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Old 03-10-2017, 08:57 AM   #1
LittleBear
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
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Default Hamster Enrichment

Hi, my family and I purchase our first hamster. He is a black bear Syrian, approx 5 weeks old. I am just curious about toys, enrichment and entertainment that you guys may have had success with. Little Bear runs on his wheel a lot and doesn't seem interested in chewing, climbing or really anything else for that matter. His cage is a little small at 13" x 17" with two small upper levels (he is a little bitty thing now though so I don't think he is cramped yet) but I've got a 40g breeder tank that I'm slowly introducing him to. It's in a new room with a lot more activity so I don't want to just throw him in there. Anyway I would really appreciate suggestions. I'm open to store bought and diy toy ideas. Also being that he is new & young I'd appreciate any advice on taming him so he enjoys being handled as he is still a little timid. Just FYI we've had him two weeks today and I spend a little time with him each day just moving things around and tidying his cage while he's in there so he gets used to my hand. I also will gently pet him for a few seconds while he eats or drinks water and I give him a treat twice a day. (Just wanted everyone to know what I'm already doing)Thanks guys!
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Old 03-19-2017, 04:42 PM   #2
Naomi27
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

Hey! I've also just bought a Syrian hamster, my baby girl really enjoys her crinkle tunnel and digging tower. Maybe yours will too? She also has a lot of hideaways and enjoys looking for the treats I put in those. Maybe this will encourage your hamster to explore and climb more too
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Old 03-19-2017, 05:10 PM   #3
Drago
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

Hello and welcome, and congrats on little bear! I've always loved that name for a Syrian.

Unless he's not super confident, there's really no issue with upgrading him now so if that's what's holding you back, I wouldn't let it be too much of a concern! However, there's no need to rush into things either so don't feel too pressured to get a larger enclosure right yet, but be aware that little ones grow fast and become bored very quickly which can lead to destructive behaviors. Plus I'm sure he'd appreciate the extra space. For stimulation, I would recommend getting a variety of toys for climbing, chewing, and hiding in. There are many natural wooden huts, bridges, and mazes that can be purchased online and I have found that these are a HUGE hit with my hamsters (and other small rodents) so it's definitely worth investing in. I'll leave a link to some examples below. You can also add old household items like tissue boxes, egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, ceramic mugs, and other snack boxes for your hamster to hide in and play on. Like mentioned above, tunnels are appreciated greatly (shoot for flexi-tunnels and seagrass ones not crittertrail tunnels) Another important thing to add is something know as a "brain toy". These are stimulating toys that improve the mental capacity of your hamster and help develop problem solving skills, plus they're excellent boredom busters. One example is a toilet tube stuffed with non-perishable treats and then blocked off with tissue so that the ham must remove the tissue or shred the tube. Another example is an old Starbucks or recycled paper beverage holder flipped over with treats hid under each "cup hole" then your ham must shred the holder or flip it over somehow to reach the treats. There are also lots of little DIY things you can create for your hamster which I will also link below Something else that I find my hams absolutely adored, were sand baths. Partition a section of the cage/tank off with a bendy bridge and fill it with chinchilla sand (not dust) and let him have a blast in there. Dig boxes are also very fun for hamsters and offer lots of enrichment by allowing them to carry out natural burrowing behaviors! Check out the DIY section of the forum for lots of ideas on toys, and instructions on how to make Popsicle stick huts and other similar projects. Enjoy your time with little bear. Best wishes



(https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LY...l+hamster+toys)
Hut

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...3cL&ref=plSrch)
Dig box

(https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001L...cyL&ref=plSrch)
Tunnels

(https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005O...8YL&ref=plSrch)
Sand

(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk2O-9X0XwM)
DIY playground

(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NuPeyD6w-CI)
Recyclable toys
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Old 03-19-2017, 06:30 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

I think you are doing all the right things for Little Bear Gradually introducing him to the tank. It will be more familiar for him when he moves over. But sometimes just a couple of times playing in it is enough for them to feel familiar.

I found our syrian wasn't interested in toys, climbing or chewing things either. He was interested in cosy places and would only chew things that had food stuck on them! I think for enrichment, different levels, variety, places to go, things to do and somewhere dark to hide are the main things. Plus cover. As in not too much open exposed space, especially over their heads.

With a cage it's easy to hang things from the roof and put shelves in, whereas tanks can be a bit more exposed above. They feel more secure I think with plenty of cover, but there are different ways of achieving that.

The big bonus of a tank is you can put a lot of deep substrate in and that is about the best enrichment you can give. I would also suggest putting a platform in - they like something to sit under and climb up onto and often groom sitting on a shelf.

