What bedding is safe for hamsters?
3. What size cage does a hamster need?
The PDSA says it is hard to give an exact figure, and points to a minimum of 100 x 50cm set by a German animal welfare body.[5] It adds that bigger is always better, so treat that figure as a floor rather than a target.
4. Can two hamsters live in the same cage?
Usually not. The PDSA says most hamster species are solitary, do not get lonely and often fight if housed together, which can cause injury.[5] Syrian and Chinese hamsters in particular live alone in the wild. Anyone keeping more than one should house them separately.
5. Can a hamster cage be kept outside?
No. The RSPCA says hamsters should be kept indoors, because outdoor weather is too cold for them to survive.[6] Indoors also keeps them out of torpor, a hibernation-like state that is dangerous for pet hamsters, which lack the fat reserves to go long without food.
References
[1] Aosom UK, PawHut Wooden Hamster Cage with Sliding Tray, Openable Top, Hut for Syrian Hamster, Natural Wood Finish.
https://www.aosom.co.uk/item/pawhut-wooden-hamster-cage-with-sliding-tray-openable-top-hut-for-syrian-hamsters-natural-wood~1QKMJ2GJPR801.html
[2] Aosom UK, PawHut Wooden Hamster Cage, Mice Rodent Small Animals Kit Hutch, 3 Tiers Exercise Play Enclosure, with Wheels, Bottom Tray.
https://www.aosom.co.uk/item/pawhut-3-tier-wooden-hamster-cage-roden-small-animals-hutch-ladders-natural-wood~D51-319ND.html
[3] Aosom UK, PawHut 2 Tier Wooden Hamster Cage with Shelf and Openable Top.
https://www.aosom.co.uk/item/pawhut-wooden-hamster-cage-3-tier-hamster-habitat-with-storage-shelf-openable-top-tray-seesaws-ramp-water-bottle~22BLQJ8F1LO00.html
[4] Aosom UK, PawHut Wooden Hamster Cage with Water Bottle, Platforms, Openable Roof, Sliding Tray, Hut, Seesaws, Natural Wood Finish.
https://www.aosom.co.uk/item/pawhut-wooden-hamster-cage-with-water-bottle-platforms-openable-roof-sliding-tray-hut-seesaws-natural-wood-finish~1R0EH9TL9K000.html
[5] PDSA, Hamsters as pets.
https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/looking-after-your-pet/small-pets/hamsters-as-pets
[6] RSPCA, Creating a Good Home for Hamsters.
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/rodents/hamsters/environment