Build hamster toys yourself: 5 ingenious ideas

Hamsters are very intelligent and agile little rodents, which should constantly have sufficient employment opportunities.

The great thing is: You can make such hamster toys yourself!

In this article we tell you five ways to make inexpensive and fast great toys for your little rodent.

Especially the 5th idea has it really in itself!

Idea 1: Hamster toy made from toilet paper rolls.

This toy is very inexpensive, because everyone of us has toilet paper and therefore toilet paper rolls at home.

Instead of throwing away the empty toilet paper rolls, you can collect them and give your hamster a treat.

Especially dwarf hamsters and other small hamster breeds will have a lot of fun with the toilet paper tunnels.

Let your creativity run wild and combine the rolls with other toilet paper or kitchen towel rolls.

This way you can create a real tunnel system for your pet, which will certainly bring him a lot of joy.

However, be careful not to give your hamster toilet paper rolls too often in the enclosure, because the rolls are glued together with glue, which in larger quantities can be harmful to your pet.

If you only give your pets a few rolls to play with and gnaw on every now and then, it won’t have any negative effects.

Idea 2: Hamster maze made of cardboard (with flour glue!)

To build a hamster maze you need a larger cardboard box and some cardboard strips.

The cardboard does not necessarily have to have a lid, but your hamster will certainly be happy about the darkness, because the labyrinth automatically becomes a tunnel system.

Cut a hole 6 – 8 cm in diameter in the side of both short sides of the box.

These holes are intended for entry and exit.

Now grab the cardboard strips and use them to build partitions in the box, creating a maze.

Be sure to include dead ends to make the maze more exciting for your pet.

You can also cover the dead ends with another strip of cardboard as a lid so that they act as a house.

Do not use traditional glue to build the maze, as it can be harmful to your hamster’s health if your pet gnaws on the maze.

Instead, you can make your own flour glue, which is suitable for both cardboard and wood.
How to make flour glue for hamsters:

• Get flour, water and sugar, because you will need these three ingredients to make the flour glue.
• Put 435 ml of water and 50 g of sugar in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Meanwhile, you can stir 100 g of flour and 145 ml of water to a smooth paste.
• Then, add the slurry you just made to the boiling sugar water and let the mixture continue to boil for about two minutes, stirring constantly.
• Now your glue is practically ready! Take the pot off the stove, let the mixture cool (covered!) and your homemade flour glue is ready to use!

Idea 3: DIY wooden tunnel

The conventional wooden tunnels from the pet store have become too boring for you and your hamster?

Then get creative yourself and try your hand at an exclusive and individual hamster tunnel.

For example, you can make a slightly curved tunnel instead of a straight tube. Also vary the number and position of the entrance holes.

If you build several entrance holes, you can also put hay, twigs or branches in a few of them, which will make the toy even more interesting for your hamster and prevent boredom.

Make sure that the entrance holes have a minimum diameter of 6 cm, or even better 8 cm.

This is the only way to guarantee that your hamster can climb in and out of his wooden tunnel with full cheeks.

In addition, the thickness of the wood should be at least 1 cm, otherwise your hamster will gnaw his toy to pieces very quickly.

Process the wood in such a way that your animal cannot get splinters or even serious injuries from protruding wood splinters.

Idea 4: Bridge made of popsicle sticks (with flour glue!)

You love ice cream?

Perfect!

In the future, you’ll have even one more reason why you should eat ice cream: collect the wooden ice cream sticks until you have about 20 – 30 pieces.

Now you can start to build your hamster a wooden bridge out of these sticks.

In the first instance, make a flour glue that is harmless for your hamster.

Now put one stem after the other on top of each other, so that you have a kind of rung ladder in front of you.

Make sure that there are no real rungs, but that all the stems are close together.

Depending on how long you want your bridge to be, you will now need either four, six or even eight more stems, which you attach to the left and right edges of the bridge using the flour glue. In this way, you ensure stability.

Now your bridge is actually ready.

Use it to connect the roof of a house to a cork tube and watch your hamster as he carefully approaches the bridge.

Some hamsters need a little time until they dare to cross the bridge. This is perfectly normal. You can also make the whole thing easier for your hamster by building some sort of boundary with more wooden handles.

You can also build a movable bridge by attaching the stems to sisal rope on the left and right side instead of other stems.

This variant is only recommended for short bridges, because otherwise they are too wobbly and unsafe for your hamster.

Idea 5: Cardboard tunnel system

Make a cardboard tunnel system for your hamster by combining cardboard tubes with small, square cardboard cubes.

Build several cardboard cubes with a side length of about 12 cm.

The more cubes you make, the longer and more complex the tunnel system you can build.

Choose whether you want one, two, three or four entrance holes in the cubes and where they should be located. If you decide on two or three entrance holes, you should think very carefully about where you want to install the entrance holes.

Then connect the cardboard cubes together using kitchen rolls or toilet paper rolls to create a real pipe system.

Since you need a lot of space for this toy, it is not advisable to integrate the cardboard tunnel system into the enclosure. Instead, you can use the system to keep your hamster busy during free runs.

There is enough space in the run or even in a hamster-proof room of your home, so your hamster can let off steam and you don’t have to limit yourself when building the cardboard tunnel system.
FAQ – frequently asked questions

1. what makes a good hamster toy?

A good hamster toy will attract your pet’s attention and keep them properly occupied.

In addition, it is important that the toy is completely safe for your pet, which means that it cannot hurt itself or cause any health problems by gnawing on the toy.

In other words, it should be made of wood or cardboard, never plastic!

Furthermore, the use of conventional glue or glue should be avoided, there are very good alternatives (see flour glue in idea 2).
2 Which materials are particularly good?

Untreated natural wood is particularly suitable, as your hamster can gnaw a lot here and thus do something for his dental health.

In addition, hamsters are magically attracted to wood and can spend hours on it. So you can be sure that the toy will not get boring after some time.

Alternatively, cardboard is also suitable.

Keep in mind, however, that cardboard is gnawed much faster, so your toy may be broken after a short time – long-lasting toys made of cardboard do not exist!
3) Which materials do I have to avoid?

When making hamster toys, be sure to avoid materials like plastic or fabric. Both of these materials are harmful to your hamster’s health should he gnaw on his toy.

In addition, nibbled plastic is extremely sharp-edged, which can cause serious injury if your hamster swallows a plastic part or even accidentally scurries along the sharp corners of the toy.

Wool or absorbent cotton is also not suitable for hamster toys, as the risk of choking is particularly high here.

In addition, wool/wadding cannot be digested and can thus lead to blockages and ultimately to the death of the animal.

Glue and conventional adhesives – as well as painted wood or resin – should be avoided. There are other excellent and equally effective alternatives here.