Help me!

Larrymom · 01-07-2016, 01:34 AM

It's no secret that Larry is a wannabe escape artist. When I first adopted him he was licking away at the doors and scratching before I had even left p@h. His old cage, thrown away because he chew all the bar lids. I buy him a new one and he tries everything he can to bite through the whole where the water bottle comes through. I think he's realised that it's impossible and he's now biting his water bottle, the metal part. It's so loud! I keep telling him off but it was all last night.
I'm at a loss. I can't buy him new toys purely because if I go out and buy them he ignores them. I can't put him in his ball when he's doing it because I feel like I'm essentially saying okay you lil spoilt thing to in your ball. And I'm teaching him that it's okay to do that. Ughh.

cypher · 01-07-2016, 01:53 AM

Biting the water bottle can be a real problem as they can damage their teeth & ingest too much water while they do it so if possible I would try giving a small water bowl for a while & find something (a bolt maybe?) to block off the hole the water bottle goes through.
What chews does he have, whimzees are usually pretty good at distracting them & dog biscuits like biscrok can be good too, they often ignore things sold as chew toys!
Does he have plenty of other enrichment in his cage? Things to explore & play with? What about feeding, do you scatter feed or hide food rather than put it in a bowl, that's one of the best ways to keep them busy & take their minds of destroying things you don't want them to!

Pebbles82 · 01-07-2016, 02:05 AM

Double posted

Pebbles82 · 01-07-2016, 02:07 AM

Hi there. I just read your other post where you said you recently moved in with your boyfriend. This will have been a big change for Larry, and even our non bar chewing Syrian started chewing the bars after a change of environment when we had been away on holiday. Charlie often used to bite at the metal spout of the water bottle. Sometimes it was frustration trying to get water out of it faster I think. I recently changed his bottle to a Ferplast drinky (75ml size) and he never chews at it now. The only difference I think is that the water flows easier - but also the metal spout is quite a bit wider. Maybe you could try one, they're about £2.50. As it's a Ferplast one I believe they fit the hole in the Ferplast duna tanks perfectly.

I got mine from Porton Aquatics because the only Amazon seller is selling them at ridiculous prices. My recent new one was grey rather than red - not that it matters, but just to let you know it might come in a different colour.

Fpi 4660 Drinky75 Drinky B.

Apart from that, he could well be stressed by the changes and could take a couple of weeks to settle down. Maybe avoid doing cage cleaning for a couple of weeks, except a little bit of spot cleaning substrate if necessary, or just emptying a potty.

Meanwhile - he is probably picking up on your stress too, so it'll be a vicious circle. You could try talking gently to him a bit each night and reassuring him everything will be fine!
You are right that they ignore toys sometimes, especially if focused on something else, and new toys in the cage can just stress them out anyway if it's a change. You could try adding a new chew type thing that he can't resist! I normally get the Rosewood healthy sugar-free treat sticks, but maybe once a year I'll give Charlie one of the Vitakraft ones with honey and that always gets chewed! You might get them a bit cheaper at a local pet shop

Vitakraft Hamster Honey Sticks - 2Pack: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

This carrot log roll also kept Charlie chewing for weeks!

Rosewood Boredom Breaker Natural Treat Nibble Woodroll Carrot: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

The other thing you could try, to distract him and cheer him up a bit, is scattering half of his hamster food in the substrate, around the cage, so he forages for it and gets nice surprises when he finds it. I put half in his bowl and scatter the other half. Also put extra bits of food (eg veg's and other supplements) in different places in his cage rather than in his food bowl. eg I put Charlie's veg in his sputnik and an extra supplement on his kabob or on a little shelf at the back of the cage. Like a small piece of cheese, half a brazil nut, a piece of apple, a healthy treat etc.

Larrymom · 01-20-2016, 08:13 AM

I bought him a new water bottle and replaced his toys. So far so good. I just have concerns of his new bottle which I've posted elsewhere. Hopefully now he'll stop. I should have learnt before I adopted that he was going to be a 24/7 escape wannabe licking the windows and biting his way out.

StarlightSerenity · 01-20-2016, 08:18 AM

What cage is he in at the moment?

kelza · 01-20-2016, 08:05 PM

Our syrian Hime also chews on the metal water bottle holder. We're in the process of collecting supplies to add another level to her tank, which will provide an area for hanging toys. We are also looking into a water bottle with a base to place in the tank. But in the mean time I have found a few trick to distract her.

1. Some nights she gets a new whimzee or cheese chew. With the whimzees we switch between the alligator and toothbrush styles, and don't provide the same flavor (color) twice in a row.

2. We will scatter food around the cage instead of filling her bowl. I think this irritates her really as she puts the food in her bowl as she's collecting it.

3. We give her a new cardboard box (like an empty tissue or food) to play in and destroy. This is her favorite by a long shot! She loves chewing holes in the corners and side and running through them, lol.

Hope these ideas help!