Hamsters are active and curious animals that get bored very quickly if their cage offers no variety. Hamsters appreciate different toys and opportunities to explore.

 

As hamsters are rodents and gnaw through their cage inventory quickly, it makes more sense to make the toys yourself than to buy them. This also gives the hamster new objects to investigate more often. One of their favourite toys are tunnels that they can crawl through and hide in.

Cardboard rolls are easy to collect, for example from empty toilet rolls or kitchen paper. The rolls must be large enough for the hamster to fit through without getting stuck. If you can't find rolls that are big enough, make the desired size yourself by rolling up a piece of cardboard and sticking the ends together. Be careful when using adhesives, as the hamsters could eat toxic substances. It is best to use some non-toxic adhesive tape or fold the ends into each other.

You can connect several tunnels together. Simply make one end of the tunnel slightly smaller and insert it into the larger end. For a more complicated tunnel system, you can cut a hole in the side of a tunnel and insert a tunnel into the hole so that the tunnel paths intersect.

A somewhat more robust tunnel can be made from PVC pipes, which can be bought as drainage pipes from DIY stores. The pipes should have a diameter of 70 to 100 mm.

Plastic toys and PVC tubes should be rinsed out once a week with hot water. Cardboard tunnels should be disposed of every fortnight at the latest, as the cardboard absorbs the hamster's urine and quickly becomes unhygienic.