Chewing the plastic of the cage

[miss_eva]

Hello all!

I realise this sort of thing gets asked a lot, but I am really running out of ideas! I have a Syrian, Fern, she is about a year old and I have her in the Alexander cage but she won't stop chewing the plastic base of the cage in the corner. Its really frustrating! I have put so many things in the cage to try and entertain her but nothing seems to be working. She doesn't seem interested in chewing the bars, just the plastic. I thought she only did it when I was in the room for attention - which she doesn't get when she's chewing the cage - but I came home from work yesterday and it has doubled in size. I worry that she is going to escape or injure herself. I have tried olive oil which only deterred her for a short amount of time and I have now put in an extra shelf in trying to block the route to her "project" but she has managed to find a way in! Anything else I have put in the way of the hole she destroys very quickly.

She is an excellent hamster otherwise, although she does seem to be awake more often than asleep unlike my other ham. Changing to a plastic cage would not be suitable of course, and I have looked into home made and aquarium tanks but I just don't think any would entertain her enough, she loves using all the levels and wee maze I have made at the top of her Alexander cage. If I did upgrade her cage it would need to be suitable to carry and fit through a door way as I carry it out of my room each night - she keeps me awake!

Are there any other home made suggestions to help her stop chewing?

(Essay over)!!

[AmityvilleHams]

For a DIY cage that is easy to move,stay away from anything glass.Glass will always be heavy,especially when you make something that is sized for Syrians!Acrylic or plastic is easy to lift,but acrylic can be difficult to work with if you make mistakes like not using the right kind of blades or drill bit(if cutting is required,drilling will always be required unless you're making a solid acrylic tank which is incredibly expensive compared to other DIY options)or if you try to use standard aquarium sealant(it won't bond to acrylic,so you have to use liquid weld in the case of solid tanks or just drill and attach otherwise with sealant at edges to waterproof for other DIY options).I think a bin setup of some sort with direct connections would be the easiest to transport though,as you can simply take the bins apart as needed and they'd be considerably lighter than other DIY cages.Just make sure to use several bins to make the size suitable(square meter plus which again can be taken apart if you need to move it or anything like that)and you should be fine

[Pebbles82]

Hello I would suggest changing the layout of the Alexander slightly, by adding a lot more substrate. Sometimes when they try and chew their way out it's because something isn't right for them in the cage.

There are various things that can help them have normal hamstery behaviours. One is lots of substrate they can burrow in, build mountains with and even dig tunnels sometimes. The Alexander base will hold 6 inches or more - because it has narrow bar spacing the substrate doesn't fall out of the bars so you can go to the top of the base and even higher (depending on the substrate you use).

The second thing is - they need a dark place to build a nest and bury their hoards in and hide. Although you seem to have quite a few hidey places in there, one large house where they can nest and hoard, that is dark inside will often keep them happy. The Alexander comes with a long built in house that is quite popular. You can even "bury" it by having the substrate up to roof level and scoop out an entrance passage down to the door.

The third thing that often stresses them and makes them want to escape is too much cleaning out in the cage.

This ties in with the deeper substrate. With deeper substrate you don't have to clean out so often. So although you use a lot more substrate initially, it lasts a lot longer and can end up working out cheaper. You can just spot clean mainly (ie take a handful of soiled substrate out and replace it with a handful of clean substrate and mix it in a bit so it smells familiar. The nest can be left alone for quite a long time if it hasn't been pee'd in and they often refurbish it themselves after a certain period of time. Their hoards also can be left as it is mainly dried food (again unless it is pee'd on then replace it with new food in the same area). Their poops aren't dirty, they're like little hard seeds and they sometimes hoard them or eat them for extra vitamins.

Hamsters will also usually use a potty litter tray if you provide one and put it in the place (usually a corner of a cage or house) they've chosen as a pee corner. Most people use chinchilla bathing sand in the potty. I used to just empty the potty every 5 to 6 days and the rest of the cage stayed dry. With an occasional pee in the wheel.

So maybe start with

At least 6 inches of substrate - you can pile it up in a heap in the centre of the cage even higher - it's one of the best "toys" you can give them.

A very large pile of nesting material. Plain white toilet paper is best. Take a sheet of toilet paper and tear it into 5 or 6 strips lengthwise, and do this with maybe 6 or 7 sheets of toilet paper then put a big mound of it somewhere in the cage but not inside the the house (maybe near the house). Hamsters pouch it and take it to the nest to build it up. They can build really big nests sometimes and even weave the paper to make sure it doesn't fall apart. Plain white paper is the safest nesting material and they like it. If you have anything like fluffy bedding then bin it asap as it's dangerous.

