Keeping an old hamster active?

Question

My hamster, Bailey, is 2 and I havent been paying much attention to him and I feel really bad, what do I do to keep him active, keep him happy and is there any really interestiong hamster toys around he'd like?

Answer 1

well I guess it all depends on if your hamster WANTS to be active. Like my old 2 and half year hamster who no matter how many times I tried to get him to play, he didn't and he never ran on his wheel. He eventually got reeeallly fat and then died. happy ending eh? XD but he did like the plastic ball he could run around the house in when he was younger and hamsters like strings and pieces of wood to chew on. They also like to tunnel and climb through small spaces.

Answer 2

When hamsters get old, they tend to become inactive and lethargic. You can try to make him active but if he still prefers to burrow into his nest and sleep, just let him be the way he is.

Some simple tricks are -

Spread his food and hide treats in his bedding instead of putting food in a food dish. This would make him burrow and search for food instead of eating mechanically from his food dish.

Every week, arrange things in his cage differently so that he does not get bored of the same arrangement. This would make him rediscover his cage every week, thus making him very active.

Give him a variety of toys to play with. By toys, I do not mean the expensive ones you get in pet shops. Your hammy would be equally or more happy with inane things like empty toilet toll tubes, toothpaste cartons with flaps cut off or even hollowed out plastic balls (non toxic plastic should be used). I even remove the base of Starbucks coffee cups to make simple tunnels for my hamsters.

Make a hamster proof room area where he can roam around freely with no danger of escaping. I use the bath tub in my house - dry it out completely, plug the drain hole and make him roam in the tub. To make it even more interesting, put some toys and maybe a stand alone exercise wheel there and leave him there for 20 minutes and watch him have fun.

Remember, sometimes old hamsters can also be bored hamsters due to doing the same things again and again, so try to give him a variety of things to do to motivate him to be active.