Can bar chewing be Genetic?

[Lilac_Dreams]

The questions in the title really.

In all my 10 years owning hamsters, I have never had a Hamster Bar chew in a cage bigger than 80 x 40cm and that receives the correct level of mental and physical stimulation, however a friend of mine has a male Syrian Hamster in a Barney Cage. He has a 12 inch wheel, very deep sand bath, digging box, 5 houses, tubes both plastic, wooden and toilet paper tubes, some plastic toys, the base filled right up with Woodshavings, and gets 30 minutes out free roam in his hamster proofed room.

His hamster bar chews almost all night. He took it vets to look at it's teeth and there was no issue there, the vet did a general health check and was deemed healthy [it was an exotic vet, not just a general dog and cat vet].

The thing that baffles me is this hamster gets more free roam time than my hamsters and in a bigger area, his cage is bigger than 2 of my Syrians as well and none of mine have ever bar chewed which leaves me to wonder if this can rarely be a genetic issue? His Hamster comes from a Pet Store that is well known for being supplied by a Rodent Farm, so, it wouldn't surprise me if it is a case of bad genetics. I tried looking into some peer-reviewed research for genetic bar chewing and came up with nothing.

He has been thinking of getting a 40g long tank for his hamster to stop the bar chewing, but wants to see if he can sort this out first before resorting to just covering up the behaviour problem.

[AmityvilleHams]

I really don't see why something that is behavior and habitat related would be genetic.

Tanks,as is thought,would really just cover up the problem It isn't a real fix like a large cage(for example square meter plus cages if not already,not counting the free range area unless it is directly connected with absolutely no interruptions between).Hamsters can still show other signs in tanks that a cage/habitat isn't right,and unfortunately these signs often get ignored.

[Drago]

Well I suppose the chewing itself, perhaps not. However, to say it's not at all genetic would be incorrect as there are SOME genetic factors that play into it. For example, the ability to react and cope with stress is determined by the parent's ability. A hamster whose parent has bad coping skills is more likely to share this angsty-ness, and thus it creates a hamster who is biologically more likely to bar chew and partake in other obsessive behaviors. Another thing to consider is OCD and other neurological type disorders which are also passed down, can make a hamster more likely to bar chew and complete other unhealthy behaviors when stressed or unhappy. In general though, I definitely think it's an environmental thing a majority of the time, and usually is something that can be fixed with either a large upgrade or addition of more stimulation (or even both!) The other times I think it is more down to how they were raised, such as a hamster raised in a tiny environment will be less tame, more anxious, and consequentially, more likely to bar chew. This other small percentage of the time is when genetic and neurological type things play a part. All in all, you can really only do so much. Providing stimulation and a good size environment helps decrease the chances dramatically, but it's not a 100% fix and an overly obsessive bar chewer isn't necessarily the fault of the owner granted they've tried many ways to fix the problem. To sum it up, I think many factors, more than we like to see, play into bar chewing and more of those factors than we think have to do with genetics and tendencies of hamsters. I hope your friend is able to sort out his ham's bar chewing issue soon!

[Fluffagrams]

It seems to be a common misconception that bar chewing is a response that is entirely down to environmental issues but the behaviour can sometimes be due to other things. From speaking to other experienced hamster owners, bar chewing has sometimes occurred due to attention seeking and habit too.

There are some fantastic tips for managing bar chewers from Vectis Hamstery which might be worth a try if your friend hasn't already: Managing Bar Chewers

[Cinnamon Bear]

Bar chewing drives me nuts, I'd get a glass tank for sure

[cypher]

I think you can only speculate about genetics tbh but the only bar chewing I've experienced has been down to attention seeking, it can become a habit though if allowed to go on for long with any ham so best to try to resolve the issue sooner rather than later!

[Pebbles82]

I personally think it can be a combination of factors. Genetics might play a part. It can also be a learned behaviour and become a habit. If the hamster bar chewed in a small cage before your friend got him, it could be a bad habit he developed. It could also be a stress behaviour if your friend is cleaning him out too much, his wheel is too small or he doesn't have enough substrate or something else in the cage is a problem (ie can't access his water bottle easily or something).

So sometimes they do it to try and communicate something to you. Other times, it is a habit. There was an interesting study done in Germany (doesn't make pleasant reading as it was an experiment done by scientists) about how much space the hamsters they tested needed before they stopped bar chewing, and they reckoned 1 metre square was the turning point.

It could just be, assuming that everything in the cage is ok, enough substrate, wheel big enough and he's not cleaned out too much, that this particular hamster needs a lot more space.

One thing about the German study was that all the hamsters (I think) in the experiment were from the same genetic line (not 100% sure about that) - so it could be that they were all genetically predisposed bar chewers, although they probably were all under stress anyway. But it's also interesting that it stopped once the space they were in was increased.

Enrichment is the key word these days, to it isn't just the size of the cage but also how it is enriched. A very large cage with a very thin layer of substrate and not much to do in it, is not as an enriching as a slightly smaller cage with lots to do in it. Although I think a bigger cage can give more scope for enrichment than a smaller one.

If your friend is up to a bit of diy, then rather than a glass tank he could try making a 1 metre square diy cage out of pieces of melamine and a sheet of perspex for the top and make a mesh lid. There would be no bars to chew and he would see if the space made a difference (if there are no bars then these persistent types tend to chew at something else - eg the corners of the cage.

There is also this 1 metre square rabbit cage which could be meshed, which might work out cheaper than a tank or diy cage, but it would be a fiddly job and need meshing on the inside really and make sure there are no sharp corners. But it might make sense to go for something non barred and with more space. It would be interesting to see if the same hamster bar chewed in a very large cage, but an expensive experiment! The Borneo cage sold by Amazon.de comes in 120cm long (8mm bar spacing) and is very tall needing a full extra level really. And it might be that even that isn't big enough!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LITTLE-FRIE...re+rabbit+cage

I think a 40 gallon long tank could be too narrow. There are quite a few Ikea hacks for making diy cages. I think the Germans use a Pax wardrobe!

A big enough tank would cost a fortune in the Uk. The Germans, for example, think a Barney cage isn't suitable! Because the base slopes in and because it doesn't allow enough depth of substrate for example.

If your friend isn't into doing the diy thing, or meshing the big rabbit cage, then a tank may be the best option but I reckon it would need to be a lot bigger than the current Barney cage and have a good depth - 50 to 60cm deep.