Hamster Tube Tips

When added to your hamster cage, those colorful hamster tubes can be a lot of fun for your hamster. But keep these tips in mind when you’re planning your climbing tube mazes.

Connecting the Tubes

When you’re putting your hamster tubes together, you want them to fit together tightly – but not so tight you can’t get them apart. You might think about gluing or taping them together – but DON’T DO IT!. The glue can have chemicals that are dangerous for your hamster. And the tape will most likely not hold the pieces together securely. What’s more, seeing the tape can get your hamster’s attention and he or she might then get interested in trying to chew threw the tape and escape. Dwarf hamsters are especially good at this. Super Pet CritterTrail Fun-nels Elbow Tube Value Pack ()

Keep the hamster tubes clean

Just like your hamster cage, you’ve got to clean out the tubes. Tubes get dirty over time and some hamsters will pee while in their tubes. And sometimes there are bits of leftover food in the tubes. If that was fresh food, over time it will start to rot. So you have to clean the tubes.

Here’s how to do it:

  • Be careful when snapping the pieces apart. You spent a lot of effort getting the pieces together, so you don’t want them to break when you’re taking them apart. You may want to rinse them under some hot water to make it easier to get the pieces apart.
  • Clean the pieces with warm water and soap and let them dry. Alcohol or other cleaners can leave a residue that can be harmful to your hamster – so don’t’ use that type of cleaner.
  • Reassemble the pieces carefully. Once again, follow directions, take your time, and don’t use glue. And while you’re at it, why not try out a new layout for your tubes?

    • Super Pet CritterTrail Fun-nels- Value Pack #4 ()

    Inspect and Replace the tubes
    Sometimes the plastic used for the climbing tubes can get cracked. This might happen when you’re putting it together. Or your hamster might be trying to gnaw through the plastic. The sharp edges of the plastic can be quite dangerous for your hammy. The edges can injure or even kill a hamster. Inspect your tubes to be sure they are in good shape.

    If you spot a cracked tube, simply replace it. It’s better to have a few extra tube pieces around to use as replacements. It’s a lot easier than having to find a lost hamster.

    Vertical tubes

    You can make a lot of interesting hamster tube runs with vertical tubes, especially if you can place them outside the hamster cage. But don’t make your tubes go too high.

    Dwarf hamsters, because of their size, may have a harder time climbing up vertical tubes. If your hammy finds it too difficult to climb, it may just forget about climbing at all.

    But even with Syrian hamsters, if the tubes go up too high, they can be harder to climb. Or your hamster could get part of the way up, fall down, and get hurt by the fall. Don’t make your vertical tubes go up so high that they are dangerous.

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    This entry was posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Hamster Exercise, Hamster Tubes, Toys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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