How to Make Homemade Objects to Put in Your Hamster Cage

Hamsters are popular pets, especially as a first pet before people move on to pets that require more responsibility, like dogs and parrots. Hamsters do require care, though -- they need food, shelter, exercise and mental stimulation, among other things. Hamsters are nocturnal, so you might hear them playing in their habitats all night. There are many hamster toys in pet stores, ranging from basic hamster wheels to fancy multistory hamster houses, but some of the most entertaining toys can be made quickly from items you have lying around.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 paper cups
  • Non-toxic glue made of flour and water
  • Paper towel roll
  • Shoebox
  • Scissors
  • Bedding
  • Hamster treats, such as peanuts in the shell
  • Toilet paper roll
  • 1 foot of yarn or string
  • Paper bowl
  • Paper lunch bag
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put together a tunnel for your hamster. Cut holes large enough for your hamster to squeeze through in the bottoms of the paper cups. Glue the cups together, bottom-to-bottom, and place on the floor of your hamster's habitat. Use a flour-water mixture for glue, as this is a nontoxic and safer alternative to other types of glue.

    • 2

      Make a play gym for your hamster. Cut irregularly spaced hamster-sized holes in several places on a paper towel roll. Cut a hole the size of the end of the paper towel roll in the center of each end of a shoe box, so that you can slip the paper towel roll through both holes in the shoe box. Fill the box halfway with bedding, food treats, newspaper or anything else your hamster likes playing with.

    • 3

      Create a hamster swing by threading a toilet paper roll onto a foot of string or yarn, and then tying the string to the top of the cage so that the toilet paper roll hangs horizontally.

    • 4

      Build a hamster hideout. Cut a hole in a paper bowl and place it upside-down. Put bedding and chew toys under the bowl.

    • 5

      Make a hamster maze by gluing toilet paper rolls together in a winding maze pattern. Place peanuts in the shell throughout the maze for your hamster to find.

    • 6

      Place a paper bag in your hamster's habitat. Your hamster will likely love to hide in it, store items in it or chew it up.