Sudden aggressive/desperate bar chewing and biting.

[Winterjay]

I'm new here and acquired two winter white females in January. They are housed separately because when we brought them home from the store (where they were housed together) they started to fight violently (new location perhaps?). Other than that they're both mild mannered and like being held (they love to climb over dad and hide in his shirt pocket).

However sometime over the summer one of them has started to bite and draw blood on occasion, she also started to aggressively, seemingly desperately, chew on her wore door and the top of her cage (she's in a crittertrail with alot of attachments). I thought she just wanted to run in her ball or be held, but being held results in biting and when she's in her ball she just sits and tries to chew and dig in it. This has been going on for a couple of months and I have also given her paper tube and willow sticks to chew on. Any ideas or suggestions?

I know that was a bit lengthy and I thank you for your time.

[AmityvilleHams]

Critter Trail cages are not suitable for any species.This is very obviously a case of a cage being way too small,and by the way modular cages do not count for total floor space.

An immediate cage upgrade is necessary.I'd recommend Ikea Lack tables as these can be stacked,but you'd need 2 side tables per hamster and then you just mesh the sides and make doors for the cage as well as make substrate borders for each.

[Fluffagrams]

It does sound like something is bothering her - poor lass!

Bar chewing is often thought of as a sign that something is not quite right in her environment so it's best to begin a process of elimination before you go out and buy a new cage to begin with. Here's a couple of things that might be worth checking...

- Is she able to access and use her wheel comfortably without her back arching?
- What kind of activities does she have in her cage to keep her busy.
- Does she chew the things you have provided, if not have you tried an alternative chew such as a dog biscuit or a dog chew such as Whimzees?
- Is her food and water bottle easy to access?
- Could she be bothered by something outside of the cage such as a container of food or the other hamster?

Hamsters may also chew as an attention seeking behaviour or just out of habit. If you can you could try to obstruct her favourite place to chew.

Finally, how does she seem in terms of health? Hamsters can experience change in behaviour if they're not feeling too well which can include becoming more temperamental.


It could be that she's feeling a little claustrophobic but I hope that the points I've suggested give you a bit of an idea on some of the other possible reasons for your hamster's change in behaviour.

[Winterjay]

Yes, her wheel is rated for gerbils, but it's super light. On the rare occasion she does run in it she has no problems. Neither does my other hamster (hers is identical). She also has a tube that goes up into different things and has an igloo to climb on. She also climbs the bars of her cage and on the ceiling.

She always has easy access to food and fresh water.

Both hamsters are on separate tables on opposite ends of the room. I did however get a lava lamp that is no sitting on her table, that's the only thing that's changed.

Can it be any kind of dog biscuit?

Thank you!

[AmityvilleHams]

It has to be a high quality dog biscuit.I actually wouldn't recommend anything but natural and high quality dog biscuits though,as a lot of brands contain questionable things like biproducts and artificial preservatives.

[Winterjay]

My dog is allergic to grains. So she gets grain-free, peanut butter biscuits. Are those okay?

Thanks

[AmityvilleHams]

It depends on the ingredients If you had the ingredients that would help to know if they're safe or not!

[cypher]

She doesn't sound very happy at all & as Fluffagrams says this could be down to many things but I do wonder about the type of cage she's in, they generally do better in cages on one single level than lots of levels & tubes etc so it may be that she's not happy with her environment, if you would like to post a photo of her set up maybe we could help suggest something.

Do you have a play pen for her? Most Russians really enjoy having a run around in a play pen or other safe play area, you can make it really stimulating & interesting for them & it gives you more chance to interact with them.
Balls can be quite dangerous for dwarf hams & many are actually scared of them, it really doesn't mimic natural behaviour the way out of cage time in the play pen does so if you don't already I would really recommend giving that a try.

Dog biscuits (even healthy ones) can contain things that are either unsuitable or unsafe for hams so if you're not sure let us know what the ingredients are or post a link that shows them so someone can let you know.
Whimzees/antos dog chews are really good for chewing & readily available to buy most places.

Anther thing to help distract her in the cage is scatter feeding rather than using a bowl.

[chesca_27]

I think a large, more open cage (at least 60 by 40 cm) with little or no attachments would be the thing most likely to stop the problem but you can never be sure. A bin cage or tank style cage would be best for a bar chewer with a small shelf to dig under (that's what my hammy does).

How big is the wheel (inches)? I would recommend a 6 and a half inch wheel or an 8 inch wheel for a Winter White. My WW has an 8 inch Comfort wheel which I love. I can hear him when he runs so I know he's up. If the wheel too small (her back is arching) this could be a major problem as a wheel simulates the long distances a hamster would run each night in the wild.

My favourite topic, toys. What kind of toys does she have? Does she use them? Maybe a little reorganisation of her cage might prevent boredom is she's chewing because she's bored? Or you could make a few DIYs (there is a forum section for DIYs so have a little look) or even get some cheap ones at the pet store (check they're safe).

Food: Does she eat all of it? How much is left? Does she get fed treats? Could she be hungry or wanting a treat she goes crazy for? Larry-Jasper loves Greenies dog chews as does my best friend's hamster, Pikachu. Maybe you could try those? There are also Whimzees and Antos chews as cypher said. I prefer Greenies as all the Whimzees at my pet shop are loose on the shelf or in massive bags which cost £10 (I love my hamster but I cannot afford those) and I hate germs and try to be hygenic for him so I have to get Greenies as they come on their own IN packaging for about 90p/£1.

As also mentioned, maybe she's not feeling well? See if you can health check her or book her in for an appointment with a good local exotics vet. I'm not too good when it comes to identifying what's an illness and what's not so I can't help too much (my mum claims I make up illnesses for my guinea pigs). Just make sure she's behaving normally otherwise.

Blocking her chew zone would be another good idea. A hanging toy or small platform or ledge might work. I believe there is a bar chewing section on the forum somewhere - I'll see if I can find it for you! I think (but I am not sure so check) you could try rubbing olive oil where she chews as apparently most hams don't like the taste but it is the one of the safest oils (it's recommended for oiling a wheel). I found the bar chewing section - it's the top sticky on the behaviour section of the forum.


Anyway, I hope you can sought her problem out! Good luck

[AmityvilleHams]

Actually,I read that Greenies aren't safe.They've caused problems with dogs and the ingredients are a much higher risk than something as simple as Whimzees or Antos,and by the way there is nothing wrong getting loose Whimzees/Antos.It's much safer to just do that instead of risking things with Greenies anyways I'd say