DIY Hamster Toys – The Best Creative Homemade Hamster Toys

DIY hamster toys are a great, low cost way to keep your hamster active and entertained.

It’s important to use hamster-safe materials, and to supervise them regularly when using home made toys.

Don’t forget that hamsters love to nibble on things, so anything you make must be non toxic.

And that they are tiny and agile, so you don’t want anything that could fall on them!.

DIY hamster toys can be anything from homemade chews, to houses and ladders.

Some of the best building materials include cardboard boxes, toilet roll tubes, wooden popsicle sticks, and non-toxic glue.

So, let’s have a look at how to create the best DIY hamster toys for your little friend!

Why Make DIY Hamster Toys?

If you have hamsters at home, you know how much fun they are to have around.

They are sweet, playful, and good-natured little critters.

But, just like other pets, they need toys to help them stay active and busy.

If you’re like me, your first instinct might be to run out and buy toys for them.

• Best Hamster Toys
• Hamster Chew Toys
• Cool Hamster Cages

But before you do, why not consider saving yourself some money by making your own DIY hamster toys.

Homemade hamster toys can be fun to make.

And you can use stuff you already have around the house to do it.

Once you know how to make them, replacing toys is easy too!

Choosing Supplies

It’s important to make sure any supplies you use are safe for hamsters to play with and possibly ingest.

As hamsters love to chew on things!

Here are some great materials to get your going:

• Cardboard
• Toilet roll tubing
• Popsicle sticks
• Fruit tree sticks
• Small plastic tubs
• Plant pots
• Drain pipe
• Legos
• Shredded paper

Start by looking around the house and checking in the recycling!

See if you have empty cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, wooden popsicle sticks and non-toxic glue.

You can even make your own DIY non-toxic glue. Just mix equal amounts of white flour and water.

If you have these items lying around, you’re in great shape.

If not, you can purchase some of these items at the local craft store. Or simply wait until you accumulate some!

Once you gather these items, you can start putting together fun homemade hamster toys.

DIY Hamster Chew Toys

Hamsters definitely need chew toys to keep their teeth healthy.

Unlike human teeth, hamster teeth grow constantly.

And they keep this growth in check through gnawing.

Wood is commonly given to hamsters for them to gnaw on, which helps keep their teeth from overgrowing.

When giving them wood blocks or sticks, make sure they are untreated and unpainted.

Fruit sticks are ideal.

Alternatively, you can give them dog biscuits (without garlic) or tubes from paper towel rolls.

Here are some DIY hamster chew toys that your hamster will love.

DIY Hamster Chew Sticks

Here is an idea for DIY hamster chew toys. You can make chew sticks for your hamster.

All you need is wood skewers, white flour, water and scissors.

• First, cut the wood skewers into 3 inch pieces.
• Mix 1:1 ratio of white flour and water to make non-toxic glue.
• Then dip or brush the skewers with the glue mixture.
• Stick together five pieces of them.

Allow them to fully dry overnight before giving it to your little hammy.

Homemade Chew Ball

You can make an interesting chew ball for your hamster using toilet roll tubes!

You don’t even need glue for this chew toy.

• Take a tube and chop it width-ways into 5 equally sized rings.
• You will only need 3 of these, but cutting it into 5 gives you the right size.
• Take one ring and push it inside the other to make a sphere.
• Then, do the same with a third ring, pushing it inside the other two.
• Once you’ve done this, you will have a sphere or toilet tube pieces, with slight gaps in between them.

If your hamster doesn’t seem to like this, you could even fill it with treats, like sunflower seeds, or mealworms.

You can experiment with this toy by cutting rings in different sizes and putting more of them inside one another!

DIY Hamster Toy Wheels

Hamster wheels are a great DIY hamster toy that gives your hamster fun and exercise!

Pet stores have lots of options when it comes to wheels. But, a lot of the wheels you can buy are actually really noisy!

Here is a homemade version you might prefer.

Container Tub Wheel

All you need for this DIY hamster wheel is:

• A circular plastic tub without a lid
• 3 wooden strips for a stand (2 longer pieces, and 1 shorter piece)
• A bolt
• 3 nuts
• 2 screws

Arrange one of the longer pieces of wood and the shorter piece into a ‘T’ shape for the base of the stand.

Secure these together with a single screw.

You can use non-toxic glue, but this might not be strong enough to support the wheel and your hamster.

Your next long piece of wood will need to stand upright on the other long piece.

It will be at a 90 degree angle to the short piece!

Attach this with another screw, or non-toxic glue. This will form the stand for your wheel.

Now for the Wheel!

Now, take your container, and drill a hole in the middle of its base.

This is where your wheel will attach to the stand.

You can then position your wheel on the stand, to make sure there is enough space for it to spin.

Drill a hold in the upright wooden piece that aligns with the hole in your tub.

Put the bolt through the hole in your tub, and secure this with a nut on the outer side. Make sure it is loose enough to spin.

Then, push the rest of the bolt through the hole in your stand, securing it with another nut on the back of the wood.

The bolt should have a nut on either side of the wood.

If you have a wire cage, you can position this against the wires so that your hamster won’t try to chew on the metal bolt.

DIY Hamster House

Hamster houses come in lots of different forms in the shops.

But such a huge variety can be overwhelming.

Making your own DIY hamster toy house can be cheaper, and a great way to express your love for your hamster.

Here are some great ideas.

Popsicle Homemade Hamster House

You can make a DIY hamster house by gluing popsicle sticks together to form a house.

But, make sure to use non-toxic glue such as a 1:1 flour to water paste.

The essential elements to include are:

• A stable base
• Four walls
• A roof

Make sure that there’s a doorway or two for your hamster to run in and out of the house.

You can get really creative with this house!

You could add windows, and even some cute details to make it your own.

