The importance of toys for all species.
Exotic animals in the wild tend to spend most of their time foraging and searching for food. In captivity, this natural behavior does not change and its up to us as owners to ensure that we provide them with the enrichment and natural foraging tendencies they all posses. We do our best to design and create toys for each specific species and also to carry a variety of toys from various vendors that meet the needs of our customers and their pets.
If you do not see a specific toy, or want something specific for your pet, please contact us info@treasuresnest.ca and we will create a design suited to the unique needs of your pet! This includes those with physical disabilities.
Parrots
Parrots in the wild will spend their entire day foraging for food, seeds and at times have been known to fly for miles in search of that perfect treat. They are busy from the time they get up at dawn until they roost at dusk.
In captivity, toys and foraging toys are an integral part of any parrots life and should be available in ample supply. Birds are curious and playful by nature and require stimulation to keep from being bored – while we can never totally replicate their wild habitat, we can ensure that they have enough mental stimulation to keep them from being bored and fun things for them to do while in their cage.
Bored parrots tend to have behaviors that are not normally seen in the wild, such as barbering their feathers, plucking, self mutilation, incessant screaming and physical issues such as feet problems.
Offering them toys that they can chew, shred and destroy bring them immense happiness! An untouched toy often means that they may be scared of it, or it is simply a boring toy that offers no stimulation to their curiosity or chewing needs. Mass produced toys in many petstores are made with a hard maple and basic rope that is simply boring to most parrots. They like toys that can be chewed and destroyed.
Remember to always purchase toys appropriate to the SIZE of your bird as many of the smaller toys can be dangerous to a larger parrot due to the small size of the parts used.
Rabbits and Guinea Pigs
Rabbits are active, inquisitive, social and intelligent animals. Rabbits can become bored easily and their welfare suffers. Pet rabbits are often kept confined for a large proportion of time each day in their cage. We need to be able to provide foraging toys, chewing toys and ideally an area that they can free roam about to encourage exercise and free play.
In the wild, rabbits search and forage for food during the day. We normally do not keep our rabbits in a way that allows them to perform normal behaviors that they all instinctively have.
Foraging for pet rabbits refers to behaviours that they perform to search for food. Rabbits have evolved to spend many hours a day finding and eating food. If we only fed them pellets or nuggets from a bowl, they would eat very quickly, spend a lot of time bored, and could become ill. When rabbits forage for food, they spend more time searching, eat more slowly, and eat more appropriate food, which reduces the chance that they will become overweight or ill.
The creative use of toys can extend your rabbit’s life by keeping him interested in his surroundings, by giving him the freedom to interact with those surroundings, and by allowing him to constantly learn and grow. Toys are also beneficial to the health of their teeth and encourages chewing.
Always ensure that you are checking your rabbits toys daily and discard any toys that are frayed, have sharp edges and are unsafe.
Hamsters and little rodents
Hamsters and all little rodents like to climb, bury, dig, and hide, and they need to be provided with enrichment in the form of mentally stimulating toys/hides and wheels.
Hamsters (more commonly) that are not offered enriching toys will often chew on their own hair or skin, gnaw on cage bars, and break teeth, or overeat from boredom.
We offer a variety of toys for the little friends in your life that can help keep them busy and mentally stimulated while playing in their cage.
Sugar Gliders
Sugar gliders are nocturnal marsupials that live up in the trees native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesian Islands. Since they are naturally arboreal, these little guys spend their nights running around scavenging for insects, smaller lizards, birds, nectar, eucalyptus and fruits.
Foraging toys are very important to keep your glider entertained while you sleep. It is important to have a wide variety of safe toys, foraging toys, and hides in their cage at all times to keep them stimulated, as they can get bored/frustrated with pent up energy; this can lead to over grooming, potential self mutilation and other health issues. Our toys are designed to keep your sugar gliders active and entertained. We recommend rotating new toys out with old ones once a week or so for cleaning and to keep them from becoming bored.