Your hamster would love some toys to entertain them. Toys are a great addition to any hamster’s enclosure – some species will like climbing on little ropes and many will love burrowing into toy houses.
Whilst all species of hamster will like toys, they are especially beneficial for hamsters that must live on their own, like Syrian hamsters. Since these hamsters don’t have a friend to play with, they will rely more on their owners for entertainment. In this article, we will help you out with some entertaining hamster toys.
Hamster Toys
There are lots of different hamster toys to choose from, whether you want something that will allow your pet to wander around your house, something that you can use to play with your pet, or a something that will allow your pet to entertain itself when you’re not there.
Hamster toys are relatively inexpensive, but they can really enrich your pet’s life. To choose one that will provide the most benefit for your pet, think about what species of hamster you have and what they may be missing. Do they need an area to climb on? Have they got any tunnels? Have they got something to chew?
Different species may prefer different toys (Dwarf varieties love to climb), but also the size of your hamster can affect their toy requirements. For example, Syrian hamsters may need a larger toy than their smaller Roborovski counterparts – this is certainly the case with exercise wheels. Before you purchase a toy, it’s good to ensure that it’s built for your specific species of hamster. You don’t want your pet getting stuck in anything that’s not the right size or shape!
Although not a toy, as we mentioned above, the size of exercise wheel that you purchase should depend on how big your hamster is. For example, larger species such as the Syrian hamster will need a much bigger wheel than other species (about 20cm in diameter). If the wheel is too small, then they will be unable to use it, and so they are much less likely to get all the exercise that they need.
In the wild, lots of hamsters live in their own underground tunnels in order to escape the hot weather or any predators that may be out looking for them. All of these pieces of equipment will enrich your hamster’s life, some providing entertainment and some helping your hamster keep in good health. Which you choose may depend on the cage you have and the hamster you own, but in general the greater the variety of stimulation you offer your hamster the better.
Some hamster accessories include hamster treat dispensers (which can be fun mental stimulation for your pets), hamster chews (which are great for allowing your pet to regulate its own tooth length), and hidey holes. We have created a list of possible products below that you can use to make your hamster’s life more interesting.
- Hamster Chews and Gnaws
- Exercise Ball
- Rainbow Play Bridge
- Fruit Rollers
- Mobiles
- Play Pods
- Play Logs
- Food Sticks
- Chew Tubes
- Foods and Treats
- Mineral Licks
- Ropes
- A Hamster Wheel – hamsters should always have access to an adequately sized wheel.
Hamster Toy Ideas
There are lots of different ways to entertain your hamster, but you might want to offer them some toys to play with, especially if they must be kept on their own. In such cases, toys are especially important, as these animals require a little more entertainment and stimulation than those that can be kept with friends.
Some toy ideas include:
- Ladders and bridges
- Special climbing ropes
- Chews and Gnaws
- House toys
- Tunnels
- Tubes
- Chew tubes
- Hideaways
- Digging towers
Hamster Climbing Toys
Some varieties of hamsters really love jumping and climbing, particularly some of the Dwarf species. In the wild, hamsters would climb through tunnels or scramble through vegetation, and so they’ll really enjoy the chance to mimic that behaviour in captivity. It’s a very serious problem as it can prevent your hamster from eating. You might also want to provide them with a little rope close to the floor, or a small climbing frame. Be careful not to provide anything large enough that your hamster could hurt itself falling off of.
We provide a number of toys on the Omlet website, like the above – a cute little rainbow bridge for your hamster to clamber over. Some other options include:
- Low horizontal ropes
- Climbing frames
- Seesaw tunnels
- Perches
Hamster Tubes And Play Logs
Hamsters love tunnelling.
There are lots of different hamster accessories to select from, from mobiles to chews, to play logs to climbing posts. Your personal hamster will burrow into the bedding you provide them, but they’ll also really enjoy tunnels, play logs or chew tubes. Offering tubes, play logs or burrowing towers is vital if you don’t have enough bedding on the floor of your cage for the hamster to burrow into. Enabling nesting and burrowing is key to ensuring your hamster feels relaxed in its cage.
You can purchase stiff tubes, bendy tubes or wooden tubes, but remember to make sure that the material is safe for hamsters. Hamsters will eat anything and everything, and sometimes they’ll gnaw on things that really aren’t good for them! Make sure your toy is hamster-friendly before purchasing.
Another option is investing in a play log – these are fun little toys that your hamster can scamper in and out of and shelter in if they feel tired.
Hamster Gnawing Toys
There are lots of different chews and gnaws to pick from, but it’s a good idea to make sure that they’re safe for hamsters, as some types of wood are poisonous to a few small animals.
Your hamster’s teeth grow throughout their lives, so many owners take steps to prevent thier pet’s teeth becoming too long, such as by offering chews and gnaws. Hamsters kept in captivity can develop overgrown teeth, a condition that affects hamsters that don’t consume enough hard food for his or her tooth to wear down naturally.
You might find that your hamster climbs on its cage bars, or, if you have a Qute, then it’ll probably enjoy zipping up and down through the connecting tube. Providing your hamster something that allows them to wear down its own teeth can help prevent this problem, which is likely to save you money in the long run.
READ MORE: What Toys Should I Get My Hamster?