Hamster toys do not have to be expensive or complicated, but they do have to be species-appropriate and safe. The point is that your rodent can keep himself busy in the cage and enclosure. The nice thing is that many exciting toy ideas for hamsters can be made with just a few simple steps and almost free materials.
Hamsters are curious and lively – so they need plenty of employment opportunities in the form of home furnishings and toys – Shutterstock / Ilyashenko Oleksiy
When it comes to hamster toys, the rule applies: the more variety, the better. In order to guarantee your curious fur nose, who is willing to exercise, a busy everyday life, you should always offer other toys. Make regular changes to the hamster’s environment, but it’s best to avoid making big changes.
Hamster tunnels made from toilet paper rolls always work
It’s as simple as it is ingenious: tunnels made from unwound kitchen or toilet paper rolls. You always have the material for this hamster toy at home. Instead of throwing the rolls in the paper trash, you can easily build tunnels filled with paper or hay. Glue these to a wooden floor with non-toxic (!) glue, for example, and fill the inside with some hay, paper or fragrant greenery. The alternative to cardboard tunnels are wooden tubes, which you can buy in pet shops or make yourself with a little manual skill.
There are more ideas for cardboard tubes in the video, where you can see how to make a hamster ball and a hamster seesaw yourself:
Make your own shoebox labyrinth for hamsters
An exciting labyrinth requires a little more handicraft work, but can also be set up in no time at all. Take a couple of shoeboxes – four, for example – and connect them to the side walls using kitchen or toilet paper rolls. To do this, cut round holes in the walls of the boxes for the entrances and exits and glue the rolls on as “bridges” over or through which your rodent can then scurry. Be sure to provide multiple exits from the shoebox maze so your hamster inside doesn’t panic. The same applies here: Only ever use non-toxic glue when fixing the labyrinth elements to the floor. Tip: To make the labyrinth attractive, you can temporarily store some rooting and building material (e.g. hay) in the shoeboxes and hide a reward or two.
Hammock: Make a chilled hamster toy yourself
For a hamster hammock, all you need is a cotton cloth and some clothespins or ribbon. Use the clothespins (or ribbon) to secure the cloth to the ceiling of the hamster cage at all four corners. Very important: the chill-out toy should only swing slightly above the ground. Hamsters cannot estimate heights and would possibly injure themselves if they climbed out of a hammock that was installed too high. Also make sure that the construction is really solid and that the cloth cannot come loose at a corner as soon as the rodent jumps onto the hammock. You will see how much fun the hamster cheek has dangling around.
Buy hamster toys in specialist shops
If you do not want to make hamster toys yourself, you can of course also fall back on a wide selection in pet shops. From the hamster playground to the digging tower to playhouses and crackling caves, there is everything a rodent’s heart desires. When buying, make sure that the toys you choose have been tested for safety and do not contain any toxic substances. After all, hamsters will gnaw on everything that gets between their teeth.
For even more ideas on how to keep your hamster busy check out the video below:
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