Toys and games for hamsters

Hide a few seeds in the bedding, in a tube, or in a crumpled piece of paper.

Then watch. A hamster can smell a seed from far away.

This is how wild hamsters find dinner. It makes Potato very busy and very happy.

• Tube tunnel: cardboard tubes from kitchen roll. Cut a few windows in them.
• Digging box: a box filled with clean paper bedding or hamster-safe soil.
• Chew pile: untreated wood, dried flowers, a bit of hay.
• Egg-box puzzle: a seed in each cup, closed with a bit of paper.

Only use clean cardboard with no tape, no shiny print and no staples.

You may have seen hamster mazes in videos. Some are fun to watch. Some are not fair on the hamster.

Potato's rule: a hamster must always be able to leave. No traps, no doors that close, no water, no scary noises.

Open courses with walls he can climb over are fine. He decides where to go.

• Hamster balls. He cannot stop, cannot drink, and bumps into things.
• Fluffy cotton "nests". They can hurt his tummy.
• Wheels with bars or a tiny wheel. Feet get stuck, backs bend.
• Plastic tubes that are too small. Big hamsters get stuck.