Help! Hamster is Bar Chewing!!

[Creampuff]

Hi, my hamster recently took up bar chewing, and I think she's now addicted. I can see damage on my bars, and I noticed this today that on some of the bars it looked like there was dried blood on them. I weaved some bendy chew toys in the places she likes to chew, but I'm wondering if she's not happy, or what? Her cage is big; approx. 527 square inches, along with a platform with approx. 200 square inches. I have a wheel, a house, lots of toys and chew toys. I have a few tunnels, too. Is she not happy, or what? Is something wrong with her? How do I stop making her chew on the bars??

[Jin]

I'm not sure but hope someone answers soon as my hamster does the same. Shes in a barney cage with extra shelves, toys and overhead cover. She comes out every night to go in her ball and be held etc. She has plenty of treat toys to chew and nibble at too. She tends to bite where the two doors at the front of the cage are so I'm guessing she does it because she wants to come out. She also runs backwards and forwards along the ramp to the shelf, which is also just by the doors. It's like when shes awake she just wants to get out. She sleeps happily and contentedly all day. Gets up between 7 and 8pm, explores, gets food and drink and then starts chewing the door bars and running up and down the ramp. Makes me think shes not happy with her cage

[mangoandmimi]

Creampuff already replied on your other thread. But it would be beneficial for you (and Jin) to upload a pic of the current setup to see if there is anything that can be improved. Usual suggestions are more bedding - as close to 10" as you can get, more variation in toys - cork tunnels, grapevine, more shelves, different textures, different substrates (sand box, soil box..), make sure you're scatter feeding, DIY boredom breakers etc. Unfortunately there is often no quick fix to make the chewing stop as generally speaking they will not be destructive like that if they are content and settled in their cage, and it usually comes down to lack of space and enrichment.

Jin it does sound like frustration if she's pacing up and down the front of the cage and chewing like that. Make sure she has plenty of cover and places to hide but it really isn't uncommon for female Syrians in particular to want more space than the Barney, I think you just have to do what you can and if there is no improvement then the next step is generally thinking about a cage upgrade preferably without bars that allows for very deep bedding.

[Jin]

Originally Posted by mangoandmimi

Creampuff already replied on your other thread. But it would be beneficial for you (and Jin) to upload a pic of the current setup to see if there is anything that can be improved. Usual suggestions are more bedding - as close to 10" as you can get, more variation in toys - cork tunnels, grapevine, more shelves, different textures, different substrates (sand box, soil box..), make sure you're scatter feeding, DIY boredom breakers etc. Unfortunately there is often no quick fix to make the chewing stop as generally speaking they will not be destructive like that if they are content and settled in their cage, and it usually comes down to lack of space and enrichment.

Jin it does sound like frustration if she's pacing up and down the front of the cage and chewing like that. Make sure she has plenty of cover and places to hide but it really isn't uncommon for female Syrians in particular to want more space than the Barney, I think you just have to do what you can and if there is no improvement then the next step is generally thinking about a cage upgrade preferably without bars that allows for very deep bedding.

She has substrate literally up to the top of the tray so plenty of that. Also plenty of hidy holes and extra shelving, a 28cm wheel and a large sand bath. I scatter her food around the cage and hide some under the substrate and in her hidey holes and tunnels. Also she has a big house on top of deep substrate which I seldom touch except once a week to check for wet bedding (Will take pics tomorrow).

I have recently (10 days ago) upgraded her from the Hamster heaven where she slept in the pent house and had tubes to enter and exit the house. These are obviously now gone so I wonder if it's just taking a little while for her to resettle? (First day in the new cage she was running around for about 20 minutes looking for her tubes and pent house before finally making a new nest in the wooden house that came with the barney cage).

This evening she came out to explore as usual at 8pm and then went back to bed after about 15 minutes even when I opened the door for her to come out and play so I guess that's a good sign as usually she'd run straight out of the cage as soon as I open the door. This evening she wasnt actually interested in coming out at all.

