What is animal enrichment and why is it so important? Well for put simply, enrichment allows your pets to portray their typical behavior through control and choice over their environment. This all boosts their wellbeing whether they are a guinea pig, hamsters, bunnies, chinchilla, or any pet you may have! Enrichment is very important and should be a top priority every day because its equally as important as proper nutrition and vet care. It is also important to understand that enrichment is not just a one-time thing, it is a continuous process that should be delivered on a consistent routine. So, lets dive into ways that you can provide enrichment for your animal, specifically small animals.
Improving the quality of life for your small animal can be done in a number of different ways. The first way we are going to talk about is to support and encourage their natural instinctual behaviors in exciting yet challenging ways. Your small animal, regardless of what species it is, is very intelligent and curious so it is important to fuel those traits. An easy way to do this is by placing natural chews such as Living World Alfalfa Chew-nels for them to chew on (they love that!) and furnishing their habitat with hideouts and toys. This might seem like common sense, but it is a very important act to take as it really engages your pet. To add on to this point, you should change the scenery within your pets habitat every 2-3 weeks as this makes things for fun with them by forcing them to adapt and use your mind to figure out their “new environment”. Just like us human, our pets greatly benefit from a change of scenery.
Mealtime is another way to offer enrichment to your small animal. There should already be an abundance of fresh grass hay but try to incorporate a nice variety to your pet’s hay. This gives them different flavors and textures and will guarantee to make feeding time more enjoyable for them. A few different types that you can add to your grass hay are Oxbow Western Timothy Hay and A-OK Alfalfa Hay.
Your pets are social creatures and they do in fact enjoy and need interaction. This is a great example of enrichment that you can offer! Not only is this great for your pet, but it is also entertaining and fun for you too. A fun variety of hide and seek that you and your pet can play is “hide and seek the healthy treat”. This allows your pet to revert to natural instincts and search for its food.
All in all, it is important to remember that your pet is not in his natural environment and its important to make as natural as you can through different types of enrichment that we discussed. Providing natural structures and natural treats, along with playing and providing love each day is a great place to start! We advise that you always check with your vet on what food and treats your pet should have.
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