Hamster’s love their toys and need them to live a fulfilled, engaged, and comfortable life in their enclosure. Luckily there are plenty of toys created specifically for hamsters, as well as engaging toys you can create from household items, including toilet paper rolls.
It’s important to give your hamster engaging toys to keep them active, both physically and mentally. Hamsters are very active critters and need items to keep them busy in their enclosure. Just imagine if you lived in a small enclosure and had nothing to do all day. Doesn’t sound fun, right? Well the same logic applies to your little furry friend.
In the following article, we’re going to cover the best toys for hamster, different types of toys, and how you can create engaging toys from items just laying around your house. If you want to skip to a specific section, use the links below:
What are the Best Hamsters Toys?
Hamster toys come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. Here are some of the most common types of toys that your hamster will love playing with each day:
- Exercise wheels: This is number one on the list because it’s probably the most well known and common toy and for good reason. Hamster wheels allow your furry friend to get the activity they need on a daily basis. Hamsters have a ton of pent up energy and a wheel is a great way for them to stay active and healthy in their enclosure.
- Tubing and tunnels: Tubes and tunnels are great additions to your hamster’s cage because they allow your hamster to hide, burrow, and explore their enclosure. Giving them more space to roam and hide is a great way to keep them feeling safe.
- Hamster balls: Hamster balls are plastic spheres that you put your hamster in so they safely explore outside their enclosure. It’s a fun way to interact with your hamster while they can explore more areas outside of their enclosure in a safe way.
- Chew toys: Hamsters like to chew things and they’ll chew on anything, including the bars of their cage, but that’s not always healthy or safe. That’s why getting specially designed chew toys is a great idea to keep their teeth healthy.
- Treat dispensers: Everyone loves treats, including hamsters and there’s no better way to get them the exercise they need as well as the engagement of a toy than by using a treat dispenser. These are typically available in any pet store or on Amazon.
- Climbing structures: As mentioned before, hamsters love to explore and giving them the ability to explore the more vertical side of their cage is a great way to keep them active and engaged. So try out some climbing structures to give some verticality to the exploration of their enclosure.
The best toys for hamsters keep them engaged, active, healthy, and safe. That’s why every toy listed above is a great choice if you’re looking to give your hamster a little more enjoyment in their daily life. But as always, be sure to watch your hamster when you introduce a new toy to ensure their safety and enjoyment.
Should I Get My Hamster a Chew Toy?
Chew toys are great for your hamster to play with because they keep their teeth from becoming overgrown, gives them something to do, and provides mental and physical stimulation.
Hamsters in the wild will chew and bite on just about anything to keep their teeth trimmed. This is because their teeth are constantly growing and the only way to wear them back down to normal levels is to chew on hard items and grind the teeth down. This is important for them to do because overgrown teeth may cause trouble eating and grooming.
However, hamsters don’t have the same branches and hard materials to chew on in their enclosure, so you might see them chewing on the bars of their cage. But these bars can contain paint and other materials that are unsafe for your hamster. That’s why chew toys are so important to the physical health of your hamster.
Chew toys will help naturally trim their teeth, as well as provide mental stimulation as they play with it. These toys come in a variety of ways, such as stones, sticks, and blocks. If you’re thinking about getting a new toy for your hamster or see them chewing on their cage and other random items, you should get them a dedicated chew toy.
Should I Get My Hamster a Climbing Toy?
You should get your hamster a climbing toy because they provide an outlet for their boundless energy, more areas to explore, and the ability to climb throughout their cage.
Hamsters love exploring and climbing, which makes climbing structures a great addition to their cages. These types of toys provide more verticality to their cage ultimately giving them more space to explore than just the floor of their enclosure. Not to mention these types of structures can provide mental and physical stimulation in addition to other types of toys.
There are lots of different types of structures, ranging from small box squares to large, intricate structures. There are ladders, ropes, tubes, boxes, and more. Just make sure to add a structure that will comfortably fit their cage. You want to provide more space to explore, but not so much that the cage becomes too crowded.
And finally, make sure that the structure is designed for hamsters. If it was built for hamsters it should be built from materials that are safe and non-toxic, which should be a priority for anything you add to their cage. You want to avoid any structures that are too big, too small, or contain chemicals that are harmful to your furry friend.
Do Hamsters Like Plush Toys?
