Worried about my Syrian chewing

[beth251993]

I have a Syrian hamster she is nearly 12 weeks and she keeps chewing on the plastic thing that keeps the cage together and the bars also, but she isn't bored because she has just been bought new stuff and keeps going back to it, also is it normal to keep changing beds and one last thing is would it affect her or be bad for he if I removed her platform in her cage so she has more
Space?
Thanks
Beth

[evel_lin]

Can I ask what size her cage and wheel are? Hamsters need a surprising amount of space considering the type of cages pet shops commonly recommend. For a syrian most people on here aim for 80 x 40 cm as a minimum. Syrians also need an 8 inch wheel or bigger. I personally use 11 inch wheels with mine although you then need to consider how tall the cage is that you are using.

The moving beds could be because she's a little unsettled or she's just not sure where the perfect sleeping spot is yet, try not to clean her out too often or disturb her nest if you can help it and hopefully she'll settle down.

[beth251993]

It's 20 across and 10 up but I for recommended this one when we bought her her wheel is big enough for her she's always using it x

[squishyhammy]

most hamsters will use a wheel even if its too small. what size is it? that cage does sound rather small though... so doubrt the wheel is a decent size

[gellerbing]

the cage sounds way too small, you're gonna want to upgrade her to a larger cage, she's probably chewing and unsettled because she feels too cramped so she would appreciate the bigger space

[beth251993]

Sorry that's in inches not cm so it's 50 cm across and 25cm down so it's big enough silly me mistyping only realised when my partner mentioned it was biggest cage we could get so I realised I had measured in inches

[evel_lin]

Even in cm it's still not big enough I'm afraid. If you have a look in the housing and cage review sections of the forum you'll find some ideas. Popular cages include Alexander, Alaska, Barney, Hamster Heaven, Zoozone 2 (a guinea pig cage so needs the roof bars meshing to prevent escapes), Mamble etc.

I have two syrians in Alexander cages and my other syrian is in an Alaska. Zooplus is a great website to look for large cages. The RSPCA recommend at least 70 x 40cm although I personally would aim for more than that with a syrian.

As I said before the wheel needs a diameter of at least 8 inches so the hamster can run on it comfortably without bending it's back.

Hope that helps a bit

[Tutu]

Originally Posted by beth251993

Sorry that's in inches not cm so it's 50 cm across and 25cm down so it's big enough silly me mistyping only realised when my partner mentioned it was biggest cage we could get so I realised I had measured in inches

You see most people's hamster cage will be 50cm wide and 80cm long and 40cm tall. So your hamster cage is really really tiny for Syrian hamster. Wheel should be 11" or 28cm wide diameter for fully grown Syrian. This is my and my hamster's personal preference and most hamster lovers and hamsters will agree.
You see also i was where you are now exactly year ago with my first hamster and small cage and even smaller wheel that money grabbing pet shop sold me! And my hamster was chewer too but as soon as she moved into bigger habitat she stopped
I'm firm advocate of bigger cages and wheel however There might be few people who say some hamsters prefer smaller cage but I'd like to ask those people would you like to live in your bathroom full time ?
Anyways good luck with your new hamster and hopefully all works out or you both.

[beth251993]

Bought her a new cage today on the box it's says for Syrians and it's so much better she's happier more tubes to go through

[beth251993]

Just wanted what was best for her so just went to pet shop this morning