by Chris Moon on 21/08/2009
Everything you should know about Hamsters. Happy Hamster Toys is full of information for keeping your pet hamster healthy and happy. There are tons of useful tips and advice on Hamsters and Hamster Toys. Join in and share your tips, advice, ideas and pictures of your hamster. For hamster lovers everywhere.
by Chris Moon on 26/01/2010
D
warf hamsters like exercise, and they love running. Here’s some ideas for hamster toys for your beloved pet.
There is plenty of choice available to increase your hamster’s fun while giving him or her needed exercise. Pet stores will have a wide variety of cages, toys, and wheels.
And your hamster will definitely need a wheel. It is known that they can run up to eight miles in a single night on these things, can you imagine that and with those small legs! But please make sure, if you have a dwarf hamster, that your wheel doesn’t have rungs. These not only hurt your hamster’s feet but can also, possibly, cause a broken leg if their foot slips between the rungs and gets caught.
Plastic toys are of course very popular. They are easy to clean, come in bright colors and very inexpensive plus they come in almost any shape or form. They can be bought online or at your local pet store.
Have you though about buying a hamster ball? I’ve always found them very useful and fun for your pet. And you can pop your pet inside while cleaning the cage, and they can get some exercise while you get the job done. They are invaluable!
And what do you do if you haven’t got much money? Try making homemade hamster toys! There are tons of things around the house which can be used, just make sure it isn’t toxic, you don’t want to give you pet stomach ache or even worse poison him or her. Try the cardboard center from a simple toilet paper roll. Hamsters love these and they’re free! You can also cut the ends off small soft drinks bottles and use them as tubes, perhaps even build a labyrinth for you beloved hamster. Cut the bottles with scissors very evenly and carefully sand the edges so there are no sharp areas. Put one bottle slightly inside the other and tape or super glue them together. It’s easy to make both long and short tunnels for your hamster to craw and climb in.
by Chris Moon on 02/12/2009
After deciding you want a hamster we need to look at hamsters cages. Which ones are good and which ones are not so well designed and then,what sort of equipment is needed.
Hamsters cages are the most important area in your hamster’s life. They form the framework and environment for our pet. There is a huge range of cages available but not all models make suitable hamsters cages. Read through this article and think about what you need before buying your hamster’s habitat.
How hamsters cages look is probably the least important feature nevertheless most people tend to choose a cage which looks nice instead of thinking of their hamster’s needs.
Hamsters Cages – Basic Model.

- Hamsters Cages Basic Model
The simplest hamsters cages are the type with a large plastic tray and a wire cage attached. The plastic tray is about 4 inches high at the sides forming a protective “wall”. This will help guard your pet from drafts and offer protection allowing him to build a little hideaway in the sawdust and hay. It will also help prevent the sawdust from falling out of the cage as your pet burrows through it!. These types of hamsters cages are very cheap and easy to clean.
The bars of the cage are also useful for attaching a hamster wheel and water bottle. Check that the spacing between bars is narrow enough to prevent your pet from escaping, especially if your getting baby dwarf hamsters. They’re tiny and very active!
I remember well when our two Dwarf hamsters Chip and Chap were small, they’d rush up and down the bars of their cage and even managed to cross the top by going “hand over hand” along the rungs using there small front legs! Very impressive and fun to to watch.
Hamsters Cages – with more advanced features.
Hamsters Cages with More Advanced Features
These are higher and contain a number of shelf like levels with ladders, tubes and ramps to enable your pet hamster to navigate from one level to the next. This means the living area is increased considerably without taking up more floor space. Plus there is the added advantage that your pet gets a more interesting habitat.
Check carefully that the shelves are securely attached and should be preferably offset from each other and overlap. This will increase safety for your hamster, if it should slip and fall it’ll only fall a short distance to the underlying level and not to the bottom of the cage. Hamsters love climbing but they’re not particularly agile and often fall so we want to make sure they don’t fall far!
Hamsters Cages – Super top model!
Hamsters Cages Super Top Model
These are newish design of hamsters cages and what is special with them is the levels are connected using plastic tubes and several cages can be joined together like this. In this way one can make a rather big, I’d almost call it “hamster town”. Containing plenty of different areas similar to the burrows they make in nature.
This is especially good for dwarf hamsters as you add more areas to their cage as the family grows.
On a practical note these type of cages are more expensive than something less flamboyant and can be difficult, or at least time consuming to take apart and clean. But you can start up small and expand Hammy’s habit as you like.
by Chris Moon on 17/11/2009
A great hamster toys as well as exerciser for your pet is the run-about or hamster ball. These are clear or transparent plastic ball with a secure, removable lid. The idea is to carefully place your hamster inside lock the the lid and put the hamster ball on the floor. As your pet moves around on the inside the ball will begin to move, and as he or she moves faster and starts running the ball will also move faster across the floor.
Hamster Toys - The Hamster Run-About or Hamster Ball
These are great for a number of reasons, they’re fun for your hamster, they’re safe and your pet gets a great work out! I can’t think of a better hamster toy for your pet. Your hamster gets the freedom of the lounge floor so won’t get bored while at the same time getting tons of exercise which is good for their health.
Finding the right size run-about or hamster ball is something to think about when buying. Your hamster will need enough room inside to be comfortable and move about easily but at the same time the ball shouldn’t be too large and heavy so your pet finds it difficult and tiring getting the ball rolling.
We once put our pair of dwarf hamsters in together in their run-about, when we first bought one. Thought it would be more fun for our pets to together. But they couldn’t decide to run in the same direction! which meant the ball moved a little one way and then a little the other way without really getting anywhere. We quickly saw our mistake and bought an extra run-about so they had one each.
These hamster toys are very safe for your pet. Made from tough durable plastic and easily washed and cleaned. However a little word of warning, don’t forget your pet, while watching TV or doing something else. They can wander far in a hamster ball and if you have any low standing furniture (chairs, sofa, sideboards etc.) their run-about can get wedged underneath. Also keep your eye on where the hamster ball is so it doesn’t get inadvertently kicked by someone coming into the room.
As said these are highly recommended hamster toys. The only problem we’ve ever had is a broken plastic catch on the lid, and that was my fault by closing the lid too forcibly and cracking the plastic. I personally prefer the clear plastic run-abouts but they can be bought in many different transparent colors.