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mikatelyn · 02-23-2019, 06:26 PM

I've had my hamster for over 2 months now, and here are the play area ideas we've tried:

1. Bath tub. This is our go to. I close the sliding doors, Hammie can run all over and I don't have to chase him down or watch him like a hawk because it is completely enclosed. I put a big pillow and a blanket down so it's nice and soft for me to sit on, and if he jumps off the edges of the tub it's a soft landing.

2. Commercially available small animal fence play pen. I do NOT recommend the 9 inch tall ones made for hamsters, at least not for a Syrian. My hamster figured out how to scale the fence within 2 play sessions.

3. ~18 x 18" Plastic tub or small (10gallon) aquarium. This is more for hand training. My hamster seemed to get bored of this quickly. Also, he figured out how to climb out of it pretty fast, using the toys I had in there for a boost.

4. Tent. We already had a tent for camping, so we set it up in our living room. Works great, is totally enclosed. You do have to watch to see if your hamster is nibbling a hole out of the tent. Luckily my hamster doesn't seem to be much of a chewer, so no probs on that front for me. Drawback: takes up a lots of space, kind of a pain to set up and break down regularly if you don't have a designated area for it.

5. Home made play pen. I had planks of wood from a disassembled shelving unit. I essentially set up a 3'W x 3'L x 1'H enclosure on the sofa and sat in it with the hamster. This was pretty good, but the hamster used me to launch himself over the wall, so you have to watch him pretty carefully.
I put a tarp down underneath so if he peed it wouldn't stain the couch.

5. Home made play pen idea from Serendipity7000 (Serendipity, I hope you don't mind I'm posting a link to your video!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=AvXJ-Jbo0CM
She used sheets of correx secured with clips to surround the hamster's cage, then just opens the door to the cage and the hamster can decide whether or not to come out. I really like the idea because if the hamster ever gets loose from the play pen, theoretically eventually it'll get tired and want to go home, so it might just go back into the cage to its nest on its own (so I've read in on threads related to escaped hamsters). I have an aquarium, so I can't quite do the same, but I'm considering building some kind of ramp system in and out of the aquarium into the play pen.

6. Some people free range their hamsters. I'm pretty sure I'd never see my hamster again, so I don't do that, but I suppose if you hamster proofed a room and made sure there were no cracks where (s)he could escape, and got rid of any electrical wires that it could get a hold of, that could be an option.

Hope this helps!

02-23-2019, 06:26 PM
mikatelyn Hamster Pup Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: AZ, USA Posts: 115	Re: Entertaining Hamsters... I've had my hamster for over 2 months now, and here are the play area ideas we've tried: 1. Bath tub. This is our go to. I close the sliding doors, Hammie can run all over and I don't have to chase him down or watch him like a hawk because it is completely enclosed. I put a big pillow and a blanket down so it's nice and soft for me to sit on, and if he jumps off the edges of the tub it's a soft landing. 2. Commercially available small animal fence play pen. I do NOT recommend the 9 inch tall ones made for hamsters, at least not for a Syrian. My hamster figured out how to scale the fence within 2 play sessions. 3. ~18 x 18" Plastic tub or small (10gallon) aquarium. This is more for hand training. My hamster seemed to get bored of this quickly. Also, he figured out how to climb out of it pretty fast, using the toys I had in there for a boost. 4. Tent. We already had a tent for camping, so we set it up in our living room. Works great, is totally enclosed. You do have to watch to see if your hamster is nibbling a hole out of the tent. Luckily my hamster doesn't seem to be much of a chewer, so no probs on that front for me. Drawback: takes up a lots of space, kind of a pain to set up and break down regularly if you don't have a designated area for it. 5. Home made play pen. I had planks of wood from a disassembled shelving unit. I essentially set up a 3'W x 3'L x 1'H enclosure on the sofa and sat in it with the hamster. This was pretty good, but the hamster used me to launch himself over the wall, so you have to watch him pretty carefully. I put a tarp down underneath so if he peed it wouldn't stain the couch. 5. Home made play pen idea from Serendipity7000 (Serendipity, I hope you don't mind I'm posting a link to your video!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=AvXJ-Jbo0CM She used sheets of correx secured with clips to surround the hamster's cage, then just opens the door to the cage and the hamster can decide whether or not to come out. I really like the idea because if the hamster ever gets loose from the play pen, theoretically eventually it'll get tired and want to go home, so it might just go back into the cage to its nest on its own (so I've read in on threads related to escaped hamsters). I have an aquarium, so I can't quite do the same, but I'm considering building some kind of ramp system in and out of the aquarium into the play pen. 6. Some people free range their hamsters. I'm pretty sure I'd never see my hamster again, so I don't do that, but I suppose if you hamster proofed a room and made sure there were no cracks where (s)he could escape, and got rid of any electrical wires that it could get a hold of, that could be an option. Hope this helps!