Exercise For Your Hamster

Like all pets, hamsters need exercise and entertainment to maintain their physical and mental health. An exercise wheel allows hamsters to run full speed to their hearts' content, but is not as mentaly stimulating as more elaborate enclosures including additional toys such as plastic or wooden tubes that somewhat mimic the burrows that they might have in the wild and allow their owners to enjoy their activities. Most commercial exercise wheels marketed for hamsters have rungs which are not suitable for hamsters due to the fact that a hamster could get injured in one.

Clear plastic hamster balls or cars are available, into which the hamster is placed and then, by its own action, explores an entire house or yard. Use these toys only under supervision and use common sense. Unsupervised hamsters in these toys can become trapped against furniture and panic or they can rol down stairs, injuring themselves. Do not leave them in these toys for extended periods, especialy on warm days, and make sure to remove them frequently and allow them access to water or fresh fruits or vegetables. Toys should always invite the hamster to explore and use them at its own will, without forcing or violence.

If they are handled frequently, hamsters enjoy being out oftheir enclosures and having the opportunity to explore. However, they must be kept away from holes in the wall or in large pieces of furniture, because they will seek out the dark and burrow-like confines of those areas and it can be dificult or impossible to convince them to come out again.