Paper Mache Hamster House

Another great, easy way to make a DIY hamster house uses just paper, water, and a jar.

This is so easy, even young children will love making this house.

Use clean paper that has no ink on it. Nibbling on paper with ink can be harmful for your hamster.

• Simply wet the outside of the bowl or jar that you are using.
• Layer strips of your paper on the outside until it is completely covered in the shape you want.
• Leave the paper to dry overnight, and gently remove your jar or bowl in the morning.
• If it is hard to remove, you can slide a popsicle stick down the sides to loosen it.

Once you have your paper mache shape, you can cut out a door, and fill it with bedding for your hamster to use!

Using a Balloon

Lots of people like to use balloons when creating a paper mache shape.

However, you won’t be able to stick paper to your balloon with water alone.

You can use the non-toxic glue recipe we looked at earlier if you would like to use a balloon to make your shape.

Removing the balloon is easier than removing a jar or bowl, as you can just pop it!

But, whatever you use, make sure you layer your paper thick enough for a stable house.

Plant pot Hamster House

Small squared plant pots can make brilliant hamster houses too.

Use a hand saw to cut an opening in one side, and turn it upside down.

Sand around the edge and there you have it!

A hamster house.

These hamster houses are great because they are cheap, or even free if you

have some laying around the back yard.

Just be sure to use one that has fairly sturdy walls and doesn’t splinter.

DIY Bedding

You can make your own homemade hamster bedding to fill up the house you made, too!

To keep your hamster comfy in his cage, you need bedding that is safe, clean, absorbent, and doesn’t contain much dust.

You can use dry, single-ply toilet paper or tissue paper to make hamster bedding.

Just tear it up and stick it in your hamster’s living space.

Hamsters love burrowing and tearing apart these pieces of paper, so make plenty of it.

DIY Hamster Tubes

One great DIY hamster toy that your little pet will love is tubes!

DIY hamster tubes can be better for your hamster than store bought plastic tubes, because they do not need to be cleaned regularly like plastic tubes do.

Once they are a bit worn, you can just replace the DIY hamster tubes with spares or just make new ones.

Toilet Roll Tubes

Paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls make excellent hamster tubes. They are cheap and easy toys to make.

You can cut holes in the tubes and stick your hammy’s favorite treat in there and watch him go.

You can also push the tubes together and cut corners at different angles so your hamster has multiple places to run.

Drain Pipe

Sawn off sections of small diameter drain pipe are another great choice.

Make sure they aren’t coated in anything that’s not hamster safe.

Check that they fit through easily and won’t get stuck.

And make sure that you sand the ends down so that they aren’t sharp.

These sections last for ages, even when your hamster has fun chewing them!

DIY Hamster Toy Ladder

If your hamster’s cage has different levels, you might want to make a DIY hamster ladder.

Or, perhaps you just want to add another layer to the homemade hamster house you made earlier!

Either way, hamster ladders are a great way to add an extra fun area for your hamster to access.

You’ll love watching your hamster clamber up and down these easy-to-make ladders.

How to Make Them

To make a DIY hamster ladder, all you need are popsicle sticks and non-toxic glue.

• Overlap and glue together the vertical sticks.
• Then place sticks horizontally, gluing the ends on to the vertical sticks to create the steps.
• Do this until you have a ladder that is tall enough to reach your hamster’s favorite platform.

Again, these are best used in your hamsters playpen during supervised play, rather than in the cage they sleep in at night.

Your hamster may nibble on this DIY hamster toy, so make sure it is stable each time you give it to your hamster.

DIY Hamster Toy Playground

Make a fun DIY hamster playground by using wood popsicle sticks, toilet paper roll tube, yarn, and glue.

This is basically a jungle gym for your little hammy to run around in.

• Start by building a box frame (base, two sides, roof) using popsicle sticks and glue.
• Then take the yarn and tie it to the roof.
• Slip one end of the yarn through the toilet paper roll.
• Tie it to the other end of your frame, so the tube dangles mid air.

It should look like a hanging tunnel.

For added fun, make ladders out of popsicle sticks and lean it against the jungle gym.

The Sky’s the Limit!

A DIY hamster toy playground really lets you use your creative side!

You can experiment by adding tubes, making the frame different shapes, and adding more ladders.

See how fun you can make this playground for your hamster.

DIY Hamster Mazes

A hamster maze is a really fun thing to make for them.

And a great way to enjoy them outside of their cage.

Even for hamsters that aren’t the biggest fans of being handled.

To make a hamster maze the easiest way to create something amazing is to use Legos or similar adjoining building blocks.

You can then tailor it to your hamsters exact size.

And be fairly confident it won’t fall down.

Just remember to scoop them up and put them back home if they aren’t enjoying themselves.

You Can Use Tubes Too!

You can also use toilet roll tubes to make a fun maze for your hamster. Just attach them together!

Make sure there are enough exits, though, so your hamster doesn’t get stuck and panic.

And never leave them in a homemade maze unsupervised.

Creative DIY Hamster Toys

It’s easy to be creative when you make hamster toys.

Cardboard boxes can be turned into pop-up mazes.

Brown paper bags can be stuffed with paper bedding with holes in them.

Old socks can be wrapped around an empty paper towel roll as inexpensive tunnels, and much more!

You can even use random objects from around the house, like seashells!

Hamster Hideout

Hamsters love to burrow and hide. Why not gather six toilet paper roll tubes and glue them together to form a triangle?

Place it on the bedding and watch your hamster run through the tunnels and hide.

Best DIY Hamster Toys

There are so many great ideas out there for how to make homemade hamster toys.

We hope we’ve given you some great ideas on how to get started.

How about you? Have you tried making any DIY hamster toys yourself?

We would love to hear what your hamster’s favorite DIY toy is in the comments section below!