It`s not Freddy Flintstone, it`s Freddy KRUGER!!!

racinghamster · 09-13-2013, 01:29 AM

Well here I am, having been up three times during the night and previous nights trying to get Fred, my new robo to stop chewing his cage! For those of you who may not have read his story, Fred recently came to me from Gumtree. He is just over two years old but has the energy of Usaine Bolt! So picture the scene.....He was moved from a ferplast duna with a stuck wheel and no stimulation. He is now in a Gabber Rex with a decent wheel, a shelf, ramps, a Crittertrail tube with bespoke egg box! But he`s obsesses with chewing the gaps where the cage clips would normally be. My Gabber Rex never had clips so I never bothered looking for any as the cage is stable without them. So the holes where the clips would normally be are just a couple of little square holes.

I got up, placed a toilet roll tube in front of one hole and put a ceramic dish in front of the tube to stop Fred managing to move it. I put the light out and minutes later, I hear him at the OTHER end doing the same thing!

So up I get again, I move the Trixie ladder away from the side of the cage so he can`t get to it. This works. But I fear he`s on a mission now to find anything plastic he can get his tiny teeth into.

If anyone has any idea of how I can block the cage clip holes up, I`m all ears. Although I think my best bet would be just to use something flat to cover the clip gaps and selotape it in place. But then knowing Fred, he would soon suss out that the tape was good for having a go at and I don`t want him becoming obsessed with that as well.

So he`s gone from a cute little `feel sorry for me` little guy, to a full on cage destroyer in a matter of days!

It does bother me much having to get up if I have to, but it would be nice of he would concentrate on playing on his wheel and letting me get some kip!

souffle · 09-13-2013, 02:59 AM

Do you have any puzzle playground squares? You can use wire to put one each side of the clip and secure them with a twist of garden wire like this
Kelpies chewed hole!!!

Blocked like this
It stopped her anyway!!

racinghamster · 09-13-2013, 04:27 AM

That`s a great solution soufflé.

Although I don`t have any puzzle playground squares, the small holes on the Gabber Rex are at the top of the clip gap and not just a straight through hole, if you know what I mean. So all I can do is find something that is flat and selotape it on and hope the wee fluff doesn`t notice!

The clip holes are a bit like the ones on a ferplast duna or a savic rody. The holes where you would attach the clips onto. He`s leaning upwards and trying to chew where he smells the air where the gaps are.

souffle · 09-13-2013, 04:55 AM

I know what you mean RH as we have lots of Gabber rexes. I'd cut a bit off a plastic folder and tape it over the top on the outside so hopefully he won't be attracted to the air flow through the holes.

Nush · 09-13-2013, 05:27 AM

Once you cover the clips, I'd also try to find a way to distract him. Probably put some of his mix in an egg box and find out whether he manages to chew through the box. If he does, make it harder for him to get the treats. He sounds like a hamster that might like puzzles

racinghamster · 09-13-2013, 07:33 AM

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. He does seem to go over everything in his cage the moment he wakes up. It`s as if he`s checking nothing has moved! I havn`t moved anything or switched anything around, so hopefully, he will start to chew his egg box soon and leave the cage itself alone, although I have moved his Trixie ladder out so he can`t reach the gap on the left and the gap on the right has a toilet roll tube running across the other one with a food dish jammed against it, so hopefully these measures will distract him now. I can only hope!

Nush, I will scatter some seed in his egg box later tonight. I usually do that anyway I just havn`t tried it with Fred so far! Will do tonight though. x

Kirsty1987 · 09-13-2013, 09:47 AM

I have a rody cavia which has 4 holes for water bottles don't know why it has so many!! I bought some Velcro strips and stuck some wooden fruit chew toys on to cover the holes something like these RAT, DEGU, HAMSTER & OTHERS FRUIT FLAVOURED WOOD CHEWS | eBay my dwarfs are not strong enough to pull them off

Munchalot · 09-13-2013, 11:13 AM

I've known this problem. :L The clip holes and the water dish slot on my Gabber Lux have been well and truly chewed! Nothing I tried stopped the buggers. Even using the dish slot as a fixture for the wheel didn't help, one of the sods actually popped the wheel off the spindle in trying to get behind it to chew the gap!

But these are all great suggestions, I might use them.

fluffymunchkins · 09-13-2013, 11:33 AM

Oh dear, I know the feeling! Rowena went nuts on the plastic on her gabber and I ended up moving her into a glass tank. I thought I could trust her in a mini duna now she's older and she's gone for the holes for the clips again

I stuck the clip back on and shes left it alone, but I used a nut and bolt of the gabber water hole and covered the clip holes with cardboard. Hope he improves, bless his heart, so glad you've taken him on x

racinghamster · 09-14-2013, 12:49 AM

Thanks for posting everyone. It does seem that when they start chewing at certain spots inside a cage it can be difficult to take their minds off it. Thankfully, last night was quieter. By swinging his Trixie ladder out from one side and placing a tube and a ceramic food dish up against the other, these measures seem to have helped. Because the holes are positioned at the top where clips would go in to hold the lid of the cage on, much like the holes/gaps on savic rody/ferplast duna tanks) so it`s not a case of placing a washer, screw and bold on! I`ve done that with the water bottle hole though on the Gabber and that works a treat. Just wish the clip holes could be so easily blocked!

Looks promising though. x