Enrichment by Species: Matching Activities to Natural Behaviour

Enrichment works when it lets an animal do what its wild relatives spend their day doing. A digging box means a lot to a rabbit and nothing to a budgie. This page is for owners setting up or improving an enclosure. It matches each species to the behaviour it most needs to express, with depths, timings and the products to leave on the shelf.

Enrichment by species

Species	Natural behaviour	Enrichment that meets it	Avoid
Rabbit	Digging, foraging, scent marking	A sand box or shredded paper to dig in. Not being able to dig can cause high levels of stress (RSPCA)	Exercise only in short sessions. The RSPCA’s ideal is 24/7 access to a large exercise area
Guinea pig	Tunnelling, moving between feeding spots	PVC pipes at least 5 in (13 cm) across. Separate sleeping, eating and drinking areas so they have to move between them (Merck)	Exercise wheels, which can injure guinea pigs (Merck)
Hamster	Burrowing and long-distance running at night	Deep litter for burrows, and a large-diameter, solid, axle-free wheel (RSPCA)	Small or flimsy wheels, and a wheel as the only enrichment (RSPCA)
Pet rat	Foraging, climbing, digging, handling food	Scatter food through fresh bedding, offer a dig box of clean sand or compost, and use cotton ropes (RSPCA)	Exercise balls, forced swimming (RSPCA)
Gerbil	Digging deep burrow systems	Bedding 8–12 in (20–30 cm) deep in a tank about 20 in (50 cm) high, plus wood or hay tunnels (RSPCA)	Barred cages and plastic tubes (RSPCA)
Chinchilla	Jumping, dust bathing	Platforms at different levels and a daily tray of chinchilla dust or fine sand (RSPCA)	Uninterrupted drops over 24 in (60 cm), fluffy nesting (RSPCA)
Degu	Dust bathing, digging, chewing	A sand bath about 1.5 in (4 cm) deep, 2–3 times a week for around 20 minutes (RSPCA)	Leaving the bath in all the time (RSPCA)
Ferret	Hunting, exploring, digging	Hide and seek, space to dig, and an optional shallow water bath under supervision (RSPCA)	Forcing a ferret to swim (RSPCA)
Budgerigar, cockatiel and other parrots	Foraging, chewing, flying	Foraging toys with food in them, chew items, and at least six hours a day out of the cage (RSPCA)	A cage so cluttered the bird can’t flap its wings (RSPCA)

Food as enrichment

Hiding or scattering part of the normal ration is the cheapest enrichment there is, and it works best for rats and parrots. The RSPCA’s suggestions for rats:

• Mix food into fresh bedding when you clean the cage, and scatter some around the cage.
• Hide favourite items in a sand or gravel tray, or inside cardboard tubes the rats have to chew through.
• Give a cooled, unpeeled boiled egg for the rats to work out how to open.
• Offer several food items rather than one, so rats can choose.
• Take all of it out of the daily allowance, not on top of it.

For parrots and budgies, the RSPCA suggests foraging toys with food inside and encouraging the bird to feed outside the cage. It notes that parrots need things they can chew to destruction. Giving them their own chew items is also how you protect your furniture.

Getting the dust bath right

Dust bathing is where species advice differs most. The RSPCA advises giving chinchillas a dust bath every day to keep their fur in good condition, then removing or sieving it after use. For degus, the RSPCA’s guidance is more restricted: about 1.5 in (4 cm) of chinchilla sand, offered two or three times a week for about 20 minutes. Hobbyist guidance often suggests a sand bath for gerbils as well. No source cited on this page gives a frequency for gerbils, so treat it as optional. For more on coat care, see the grooming and hygiene guide.

Rotation and timing

• Rotate, don’t pile up. The RSPCA recommends rotating rats’ toys regularly and changing birds’ toys from time to time. For rats, the RSPCA also warns that enrichment shouldn’t take over the whole cage.
• Introduce new objects slowly. The RSPCA suggests letting a bird get used to a new toy outside the cage before it goes inside.
• Match the clock. Hamsters are active at dusk and night (RSPCA), so evening is the time to refresh scatter food or rebuild a dig box, not midday. The nocturnal pet care guide covers the timing for each species.

Mistakes that cause problems

• Exercise balls for rodents. The RSPCA says they stop rats and other rodents from using their whiskers to explore, causing high levels of stress.
• A wheel for guinea pigs. Merck says wheels can injure them. Ramps and tunnels give movement without the risk.
• Small or flimsy hamster wheels. The RSPCA asks for a large diameter, a solid structure, no axle and ideally a non-slip surface. If the hamster gets sore feet, take the wheel out and see a vet.
• A shallow gerbil tank. Without 8–12 in (20–30 cm) of bedding, gerbils may dig repetitively in one corner. The RSPCA treats that as a sign to add depth and hiding places.
• Leaving a degu’s sand bath in permanently. The RSPCA limits access to two or three short sessions a week. Copying chinchilla advice for degus overdoes it.

Avoid

• Fluffy, cotton-wool-style nesting for chinchillas, because they get tangled in it and can’t safely eat it (RSPCA)
• Plastic tubes and toys for gerbils, which they gnaw (RSPCA)
• Unsupervised water baths for rats or ferrets (RSPCA)
• Garden soil in dig boxes, which may contain harmful bacteria or parasites (RSPCA)