[mangoandmimi]

Oh didn’t realise it’s only been 10 days. They can settle for 2 weeks sometimes so I’d at least wait until that time is up. Sometimes they do like staying in their cage, think it can vary a bit but I would also take it as a good thing

[Pebbles82]

Sorry to hear your hammy is bar biting Cream Puff. How long has she been in the cage now and have you recently done a clean out? To both - check wheels are working ok and big enough

[Creampuff]

The wheel is a 12" wheel, and it spins pretty good. I do a through clean out every Sunday. I have had my hamster for a month now, I believe. Thank you for the all the advice! I will upload a picture soon.

[Jin]

Wheel definitely works. Here are some pics

(Sorry cream puff for hiking your thread, just didn't see the point in making a while other post for similar issues).

[Pebbles82]

Creampuff: If you've had your hamster a month and she's had a cage change and weekly cleanouts she will be going bananas - too much stress. To minimise the stress when upgrading the cage, it's usually advised to move all the old substrate and contents across without cleaning anything, and then leave everything alone for about two weeks while she settles in, and just spot clean the pee area (or empty the litter tray if she uses one) maybe every 4 to 5 days or longer if it doesn't smell much.

After that you can continue to spot clean for quite some time. Then when doing a substrate change, it is best not to clean everything else at the same time and to avoid any scented cleaning materials. Warm soapy water (dishwashing soap - preferably not very scented) and a rinse is fine. There's no need to disinfect unless there's been illness or disease. They are generally very clean little things - it is only their pee that is not clean (poops aren't that much of an issue - they eat them sometimes for extra vitamins so unless they start taking over don't worry about them, then spot clean them a bit).

Even when changing the substrate, it's a good idea to keep back some of the old substrate that is clean and dry and sprinkle it on top of the new, so it still smells familiar.

She needs that two weeks undisturbed to fully settle in and scent mark everythig so she can find her way around easily (they don't see well at all) and to claim it as her own. If everything is cleaned at the same time it removes all her familiar scent and she feels lost and frantic and wants to escape - hence the bar chewing.

So - I would go back to square one now. Leave her alone completely for 2 weeks other than spot cleaning pee after 5 days or so (absolute minimum) - just a handful out of her pee place and a new handful mixed in to old substrate.

Because she is bar chewing that could be difficult - have a few suggestions but could do to see a photo of the cage set up before advising further because you may need to add something before starting the two weeks again.

Assuming she has enough substrate, can reach her food and water and has somewhere dark to go and enough nesting material to hide away in, and assumign the wheel spins freely, then advice would be to weave some strips of cardboard in the bars where she has been chewing (cut up cereal packet eg) and add some tasty things to distract her - a new chew, scatter some food, hide some treats, and leave her undisturbed. Aside from all that if it's the 12" Silent Spinner and it's a bit stiff she may be struggling to push it and have pent up energy.

[Pebbles82]

Jin: Cage looks nice However - would suggest removing both hanging ladders on the right hand side. They aren't safe (open rungs and chains) and she may have fallen or feel insecure on them.

Otherwise would suggest lowering the shelf a bit and moving the water bottle over the shelf at the back (maybe removing the clear plastic toy in the middle of the shelf? So it is easily accessible and the spout is high enough to drink from comfortably - it may be awkward to drink from over the steps and spout a bit low maybe. Also the other toy on the shelf front left is blocking access to the shelf a bit.

Those minor changes may distract your hamster out of the bar chewing, but hide some treats in various places as well to distract.

The bottle may drip onto the wood shelf so you might want to put something under it - a ceramic tile eg or a terracotta plant pot base. Bottles can be a fiddle. Have linked the 75ml ones I find good - they don't drip as much as some and let water out well, plus being a bit smaller it's easier to adjust the height and fit them over a shelf. Plus they come with their own clip which attaches to the bars so the bottle lifts out easily. Also check the current water bottle is letting water out easily -some don't.

I tend to get two of these at a time to save on postage and so always have a spare - bottles can fail and don't last forever

https://www.portonaquapet.co.uk/shop...rinky-B-M42882

Longer term you may want to put something else where the hanging ladders were to give a bit of shade/overhead cover. Maybe another corner shelf eg.