How to Stop a Hamster From Getting Bored

As a good hamster guardian, you want to make sure your hamster is happy and healthy. The first item you should purchase for your pet to combat boredom is a wheel. Hamsters run very long distances every day and need a wheel to keep in shape physically and mentally. Playing with your pet is another way to keep your hamster from getting bored. Although hamsters are solitary by nature, the more you handle and play with your pet, the more docile she will become. You can make inexpensive toys from cardboard toilet paper rolls, small wooden blocks or even use craft sticks to make a simple agility course. Use your imagination, but be sure any materials you use are non-toxic to your hamster.

Things You'll Need

  • Toilet paper roll
  • Scissors
  • Hamster treats
  • Wooden rectangular blocks
  • Non-toxic hot glue
  • Wood dowel
  • String
  • Craft sticks
  • Wooden log toy
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Instructions

    • 1

      Buy a hamster wheel. Hamsters can run up to five miles every day, making a wheel an absolute necessity.

    • 2

      Create treat balls from cardboard toilet paper tubes. Cut one tube into six pieces. Insert one piece inside of another to make a ball shape. Continue in this manner until you have used four or five of the pieces. Slide one piece aside and fill it with hamster treats.

    • 3

      Build climbing toys for your hamster. Small rectangular wooden blocks work well for this. You can make stairs and a platform by stacking the blocks in a stairway pattern four blocks high, lining up four blocks in a row and then building another four-block stairway down the other side of the platform. Non-toxic hot glue can be used to hold the blocks together. Another example of a wooden toy is a treat tower. Stand one block up vertically. Glue a small dowel horizontally onto the top of the block with hot glue. Hang a treat on a string from the dowel.

    • 4

      Play with your hamster every day. Hand-feed her, take her out of the pen and cuddle with her. The more you socialize your hamster, the tamer she will become.

    • 5

      Build a hamster agility course. You can use craft sticks, a small wooden log toy and non-toxic glue to build a teeter-totter. Craft sticks and glue may also be used to make an inverted-v climbing apparatus or a jump. Surprisingly, hamster owners who have made an agility course for their pet say the hamsters seem to enjoy them as much as the owners like watching.