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Old 02-06-2020, 06:50 PM   #1
Vierville
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Default Monty bar chewing

I'd really appreciate a bit of advice on this please... Monty, my 1yr 8 month old Campbells dwarf has always been good as gold, and her only minor vice was a little bit of bar chewing out of what I think is excitement if she saw the mealworms were out and it was worm time.

Recently, in the last week or two, she seems to be doing this every time she sees me. Whenever I walk into the room she goes to exactly the same spot in her cage and frantically bar chews. I usually give her a worm to shut her up which I suspect might be to blame (I'm also feeding her more worms recently since I noticed that she isn't eating her dry food as much as before).

I can't imagine it is boredom as she has a big cage comprised of two separate cages joined vertically by external pipes,forming two levels, a nice wheel (which she hardly ever runs on),some tunnels, two houses and a sand box, lots of deep substrate that she burrowss in, lots of chew sticks and Whimzees...

She also only really seems to occupy the one level of her cage, seldom venturing up to the top level.

She gets at least an hour of out of cage time every few nights which she spends running all over me and getting cuddles.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do to stop her bar chewing?
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Old 02-06-2020, 10:48 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Monty bar chewing

It sounds like attention seeking, actually giving her a treat to stop her will probably just make it worse. Try getting her out for a quick cuddle or run around instead sometimes but often the best answer, difficult though it is is just to ignore it.
If it's always the same place you could try putting a piece of cardboard over the bars in that spot.
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Old 02-07-2020, 04:00 AM   #3
Vierville
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Default Re: Monty bar chewing

I think you're right. She's lost some weight recently which I think is due to ageing so I've been using every opportunity to give her a mealworm or piece of walnut and I think she's caught on to this and is taking advantage asking every time she sees me by bar chewing!
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Old 02-07-2020, 06:42 AM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: Monty bar chewing

You say that she lost a bit of weight and doesn't eat so much of her dry food and mealworms are brittle so easy to eat.

Maybe you could give her a bit of porridge or baby food once daily. My dwarf also thinks "mealworm!" when he sees me and i find it near impossible not to give him one when he comes to the window expecting a worm.
Hamsters are too cute for their own good sometimes.
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Old 02-07-2020, 07:49 AM   #5
Vierville
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Default Re: Monty bar chewing

You're absolutely right RiaP, too cute for their own good!

I give them fresh mealworms so they are even softer than the crispy dried ones though they get those too.

I am busy checking the locally available baby foods and will definitely supplement her diet with an appropriate one.

It is weighing night for her tonight so hopefully she has stayed at 57 grams.
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