Marys bar chewing

[Heather]

Originally Posted by Yzma

There are a lot of reasons why hamsters chew bars. I'm not sure of all of them, but these are the most common ones:
1. Boredom. It doesn't sound or look like that should be the case with your hamster. I see lots of great toys there!!
2. Small space. Hamsters need a LOT of space, and as much as they are climbers, they are runners even more. If you don't want a tank, there are other cages you can buy off the internet that provide a lot of space.
3. Little interaction. Hamsters need to be taken out of their cage pretty much every day.
4. Stress. Is he a new hamster? That might explain why he chews. Mine did too the first week after I brought her home.

I hope any of that helps

Thanks . I Don't think its a space issue, the cage is pretty big. I really like tanks, it's just he seems to enjoy climbing. I think If I have to move him it will be to a bin cage, but it will be a last resort because the largest bins I could find are smaller than the cage he's in now .

I've had him over a month now, he's not a nervous hamster at all. I have recently put another hamstee in the same room as him though, I wonder if the different smells could be stressing him?

[Heather]

Originally Posted by Nat

I had the same problem with Dolly. She used to sit on top of her house and chew the bars relentlessly for hours. I was very concerned for her teeth, plus it was super annoying!
I tried putting lemon juice etc on them but it didn't deter her. I also tried doubling the mesh so it was smaller and she couldn't for her nose through but she still managed to chew them.
In the end, I had to just buy a new bin cage where she can't reach the mesh...

I have a feeling its going to go the same way with Mary! I'm going to give the olive oil a go. I've rearranged the cage so that he can't get to some of the bars and weaved cardboard so hopefully he will just get bored of trying..he is a persistent little thing though!

[BloonStuff]

I've had Rue a week and a half now and she is mad for chewing her bars. She has a specific spot she likes to chew on right on the door, ever since she found out that's where the door was. Her cage is pretty big and also has a bunch of toys and things to chew, but much the same.. she does't seem interested in anything but that one spot. I'm really worried about her teeth and I can't use a tank cage because I wouldn't be able to reach into it (I'm disabled). So I'm really hoping I can find a way to entice her away from the bars. D: I'm hoping if I can satisfy her need for attention then she'll be more content. Fingers crossed! I tried olive oil... but she didn't seem to care. Lol.

[Snowz]

Hi, my hamster Snow did that the first couple of weeks i got her, though she doesn't do it anymore, if she bites certain places on the bar just put brown loo roll tubes there