What do you do at play time?

[babybluesmommy]

What kind of things do you guys do with your hammies when it's play time? I've been setting Little Girl up on the couch with a few toys like tubes and her 2-story wooden house I got her the other day and a box or two. She runs in and out of them and all around the rest of the couch (she's fast!) for about 10 minutes and then hides inside something. Once she's been in there for several minutes, I take that as my queue that she's done with that particular play session and put her back in her bin. I'm just wondering if there's anything else fun that we could do? Is there any way to take them outside...something to keep them in so they can't escape but can run around in? I thought of one of those little kiddie pools but we really don't have the room to store it and I don't want to leave it outside b/c it would get very dirty in all the weather. Maybe next year I'll clean out the shed and can try to find a spot for it.
Anyway, I'm getting off track here...I mostly just wondered what kinds of things/games you play with your hammies? And what other kinds of toys? I don't want her to be bored. I looked for a cardboard egg carton today while grocery shopping that I thought would be fun...but they only sell styrofoam...so will have to shop around for one I guess.

[TiaMaria]

i normally just put the hammies in there roll about balls and let em go nuts, they try running over my cats!

[flopsy]

Most of the time I just let my hamster run about freely in the living room with me supervising him and sometimes I set up a big play pen full of different toys. A game my cousin used to play with his hamster was that he put some of the hamsters favourite treat (popcorn) hidden under a load of hay and the hamster would spend ages finding the popcorn.

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

I have a boots shue box which i halfway fill with sandbath. I have made some holes on the top of the box so that i can watch her and i put her in there! She just loves digging! She goes on and on for over half an hour! She loves her box! Sometimes she even refuses to get out! Ofcourse i dump the sand avary about 2 weeks! When she wants to get out she scratches her nails on the one side of the cardbox! Another thing i do is this: I have made an enclosure about 1,5x2m, made of cardboard and put in everything she can climb on! Yes, i have a hamster that likes climbing! I thing it is like a game she made for me! She climbs and then waits for me to get her down because she is afraid to do it herself! Ofcourse it is not possible to hurt hersalf in there because i put a soft carped under it and i make sure that she cannot climb over the hight of about 10 cm!

[Sparky2006]

Hell, that sounds cute :)

[animalmagic]

I have a playpen type thing filled with woodshavings, and loads of different sizes of cardboard boxes, tubes, things to climb on, in, and around.. and I hide treats under the shavings that they can sniff out.

I also put them in their runaround balls and watch them bash into everything!

[JaneG]

I let Jelly run around in the bath (dry bath, no water in it of course) and put lots of toys in there. She seems to really enjoy it, and she can't escape too :P and it's good because I can handle her over the bath because she loves to jump (and bite.. ouch). I hide food all over the bath and under things, and she runs around with the food in her pouches for ages.

My hamster loves her seesaw, she spends alot of time in there. She really like her sandbath too, even though she's a syrian she really enjoys digging in it and rolling around. I think she likes simple things like cardboard tubes (to chew up and to go through) and cardboard boxes, with holes cut in them.

I find another good place to play with her is at the bottom of the stairs, with the door closed because she cant go anywhere, and she likes climbing up the stairs.. I don't let her climb that far though because I'm scared she'll like... dive down and hurt herself.

[Stevie]

I let Stevie into a play area and he runs around like a lunatic (in my avatar thats him in the play area). I put stuff from his cage into the area so he has stuff that his scent is on. I've really made some progress about handling him in the play area. In 3 days, he went from just sniffing and trying to climb up my arm to letting me hold him without rapidly moving his hind legs.

[pixibubbles]

Rocky just gets let out to run riot... i usualyl let her run around the living room as we have wooden floors (nothing to chew) and i know there are no holes or anything... i hide food and treats and let her go mad. This works well for me coz rocky comes when she's called and understands "NO" lol. She's the smartest hammie i ever had.

[animalmagic]

Rocky sounds so clever, pixibubbles! Genius ham! :idea:

[dwankrista]

My hams get time in the balls and/or time running around my office desk. I have a desk that wraps around the room so I partition off the last leg of it, baracade the edges and put down a sheet with toys. They love it!

[babybluesmommy]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm going to continue to put her in her ball for short periods and see if she'll warm up to it eventually. That would be the ultimate way for her to get exercize. I'm afraid of her escaping b/c she's so fast so the dry bathtub is a great idea...I'll probly try that. :)

[Stevie]

I let stevie go nuts in his play area. He loves the color green.

[Stevie]

Stevie doesnt like the ball.

[pixibubbles]

Rocky sounds so clever, pixibubbles! Genius ham! :idea:
she really is animal.... although i think it is more she's nosey and has a good memory... first time i called she came out of noseyness... the next time coz she knew i had a treat lol

as to the NO.... it might help that i snap it grumpily lol

[lifesuxbig88]

My black bear likes rolling around in her ball.
She also like running around the napkin holder on the table and around the candles.

[Stevie]

Wow. It seems like a lot of people let their hamsters go in their run-about balls. Heh heh.

[lifesuxbig88]

I just let my Sneaky run around in his ball.
He runs into walls and everything but he seems like tormenting my parents dog and cats.

[AnimalSaver1474]

Teddy's favorite thing to do is run around freely, well not completely, I get my bathroom to be hamster proof, put some tubes and toys in, sometimes some chinchilla sand and he goes crazy. he loves it. one thing i noticed thats fun for him is to find a corner so when he gets tired he can rest there. i always put non-sented tissues in that little corner, so he can burrow. i find this gets his energies out great because he feels so free, and i know hes safe so it makes me feel less worried. whenever he runs in his ball i know he is very fast so i always worry that the lid could come off and he would go running before i can catch him. so i love doing this