Hamster chewing all the time

[MariPante]

Hello! I am a fairly new hamster owner as i got my Campbell dwarf female 2 months ago so i don't have much experience.
So, Tuchi is living in a 80x50cm cage and just won't stop chewing her wooden house hide. 2 days ago i bought her a karlie woodent wheel which she just adores, as she only runs in this one now and totally ignores her old wheel, the flying saucer. But she runs at night and chews her wheel at day and i don't know what to do to make her stop.
I jave to mention that i bought her a lot of toys that she does not show any interest in, and also bought her a lot of chew toys made from wood , that she ignores also. I do feed her vegetables, fruits, nuts, beside the hamster menu food. I do think she is a happy hamster as she is not agressive and doesnt bite. She just chews all day when she is awake and i am concerned about splinters hurting her maybe, and i also am not fond of her destroying anything i buy her.
So can you help me with any suggestion?

[cypher]

They often aren't interested in wooden chew toys so that's not unusual at all, they do seem to like to chew things we'd rather they didn't though!
Have you tried her with whimzee dog chews? They're a great favourite with most hams, they are available in many pet shops or online & the small toothbrush is about the best for Russians.
Try making some treat toys out of old toilet roll tubes or kitchen roll tubes, (vid here) these really keep them occupied & busy & can help prevent chewing other things, you can put treats in or some of her food so she has to work for it.
You could try scatter feeding too rather than using a bowl so she can forage for her food.
If she's chewing on the wheel during the day could you give her more out of cage time in a playpen with various different toys to explore?

If she's a Campbell (or hybrid) I wouldn't feed fruit except maybe as a very rare treat as you do need to avoid sweet things due to the fact they can be prone to diabetes.

[MariPante]

Originally Posted by cypher

They often aren't interested in wooden chew toys so that's not unusual at all, they do seem to like to chew things we'd rather they didn't though!
Have you tried her with whimzee dog chews? They're a great favourite with most hams, they are available in many pet shops or online & the small toothbrush is about the best for Russians.
Try making some treat toys out of old toilet roll tubes or kitchen roll tubes, (vid here) these really keep them occupied & busy & can help prevent chewing other things, you can put treats in or some of her food so she has to work for it.
You could try scatter feeding too rather than using a bowl so she can forage for her food.
If she's chewing on the wheel during the day could you give her more out of cage time in a playpen with various different toys to explore?

If she's a Campbell (or hybrid) I wouldn't feed fruit except maybe as a very rare treat as you do need to avoid sweet things due to the fact they can be prone to diabetes.

Thank you very much for the reply, i sometime scatter feed her. I don't give her fruits often as she is not always interested in fruits. I will buy her some dog treats and make her some toys as you said..
I do have another question... since i bought that new wheel she is obsesed with it.. like.. she even sleeps behind it during the day in a not so comfortable position in my opinion.. is it normal? Should i be worried?
(She has a hide wich she ignores since the new wheel appeared)
I have my sister's dog at my place (she is out of town and i am looking after her) .. my hammy does seem to ignore her but still... can she feel scared by the dog?

[cypher]

Being obsessed with the wheel isn't unusual! It may still be because it's fairly new & much better than a flying saucer, they will often sleep behind or under the wheel too, even if they have a nice house!
That doesn't look very comfortable I have to agree but it's up to her really, maybe you could pull the wheel forward just a little & put some substrate behind it so it's a bit more comfortable if she really wants to stay there.
It's best not to have a dog in the same room as your ham if you can possibly avoid it, she will be able to smell the dog even when she can't see it & to a ham a dog is a predatory animal (regardless of the dog's nature) so it can be very stressful for them.

[MariPante]

Thank you for the tips! I calmed down now.
Happy hollydays!