Bringing home a small pet like a rabbit, guinea pig, hamster or gerbil is exciting, but making sure they have a comfortable and safe living space is essential for their health and happiness.
Small animals may be tiny, but they still need a well-planned environment that allows them to rest, play, eat and explore.
If you’re new to caring for small pets, this guide will walk you through everything you need to set up the perfect home for your small pet.
Your pet’s enclosure is the foundation of their home. The size and style you choose should depend on the type of small animal you have.
Rabbits and guinea pigs need plenty of space to move around, stretch out and stand upright. A spacious hutch or indoor enclosure is ideal, especially if it includes separate areas for sleeping and feeding.
Smaller animals like hamsters and gerbils can live comfortably in cages designed specifically for them, with multiple levels or tunnels to explore.
Our range includes a variety of cages, hutches and runs designed to provide safe, comfortable homes for small pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and rats. Our collection features durable indoor cages and spacious outdoor hutches, made by trusted brands, with designs that are easy to clean and built to keep pets secure while giving them plenty of room to move and explore.
Whether you’re setting up a habitat for a new pet or upgrading their current enclosure, this range offers practical and reliable living solutions for small animals.
Here are a few of our best sellers…
The Ferplast Multipla Large Hamster & Mice Cage is a spacious and modular habitat designed to give small rodents a comfortable and stimulating living environment. With a generous living area of around 0.52 m² spread across multiple levels, the cage allows hamsters or mice plenty of room to explore, climb and play.
It features transparent walls for easy viewing, a deep base ideal for bedding and burrowing, and comes equipped with accessories such as ladders, a house, bowl, drinking bottle and exercise wheel.
The Sky Pet Products Hamster Play Pen is a simple and practical accessory that allows your hamster to safely explore and exercise outside of its cage. Made up of eight panels, the play pen can be arranged to create a secure area where your pet can move around freely while staying contained.
Each panel measures approximately 34 × 23 cm, making it easy to set up a small play space for supervised playtime. It’s an ideal way to give your hamster extra stimulation and activity while keeping them safe and secure.
The Ricky Rodent 100 Cage is a spacious and secure home designed for small pets such as hamsters, rats and other rodents.
Measuring approximately 100 × 60 × 64 cm, it provides plenty of room for pets to move around, explore and express natural behaviours. The cage features a sturdy moulded plastic base and coated wire construction, offering durability and good ventilation while keeping pets safe.
Different pets require different bedding, but it’s important to provide all small animals with a cage lining and nesting materials to provide them with the best in hygiene and comfort.
Good bedding absorbs moisture, controls odours and creates a cosy space for resting. From wood shavings, hay and straw for rabbits and guinea pigs to paper and fibre bedding for hamsters and mice, we aim to stock everything you need at The Pet Express.
We also stock a range of high quality wood shavings and sawdust, all produced specifically for use in pet cages.
Popular bedding options for small animals include:
Bedding should be replaced regularly to keep the enclosure clean and prevent bacteria build-up. A clean environment helps reduce the risk of health issues and keeps your pet feeling comfortable.
Carefresh Confetti Small Pet Bedding has been designed in order to keep your animals dry, warm and safe. It is highly absorbent and soft, absorbing 3 times its own weight.
Great for the homes of ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, mice, rabbits and other small mammals, this comfortable bedding is 99% dust free and made from 100% reclaimed natural fibre.
Small pets need constant access to fresh water and nutritious food.
Most owners use a combination of feeding accessories such as:
Hay is especially important for rabbits and guinea pigs because it supports digestion and helps maintain healthy teeth.
Placing food and water in accessible but clean areas of the enclosure ensures your pet can eat comfortably without contaminating their living space.
With our food range from the biggest brands, you can be sure that you can come back time and again to make shopping for your pet easy. With an easy-to-browse site and all the information you need, shopping for your small pet has never been easier.
Small animals are naturally curious and active, so enrichment is essential to prevent boredom.
They spend the bulk of their time inside their cage or hutch, so it’s important that you provide them with opportunities to exercise and keep occupied when you are unavailable to play with them.
Toys and accessories can help encourage natural behaviours like chewing, hiding and exploring. These activities keep pets mentally stimulated and physically active.
Great enrichment ideas include:
Rotating toys occasionally can help keep things interesting for your pet and encourage continued play.
Here are a few of our favourites…
The Small ‘N’ Furry Carrot Throw Toy is a fun and engaging toy designed to encourage natural play in rabbits and other small animals. Made from durable, non-toxic materials, this colourful carrot-shaped toy is ideal for tossing, chewing and carrying, helping to keep pets active while providing important mental stimulation.
This toy is a great boredom-buster that promotes exercise and interactive play, making it a simple way to enrich your small pet’s environment and keep them entertained.
The Chew N Play Cardboard Log is a fun and engaging chew toy designed for small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and other rodents.
Made from natural cardboard, it satisfies your pet’s instinct to gnaw while helping to keep their teeth clean and healthy. The hollow design allows owners to hide hay or treats inside, encouraging exploration and preventing boredom while providing hours of enrichment and play.
The Kapok Build-A-Hut Toy is a fun and interactive hideaway designed for small pets such as hamsters, gerbils and other rodents. Made with soft kapok bedding and easy-to-assemble packaging, it allows owners to quickly create a cosy hut where pets can hide, rest and explore.
The packaging folds into the toy itself and is produced using recycled materials and vegetable-based inks, making it safe for pets to chew while encouraging natural nesting and burrowing behaviours.
Setting up the perfect home for your small pet doesn’t have to be complicated. By choosing the right enclosure, providing comfortable bedding, offering nutritious food and adding enrichment toys, you can create a safe and happy environment where your pet can thrive.
Whether you’re preparing for a new rabbit, hamster or guinea pig, having the right supplies makes all the difference.
Explore our Small Animals range, here at The Pet Express, and find everything you need to build the perfect habitat for your pet.
