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Updated: November 13, 2023
Hamsters and gerbils are active, inquisitive creatures, as many pet parents know. Both companion species also have instinctual behaviors that need to be supported regularly to maintain their mental and physical wellbeing. These behaviors include:
- Exploring – Satisfy your little one’s need to discover by providing ample opportunities to poke in and around toys to forage for treats and food.
- Playing – Just like people, pets need to have fun! Fostering opportunities to play not only offers mental stimulation, but providing accessories that promote play helps you build a bond with your little one.
- Chewing – If chewing was a sport, small mammals would be Olympic gold medalists–especially hamsters and gerbils! Chewing helps wear down your pet’s ever-growing incisors, and providing enrichment allows them to engage in this important behavior.
- Hiding – Supporting your small pet’s prey instincts by strategically placing hiding accessories is a great way to make your hamster or gerbil feel safe and protected.
Supporting these behaviors is easier than you think. Here are our top 10 toys and enrichment accessories for hamsters and gerbils!
1. Run & Hide
Great For: Playing and Hiding
You can’t think about hamsters without thinking about hamster wheels. Wheels and saucers can be great for your hamster’s physical health, but not all wheels are equal in quality. We recommend using a non-metal wheel, and avoid wheels with spokes or holes in the tread in order to avoid gaps where your pet’s legs may get stuck and injured. Even better: switch to a saucer!
Our Run and Hide is not only a quiet alternative to noisy metal wheels, but also allows your pet to 1) run to their little heart’s content, and 2) hide when they’re tuckered out after a busy day. The Run and Hide comes in 3 sizes. Make sure to pick the right size for your hamster’s breed and size.
2. Apple Rounds
Great For: Playing and Chewing
Our apple rounds are the perfect small toy for those extra small pets. Made from high quality corrugate and untreated apple sticks, Apple Rounds are composed of 2 very popular safe-to-chew materials that hamsters and gerbils love. Just make sure to stock up on this favorite for those especially heavy chewers.
3. Garden Dig Box
Great For: Exploring, Playing, and Chewing
If your hamster or gerbil is needs a foraging puzzle, check out the Garden Dig Box. The Garden Dig Box contains a variety of interesting colors and textures to experience while they dig their way to concealed treats or fortified food. Plus, the woven balls included in the dig box provide the perfect number of larger obstacles to work around as they forage.
4. Burrow Box
Great For: Exploring, Playing, and Hiding
Hamster and gerbils are big fans of burrowing! The materials in our Burrow Box are perfect for digging, nesting, and creating tunnels within or outside of the accompanying box.
5. Timothy Hay Square
Great For: Exploring, Chewing, and Hiding
The Timothy Hay Square acts not only as a fun tunneling and chewing opportunity, but can also make a great hideout! Add a safe, species-appropriate nesting material to turn this into the coziest hideaway for your little one.
6. Customizable Play Place (small)
Great For: Exploring, Playing, Chewing, and Hiding
The small Customizable Play Place is the ultimate playground for your little one and can provide tons of fun supervised playtime! Made of safe-to-chew corrugate, you can customize the maze’s set up with its easy-to-assemble panels. The roof can be added to create the perfect hiding spot for your hamster or gerbil, or it can be removed when it’s time to retrieve your pet to place them back into their enclosure.
The Customizable Play Place can be used with or without the addition of other Enriched Life products. Rotating at least a couple of well-placed accessories in the play place can create novel and interesting enrichment opportunities for your pet.
7. Wooden Puzzler
Great For: Exploring, Playing, and Chewing
While this puzzle may be very large compared to the size of your hamster or gerbil, that won’t stop them from searching for morsels hidden underneath the wooden cups! The Wooden Puzzler is made from high quality, natural wood and provides ample opportunities to hide your pet’s favorite treats or fortified food.
8. Timothy Hut (small)
Great For: Chewing and Hiding
Every day can feel like a mini-vacation when you have a hideout this fun! Our small Timothy Hut is made from Timothy Hay and is safe for hamsters and gerbils to chew. As with all products, make sure that your pet is not eating their Timothy Hut in large amounts. If you find your pet is prone to eating their Timothy Hut more than resting under its roof, remove it and provide an alternative hiding spot.
9. Prime Cut Hay (check out the box!)
Great For: Exploring and Hiding
While it might seem a little odd that we’re recommending this product for hamsters and gerbils, hear us out: hay can be a wonderful, natural nesting material. And what’s better than a comfy nesting material packaged in a comfy box? Our new Prime Cut Hays are created with enrichment, foraging, and hiding in mind. We recommend supervising your little one with hay first to make sure that they are not consuming gratuitous amounts of fiber before offering it as a nesting material in their enclosure.
Pet Parent Tip
When your pet has used up the Timothy Hay in the Prime Cut Hay box, try a bag of our Oat Hay as a box refill. Oat Hay contains tasty, energy-packed seed heads that hamsters and gerbils love to munch on!
10. Celebration Cupcake
Great For: Playing and Chewing
Can you imagine having a cupcake the size of your body? We can’t either, but with the Celebration Cupcake you can make this a reality for your hamster or gerbil (sans all the frosting). The Celebration Cupcake is made from several popular chewing materials and will likely last a while even for the heavier chewers in your household. It’s also really cute!
Other Enrichment Options for Hamsters and Gerbils
Do you want more fun and enriching toys and accessories for your hamster or gerbil? View our full Enriched Life product line.
