{"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 — Hamster husbandry/environment\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hamster.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 46\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\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  retrieved: \"2026-07-29\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n\n# Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare\n\nThe text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source (Merck Veterinary Manual).\n\n> In the wild, Syrian hamsters live on dry rocky steppes or brushy slopes, and they construct shallow burrows. In captivity, deep bedding that is appropriate for burrowing is recommended. Cages with at least 40–80 cm (approximately 15–30 inches) of bedding enhance the welfare of Syrian hamsters.\n\nSource: `pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hamster.txt` (first-hand professional veterinary reference, tag-stripped).\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `In the wild, Syrian hamsters live on dry rocky steppes or brushy slopes, and they construct shallow burrows. In captivity, deep bedding that is appropriate for burrowing is recommended. Cages with at least 40–80 cm (approximately 15–30 inches) of bedding enhance the welfare of Syrian hamsters.`\n","sources":["exotic-pet-husbandry — Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-husbandry","title":"Hamster housing — deep burrowing bedding (40–80 cm) for welfare","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-toxicology/hamster.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hamster.txt","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."}