While hamsters are easy to take care of, they are also incredibly smart. If you do not provide your hamster with enough entertainment, they will grow bored. When this happens, hamsters are more likely to attempt an escape. How do you keep a hamster entertained?
The best way to keep a hamster entertained is by providing them with complex toys and exercise equipment, as well as by interacting with them yourself. The toys and equipment you provide them with should be alternated to hold their interest.
Keep reading to learn more tips about how to keep a hamster entertained.
Contents
Enhance Your Hamster’s Environment
When your hamster is constantly exploring their cage, toys, or playing with you, they are getting the stimulation they need to stay happy and content in their habitat. You can enhance your pet’s environment in the following ways:
Provide Enough Bedding
Hamsters need their bedding to be at least two inches deep so they can burrow and dig. If your hamster’s cage has a deep bottom, you will not have to worry about their bedding spilling through the bars of their cage.
Two inches is merely the minimum amount that hamsters need, so feel free to provide them with even more bedding if you wish. Do not use cedar or pine bedding, as these often generate toxic fumes.
Give Chewing Materials
A great way to keep your hamster happy is by giving them a few things to chew on. Hamsters’ teeth are always growing, and they are inclined to chew to wear down any excess length. Be sure to give them different materials every time you clean their cage so they can enjoy a variety.
Pumice, seagrass, and hay cubes are all good options. You can also get chewy treats for your hamster at most pet stores, although some of these are a bit too sugary, so be mindful of the ingredients. If you bake soft branches for about an hour on low, they can have these, as well.
Hide Food for Foraging
Be sure to put some of their food in their food dish, but you can hide the rest of your hamster’s food in their bedding or in toys like tubes to prompt them to forage for it. Doing so is not cruel by any means—foraging is a natural behavior for hamsters, and they like the challenge.
Although you can hide treats like this as well, it is important to provide your pet with a healthy diet, so treats should be limited. Your hamster will be satisfied in searching for their healthy foods, so give them pellets and vegetables more often than not.
Provide an Exercise Wheel
Exercise wheels are a primary form of exercise and entertainment for hamsters. Solid plastic wheels are much better than any sort of metal wheel, as hamsters can get caught between the bars of a metal wheel and break a limb.
You can also get noiseless plastic wheels, which will allow your pet to run without driving you crazy in the middle of the night. Keep in mind that even the exercise wheel should be removed from the hamster cage for a day or two sometimes so your hamster does not lose interest.
Switch Interactive Toys
All sorts of complex toys are available to keep your hamster entertained. Some cages come with tubes or puzzle houses. You can also buy or make your hamster a maze, which will delight and occupy your pet for some time. If you choose to make a maze, cardboard is the easiest material to use.
Another excellent interactive toy is a ball. These allow a hamster to roll all over the house and explore areas that are largely unknown to them. It is also a great form of exercise for them.
Never give your hamster toys that are designed for children, as they may attempt to eat them. Remember to switch out their interactive toys to keep them interested in them all.
Play with Your Pet
Interacting and playing with your hamster is a great way of keeping them entertained and bonding with them at the same time. Hamsters will come to know your voice and your scent. Letting your hamster crawl around on your hands lets them safely explore and strengthen their trust in you.
Playing with your hamster also prevents them from reverting to wild behavior, which would require retraining.
Conclusion
Hamsters are delightful and intelligent little creatures. They may be tempted to escape and explore if you do not provide them with enough entertainment. Thankfully, there are many ways to do so, including playing with them and getting them interactive toys.
Keep in mind that hamster toys should be switched out every so often so they do not get bored. This will also keep you from having to continuously buy new toys.
