What toys should I get for my hamster?

I just bought a Syrian hamster yesterday, I need to know what to do / get?

• Hi there, just bought a male syrian hamster, yesterday morning. We bought the cage that comes with its own house and wheel, saw dust etc. I need to know what to get for the little guy that it needs, i.e toilet bowl thing? toys? This is the first time we have owned a hamster, not too sure what it needs.

• Answer:

  right you will need a water bottle (attaches to cage side) and a food bowl, hamsters are very houseproud so if you find the hamster moving the food from the foodbowl to somehwere else its a good idea to move its bowl to said location. the cage should have enough sawdust for burrowing as they enjoy curling up underneath it. i would also recommend hamster/animal/pet bedding (similar to cotton wool) but you can also use ripped up tissue paper for similar effect, it give them something to sleep in and they love being warm and cosy. as its a male it will smell more than a female so the cage will require cleaning out every 2 days (e.g. monday, wednesday, friday, sunday etc) with fresh sawdust, food, water and bedding. i would also recommend a pet friendly cage cleaner to get rid of urine stains and more pungent odors. the hamster will eat dried hamster food but also fresh fruit/vegetables. being rodents hamsters will eat virtually anything from meat, fish, fruit, veg, dairy etc feed them what they enjoy. be sure to handle him daily with gloves so he gets used to being handled and will gradually stop biting. as far as toys are concerned a simple loo roll tube will suffice but you can buy plastic tubes for them to play in. the wheel is a good idea as hamsters adore wheels. another thing to beware is allowing their teeth to grow too much as it can cause severe health problems and eventually death. i recommend placing a dog biscuit in the cage for something to chew on and keep the teeth down but you can also buy small chunks of wood or treats to help gnaw their teeth down a little. you can also use twigs/wood from an apple tree as this is also safe for them to chew on (also with mice and rats). lastly you should also purchase a hamster ball, they are not only extremely useful for a place to put the hamster when your cleaning him out but they also love a good runaround in the ball, just remember to keep the lid securely tight and not to leave him in there too long. hamsters are very clean and will only poop/urinate in one place, a toilet bowl isnt necessary as unlike rats/mice, they are very clean rodents