Enrichment

An appropriate living environment is important, not only in preventing your hamster from showing undesirable behaviours and aggression, but also in encouraging them to show their natural behaviours. Hamsters are highly motivated to actively interact with their surrounding environment. Thus the more enrichment that you can incorporate to the cage, the better your hamster’s living environment can be.

In the wild, hamsters dig burrows with several chambers where they can toilet, sleep and store food in separate areas. Therefore the cage should have enough space for them to perform these activities, to provide enrichment and to permit a range of behaviours, including exercise, foraging and digging. The cage must be large enough for your hamster to rear up on its hind legs as this is a natural exploratory behaviour for hamsters.

Bedding can provide a cushioning surface your hamster can walk on and should be deep enough to allow them to express their natural digging and hoarding behaviours. Hay or paper products are best avoid cotton, fabric or woodchips.

Foraging is natural hamster behaviour. This can be elicited by scattering or burying food items in the litter rather than only providing feed in a container. You can also make a special foraging box for out of the cage fun.

The incisor teeth of hamsters grow continually and need to be ground down constantly. If not your hamster may experience dental problems. Healthy teeth can be encouraged by providing your hamster with chewables such as cardboard tubes, wood blocks, sticks and hay.

In the wild, hamsters are solitary animals and they spend most of the time underground. A shelter allows them to hide from their enemies or other hamsters and should make your hamster feel more secure and be less aggressive. The shelter can be as simple as small cardboard boxes and cardboard tubes where your hamster can climb on, hide inside and build nests.

Hamsters love exercise so providing a running wheel for them is fun for both you and your hamster. If running wheels are provided, the wheel floor should be solid in order to avoid injury.

Sand baths. Some hamsters love to use a sand bath, others don’t. It seems to be a very individual choice. They are not necessary.

Providing your hamster with an enriched living environment is good for their health and is more fun for both you and your hamster.

Thanks to Vivien Li for her help with writing the Enrichment section.