Environment enrichment for small mammals

Environment enrichment for small mammals

In the wild, animals are constantly confronted with new challenges: looking for food or partners, expanding or defending a territory or building nests.  So, when a little rodent is confined in its cage, it gets bored.

Different challenges

Developed by behaviourists, environmental enrichment is a stimulation method enhancing the well-being of captive animals. It involves regularly changing accessories, adding new toys or distributing food in a different form either inside devices or at different places. This method is very easy to apply for mini pets.

You just have to be sure to give your pet new toys or accessories, move them around the cage or re-arrange the whole set-up of the cage. The little rodent will have the feeling it is exploring new territory. And it will have to create new ‘patterns’ in its brain.

Learning toys

Luckily, pet brands offer numerous solutions to create an enriched environment. We are all familiar with colourful cage accessories. But, certain brands have also created ‘brain toys’. Kerbl, for instance, has several learning toys for rabbits: like the Feedtree with little drawers for treats. The rabbit has to pull open the drawers in order to earn his reward.

A similar product is the Flamingo Rody Brain Train Cube. However, this time, the rabbit has to slide the cubes. For less agile mammals like guinea pigs, Flamingo has developed the Rody Brain Train Board. The rodent just has to push a ball to get to his treat. When they are done with food, rabbits can crawl into a Trixie triple tunnel, jump over agility obstacles or walk on a Kerbl rocker.

Play and explore

For rodents living in smaller habitats, the usual hamster wheel is obviously a must have. But mini pets can also have a lot of fun with other types of accessories. They can climb and rest on the Trixie Suspended Bridge: a setup with a nylon hammock, synthetic fur, a ladder, as well as a rope ladder and a rope ring with a wooden cube to chew on. Trixie also sells a small suspended tunnel for play, exploration or as nest. And, of course, we are all familiar with the plastic tubes from Ferplast, that can be combined and arranged in many different ways. A great solution for regularly creating a new burrow for small animals!