had it up to here!!!

alvinsfamily · 05-28-2013, 01:55 PM

With Skye! Weve had her for 6 motnhs and all she wants to do is chew. She started with a barred cage which was added to another cage with tubes, all she did was chew. So I put her in a gabber rex, all she did was climb to chew on the bars. So we have got a massive bin cage and put the ventilation high up. She has tubes, toys, a wheel, wooden chews etc and all she wants to do is try and get to the mesh at the top and in the process spends the whole evening bashing everything against the edge of the cage. We recently bought 3 of those hamster runs to give her a good run around, put loads of stuff in there and all she did was spend the 5 mins she was in there trying to climb out. I have had enough. I can hear her banging upstair and I am seriously sleep deprived as its peaked the last few weeks x

_nod · 05-28-2013, 02:09 PM

You've probably tried this already, but I get my chinchillas to chew their wooden sticks, by rubbing them with fruit.

Also have you tried dog biscuits, never had a hamster that could resist chewing on them?

**kyrilliondaemon** · 05-28-2013, 02:33 PM

Make things secure, keep her distracted and don't let her chew. In the end she'll probably give up

alvinsfamily · 05-28-2013, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

Make things secure, keep her distracted and don't let her chew. In the end she'll probably give up

I do that when Im awake, the problem is when I go to bed. Im sleep deprived and fed up x Ive not tried the fruit thing so will give that a go x

**kyrilliondaemon** · 05-28-2013, 02:50 PM

Ah... I don't blame you being fed up, but maybe remove anything tall in her cage until she gets the message?

Kirsty1987 · 05-28-2013, 03:24 PM

I had this problem with carmine and just removed anything that was high enough for him to stand on and reach the bars after a few months i started adding the higher toys one by one and he hasn't tried to chew since then and this was a ham that used to destroy anything you put in his way to stop him getting to the bars including ripping one of them sleeping pouches to shreds

alvinsfamily · 05-28-2013, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirsty1987

I had this problem with carmine and just removed anything that was high enough for him to stand on and reach the bars after a few months i started adding the higher toys one by one and he hasn't tried to chew since then and this was a ham that used to destroy anything you put in his way to stop him getting to the bars including ripping one of them sleeping pouches to shreds

She cant get to the bars now but she still tries and in the process bangs everything aganst the cage, should I remove those things? x

Kirsty1987 · 05-28-2013, 03:31 PM

What is she banging against the cage? Maybe adding a bit more substrate to the edges of the cage and moving the toys, wheel, house etc in the middle of the cage and not near the edge?

Pouches · 05-28-2013, 03:46 PM

It might be something that you have to deal with, and that's not to say that it's got to drive you crazy from here on out. I have had plenty of hamsters who chewed on their cage bars, sometimes the drastic measure of changing their cages to something without any bars was the way to go. Other times some mechanical deterrents were needed. My favorite way of keeping them from climbing and chewing on the bars was to strip the disposable Bic pens down to just the barrel, and cutting down the length of the barrel and slipping it over the bars. It served to make the space between the surrounding bars too small for them to get their mouths between, and it also spun so that it made it next to impossible for them to get a hold to climb.
I've also found that bar chewing can be from boredom, not getting enough exercise, and their instinct to forage for food is sometimes a factor. If their cage is too small to satisfy the urge to hunt for food they will almost always chew. I suggest that you try different things and suggestions that people from here might have. For the most part you're rest assured that none of us are going to tell you to do something that might be hazardous to her health, and some of us might have found something that you haven't thought about that worked. I also suggest that you play close attention to how she behaves when you experiment, you might touch on something that needs expanding on. Who knows you might find something that spares the next person the agony of what you're going through now.
Good luck and please keep us informed

alvinsfamily · 05-28-2013, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirsty1987

What is she banging against the cage? Maybe adding a bit more substrate to the edges of the cage and moving the toys, wheel, house etc in the middle of the cage and not near the edge?

Tried that, and she pushes everything to the edge, she even knocks her wheel over. x