Hamster Advice

sealie

Hi there,

I recently bought a hamster who is adorable except for the fact that he keeps chewing the bars of his cage!!! I'm worried that this can't be good for him and am wondering does anyone have any advice as to how to stop him.

I've bought various toys and chewable items but he keeps chewing the bars.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Susannahmia

sealie wrote: »

Hi there,

I recently bought a hamster who is adorable except for the fact that he keeps chewing the bars of his cage!!! I'm worried that this can't be good for him and am wondering does anyone have any advice as to how to stop him.

I've bought various toys and chewable items but he keeps chewing the bars.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Lemon juice will make him less likely to chew on the bars and is safe.

How big is the cage? Excessive bar chewing is a sign of boredom. Usually the bigger the better for these little guys or they can get really bored and destructive, most cages on the market are far too small imo.

The wheel is great for combating boredom too so make sure he has a good one and it is the right size so he will be more likely to use it.

They usually like chewing up the inside of toilet rolls and shredding toilet paper for their beds so that's a cheap toy option that might keep him amused.

lostinnappies

"habitat" cages are made from plastic. We have one of those and little "lenny" (as my son calls him) doesnt chew anything other then the little wooden sticks i get for him. It has vents on top where he cant reach.

carwash_2006

I don't like plastic cages for syrian hamsters, I had a hamster chew it's way out of a plastic cage in the space of a night and I know of several other instances of this with syrians.

I have never found the bar chewing to do any harm, but do make sure that the cage is a good big one and as Susannahmia said the wheel is a good one and the correct size.

I find things like egg cartons (zapped in the microwave for a couple of seconds) and cardboard tubes with treats inside and packed up with tissue or bedding good for keeping them entertained for a while, try and make it so they have to forage for their food to make things as natural as possible for them.

dancingqueen

We also have a habitat cage - it is virtually impossible to chew out of one and they are fantastic for the smell that cages with bars often have. What else is great is that there is so many different ways you can arrange the tubes and there are add ons you can get in Petstop in Blanch or from their website - our little winter white chewed the barred cage constantly and seems very content in this one...

sealie

Thanks for all the advice. This is my first hammster so i'm glad to hear that others behave in the same manner.

The cage is pretty big - it has two levels, two tubes, two ladders, a wheel and a nesting box. I will try out some of the your suggestions as he clearly is bored. I'll let you know how we get on.

Thanks again

carwash_2006

We also have a habitat cage - it is virtually impossible to chew out of one and they are fantastic for the smell that cages with bars often have. What else is great is that there is so many different ways you can arrange the tubes and there are add ons you can get in Petstop in Blanch or from their website - our little winter white chewed the barred cage constantly and seems very content in this one...

You see a winter white would never get through a plastic cage, I've heard of a syrian that chewed through glass!!!

I worry if the cage is too good at keeping the smell in about the ventilaion for the hamster. If you have a problem with the smell, change the bedding more frequently or change the type of bedding you use.

I used to have the habitrail cages, I found after about 6 months I was just so sick and tired of taking the tubing apart for cleaning all the time I just went back to the ordinary cages. The fop ones with the tubes don't seem to be nearly as bad for that as the cage part of the arrangement is bigger, so they don't use the tubes as much for toileting in.

The cage is pretty big - it has two levels, two tubes, two ladders, a wheel and a nesting box. I will try out some of the your suggestions as he clearly is bored. I'll let you know how we get on.

What dimensions is the cage? I don't know of one with 2 platforms that I would class as big enough - always delighted to be told about a new cage that is a good size though.

BeansMeansHynes

Dont mean to hijack the thread.

Need some help in getting a bigger cage for my little fella. Bearing in mind he broke his leg (which has now healed but will never fully be better). I was thinking of getting him one or two of the cages that you can attach up together with the tubes.

I normally let him out of his cage to run around at night but he is getting up later and later every evening.

I know there is somewhere online that sells those cages but I dont know the name.

Beans

dancingqueen

i got mine in a shop called equipet - there is one in navan which isn't too far from mullingar....

habitrail.com

Susannahmia

BeansMeansHynes wrote: »

Dont mean to hijack the thread.

Need some help in getting a bigger cage for my little fella. Bearing in mind he broke his leg (which has now healed but will never fully be better). I was thinking of getting him one or two of the cages that you can attach up together with the tubes.

I normally let him out of his cage to run around at night but he is getting up later and later every evening.

I know there is somewhere online that sells those cages but I dont know the name.

Beans

I got all my habitrail cages from ebay second hand and got good deals. Heres my hamsters set up. She definatly cannot complain for lack of space!> linky

lostinnappies

carwash_2006 wrote: »

You see a winter white would never get through a plastic cage, I've heard of a syrian that chewed through glass!!!

I worry if the cage is too good at keeping the smell in about the ventilaion for the hamster. If you have a problem with the smell, change the bedding more frequently or change the type of bedding you use.

I used to have the habitrail cages, I found after about 6 months I was just so sick and tired of taking the tubing apart for cleaning all the time I just went back to the ordinary cages. The fop ones with the tubes don't seem to be nearly as bad for that as the cage part of the arrangement is bigger, so they don't use the tubes as much for toileting in.



What dimensions is the cage? I don't know of one with 2 platforms that I would class as big enough - always delighted to be told about a new cage that is a good size though.

I use a baby bottle cleaner to clean the tubes, p1ss easy lol. Plus its filled with tiny little holes for ventilation. But because the sides are rounded its harder for them to chew out of .... but then again hamsters DO love to chew.

BeansMeansHynes

Wow Susannahmia that is a serious set up that you have there. Your hamster certainly shouldn't be bored anyway.

Def gonna try the ebay route for some bits and pieces for him.