Ideas for a hamster playhouse

[KynraWindrunner]

I love my hamster so much but I dont really take him out of his cage for very long cause he's just too squrimy for me to hold on to and I hate just leaving him in his cage all day, so I'm making a playhouse out of cardboard for him and I need ideas of what to make for it. Maybe like a theme or just some fun things to add on to it, so far I've got a giant box with some tubes and a house in it.

Anyone wanna help make this a good fun playground for my hammy?

[Kalanzyne]

A hamster could eat through cardboard in a short time so it would be best to keep a close eye on them if you make it out of cardboard. As for a theme anything you like would be fine. My suggestion would be lots of tunnels/hidey holes so that they don't have a lot of open ground to run over.
It might be best to get a hamster ball and put them in that for a while every day. My wifes syrian absolutely loves coming out to go into her ball and rolling all round the house.
What kind of hamster do you have? How old is he?

[Karathyriel]

Way back in time when I had hamsters, I did this:

Since it was to be a fun place for my Timmy and not for me, I took an old, leaking fish tank. It was huge, about 350 liters.
I got me some earth (fertilizer free) and rough sawdust (not the fine powder-like stuff) and mixed it together.
Then I filled the fish tank with the stuff but left enough space so my hamster couldn't climb out of it.

True, there were times when I only saw him twice a week, when he came out for food but he seemed to love it. I did add half a flowerpot (terracotta) for him as a shelter and from there, he started digging.

It was awesome.

Although my hamster used a "bathroom corner" which made cleaning pretty easy, you'll have to clean out and do it from scratch, from time to time. Don't worry. He loves digging and his food supplies aren't important as long as you keep bringing new food.

[KynraWindrunner]

@Kalanzyne: Well I have a thing he can run around in but it's not a complete circle...so he can only go in two directions, frontwards and back lol and I'm planning on watching him the whole time he's in there. He's a Teddy Bear hamster and I think he's about 10 months old I think. And thanks for the ideas ^.^


@Karathyriel: I have a cage for him with a few tunnels for him to run around in, it's one of those Habitrails things (which is supposed to be the best) I could go to the local pet shop and buy a few more tubes an add ons but I just don't have that kind of money, hints why I'm making it out of cardboard lol I've never had any fish so I don't have any kind of tank like that =[ but can I ask what else you made for his cage?

[Acherontia]

One thing I do for my pet rat, especially since her sister passed away and she's lonely, is something I found off some random website.

You can get a box, small enough to fit into the cage or big if you want to supervise playtime. Then get bits of toilet paper, paper towel, newspaper, old socks, cardboard tubes, empty paper cups, tissue/wrapping paper, or any other clean paper "trash" products you may have around. Lay bits of healthy food (peanut butter THINLY spread on cookie/cracker, vegetables, fruits, seeds or nuts, etc) in the various pieces of paper and twist them up. Some pieces of paper should be empty, too, and you can have a couple loose pieces of food as well. Then mix it all together in the box and watch the hamster spend hours of active time rooting around in his new 'wastebasket!'

If it's small enough to fit into his cage, he'll spend a ton of time untangling the paper pieces, finding all the food bits, stuffing his face and carrying it all to a corner of his cage, most likely. It keeps them busy for awhile!!

Edit: on very hot days, another trick I found online: fill a tupperware or very short-sided container with a small amount of cold water, and sprinkle in bits of frozen food--vegetables from those pre-frozen boxes or bags are best, such as frozen peas or carrot bits, broccoli etc. They will keep busy AND cool off fishing out all the cold bits of food from the water.

[KynraWindrunner]

@Acherontia: Thats the best idea I've heard yet! Thanks a zillion for your ideas, I'm sure he'll love to do that ^.^

[zedxrgal]

Honestly your best bet is to buy a hamster gym on eBay. They're dirt cheap. That way it's safe for you small friend.
Never underestimate the beauty of a hamster wheel and /or ball either.

[KynraWindrunner]

Lol thanks, I'll look into that hamster gym. Hopefully it is something cheap and quick that I could buy for him cause those tubes for his cage are actully really expencive (like around 13 bucks just for two more little tubes) I really don't think it's worth it

[zedxrgal]

I pre priced tubes on eBay and the cheapest was about $2.50 per tube some being $7 for a two pack. One person on there had five or six tubes for $15.
So for about $20 you could make one serious hamster hotel.

[KynraWindrunner]

Well thats the cheapest ive heard of so far. Thank you very much for your help.

Thank you everyone ^.^