Bar biting

[henrythefish]

My old hamster Dave was a HUGE bar biter, but he always did it at the front of the cage so I could see what he was doing and poke my finger through the cage bars, and that did the trick. However, my new hamster Harry is a sneaky one, and he always climbs up to the top of the cage and bar bites where I can't reach because of a wall. There is simply nowhere else to put the cage and I am really worried about his health - especially after I've been told that bar biting can cause brain damage. I've tried putting olive oil on his bars, but that only works for a 1/2 hour, and I can't stop him at night. Any other ideas? This problem really frustrates me.

[pumpkin123]

How old is your hammie? My hamster did it all the time I couldn't stop her but now she is older she has stopped doing it. Has your hamster got any chews or things he can play with to keep him busy? wheel?

[cypher]

If he always does it in the same place you could try threading cardboard through the bars, for some more ideas have a look here Managing Bar Chewers

[henrythefish]

He is very young: 10 weeks and a day. No, he hasn't got any chew toys, but when I did that with Dave, Harry's predecessor, he still ignored them. He has got a wheel, however.

[Malatessa]

Originally Posted by henrythefish

He is very young: 10 weeks and a day. No, he hasn't got any chew toys, but when I did that with Dave, Harry's predecessor, he still ignored them. He has got a wheel, however.

We purposely got a cage without bars, to prevent the bar gnawing. Instead we put in some chew toys and hamster friendly cardboard. We've had Bubbles for about 3 weeks now and he doesn't seem to gnaw anything - apart from small parts of the cardboard, where he's decided to make his nest. I'm a little concerned about his lack of gnawing because I understand it helps keep his teeth in good order. But I think it's instinct for them to chew - so hopefully in time (I estimate he's about 13 weeks old), his instincts will kick in and he'll just start chewing and gnawing when the urge takes him.

[Piebald]

Originally Posted by henrythefish

He is very young: 10 weeks and a day. No, he hasn't got any chew toys, but when I did that with Dave, Harry's predecessor, he still ignored them. He has got a wheel, however.

Just because Dave ignored them doesn't mean Harry will. You need to get him away from the bars and on to the chew toys. He may not go for the chew toys if the bars are too available. Once he gets in the habit of bar chewing it will be harder to break so have a look at the link above and try everything!

[Snowz]

Vinegar? lemon? wipe that all over the cage.

[Hamsterlover91]

Try that last alternative is a new cage with no bars I have the ferplast maxi multy duna only vars on top. Try also putting in a bonio or milk bone to distract form chewing