Then make sure there is a good sized house/nesting box in the cage (the long house in the Alexander is ideal.

Access is something that needs to work as well - ie so they can get to things easily. So if a food bowl is on a shelf and it's not easy to get onto the shelf they will let you know by chewing or other attention behaviours. Likewise if the wheel is stuck and won't spin or the water bottle is empty or not letting out water, they will try and get your attention. I used to keep two water bottles in the cage just in case.

So maybe it would be a good idea to pop her in something for a couple of hours (a pet carrier with substrate in eg) and re-set the cage up. I would take the ladder out - open ladders are hard for them to use and a bit of a safety issue.

You could also scatter feed once the changes are made - so your hammy can forage for the food and this will distract from chewing as well. I used to do half and half. Put some food in the food bowl and scatter some on top of the substrate as well.

Assume you have chew sticks for her so she has something to chew. Our hamster would only chew the ones that had food stuck to them

Just off to look at your set up again

[Pebbles82]

Ok - when re-doing it I would take all the toys out except the cardboard box roof maze to start with. Fill the base with substrate, maybe moving the left shelf up a bit. Do you still have the three shelves the Alexander came with?

The coconut and green sputnik would be better hung over the shelf maybe, so your hammy can enjoy going inside them but not have to climb much to get into them.

I actually think your layout looks good for rats. Hamsters will climb but aren't always that good at keeping balance or getting down again and usually prefer an easier route and easy access to hidey places.

Once you have the deeper substrate, maybe have more floor toys and less hanging toys. Tunnels or tubes or the egg box eg.

I'm guessing the large hanging toys are to try and prevent fall risks, but they can still fall between them if they climb to the roof so a shelf or deep substrate to land on is a better way to prevent falls from a height really.

I can't see what's on the floor of the cage very well from the photo. The digging tower could stay where it is. Can't see a wheel. Their wheel is also one of their most important things and an 11" wheel is good for a Syrian. If they don't have a wheel they will go frantic. Maybe you have a flying saucer on the floor level? If so it's good as an extra toy but it's best to have an upright wheel as the main wheel so they can run properly, plus a flying saucer would need to be a 12 inch one.

If you're not using the Alexander ramp for the shelves then a bendy bridge ramp would do or some kind of easy access up to the shelf.

They need more than one route sometimes. So even if your hammy can get from one side to the other via the roof maze/boxes sometimes they just want to get there quickly and run up a ramp

Hope this helps a bit. Meanwhile it looks like you need to do a bit of a repair on the cage base before your hammy escapes or hurts themselves. For now I would try and block that corner off with something and when the deep substrate is in that should help as well.

[Pebbles82]

So to summarise Everything higher up and more substrate.

Put hammy somewhere safe.
Take everything out of the cage except the roof maze and shelf.
Keep all the old substrate and her old nest to put back in tact if possible.
Fill the base right to the top with new substrate, or even higher or piled up in the middle. Sprinkle the old substrate on top of it so it smells familiar. Put nesting box/house back with nest back inside it.

Move everything higher up - so there is a gap to get under the shelf above the substrate.

Hang the coconut and sputnik over the shelf (so they're easy to get into) leave digging box and maze where they are (doesn't matter if digging box is partly buried with substrate). Maybe add the other shelf on the right.

Maybe replace digging box with an 11" wheel in the position where the digging box is.

Leave out the open rung ladders. Maybe add a cardboard tube or two on the floor of the cage (kitchen roll inner tube slit down the side so they can't get stuck in it).

Scatter some food on top of the substrate and maybe hide some treats in different places in the cage (a few pumpkin seeds, a small piece of cheese, half a walnut eg).

Anyway - basically - everything higher, hanging toys over a shelf, wheel, good sized house and loads of substrate. There might still be some fall risks in certain places then so we'd need to look at that after, but with deeper substrate there shouldn't be much of a fall risk.

[miss_eva]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Ok - when re-doing it I would take all the toys out except the cardboard box roof maze to start with. Fill the base with substrate, maybe moving the left shelf up a bit. Do you still have the three shelves the Alexander came with?

The coconut and green sputnik would be better hung over the shelf maybe, so your hammy can enjoy going inside them but not have to climb much to get into them.

I actually think your layout looks good for rats. Hamsters will climb but aren't always that good at keeping balance or getting down again and usually prefer an easier route and easy access to hidey places.

Once you have the deeper substrate, maybe have more floor toys and less hanging toys. Tunnels or tubes or the egg box eg.

