Trixie Large Wooden Digging Tower for Pet Hamster, 25 × 24 × 20 cm

Product Information

Every hamster enclosure needs a running wheel – a plastic or wooden wheel with a solid running base is preferable, and these come in both free-standing models and space-saving models, which are secured directly to the wall of the cage. If you have a healthy budget and you would like to go all-out for your pet, you can certainly do that by providing a village of tunnels, spacious enclosures, and a variety of toys and climbing structures. Whichever end of the spectrum you fall on, your hamster will appreciate the enrichment for both his physical and mental health. Essentially, burrowing for wild hamsters is to negotiate terrain without rising to the surface. This helps hamsters avoid predator detection, including birds of prey, snakes, and desert mammals. High sided baking trays can help contain the sand and stop it getting dispersed through the rest of the substrate. If that’s not practical then big dog bowls can work. Hamsters are generally easy keepers, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get bored sitting in the same environment day in and day out. If you have a hamster, you will want to ensure that he or she is receiving the mental and physical stimulation necessary to thrive.

The idea is to enrich your hamster’s senses by offering a variety of materials in which he can dig. It should be a shallow container that is separate from your hamster’s traditional bedding – either inside of the enclosure itself or outside of it and used for supervised play.Substrate is the bedding material we put in the base of the cage for our pets to live on and dig in. For many common pet rodents like mice, rats and guinea pigs, the main thing we have to think about is absorbency of urine. However, in the wild, hamsters are adapted to live in dry, desert areas which means their bodies use water very efficiently; they don’t make a lot of pee, and their poos are dry pellets. Your best option is to search for an adequate enclosure online or, if you are crafty, to build one yourself. Having a large enough enclosure will allow you to ensure you have the ability to encourage two of your hamster’s natural behaviors: burrowing and climbing. One of the most common problems hamster owners face when their pets burrow is the matter of their hamster becoming “lost.” The word “lost” is in quotations because, much of the time, the hamster will still be in their cage even when their owner hasn’t been able to find them amid the heaps of bedding.

Hamsters, especially dwarf hamsters, can take advantage of and enjoy tunnel systems added to their enclosures. These are plastic tunnels, sold in pet stores and online, that come in a variety of colors and shapes. If a partition isn’t possible, you can create a secondary enclosure that facilitates their burrowing behavior. You will have to remove them from their cage to this second enclosure when you want them to have some quality burrowing time. This isn’t ideal, as hamsters should be able to burrow at their leisure, so consider finding a way to connect the two enclosures so that your hamster can burrow to his or her heart’s content. DIY Burrowing Boxes Using more than one substrate is the best way to create a digging environment that will provide good structure for burrows and textural interest for enrichment. Digging I also really love providing hay and/or straw. You can mix this in to give a bit more structure to the substrate, or you can just add a layer on top. It provides more depth in a less messy way, and nicely replicates hams walking through natural grasslands. Hay especially can make them smell really nice.Soft hay – hay is a great addition to any of the beddings above, and will help add extra structure and stability to your hamster’s burrows. The Journal of Ethology explains how a Syrian hamster in its natural environment will spend just an hour a day above ground, spending the remainder under the sand. To provide the sand in the cage, there are various options, including sand bath containers sold in pet shops. The best way is to section off a bit of the cage base and have a sandy area for walking in. You have plenty of options where it comes to setting up a specific burrowing area for your hamster. If his or her cage is large enough, consider the addition of a partition so that you may make one side more suitable for burrowing while keeping the other relatively unchanged.