Hamster Chewing EVERYTHING

[PumpkinSpice92]

Hello,

I've recently got a new hamster and for various reasons in the first two weeks of owning her, she's been in three cages. Her final cage is a hamster heaven and she seemed much happier in there however i've realised she's a massive chewer - the bars of the cage in one corner, a plastic carrot toy, a few wooden chews and she's "killed" a wooden caterpillar with sisal string through the middle.
I'm just wondering if this is normal behaviour or something to be concerned about? I've owned a few hamsters and none of them have been this "chewy"

Thanks in advance

[cypher]

Some hams do chew a lot more than others & may need to be in a tank style cage to prevent it but it can just be from boredom or attention seeking.
Make sure you have lots of enrichment in the cage so she has plenty to do, the HH is still on the small side for a Syrian so that may also be a part of the problem.
You can give them whimzee dog chews which they love so that can help prevent them chewing on things they shouldn't.
Try scatter feeding rather than using a bowl so she can forage for her food.
There's a thread here with other ideas that might help.
Managing Bar Chewers

[PumpkinSpice92]

Thanks for the reply Cypher - I'm not especially worried about the bar chewing (even though I know of the health problems it could cause) as I'm pretty sure it has stopped now since the move to the HH, I've not noticed it since the first night she was in there. She has lots of different toys - climbing, digging and chewing are all covered , she gets plenty of outside cage time too. I will get her some whimzee dog chews - she already has some milky bones (I think they're called) and lots of different chew toys which she uses.
I was just worried that the three moves could have maybe stressed her out a little and that's why she's chewing...perhaps that's just her nature though? She almost chewed out of the box the pet store put her in to travel home in!

[cypher]

If she's stopped now then & seems happy in the HH she should be fine then although I'm sure she'll still enjoy a whimzee
Just give her a chance to settle, 3 cages in a short time is stressful, keep cleaning to a minimum, no more than spot cleaning pee for at least a few weeks & don't make any changes in the cage unless you really have to & she should be fine.

[PumpkinSpice92]

Thank you for this - I will definitely keep stresses to a minimum for a few weeks, and ensure she's got plenty to chew/play with .
What sort of whimzee treat would you recommend? I like the hedgehog shaped ones but obviously want whichever will be best for her, and are all the colors the same flavor?

[cypher]

I'm not sure if there's a difference in flavour or if it's just different natural colours tbh but some do seem to prefer one colour more than another so they may taste different, I think the toothbrush & the alligator seem to be most popular but the hedgehog should be ok too.

[Swirls]

This might just be their personality! I wouldn't think to much of it.

[PumpkinSpice92]

So I got hammy a whimzee chew and she loves it! Though for the first night since putting her in the HH she was biting the bars of the penthouse!! She was so loud and I was worried about her hurting her teeth so I took the penthouse off - I feel so bad because she had all her stashed food and one of her nests up there and really liked it - i’ve put it back on this morning but I don’t want her biting again!
Do you think she’s just biting for attention? When I got up to see her the biting did not stop so I’m thinking maybe not...I don’t really know what to do!

[cypher]

It could be attention seeking, they soon learn that it will get them attention if you don't ignore them while they're actually doing it!
I would remove the penthouse permanently, it's a very unhealthy place for them to nest & stash food, better not to use it or the tubes at all & just provide a good size house with no base on the substrate so she can make a nest there.
Good to hear she enjoyed her whimzee!

ETA Coco has a good syrian set up for Maestro in her HH that might give you some ideas for using it without the penthouse, tubes & other accessories that come with it.
You can see it here.
If you don't currently have a good house for her you could use a cardboard box with no base & a hole cut out of one side for a door, maybe put a bendy bridge over the door to make it nice & dark inside.

[PumpkinSpice92]

When she's not sleeping in the penthouse she likes to sleep under a bendy bridge under one of the platforms in the cage - I gave her a house like you suggested at first and left it in about a week and she didn't touch it so I took it out.
I'm thinking she clearly needs to be well occupied so I'm probably going to change up her cage fairly frequently - I have a few different toys in there atm and currently got a few more I'm planning to get, but I don't want to change her cage too much just yet. I liked Maestros set up, and might do something like that at some point. Though as long as the penthouse/tubes are cleaned out regularly to prevent smells and she's not sleeping in the tubes, is there any issue with me using them? She really does seem to enjoy playing in there, I think she'd miss it!
Do you have any recommendations for new toys for future set ups? She's got the rainbow bridge, a cardboard tube, some wooden gnawers on the sides of her cage as well as hay and loads of different chewy things and 2 bendy bridges in her cage atm, and a plastic seesaw for playtime (worried about her chewing on that if left unattended). The house I had for her was one of the ones with carrot on the top, and she did like to stand on that and survey things so I might put that back in at some point too. I'm planning on getting a suspension bridge and a longer bendy bridge soon and adding those when I next clean her out properly in about a week and a half. I really don't see there's anything else I could provide her with!