My Syrian is freaking out.

BelleofBroadway · 05-24-2015, 09:31 PM

Hi all,

I have had my hamster Gus Gus for two months now. About two weeks into coming home, he started bar chewing. I can't tell you how many chew toys I bought. I even sprayed the cage bars with vinegar and he still did it all night long. I was worried about his teeth so I got him a new cage today with bars he can't chew. Now he's freaking out. He realized he can't chew them and is flinging himself around the cage, he flipped his igloo, and when I tried to give him a carrot to chew on, he bit me! Now he's running around the cage like a maniac and slamming his head against the bars in protest. The cage is large enough and he has so many toys that he refuses to use. He's so mad and I don't know what to do! I've left him alone for the past hour and he's still freaking out. Why does he want to chew on the bars so badly when there's a kabob, a carrot, and a stick to chew on? Any advice would be appreciated.

BrainGirl · 05-25-2015, 06:48 AM

Hi Belle, can you provide some more details so we can help you figure out a solution? Is he a Syrian hamster or a dwarf? What cage was he in and what cage is he in now? Does he have a wheel and if so, what size is it?

Some hamsters will chew no matter what their owners do to stop them, they seem to enjoy it. In such case, your only hope may be to switch to a tank or bin cage.

racinghamster · 05-25-2015, 06:57 AM

His cage has been changed so this alone will stress him. It`s better that he doesn`t have bars to chew anyway as bar chewing is not kind to their teeth. What cage is he now in? How big is it? What type/size of wheel does he have to run on? These will help us get a bigger picture, but you also need to allow him to settle and have a routine. He`s hyper about all the changes so if you don`t make too much fuss or wake him up when he`s sleeping, he will get used to this new environment, but it depends what s and how different it is to what he was kept in before? x

Leila0420 · 05-25-2015, 12:27 PM

Did you put any of his old substrate/ bedding etc. into the new cage? It might settle him a bit if he has his own scent in there...

BelleofBroadway · 05-25-2015, 12:38 PM

Gus Gus is a long haired Syrian. I'm not sure how old he is, they didn't know when I got him. He hasn't grown any since I brought him home, so he wasn't a baby.

His cage is the Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat Plus from Petsmart.

The shape of the bars just don't fit his head anymore. He has an 11 inch saucer wheel that he hates. I've never seen him use it once. It was the same one he had in his cage at the pet store so I thought he would like it. Since he doesn't like the wheel, I put him in his ball every night. He does like that. He also has a paper towel tube that he likes to drag around.

This morning when I woke up he had flung tons of bedding around, it was all over the floor. He's never done that before. He isn't sleeping in his igloo like normal, he's got his head down in a corner. i hope this is enough info.

thanks!

BelleofBroadway · 05-25-2015, 09:34 PM

Ok, I don't think my first reply this morning went through. Sorry if this double posts!

Gus Gus is a syrian hamster. He's fully grown and very shy. His last cage was two critter trail 2 level cages I had connected together. His new cage is a Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat Plus. It's HUGE so he has to have enough space! He has an 11 inch saucer wheel that he refuses to use. He hates it. I don't know why, I saw him playing on the exact same one at the pet store. I usually put him in his ball every evening about an hour or two after he wakes up and let him roam my apartment. Sometimes I take him out and let him explore the couch but he's prone to belly flopping off of it and onto the floor and it freaks me out.

This morning when I woke up, his bedding was everwhere. He had almost emptied the cage. I had put about half of his old bedding in there when I got the new cage to make sure it smelled the same. He just woke up about an hour ago and went straight into his hammock and has just been staring at me like I am an evil overlord. He discovered one little spot in the new cage where he can chew a bit but it doesn't seem to satisfy him. I'm leaving him alone tonight because I know he's pissed. It seems weird that he hasn't moved in an hour and he's just glaring at me. :\ I'm just trying to protect his teeth!

BelleofBroadway · 05-25-2015, 09:37 PM

Also, this is Gus Gus!

Russian_dwarf · 05-25-2015, 10:15 PM

My hamster used to chew on her wheel and it was extremly annoying. Try adding a couple more chews so he has a choice, add a very very thin coat of peanut butter onto the chews to encourage him to chew on them. I did that with Echo (my dwarf) and now she basicaly only chews on her chews instead of her wheel

Piebald · 05-25-2015, 10:58 PM

He's a lovely fella. Is that a spinner only you have? Try a proper wheel maybe? You will need a 12" one for a full grown Syrian but it should fit in that new cage? Do you have a picture of it? He is going to need adjusting time that's for sure.
He knows you took his bars away lol hence the stare. Tell him it's for his own good and be firm. Wait I googled that cage -- does it have the bars or the square type mesh? You seem to be saying he can only chew a small bit now. I'd try to block that off with a wooden toy or shelf or upended bendy bridge "wall".
Regarding the ball-- have you tried a playpen? I wonder if a playpen environment will help him think more about using toys. I wouldn't expect it to be a magic bullet however and he will just try to escape at first. I think the ball time should be limited to about 20 mins then they need a break with water.
In addition to chew toys try him with some puzzle toys and some maze toys. You can also make boredom breaker toys by hiding treats in a cardboard tube wrapped in paper he has to figure out (ie chew) how to get to the treat.
The idea is to distract him now that his bars have been taken away and get him thinking about something else. It will take some time I think!

BrainGirl · 05-26-2015, 07:11 AM

I looked at that cage when it first came out and I thought for sure a Syrian would be able to escape through the bars. If he can't even get his head through then that's a great option for those of us in N. America who have trouble finding decent cages!

Are you sure he's not using his saucer while you're sleeping? Try sprinkling some bedding on it before you go to bed and see if it's still there in the morning. Another possibility is that it's got something stuck in the spindle and it's not able to spin freely. If he's prone to digging around the base of it stuff can get kicked up and in