{"topic_id":"exotic_husbandry_hamster_housing","category":"exotic-pet-husbandry","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_husbandry_hamster_housing\ncategory: exotic-pet-husbandry\ntitle: \"Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) — non-Open-Access; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hamster.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 46\nverified: true\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 3\n  passed: 3\n  date: 2026-08-04\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: 'Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare'\n  url: 'https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/rodents/hamsters'\n  ref: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is © Merck & Co., Inc. and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T3\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T3:vet-ref\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: \"Hamster housing (Merck Veterinary Manual, exotic & laboratory animal sections)\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-04\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n# \"Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare\"\n\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* In the wild, Syrian hamsters inhabit dry rocky steppe or brushy slopes and dig shallow burrows.\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* In captivity they should be given deep, burrow-appropriate bedding.\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Cages providing at least 40–80 cm (about 15–30 inches) of bedding improve Syrian hamster welfare.\n","sources":["exotic-pet-husbandry — Hamster housing (Merck Veterinary Manual, exotic & laboratory animal sections) (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-husbandry","title":"Hamster housing (Merck Veterinary Manual, exotic & laboratory animal sections)","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/rodents/hamsters","retrieved":"2026-07-29","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hamster.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hamster.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T3","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"B"},"tokens_estimated":46,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}