I'm guessing the large hanging toys are to try and prevent fall risks, but they can still fall between them if they climb to the roof so a shelf or deep substrate to land on is a better way to prevent falls from a height really.

I can't see what's on the floor of the cage very well from the photo. The digging tower could stay where it is. Can't see a wheel. Their wheel is also one of their most important things and an 11" wheel is good for a Syrian. If they don't have a wheel they will go frantic. Maybe you have a flying saucer on the floor level? If so it's good as an extra toy but it's best to have an upright wheel as the main wheel so they can run properly, plus a flying saucer would need to be a 12 inch one.

If you're not using the Alexander ramp for the shelves then a bendy bridge ramp would do or some kind of easy access up to the shelf.

They need more than one route sometimes. So even if your hammy can get from one side to the other via the roof maze/boxes sometimes they just want to get there quickly and run up a ramp

Hope this helps a bit. Meanwhile it looks like you need to do a bit of a repair on the cage base before your hammy escapes or hurts themselves. For now I would try and block that corner off with something and when the deep substrate is in that should help as well.

This is all very helpful! There are two wheels in the cage, there is one on the upper shelf, its transparent, probably why you cant see it and there is a flying saucer on the bottom floor behind the burrow box. I took the alexander ladder out of the cage because my previous hamster had bashed all of her toes on it there is a purple tunnel leading up and down to the upper shelf - also at the back of the cage - I'll add more photos! Its funny you should mention the sputnik, sitting on it is probably her favourite spot! She really loves climbing! I will def add more substrate! I currently use a mixture of carefresh and finacard. I had totally forgotten about the other larger bed for the cage! I will also add that in! She does have a litter tray, its under the smaller shelf I put in last night.

I will be doing a big cage re-arrange today! Any further suggestions are always appreciated!

[Pebbles82]

Ooh thank you - that helps. Ok - all looks good except both wheels are too small and that could well be why she is chewing. So maybe just add loads more substrate and raise everything a bit and get an 11" wheel - which will mean changing the layout a bit to fit it in. No need to change the house if she likes that one, it's a nice house. She is very sweet. Sorry about the sputnik idea lol. If she likes it like that it's fine.

I think the extra substrate and a new wheel will do it.

[miss_eva]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

So to summarise Everything higher up and more substrate.

Put hammy somewhere safe.
Take everything out of the cage except the roof maze and shelf.
Keep all the old substrate and her old nest to put back in tact if possible.
Fill the base right to the top with new substrate, or even higher or piled up in the middle. Sprinkle the old substrate on top of it so it smells familiar. Put nesting box/house back with nest back inside it.

Move everything higher up - so there is a gap to get under the shelf above the substrate.

Hang the coconut and sputnik over the shelf (so they're easy to get into) leave digging box and maze where they are (doesn't matter if digging box is partly buried with substrate). Maybe add the other shelf on the right.

Maybe replace digging box with an 11" wheel in the position where the digging box is.

Leave out the open rung ladders. Maybe add a cardboard tube or two on the floor of the cage (kitchen roll inner tube slit down the side so they can't get stuck in it).

Scatter some food on top of the substrate and maybe hide some treats in different places in the cage (a few pumpkin seeds, a small piece of cheese, half a walnut eg).

Anyway - basically - everything higher, hanging toys over a shelf, wheel, good sized house and loads of substrate. There might still be some fall risks in certain places then so we'd need to look at that after, but with deeper substrate there shouldn't be much of a fall risk.

I will do all this today! Added some extra photos on my last reply showing the floor and upper levels a bit better!

[miss_eva]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Ooh thank you - that helps. Ok - all looks good except both wheels are too small and that could well be why she is chewing. So maybe just add loads more substrate and raise everything a bit and get an 11" wheel - which will mean changing the layout a bit to fit it in. No need to change the house if she likes that one, it's a nice house. She is very sweet. Sorry about the sputnik idea lol. If she likes it like that it's fine.

I think the extra substrate and a new wheel will do it.

I did have another larger wheel that i used for my previous hamster, but she loved it so much it made her feet bleed! Where did you get your larger wheel from? The previous one I had was the largest one I could find but didn't want to purchase it again for obvious reasons '

[Pebbles82]

Amazon sell the 28cm Trixie wheel which is about £9. The 12" silent runner is a great wheel but it's quite tall and also expensive at £25. Most people find the Trixie wheel is quiet enough and it's a good size for a Syrian.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Exer...m+Trixie+wheel

Definitely give her loads of torn up paper nesting material though (if you don't already). One difficulty with deeper substrate is if they decide to tunnel under the house it can sink on them a bit - so you could keep an eye on that. Or use the long house buried as well She might move into it.