Table of Contents Hide
- 1. Get a small exercise wheel
- 2. Add some interactive games and toys
- 3. Put some soft wood blocks in your hamster cage
- 4. Include plenty of nest boxes
- 5. Add a bulky layer of sawdust in the bottom part of the cage
- 6. Decorate your hamster cage with accessories
- 7. Put a fancy food bowl in the cage
- 8. Keep the cage in a calm and quiet place
- 9. Clean the cage on a regular basis
- 10. Place a metal spring clip on the cage door
Hamsters make for excellent pets, and these cute little things love being in their cages provided that they are taken good care of. But staying in a simple cage can get boring for your beloved pet. To spice things up, you can include various interesting things in your cage to keep your hamsters entertained and active all day long. Given below is a list of the top 10 ideas you must implement to make your hamster cage awesome.
1. Get a small exercise wheel
Just like human beings, hamsters too want to move and shake their legs once in a while. For catering to this need of hamsters, all you have to do is to set up a small exercise wheel in their cage. Ensure that the wheel has a sturdy plastic bottom, and it does not contain spaced rungs. It is so because hamster feet can get stuck in the rungs. You can also add a hamster ball if you don’t find hamster wheels in nearby stores as both make an excellent choice for your pet’s exercise.
2. Add some interactive games and toys
You can incorporate interactive games and toys in your hamster cage to entertain your lovely pet. Hamster toys come in various shapes and sizes. Nesting boxes come as igloos, animals and cottages. There are wooden bridges, tree-shaped tunnels as well as miniature castles. You can choose whatever fits your theme, or anything that you find interesting. Always remember that hamsters need a lot of recreational space, hiding places, tunnels and climbing walls to have fun. Here are some more ways you can make the lives of your hamsters livelier.
● Create a maze with plastic tubing
You can also add a maze for your hamster to spruce things up. There are many plastic tunnels available online and in nearby pet shops. Also known as habit rails, they join to create pathways between the nests, houses and tanks.
You can even make your own maze at home. For this purpose, you will need different types of parts like straight pieces, curves and ramps. You have to arrange and snap these together to create an awesome DIY maze for your hamster.
● Attach a hammock
You can also buy a hammock and hang it in your cage. It should be made from nylon and not from fleece or cotton or there are chances your hamsters might chew through it. Also, make sure that your hamster is able to climb onto it with ease. Since these hammocks are known to make hamsters happy, it would be an ideal purchase.
● Make DIY ladders
Another fun thing you can do is to make is a ladder for your tiny pets to climb. These can be made using popsicle sticks. You have to gather 4 popsicle sticks, cut two sticks in half and smooth down their edges. Then, you can use a non-toxic glue to join the sticks and form the ladder. Make sure that there’s a small gap between the rungs as well. Hamsters love climbing and giving them these ladders will help them a lot to carry out their day-to-day exercise regime.
● Paint a flower-pot nest
You can also add a hand-painted flower pot nest for your little hamsters. It should be small enough to fit into the cage, and also large enough to house your pet as well. You can paint the nest with eye-catching colors to double the fun. Furthermore, try not to put stickers on the nest, as hamsters can eat those in a short span of time.
3. Put some soft wood blocks in your hamster cage
Hamsters love to chew and gnaw things, out of natural instincts, and they do this solely to grind their teeth down. Keeping this special trait of hamsters in mind, you can put some wooden blocks in their cage. In addition to wooden blocks, you can include other things like walnut shells, wooden balls, rolled oats etc. These things will not only make your hamster happy but will also make your cage look a lot more beautiful.
4. Include plenty of nest boxes
Hamsters are nocturnal, which means that they sleep most times of the day and become active at night. So, make sure that you include plenty of those cozy nest boxes in their cage. These should be made of robust material that cannot be chewed. Give them plenty of safe nesting material to fill their box with. Shredded white kitchen rolls or cloth-based bedding materials are excellent. But ensure that you don’t use shredded newspapers as the ink on it can be harmful for hamsters. Also, don’t give your hamsters cotton wool at any cost. It can cause dangerous blockage in their stomach if they eat it, and it can also get wrapped around their legs. These nest boxes not only make your hamster feel more comfortable, but they also increase the overall charm of your hamster cage.
5. Add a bulky layer of sawdust in the bottom part of the cage
As we all know, hamsters love to dig so it is extremely important that you place a bulky sawdust layer deep under the bottom of the cage. You must line the base of your hamster’s cage with either sawdust or wood flakes, depending upon your choice. These can be made of pine, which is cheap and easily available as well.
6. Decorate your hamster cage with accessories
● Choose a theme
Before you start decorating your hamster cage with your favorite accessories, try to think of an interesting theme. Some people decorate their cages with holiday themes while others stick to simple color patterns. Based on your preferences, you must pick a unique theme for your cage.
● Hang a pic in inside your cage
You can add some extra beauty to your cage by hanging a picture of a landscape on it. The picture should be as wide and tall as the cage. You can pick a suitable scenery taking into consideration the current theme of the cage.
● Use markers to paint on tank walls
If you have an aquarium-style cage, you can draw various interesting designs or write notes on it. Ensure you use a dry marker and draw on the outer side of the glass so that the drawings can be easily erased with a damp cloth later on. You can also place stickers instead of drawing on the glass.
7. Put a fancy food bowl in the cage
You can also put a fancy food bowl having ravishing designs and bright colors. It should preferably be made from heavy ceramic since it is chew-resistant and sturdy simultaneously. You will not face any difficulty finding fancy food bowls around your place as they are available at most supermarkets. Above all, ensure that you keep your hamsters well-fed. Also, hook a water bottle onto the cage so that your little pets can quench their thirst after consuming their daily meals.
8. Keep the cage in a calm and quiet place
One of the biggest mistakes that hamster owners make is that they place their pet’s cage in a noisy place . This is something that can be detrimental to both the mental and physical health of hamsters. If you want your hamsters to be happy, make sure that you keep their cage in a quiet and calm surrounding. Avoid keeping your cage in a busy room where there is a lot of commotion, as loud noises tend to stress out hamsters.
9. Clean the cage on a regular basis
Another important thing you need to keep your hamster cage’s shine intact is to clean it every once in a while. Droppings and uneaten food have to be cleaned daily, as well as the damp spots of urine. It is fine if you wash your hamster cage once in a week. But make sure you clean food bowls and replace the bedding regularly. Maintaining cleanliness is important as it helps improve the overall health of your hamsters. And it also ensures that no foul smell or fungus develops in the cage.
10. Place a metal spring clip on the cage door
Check the doors on your cage to make sure they are secure, as hamsters are good at sneaking out. You can place a metal spring clip on your cage’s door to add an extra level of security. If you happen to have a cage with multiple levels, see to it that there is not enough space for your pet to escape. Since hamsters excel at escaping from their cages, you need to keep the cage tightly locked at all times. Strengthening the security of your cage is imperative because your little hamster can fall prey to other animals if it escapes. There is no denying that hamsters are some of the loveliest animals that you can bond with. If you want your hamsters to lead a long and happy life, you must care for them in the right manner. We hope that the aforementioned ideas will work wonders for helping you style up your hamster cage so that it becomes more awesome.