Plush toys are good for hamsters, however they are not as popular as other types of toys, such as chew toys, climbing structures, or tubes and tunnels. You can get a plush toy for your hamster, but make sure to provide a variety of toys to see what they enjoy most.
Hamsters are naturally curious animals, very active, and like to chew on materials in their cage to keep their teeth trimmed. This makes plush toys a good choice to add as a new item for them to play with in their enclosure. However, if this is the first toy or item you’re getting, there are better choices, such as climbing structures or chew toys. This is because those types of toys are dedicated to specific hamster activities, such as exploration or gnawing.
Plush items are more of a general toy, but your hamster may enjoy carrying it around their cage and using it to build their nest or burrow. On the other hand, some hamsters may ignore them entirely, which is why it’s a good idea to test out multiple types of toys to see what your hamster enjoys most.
Hamsters need constant stimulation and items to play with and if you’re thinking of adding a new toy, a plushy might be a good option.
How to Make Hamster Toys Out of Toilet Paper Rolls?
Toilet paper rolls make great hamster toys because they are common, provide a hiding spot, and safe for your hamster. To make a toy for your hamster, all you need to do is place the toilet paper roll (without any leftover paper) inside their enclosure. That’s all!
Hamsters love cardboard and toilet paper rolls in their cage. For one, it provides a small tunnel and hamsters love those types of miniature enclosures to hide and walk through. Secondly, hamsters like to chew on materials and the cardboard in a toilet paper roll is the perfect material for them to do so.
If you want to provide a little more excitement than just 1 toilet paper roll, you can take multiple and combine them by placing one slightly inside the other to make a longer tunnel. Since toilet paper rolls are naturally short, combining a few together can give your hamster a longer tunnel for them to explore and hide inside. Just make sure not to use any glue, glitter, or other materials that can be harmful to your hamster’s health.
Toilet paper rolls are a great choice for your hamster’s enclosure and the best part is that are regularly available. So next time you finish a roll of toilet paper, toss it in your hamster’s cage and see if they enjoy playing and creating a nest with it. You may have just found their new favorite toy and cheap source of entertainment.
What are Other Cardboard DIY Hamster Toys?
Toilet paper rolls are the most common type of household DIY hamster toys, but others include wrapping paper cardboard tubes, small cardboard boxes, cardboard wheels, and more. Here’s a list of the most popular cardboard DIY hamster toys:
- Wrapping paper tubes: A wrapping paper tube is basically a toilet paper roll, but longer, which means you can give your furry friend a longer tunnel or cut it into various sizes and shapes to create a maze or other structures.
- Cardboard boxes: If you’ve received a deliver from Amazon or other package, you can take that cardboard boxes and create a little house or maze for your hamster to interact with in their enclosure. Get creative and just start cutting the box up to make something unique!
- Different shapes: If you have an extra cardboard box, you can cut it into a small or large circle and put it in your hamster’s cage. A circle is a unique shape that they can play with or move around their cage to create an extra space to nest. You don’t have to always create something extravagant. Sometimes just creating unique shapes out of cardboard is enough to provide mental stimulation in your furry friend.
And there you have it! Cardboard is great for hamsters to play with in their enclosure and if you can make it into fun shapes, that’s even better. Just make sure to watch your hamster when you put the cardboard in their cage to ensure they are safely playing with it and there are no issues.
Additional Reading
Toys are extremely important to provide for your hamster because it provides both mental and physical stimulation while they live in their enclosure. We’ve covered a lot in this article, but if you’re looking for toys or more related hamster content, check out the related sources below:
- Hamster Toys – Amazon.com
- Everything You Need to Know About Hamster Wheels – The Pet Property
- Hamster Toys and Cage Accessories – PetCo
- Common Questions and Answers about Hamster Cages – The Pet Property
Conclusion
And there you have it! Tons of products, ideas, and reasons to give your hamster they toys they need to feel engaged and active in their enclosure. Toys are so important for hamsters, so it’s important to give them at least 2-3 toys to keep them busy throughout the day or night when they’re most active.
You can buy toys from stores, such as PetCo or PetsMart, but don’t let the cost set you back. You can also create toys from household items, such as toilet paper rolls and other cardboard items.
Hamsters love to burrow, nest, hide, and run in their enclosure. Keep that in mind when choosing toys for your furry friend and remember to give them items that will keep them active and engaged.