Mary Allen
Hamsters are among the smallest pets. They also have very short legs. Nevertheless, they have a great urge to move. Plus, they’re curious and enterprising. A small cage offers the lively mouse animals far too little variety. Despite their small size, they need a lot of exercises. Wild hamsters travel several kilometers a day in search of food. The forage is collected and returned to the burrow in the cheek pouches. Our cute housemates also follow this instinct. It is therefore important to give them opportunities to exercise. You can find out what else makes your hamster happy in this post.
Hamsters feel really good in a nagarium. The term is made up of the terms rodent and terrarium. The Nagarium is derived from it and specially developed for small rodents such as hamsters or mice. It offers high walls made of wood and transparent acrylic or real glass, which gives you great insights. This creates a habitat for hamsters that are modeled on their needs from nature, with ample opportunities to dig burrows and tunnels. Hamsters love to dig their sleeping caves, other tubes serve more as a feeding chamber. Instead of a nagarium, you can also use a cage with a very high tub. It is important that you can provide your little friend with a thick layer of litter about 30 centimeters high in at least one area.
Offer Exercise and Variety
In addition, hamsters are real climbing masters and love to discover new areas in their homes. Much different employment and furnishing options are available in specialist shops, for example, play towers, bridges, ladders, or tunnels, with which you can design the rodent home in a variety of ways. They enable your hamster to lead a species-appropriate life. Even in nature, hamsters overcome numerous obstacles on their forays in order to reach their destination.
You can give the little runner an additional outlet grille for his daily jogging laps. This promotes his health and keeps him fit. However, you should also cover it at the top, otherwise, he will climb up the railing, down on the other side, and go for a walk in the apartment. If you put in a finished or self-made wooden maze, your hamster can occupy itself with it for hours – especially if you hide small chunks of food for him. A running bike that is firmly attached to the small animal shelter and is always available to the hamster is also well suited. Here the athlete can run to his heart’s content and also set a higher pace if he feels like it. The running wheel also serves to reduce stress, for example, if your hamster is frightened by a loud noise.
Pay Attention to the Optimal Size of the Wheel
The pet shop has many different models made of plastic or wood. In principle, wooden wheels are more suitable, as hamsters like to gnaw and even hard plastic can only withstand their sharp teeth to a limited extent. Particles that have been bitten off then end up in the stomach. Impellers that only consist of grids are unsuitable. Claws and feet can easily get caught in the mesh and injuries cannot be ruled out. The size of the impeller is also important. To keep the spine as straight as possible while running, dwarf hamsters need a running wheel with a diameter of at least 20 centimeters. A 25-centimeter wheel is recommended for a normal-sized golden hamster.
A running plate can also be fun for your hamster. Similar to the balance bike, he can also use this small animal toy for running. It needs a little more practice, however, as it can slide off the plate more easily. Therefore, you should place the running plate as centrally as possible and pad the area with plenty of litter so that the little guy lands softly and does not injure himself. The only way to find out whether your hamster likes a running plate or not is by trial and error.
Sand Bathtub for Grooming and Toys for Employment
The sand bath also provides a lot of useful activity. It is also used for daily grooming. A small bowl filled with chinchilla sand invites the hamster to wallow and turn in the fine sand. He clearly enjoys it and is really good for his fur. Foreign bodies, flakes of skin, or excess fat are washed out of the fur. This gives it its silky shine again and looks healthy and natural. Some hamsters even use the bath several times a day.
In addition to climbing, running, and exploring, hamsters also love to play. Their preferences are completely different. In principle, wooden toys are particularly suitable. It should be the size of the animal and suitable for hamsters or mice. You can test whether your hamster is clever with intelligent toys. Treats or chunks of food can be hidden in many toys. You can give this to your hamster to work with and see if he can get the coveted bits. Some fur noses are really bright and skilfully go to work.
Make Toys Yourself and Rearrange Your Home on a Regular Basis
You can also make toys yourself. Empty cardboard tubes from toilet or kitchen paper are perfect for filling. Hamsters filled with scraps of paper, scraps of fabric, or hay can spend hours getting the filling out of the rolls and using them together with the shredded cardboard tube to build their nests. Hamsters do not eat hay, but it is perfect for padding the sleeping cave.
Most hamsters also love hemp mats. You can just put a piece in his home and off you go. The mat is torn up and broken down into its components. Then the material is removed and used for upholstery. The cheek pouches help the little worker with the transport. You can also get hemp mats in pet shops and in different sizes. The natural material can be easily cut with scissors.
Every three to four weeks you should clean the hamster home and fill in new bedding. If you then put the furnishings such as bowls, houses, tunnels, bridges, or climbing towers back in, you can put everything in a different position. With this, you offer your hamster a lot of new things to discover and it will be busy for a few days digging new caves and exploring everything. You can also provide variety in between by moving around the food bowl and drinking bottle. So the hamster has to look for its food, as in the example of nature.
Conclusion: Hamsters tend to be loners and don’t need a social partner. In the wild, they are busy looking for food at night and during twilight and sleep during the day. When keeping the house at home, you should therefore ensure a meaningful occupation that keeps the lively little guy moving and prevents boredom.