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Old 06-18-2017, 04:03 PM   #1
arnieA380
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Join Date: Mar 2017
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Default Brian has started chewing his cage - advice please

Hi all im matt

iv recieved alot of help from this forum so thank you all. Now i have the Barney hamster cage for BRIAN
now he has been perfectly fine since i got it but recently we have noticed he has started to chew the bars underneath the shelf.

in his cage we have the following:

the shelf and house that comes with it,
28cm trixie wheel ( he doesnt seem to go on it as much tho and yes it spins freely)
Trixie Natural Living Bridge - entrance to his house
sputnik hammock
wooden bridge for hiding
trixie cork tunnel
trixie sand bath - he seems to love having a bath - but fills up with substrate alot so i have keep taking it out haha

we put him in his ball to roam the house every night for approx 20mins
and we give him him the odd treat/chew every so often

can anybody advice on what might be causing him to suddenly start chewing
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Old 06-18-2017, 04:11 PM   #2
Drago
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Default Re: Brian has started chewing his cage - advice please

What species is he? The species will help us out a bit

Though it sounds like his cage is full of stimulation, a picture may help us with suggesting ways you can help entertain him more. How deep is his substrate? For a Syrian, you're going to want to aim no lower than 12 inches, for a dwarf (although this number will vary by species and individual) you should shoot for around 8 inches or so. Though going in a ball is better than nothing, it's really not providing any true stimulation to your ham- and proper stimulation can go a long way in preventing undesirable behaviors. Hamsters explore by leaving scent trails which they follow, and feeling unfamiliar objects with their noses. A ball takes both these senses away unfortunately. There's nothing a ball provides that a wheel couldn't, but a wheel is much safer. I'd recommend letting him into a playpen for 30-60 minutes nightly. Even just a bathtub with a fleece blanket or towel covering the bottom and filled with toys, hides, and a wheel will suffice. Good luck
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Old 06-22-2017, 12:34 PM   #3
CMB
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Default Re: Brian has started chewing his cage - advice please

The Barney cage is quite big so you may want to add more tubes etc to fill up some of the space.

Have a look at the show us your cages thread. You may get ideas from there.

The bar bitting could be because of the cage move. He may be a little stressed from the move. Hope it stops soon.
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Old 06-22-2017, 12:41 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Brian has started chewing his cage - advice please

Hi - picking up from your other thread - I think it started after you did a cage clean and then he was at your gf's nan's house while you were on holiday and then moved back to your house again. As mentioned - our last Syrian Charlie started bar chewing after we left him somewhere while on holiday and it took a good two weeks for him to settle down.

I think it's the big change of environment twice. We had to start going to bed early and turning the lights out as he stopped when there was no-one there. Also letting him out more. In the end, what did it was - a full cage clean. The cage smelled of the last house he had been in I think. Normally a cage clean can stress them, but in this case, it helped him settle.

So I washed the base and the bars, put all new substrate in, and added some new toys and chews as you have done, and this distracted him out of the stress, plus his cage no longer had scents from the house he'd stayed in.

The problem at the moment is maybe that he is stressed, and adding new things (more changes) is stressing him more. He needs to settle again. Try letting him out more in the evenings, or put a playpen up round the cage and leave the doors open (with a ramp down if the cage is high up!), but if he starts when he goes back in the cage, then just turn the lights out and leave the room.

Now you've added some more toys, I wouldn't move or change anything for a while and let him adjust. Keep talking to him
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trixie, house, cage, brian, bridge, advice, chewing, started, alot, bath, shelf, fills, love, wooden, hammock, sputnik, entrance, hiding, cork, sand, tunnel, ball, treat/chew, start, suddenly

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