Ball for the hamster: the requirements and features of choice

Hamsters are incredibly active creatures, if they do not sleep, they must move. In the wild, animals nazhivayut a day to ten kilometers. It is not easy in terms of the cage to provide the pet a familiar way of life. The ball for the hamster helps to solve this problem. With it, the animal is always active, and the owner is calm that he will not lose the rodent and will not accidentally step on it.

To decide whether a hamster needs a ball, you must first find out what kind of simulator it is. The product is a transparent sphere with a door and openings so that the hamster can breathe air. The design is easy to manage, moves due to the muscular strength of the hamster itself, in other words, if the animal runs - the ball rolls. For a small pet, the walking sphere becomes a simulator, a means of transportation and a capsule for exploring the outside world.

There are a number of reasons for giving a hamster a transparent sphere. If you read them carefully, it becomes clear that not only the rodent wins, but also the owner with his apartment.

• The hamster will satisfy his curiosity by exploring the space of the apartment. At the same time furniture, books and other things will not suffer from contact with a rodent.
• The animal will not run away, and it will not be crushed, as can happen during a walk without a ball.
• The animal will give out its energy. Daily workouts will have a positive effect on his health.
• The ball protects the hamster from falls and injuries that the animal can receive during the study area without restrictions.
• If you give a hamster a run in the evening, tired, he will sleep at night and not interfere with the owner.
• When you need to clean the cage, the animal can offer to run, planting it in the sphere.
• What is nice, a walking ball is inexpensive.

I do not want to write about the shortcomings, but for the sake of justice it should be said that they exist.

• If a hamster, walking in a walking ball, goes to the toilet, feces through the ventilation holes enter the apartment. Behind him will have to remove.
• From time to time the door relaxes and can open. If this happens, the hamster will run away.
• The animal should be in the balloon for no more than twenty minutes, further stay can cause overheating or depression of the state from lack of air.

In order for the walking ball to be safe and comfortable, certain requirements are imposed on it. They relate to the quality of the product and its size. Different breeds of hamsters differ from each other not only in appearance, but also in volume. Therefore, they produce balls of different diameters:

• the animal is less than 8 centimeters in size (Roborovsky hamster or Jungar hamster); you will need a sphere with a diameter of about 12 centimeters;
• a hamster with a body length of 8 to 12 centimeters (Syrian) should choose a ball with a diameter of at least 18 cm;
• Sphere 25-30 cm is designed for chinchillas.

The size of the rodent must be taken into account when choosing a ball. In too close a product, he can not properly disperse. A large sphere will be too heavy for the little legs of the animal, they will begin to hurt from the tension. The criterion for the correct choice can be the angle of the hamster’s back, or rather, its absence.

If the size fits, the pet's back will be in even condition.In addition to the correct size, you should pay attention to the ventilation holes: the more of them, the better. Running in the field allows you to actively load the rodent, during such classes fresh air is needed, otherwise the animal will suffocate. In addition, the hamster knows the world not so much with his eyesight as with his sense of smell, a large number of holes will help him in this.

Requirements can be made to the door of the structure: the fastenings and tightness must be reliable, only this way the safety of the pet is ensured. You can choose spheres with guide grooves or with special platforms, but for the animal they are not so significant.

To choose the right walking ball for a hamster, you should consider the requirements outlined above. They relate to size and quality. The construction itself in most cases has the shape of a sphere, but you can find models in the form of an ellipse. The second type of toy doesn’t like hamsters very much: during a run-up, it can stagger from side to side, therefore it is rarely available for sale.

The hamster enters the sphere through the door. But sometimes two, three or even four holes serve as an entrance. They can be in the form of screw caps. Before buying you need to check the reliability of the closing devices. Some prefer to buy multi-ball balls. If Laz begins to loose the lid, it is sealed tightly and use the remaining intacts.

If a stand is attached to the walking area, it means that it can be used as a run on the spot, as a running wheel. After removing the stand, the ball returns its usual walking functions.

