Enrichment/toys for my wee Scamp

[Hammyholic]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for some help/advice on the best toys or cage accessories for a robo. I've owned Syrians and hybrids so I have a LOT of large Syrian appropriate toys and a LOT of smaller sized ones for my little terrors that are my dwarfs but...my wee robo Scamp truly brings a new definition to the word tiny. He was very much unexpected and was an definitely an impulse adoption (of the best kind) - a trip for seeds never goes as planned I probably shouldn't be allowed in pets at home unsupervised!!

He lives in the Kerry terrarium, has a very deep layer of substrate (which he has a network of burrows in already), a large sand bath, 4 hides, a 4.5 silent spinner because he's soooooo small, cardboard tubes etc etc. I've tried to keep it as underwhelming as possible without having large open spaces (which is more difficult than it sounds) mainly because he was in a tiny enclosure before and is still very nervy. It will be a while before I change anything in his tank but does anyone have any suggestions re future additions ie what has and hasn't worked with regards to accessories, dos and dont's and things you regret buying? He's already turning out to be ridiculously addictive to watch but is still very unsure of me and given my experience is with hybrids and Syrians, I'm worried I'm missing something. I know I'm likely over thinking this and of course, I hope to build a bond and will obviously enrich his life with interaction outside the cage on his terms but I know robos can be "watch from a far" and so I want to make sure I'm covering all bases regarding his home - that and it's an excuse to buy supplies and/or get creative. Any help would be very much appreciated. I'll try to upload a picture of his current set up but he's out playing now and I don't want to freak him out by shoving the camera over his home!

[Pebbles82]

Hi - he sounds lovely! I'd love to see a photo of his Kerry with tunnel network! I'm thinking overhead cover in the tank maybe for enrichment - something like a platform he can go underneath. This Trixie one is quite good for deep substrate as it's about 21cm tall so can stand on the base of the cage and still sit above the substrate (depending on how deep your substrate is).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Natu...rixie+platform

If that wouldn't work with the deep substrate then another option might be something light on top of the substrate like a cork tunnel. Although these are large, it makes a kind of dark area with a roof inside the cage and something to climb over as well. They're not that cheap!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I7ZHA58?psc=1

It could make for interesting texture and hiding places above ground though Cork is usually pretty dusty and needs a bit of a wash usually - I also think freezing it for a few days first is a good idea to make sure there's nothing living in it, then giving it a good wash and letting it dry out.

You could give him a subterranean type labyrinth house instead of a cork tunnel or platform, if it didn't mess up his tunnels too much. Getzoo do a good one for dwarf hammies - I think Cypher has this one.

https://www.getzoo.de/getzoo-wohnlabyrinth-xl-xena.html

I don't know about other toys, but maybe a coconut shell stuffed with bedding, or other little hidey places like that on top of the substrate. I guess you can't have anything too heavy if the substrate is deep and he's tunneling or it could fall on him. So something like a labyrinth house would either need to be very near the bottom of the tank so he can't tunnel underneath it or you could do what I did with Charlie's labyrinth house and glue some dowels to it so it stands higher up and can be tunnelled under without falling over



That might work quite well because then it would sit on top of the substrate and not mess up his current tunnel system

You can hang toys from the roof of the kerry maybe that would give some roof cover and something to climb into - like a sputnik or a tube tied to the roof.

Or some of the toilet roll toys from this video

[cypher]

I know he may seem tiny but that wheel really is too small for him, a robo can easily run in an 8" wheel or even something bigger! I would avoid the silent spinners though as they don't work well & can be hard to spin for any ham.
The Karlie wonderland wheels are good for robos, they sometimes like enclosed wheels so a trixie wheel might work well but they can be noisy, it might seem a little mad but the 9" silent runner would work too, truly silent & spin so easily even a little robo could manage just fine!
You don't have a huge amount of space to fill in the Kerry so I would go for smaller simple things, one thing all of mine enjoy is just an egg box with a couple of holes cut out, it's a great place to hide food or treats & they love to have a dig around or hide out in those.
The seagrass tunnels work well for dwarf hams too, with the holes in them you can watch them running around & they often pop out of the hole to beg for treats.
You can do a lot with nothing more than bendy bridges, make tunnels, hides or ledges to climb on.
I think a smaller wooden house would be better in a kerry, I love that getzoo one but it would take up a lot of room & you may never see your robo again with a house like that to hide in lol!
If you want to look as far as buying german things then these houses are great for teeny weenies!
I agree coconuts make great little hideouts, all of mine dwarfs love them.
I think the greatest form of enrichment is scatter feeding, it gives your ham something to keep busy with & they enjoy hunting out their food, it also encourages them to come out more & stay out longer which is great for you too!

Serendipity I don't know about syrians but the idea with the labyrinth houses for dwarfs at least is that they should tunnel underneath them! It's best to just put the house on top of a few inches of substrate & let them sort it out for themselves, it's not a good idea to put it directly on the base of the cage (they will still try to tunnel underneath & that way it is possible they could hurt themselves) & being small they wouldn't need legs on it like you've done.
Those kind of houses aren't too heavy on top of substrate & they don't fall over or on to them, they easily tunnel around & find their own ways in & out!

