Enrichment

Sprays are dried plants intended for your hamster to forage the seeds off of. They are a great option to provide your hamster with new smells and tastes, as well as the ability to forage and work for their food. Foraging is a natural behavior for hamsters in the wild. They can be placed upright into compacted bedding or hung from the top in a cage with bars or a mesh lid.

Sprays such as millet and oat can often be found in the bird section at pet stores. Other options to obtain sprays are through online marketplaces such as Etsy and Amazon. Sometimes online stores dedicated to selling bird and rodent feed also provide sprays.

Sprays include (but are not limited to): Wheat, Barley, Ride, Flax, Sorghum, Oat, Millet and more. Sunflower heads are also a great option.

Many seeds available in sprays tend to be high in calories, especially millet variants and flax. If your hamster eats the sprays too quickly make sure to limit them to a smaller amount at a time.

Besides the main bedding additional substrates can be offered for enrichment. Providing a variety of materials in dig / burrow boxes can stimulate your hamsters senses and encourage them to dig. This can be further enhanced by hiding food and treats in the substrate.

Dig boxes can be placed in the enclosure or in the play pen. We recommend offering at least 1 to 2 additional substrates for enrichment.

For a comprehensive list of safe substrates to use check out this page.

Dried or fresh flowers can be offered with the stem or just the heads / petals. Dried flowers with the stem act similar to sprays, providing clutter and coverage, while flower petals can be sprinkled around the enclosure and offer unique smells and tastes to your hamster.

A play pen can be any area or room offered to your hamster outside of the cage to roam, run around and explore. You can offer additional toys, burrow boxes, hides and a wheel in the play pen. Generally it should be larger than the enclosure and give your hamster the option to burn off some energy for a limited amount of time.

Safe play pen options can be a fenced off area or a pet safe room. Make sure there are no wires or toxic plants and your hamster cannot get stuck under or behind furniture. Barriers for a play pen can be purchased or DIY-ed. They should be of a solid material (no bars / wires) and at least 50 cm high so your hamster cannot climb or jump out.

It is advised to not let them roam in their play pen unsupervised.

Hamsters have a natural urge to chew, it wears down their ever growing teeth and gives them the opportunity to forage for nesting materials and food. Chew toys primarily serve the purpose of engaging the hamster in an activity to keep them busy and entertained. They are commonly made of wood and edible materials.

Chew toys can be purchased in pet stores or DIY-ed. Materials such as wood and roots can be collected from outdoors if proper cleaning measures have been taken. Some owners also like to purchase or bake hamster safe cookies which contain safe ingredients like buckwheat flour and their hamster’s preferred seed mix and treats.

Boredom Breakers are a sort of puzzle that can be offered to your hamster which rewards them with a treat or food upon solving it. There’s a lot of variety that can be purchased or DIY-ed. It’s not very hard to entertain your hamster, some easy DIY options are for example:

- hanging a chew toy or self baked cookie from the ceiling of the cage

- cutting a toilet paper roll into strips and putting them together to form a ball, with treats hidden inside

- hiding treats in a toilet paper roll and closing the sides by folding them over

You’ll find many easy instructions when looking online. Cardboard is a great material to DIY puzzles and mazes, as it’s safe for your hamster to chew on and easy to cut and bend into shapes.

Of course there’s also puzzles and mazes one can purchase in pet stores and online.