As for the material, the walking sphere should be made only from light plastic, and the more transparent it is, the better. An iron or wooden ball will not give the desired view, and the little hamster will not be able to move it from its place. When buying a plastic ball, one should inquire whether plastic is not toxic. For the crumbs, even a small amount of toxic additives can be fatal. Information about the material contains a certificate - if it is not offered, a sharp smell or poisonous color of the ball can prevent it from buying.

A walking ball for a hamster is inexpensive, you can buy a toy from 100 rubles and more. But some rodent owners prefer to give them a gift with their own hands, so they lay in the sphere of a piece of their love and energy. These products have pitfalls. Before holding a master class on creating a homemade sphere, consider the advantages and disadvantages of a home-made simulator.

The biggest drawback is that creating an ideal sphere does not always work, the product becomes oval, not round. This means that the hamster will run back and forth, but will not be able to move to the side. In addition, homemade products are difficult to clean from the inside.

As for the positive aspects, there are many more.

• A gift to a hamster will cost free, because it is made from improvised means.
• Not every town has a pet shop to buy a walking ball. And in order to make it yourself, you can find the material in every home.
• Fastening a homemade simulator is carried out, most often, with the help of a screw cap - this is much more reliable than industrial devices.
• To make a toy simply and quickly. If it loses its attractive appearance, it is not a pity to throw it away and it is easy to make a new one.

In the selection of plastic containers need to consider several important points.

• The neck should be wide enough so that a hamster can get into it.
• A bottle is better to choose from under the food. It is important that it does not contain previously toxic substances.

The manufacturing process is extremely simple. It is necessary to prepare two identical containers with a wide neck, preferably of transparent plastic. In both bottles, the upper part must be cut off so that at the moment of connection they resemble a ball or an ellipse.

At the next stage, holes are made for air circulation. For this, as many holes as possible are made in the two covers of the structure. In addition, the holes are cut in the bottles themselves, not far from the necks. They are made narrow and long. All slots on the product are well cleaned with emery paper.

When the two halves are ready, they are interconnected with scotch tape. We must try to simulator as much as possible resemble the shape of a sphere.

To learn how to make a simulator of a plastic bottle with your own hands, see the following video.

Each hamster has its own character: someone is mobile, someone is lazy, one quickly understands, another needs time to understand what they want from him. In principle, it is possible to teach any animal to move around in the field - all you need is patience and some free time. Consider what you need to do to hamster began to use the sphere for its intended purpose.

• Pre-animal should be introduced to the new toy, placing it in a cage in the clear.
• You can gently put the baby in the ball. Of course, it would be nice if he himself went there, for example, for a treat left for him.
• When the hamster is in the sphere, you should carefully close the lid. Let him learn a little and move the simulator from the cage to the floor. Five minutes later, the ball back into the cage and open it.
• After walking the pet you need to treat your favorite delicacy - this will reinforce his desire to repeat the journey.
• When accustoming a rodent to anything, one should not make sudden movements, make loud noises. It is necessary not to scare the animal, so that it understands that staying in the sphere is connected with comfort.
• During training and walking near the hamster there should be no other pets. The head of a cat peering into a sphere will seem rodent huge and scary. Stress will discourage him from climbing the ball.
• Placing the hamster in the simulator, you should pay attention to the environment. Nearby there should not be a ladder from which it could slide, or a large amount of furniture that interferes with movement. You can not put on a hill, because the sphere can fall, scare and injure a pet.
• You should not push the ball, the hamster must take the first step.
• To begin with, the stay in the sphere is limited to a few minutes. Gradually, time increases. But even if the hamster has learned and is happy to run in a ball, his maximum stay should be no more than 20 minutes, and with poor ventilation - much less.

Having mastered, the hamster will be happy to walk around the apartment. But you shouldn’t relax especially: you still have to look after the rodent. Having forgotten about the pet, the sphere can be encountered while walking, and it, like a ball, will fly off to the side. It is terrible to imagine what the hamster will feel at this time. In addition, on the move the doors can open, and then there will be a need to look for a tiny hamster in a large apartment.

To learn how to properly use the hamster ball, see the following video.