Toys like large tunnels and plenty of hidey places go down well. And a good climbing thing can be a sandblasted vine branch, if you can find anything like that. Leaning up against a platform it can be another way up to the platform, plus something to sit under. Cardboard is always good for floor toys - they can chew it or pull bits off to take to a nest, and it can provide hidey places. eg a tissue box or egg box, kitchen roll inner tubes slit down the side (so they expand and the hammy can't get stuck).

Reptile stores also sell large cork logs - they can fill a lot of floor area and provide an interesting texture to climb over and a nice big dark tunnel to run through.

I think a big house goes down well as well. You could make one out of a shoe box. Cut the bottom out and a hole in the front for a door and keep the lid as a lift-off roof. So you can check inside without taking the house out and so the nest doesn't fall apart. I found our hammy built huge nests when he had a big house and also moved his pee corner inside to the end opposite the nest, so I moved his potty litter tray inside his house. It worked well. I just lifted the house roof off and emptied the potty tray about once every 5 to 7 days). If you put a bendy stick bridge over the house door it also makes it nice and dark inside. They need somewhere dark to retreat to sometimes. The flat roof of a large house can also make another platform for a food bowl maybe and the bendy bridge tunnel over the door can make a ramp up to the roof.

Other hidey places our Syrian liked were - a coconut shell/hut (check the hole is big enough for a Syrian, a ceramic salt pig (it was supposed to be sandbath but he chucked all the sand out and filled it full of paper substrate and made it cosy!), and he liked sitting under his shelf.

So basically - fill it up - with big things if necessary And put 20cm (or 30cm even) of substrate in and press it down well. This will use a lot of substrate when you first fill the tank, but after that you won't use that much, especially if he uses a litter tray, as you can mainly spot clean - the bottom 2/3 tends to stay dry - and then only need to do a "big clean" every 2 to 3 months or even longer.

I found Erin's Hamster's cage cleaning tips video really helpful. Basically the more substrate you put in, the less you use And it avoids stress for the hammy. When you do a substrate clean you can throw the top 1/3, put the bottom 2/3 in a bag, wipe the tank, put the bottom 2/3 back add 1/3 new and mix it in so it smells familiar. Then clean toys on a different week, and the wheel on a different week again. That way something always still smells familiar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww
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Old 03-19-2017, 06:39 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

PS!

You can make a platform out of a piece of wood and dowels for legs. Or some people use Ikea Knuff magazine racks to make platform (put Knuff Hamster shelf in google and click on images). If you have deep substrate you have to be careful about heavy things on top that could sink on the hammy if he tunnels under them (and he may well dig some tunnels with deep substrate ). So heavy things could go on the shelf. Cardboard and cork are ok. I had a large wood house so I took a tip from the germans and stuck some dowel legs on it so it sat on top of the substrate and he could burrow underneath it without it subsiding. The other alternative is to have it as a subterranean house (ie burried under the substrate up to roof level and a tube down to the door or just channel out some substrate down to the door) but you need a house with a lift-off roof for that to work really.
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Old 03-19-2017, 07:23 PM   #6
Cotton
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

There's a great book, Homemade For Hamsters. There are a lot of easy, inexpensive projects to make for hamsters and many of the materials are common, household items.
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Old 03-19-2017, 08:00 PM   #7
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

Keep in mind even a 40 gallon breeder isn't always big enough for Syrians.I'd honestly recommend transitioning to that and then an expanded bin system(square meter plus in floor space with direct connection,no tubes as those won't count as floor space).

Enrichment alone isn't always enough to satisfy a hamster,just like a square meter cage with minimal enrichment wouldn't be appropriate either.You need a combination of both,even if it means going twice the size of a 40 breeder if not more with a massive amount of enrichment and lots of hiding places.However,you must transition slowly into any cage and a lot of people fail to do this.This makes people assume hamsters don't like big cages,when in reality they're pretty much never properly transitioned or the cage just doesn't have enough cover for them to feel safe.With any cage change you need to allow a settling period as well,which will also impact how a hamster reacts.Just because a hamster is already fairly tame doesn't mean you should completely change cages and then handle them immediately after,as this would increase stress and they'd not feel as secure as if they were allowed to settle
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Old 03-20-2017, 06:28 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

As Amityville says, some hamsters need masses of space! A 40 gallon breeder is a good size though and I think most hamsters would be very happy with that.
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Old 03-20-2017, 06:53 AM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Enrichment

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cotton View Post
There's a great book, Homemade For Hamsters. There are a lot of easy, inexpensive projects to make for hamsters and many of the materials are common, household items.
Ooh! Off to check that out!
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