Sudden bar chewing :(

[SimonandSyril]

Hi, I'm back on hamster central after a break because I have been busy with school, holidays, family etc. But, I have come back with an issue regarding my Russian dwarf ham Kylo. I have had him for about 6 months with no issues, he lives in the biggest cage it is possible for me to keep (550sq inches). Bar chewing has not been an issue up until the last week. I have kept the extra level provided with the cage out of Kylo's enclosure as I didn't like how it looked in the cage and Kylo never seemed to go up it. Recently, I added the level back in just for fun and to see if Kylo had changed his mind. Turns out that within a day of me adding the hard plastic level Kylo has taken the added height as an opportunity to begin bar chewing. immediately, I took the level out and tried to cut the habit short by gently blowing on his nose every time he chewed to try show that bar chewing had negative consequences; I also coated the bars of his cage in a thin layer of olive oil to try detract him from the bars using smell. So far neither of these methods have worked and KYlo is continuing to chew. I am so worried about this sudden behaviour because there has been nothing other than the added level to cause him stress or a need to escape the cage as he has been fine with the size of the cage his entire life. Any suggestions?

[cypher]

Is he chewing in any particular spot or just generally? If it's in one spot try putting cardboard over the bars for a while & see if that helps. Some people put wooden pegs on the bars too.
I wouldn't coat the bars with anything.
It's best to ignore them when they bar chew, paying attention in any way can turn it into an attention seeking habit so leave him alone while he's doing it & only go to him when he stops.
Does he have whimzees? If not give him one of those to chew on & maybe a few extra things to do, if you don't already scatter feeding & hiding food in toilet roll treat toys or just little cardboard parcels so he has to work for it could be a good distraction.

[SimonandSyril]

Thank for your advice, I will try squeezing in some extra tunnels and toys around the cage to try to distract from the bars.