We've received questions in the past regarding... Do Dwarf Hamsters Have the Same Desire to Burrow as Syrian Hamsters Do?
Personally, I've found 1 out of every 4 Winter Whites (at the hamstery) don't really care to burrow in captivity, but I want to make sure you AND I are are ensuring that this isn't due to other issues that might be discouraging them from burrowing.
We have a few options for you to try!
1. Adding More Bedding to encourage them to burrow (which seems counterintuitive) buuuut it can encourage them to investigate what's below them more than they were in the previous set-up!
2. Adding a Tunnel Starter, which can literally be toilet paper tubes (but make sure they aren't too small for your ham). You can make a tunnel below their bedding to encourage them to continue the tunnels!
3. Adding Orchard Grass (or) Soft Timothy Hay to your enclosure, kind of like a lasagna layering technique: hay, bedding, hay, bedding, etc. It helps the burrows to stay more stable, which might be discouraging your ham from burrowing (depending on the bedding material)! PSA -- Do be careful with what hay you buy though because some can be really pokey, which is why I recommend orchard grass because it's the softest of the hays!
4. Adding Food (or) Healthy Treat Mix in layers of your hamster's enclosure (using the lasagna method) to encourage them to forage and build tunnels to forage for the food / explore more!
5. Check Hamster Fingernails -- just like how us ladies find things more difficult to do things with longer fingernails, the same goes for your hamster! If your hamsters nails are too long, it could be contributing to this issue.
If you've tried all of the above and your ham still isn't wanting to burrow that's totally okay! Like we said, out of all of the dwarf hamsters at the Hamstery, around 25% of them don't like burrowing and find other things enriching, like digging in coco fiber, sprays, foraging, chewing, running on the wheel, etc!
That being said, if you try the above options and your ham still seems uninterested, don't overly reduce the amount of bedding, still provide ample bedding as an ongoing available option.