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Old 10-15-2018, 08:51 AM   #1
Dalis
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Unhappy Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Hello. So last night my Syrian Sophia started to chew in a bottom corner of her bin cage under her hide where she sleeps. The bin is 600 square inches. She has a climbing toy that she loves to weave through as well as chews, wheel, and toilet tube puzzle. The sound of her chewing woke me up. I put pennut butter on one of her chews to see if that would distract her. It did for an hour before she went back to chewing. I had played with her before bed for a good half hour before she started getting stressed.
I also plan on stacking another bin on top of her current one to add a second level. I just need to attach bars for ventilation. Any tips in the meantime to keep her entertained?
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Old 10-15-2018, 12:53 PM   #2
Baron
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Do you have room for a playpen? Maybe a large storage bin filled with some cheaptoys other then Sophia has in her cage could be something? Maybe food in a toilet paper roll? Scatter feeding? Does her wheel turn fine?

Maybe you can put a house or something solid in the corner where she likes to chew, so she can't reach it. I did this when one my syrians tried to escape, even though she was housed in a big cage.

With this same hamster, called Ray, I put in a lot of substrate and redid her cage interior a few times until it worked for her. I also added in way more substrate. Ray has stopped chewing now. Only barchews when she knows it's time to come out for playpentime.
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Old 10-15-2018, 08:25 PM   #3
Dalis
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Thank you. I am definitely going to make her more tube toys. I will try adding more substrate. As mentioned I do plan on adding another bin that'll be more of a smaller playpen. Hopefully that helps.

Last edited by Dalis; 10-15-2018 at 08:38 PM.
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Old 10-20-2018, 09:08 PM   #4
Dalis
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

UPDATE: Sophia is still chewing on the bars. I've added the second bin on top with lots of toys and a flying saucer and a walnut. She has no interest in any of it. She had gone up multiple times to play but not for more than a few minutes. At this point I don't know what to do besides move her into a cage with no bars if she won't stop. Is there anything else I can try? The bottom bin is around 600 square inches. The top is around 500
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Old 10-20-2018, 11:44 PM   #5
cypher
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

I can't really think in sq in but that sounds quite small, what are the dimensions of the bin?
Adding another bin on top really doesn't help a lot as you need to have one continuous floor space.
Do you have a photo of your set up? That would help with making suggestions that might help.
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Old 10-21-2018, 07:24 AM   #6
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

I did have a look at Sophia's setup and while the extra bin does give extra enrichment, it's true that it doesn't quite count as extra floorspace since it isn't continuous. I don't think there's any bin in the US beside the IRIS tote that is large enough for a syrian really, and unfortunately that one has a low height. I've seen some nice Syrian setups with that though so you could look into it. If you just mesh the top you shouldn't have any chewing issues. A tank would be a better option really, a 75 gallon would be ideal.

The other thing is there isn't any deep bedding for burrowing. Personally I'd convert the second bin into a digging area - but with the side tube it may not work properly. I'd aim for 8" deep bedding if you can but more would be better.
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Old 10-21-2018, 02:09 PM   #7
Dalis
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Won't let me post a picture but I believe it is well above the minimum cage size (which I realize is inadequate for most hamsters).
I've put her back into a regular bin with no bars on the sides (Same size as the bottom bin of the other cage with bars) and she seems much more content. She's actually running on her wheel and chewing her toys instead of being hell bent on escaping. I'll add more bedding as well.
With the bars she wasn't running on her wheel except for more than a few seconds before going back to biting the bars. Is there any reason for this? As I said she seems content with just the one barless bin. She's not trying to escape.
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Old 10-21-2018, 02:19 PM   #8
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Well the fact that there's now no bars to chew gives her one less way to show boredom so it doesn't necessarily mean that she's now content in the new bin. I find it really hard to believe female syrians can really be content in a bin that size to be honest, but I suppose it's down to the individual hamster. Anyway sometimes taking bars away does seem to eliminate the problem, maybe they do get a bit obsessed with bars sometimes but I'm still sure the main reason is because of boredom. Is she trying to climb up the sides of the bin now? Either way I'd watch her over the next few days and see if anything changes, as the disappearance of the bars is sure to have confused her!

Link to how to upload pics: How To Embed Photos
You'll probably need to resize the photos.
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Old 10-21-2018, 07:34 PM   #9
Dalis
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

Yes. As of now she isn’t trying to get out. She’s on her wheel or chewing or snacking. I will do my best to find a way to upgrade her floor space. I’ve added more bedding since she loves to burrow.
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Old 10-23-2018, 06:48 PM   #10
Dalis
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Default Re: Bored hamster chewing bin cage

If I were to upgrade the cage what's the most recommended one I could get in the U.S ?
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