[Pebbles82]

Good point about the house being large for the Kerry Egg box sounds like a great toy! I was trying to imagine what a teeny weeny would like lol.

I'm with Cypher over the wheel. As I understand it, anything smaller than 6.5" is too small for any hamster. With the deep substrate maybe a flying saucer would work best - I believe they are good for robos.

[CMB]

Small cardboard boxes with food/treats/veg or bedding in so they chew the cardboard to get to what's inside. Cardboard tube from kitchen towel or toilet rolls can make fun tunnels. You can cut holes and join them together to make a mini maze. Scatter feeding is a good way to keep them busy.

A Sputnik at ground level is a nice hide.

[Hammyholic]

Thanks for the replies I really appreciate it and for going to the trouble to post links!! The 4.5 was a typo, meant to put 6.5 inch... Was posting from my iPhone and must have hit the 4 by mistake but rest assured he has a 6.5in wheel - I promise!! Didn't even know they made them that small tbh he seems to whiz on the wheel no bother and I've got a flying saucer so may add that in but I've been looking at the silent runner for a while now - think I saw a review on here - so if that's recommended as being easy for them to move its a definite option. Great shout about the egg box Cypher, I hadn't even considered because Oreo my hybrid wasn't enamoured...she's all about her wheel. He has 2 coconut hides and a bendy bridge but I like the look of the rodipet hides and was looking for an excuse to put an order in so will probably do that. I've also got a couple of those log tunnels that have holes cut out of them (the ones that are attached to climbing frames but are too small for Syrians and a lot of dwarfs), I wonder if he'd like that???

He truly is teeny weeny and has the most adorable "old man" face. Can't wait to get to the point where I can take his picture. I'll no doubt figure out what he likes and doesn't like as I have with my other hammies which is part of the excitement I guess

Cage wise, once he's settled, would you suggest getting bigger? I really love the Kerry and it worked well in the past with my elderly rescue dwarf (now playing at the rainbow bridge) who became really introverted in the detolf but maybe it'd be an idea to consider a larger cage for Scamp in the future. I'm in the process of house hunting and my detolf sadly came to a sad ending but if I find the right house...

Better make use of what's left of daylight and do the outdoor pets... But thank you again for replying!! Serendipity, I love what you've done to Charlie's labaryinth house and might need to steal that idea for my Syrian Muffin. I'm always looking for ways to keep her happy...she's a bit of a princess.

X

[cypher]

The 6.5" silent spinner is fine, is it an older one? I have some which are good but the new ones don't seem to work generally so I'm just being curious really!
He probably would enjoy the silent runner, they seem to like the enclosed wheels a lot but if he's happy with what he has maybe just leave him be & see how he goes as he gets older, maybe even a tiny bit bigger!

The logs with holes in are fine but I don't know which climbing frame you mean & some really aren't very safe, do you have a photo or link to that?

I think the Kerry is perfectly big enough for a robo tbh, I doubt he would need anything bigger & it sounds as though he has plenty to do & enjoy in there already.

If you get tempted to do a rodipet order (I find it so hard not to lol!) have a look at these tubes only a small little addition but mine enjoy them for climbing & nibbling, these little houses are great too as an extra hide/climbing thing/nibble thing all in one!

[Hammyholic]

OMG. Those little houses are so cute. How did I miss them?! They've now been added to my list, along with the tubes. Haha, there's no way I'm going to resist the temptation much longer. Just wanna make sure that I have everything I want and not do that "I should have got that too" thing hehe. Re the wheel, it's an older one, I've had it for quite a while tbh and found it in a box of hamster things I'd packed away before I went to uni. Completely forgot I had that stuff but was pretty delighted when my dad pulled it out of the garage. I know there was a problem with them being stiff but I've got one of the newer ones for Oreo and touch wood, haven't had a problem!

I'll see how he goes with the Kerry. I love it (when I don't have to move it lol) so it'd be nice to keep it in use and if it's not, it'll bug me and i'll feel the need to move a newbie in and the cycle will begin again haha!!

I'm gonna go have a wee hunt for the log thing, I'm sure it was attached to a climbing frame my OH bought for Muffin (we're convinced she should have been a sugar glider) but I remember it being rubbish quality and we never got to use it but I did keep the tunnel... And possibly the wood top thinking it'd be good for a mini DIY platform lol! Off for a hunt. I'll let you know what I end up buying from rodipet, think I'll put my order in tonight thanks for the suggestions on the house/tubes

[Ceretrea]

Good old cardboard boxes and tubes. Half buried or all above ground, you can modify them how you want and change it every time. Large carpet roll tubes can be obtained from your local carpet shop. Usually for free. You can cut these to length and then again in half if needed.

The Trixie wood logs with holes in go down well too.

[Pebbles82]

I agree that climbing frame toys often aren't safe If you have an old Silent Spinner it's worth keeping! It's a good size for a robo and they've had a manufacturing change in the last year and people are finding they don't spin sometimes and are too hard to push - so your old one sounds good!