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Old 02-18-2021, 11:11 AM   #1
Isleofhamsters
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Exclamation Cage biting how to deal with it?

Hi! My hamster has been biting his cage bars for a while now.
He doesn’t do it for very long, but almost every night.
I’ve tried giving him more interesting chews, but he keeps at it.
Any advice?
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Old 02-18-2021, 11:20 AM   #2
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

Maybe he is asking for out of cage time. Does he get plenty of that?
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Old 02-18-2021, 02:07 PM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

Hello. Which cage is he in? Bar biting is usually either: cage too small, stress, wheel too small, nowhere to hide or rarely, an ingrained habit.
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Old 02-18-2021, 02:20 PM   #4
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

Or in very rare cases, complete lack of what to chew, which clearly is not what s happening here
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Old 02-21-2021, 04:25 AM   #5
Isleofhamsters
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

I don’t take him out very often unfortunately- he escaped once during playtime and gave us quite the fright.
His cage is the barney cage about 800sq inches of floor from zooplus.
I am going to have a look around for more attractive chews. Any recommendations?
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AKA Bobby, Bobbington, Snappy.
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Old 02-21-2021, 01:52 PM   #6
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Isleofhamsters View Post
I don’t take him out very often unfortunately- he escaped once during playtime and gave us quite the fright.
His cage is the barney cage about 800sq inches of floor from zooplus.
I am going to have a look around for more attractive chews. Any recommendations?
Whimzee dog chews. I get the xs toothbrushes but there are other sizes and shapes.

I think you should try and get over your fright because many hamsters like and need out of cage time.

Our tiniest dwarf escaped for a whole night once and she nearly choked herself by sticking her head through a very small hole on another ocassion. We got a huge fright and talked a lot about what could have happened then put it behind us because it wouldn't be fair to limit a hamster's life to the confinement of their cage, if they want to come out.

I find the hall with all the doors closed to be the perfect setting for a hamster playground.
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Old 02-21-2021, 06:46 PM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

That's quite unusual in a big cage like the Barney with the narrow bar spacing. We did have a syrian who bar chewed a bit in the Barney but that was only when he didn't have a wheel for a short time. After he got the wheel he stopped again.

So it could be either a) something to do with the set up or wheel not being right. Or b) stress. They can often start bar chewing with stress if they're desperate to escape (eg if the cage is cleaned out a lot and they feel invaded).

It can also be for attention as in something not working - eg wheel or water bottle. What size wheel does he have?
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Old 02-22-2021, 05:03 PM   #8
Shadow Cat
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

My syran girl lives in a Barney and she too chews the bars. It drives me mental when she wakes me up in the night sometimes, but I have learnt to accept it. She seems happy in the cage otherwise, she has a proper sized wheel, many hides and tunnels and chew toys. I chalk it up to the fact she spent the first 4 months of her life in a tiny *tiny* tank at the pet shop adoption section with nothing to do but climb on top of her water bottle chew the wire mesh covering the top. When I got her she had a sore on her nose from it.

Usually if she wakes me up in the night, I start talking to her from my bed (the cage is in my bedroom) and she stops. This sort of tells me it's habit and if I distract her for a moment, she forgets about it.
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Old 02-23-2021, 10:58 AM   #9
Isleofhamsters
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Default Re: Cage biting how to deal with it?

I’m looking into options for free play- and I did think about getting whimzees too! Thank you all so much for the help.
@Ria P
Your right - I’m doing my best to get over it. My hamster is pretty old now (almost 2 years!) so I don’t think he’ll escape again. I’m thinking about getting him a play pen, any recommendations? It needs to be tall as he is a master climber, and chews through cardboard really fast. Thank you all!
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