We, as a nation, pride ourselves on our animal welfare for dogs, cats, and any other larger animals. But what about the smaller furries?

I am talking gerbils, hamters, mice, and rats.

I, like many others, bought a pair of gerbils earlier this year. I was sold a tank/cage combo for them, a Ferplast Gabry. This, as I found out quickly and rectified, is well below the minimum standard required for a pair of gerbils as stated by the Blue Cross, RSPCA, PDSA and so on, which is 100 x 40 x 40 cm. What I was sold was, not including the tank topper, around 40 x 20 x 20 cm.

Some of the cages are just outrageously dangerous as well, as I explain below.

When I purchased a syrian hamster, from pets at home, I was told he'd need some digging opportunities, fair enough, bought the cage that was recommended for him. I then found out that the cage I was sold was totally inappropriate for him or any other rodent, not only was it under the required size for a hmater, but it also had platforms that were dangerous for him, as Syrians hamsters are ground dwellers, have awful eyesight and no depth perception, which means he would just jump/walk off the edge with no idea how high they were risking injiry or death. Then there's the plastic tunnels that were used to access said platforms. Poorly ventilated and choking hazards if chewed, well let's face it, most rodents chew.

Being sold and put into cages that are way too small and dangerous is no doubt stressful and impacts their quality of life. Imagine it, 6 people in a small 2 bed house that was recommended by the people responsible for building it the people marketing it, would we stand by and say nothing? No, we wouldn't. This is essentially what is happening in pet stores cross the nation. Rescues will not rehome unless you have the minimum requirements in cages/tanks and digging space.

Please, please, help me to change they way pet shops sell these awful things and get them AND the companies making these awful cages to change for the welfare of our pets. We wouldn't stand by while a pet shop recommended a dog crate only fit for a pug to the owner of a Rottweiler, so why are we standing by while the pet shops are selling ages way too small for our furry little friends?

Picture credit to Cozy Paws Hamster Care UK on Facebook