Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Housing

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-09-2017, 02:03 AM   #1
katiekay
Hamster Pup
 
katiekay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: California
Posts: 53
Exclamation Hamster Chewing

I brought home a hamster a few days ago and she has taken to chewing the sealant on the edges of the aquarium tank I got. It is a 40g breeder tank and she has plenty of chew toys in her cage to play with, but doesn't.

Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior?
katiekay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 08:30 AM   #2
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

If you haven't tried deeper substrate,then another issue I could think of is that your tank is still too small for her.It is hard to say at the moment though since she hasn't had a chance to properly settle in,but after a week or two if the behavior continues it could definitely be an indicator of the size of the tank being too small among a few other things that aren't always as important.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 08:44 AM   #3
flowerfairy
Fluffy Hamsters
 
flowerfairy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 4,231
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

I have a hamster that loves to chew as well. She is in a barred cage and used to bar chew like crazy.

I gave her loads of cardboard to chew on, changing the boxes/loo roll inners every couple of days and hid her food in wicker balls and in boxes to give her plenty to do. She has two wheels.

I am not sure how big a 40 gallon tank is. Kashi is in a 100 x 50cm cage with a wooden shelf in. She loves a good old sprint about and loves her silent runner wheel and her wodent wheel.

I hope you find a way of entertaining your hamster that helps to distract her from the yummy sealant.
__________________
flowerfairy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 09:53 AM   #4
Drago
The Hamtologist
 
Drago's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Southern United States
Posts: 2,855
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

One of my old hams I had in a tank used to LOVE chewing the sealent. I could combat it by buying her lots of new toys very often. I also tried hiding treats in a toilet paper tube and other stimulating activities. In the end I upgraded her thinking it was that, but the chewing never stopped. Maybe trying different brain activities would help? Good luck

Last edited by Drago; 01-09-2017 at 10:02 AM.
Drago is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 01:06 PM   #5
CMB
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Hertfordshire - UK
Posts: 3,190
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Make sure the wheel is spinning freely and it is big enough for the hamster to run with a straight back.

Also check the water bottle is working. Have a dark nesting house/area and tubes and toys. Whimzee and ants dog chews are often liked by hamsters rather than the wood chews sold for hamsters.
CMB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 03:28 PM   #6
katiekay
Hamster Pup
 
katiekay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: California
Posts: 53
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams View Post
If you haven't tried deeper substrate,then another issue I could think of is that your tank is still too small for her.It is hard to say at the moment though since she hasn't had a chance to properly settle in,but after a week or two if the behavior continues it could definitely be an indicator of the size of the tank being too small among a few other things that aren't always as important.
I have about 4 inches of bedding in at the moment but I could try putting in more bedding. She only really seems to do it in two corners of the tank. But yes I'm wondering if maybe she is just stressed and the chewing will stop hopefully once she settles in
katiekay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 03:32 PM   #7
katiekay
Hamster Pup
 
katiekay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: California
Posts: 53
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerfairy View Post
I have a hamster that loves to chew as well. She is in a barred cage and used to bar chew like crazy.

I gave her loads of cardboard to chew on, changing the boxes/loo roll inners every couple of days and hid her food in wicker balls and in boxes to give her plenty to do. She has two wheels.

I am not sure how big a 40 gallon tank is. Kashi is in a 100 x 50cm cage with a wooden shelf in. She loves a good old sprint about and loves her silent runner wheel and her wodent wheel.

I hope you find a way of entertaining your hamster that helps to distract her from the yummy sealant.
Her tank is 36L x 18x, which is above the recommended size, I think somewhere around 640 Sq inches. I will try hiding some food and put some cardboard in for her. I currently have a mineral chew, two wicker chews, and a few apple sticks in there and also a couple of bendy bridges. She doesn't really pay much attention to the wicker chews from what I've seen. I hope I find a way too!
katiekay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 03:34 PM   #8
katiekay
Hamster Pup
 
katiekay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: California
Posts: 53
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drago View Post
One of my old hams I had in a tank used to LOVE chewing the sealent. I could combat it by buying her lots of new toys very often. I also tried hiding treats in a toilet paper tube and other stimulating activities. In the end I upgraded her thinking it was that, but the chewing never stopped. Maybe trying different brain activities would help? Good luck
Brain activities are a good idea! And I'm going to try rotating toys so she gets a variety and doesn't get bored with those very fast. Is the sealant going to be bad for her? I'm worried about that
katiekay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 03:38 PM   #9
katiekay
Hamster Pup
 
katiekay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: California
Posts: 53
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Quote:
Originally Posted by CMB View Post
Make sure the wheel is spinning freely and it is big enough for the hamster to run with a straight back.

Also check the water bottle is working. Have a dark nesting house/area and tubes and toys. Whimzee and ants dog chews are often liked by hamsters rather than the wood chews sold for hamsters.
Yes the wheel is spinning freely. It's a 10.5" wheel from Carolina storm express, it's actually maybe even a tad big for her. She's on the smaller end of Syrians I believe. I check her water bottle multiple times a day just to be sure and have put in a tiny water bowl just in case. I have made a diy borrow box out of a cardboard box and put a log on that, as well as a log going to the box and she loves to burrow between the box and the log, as well as one of the traditional igloo homes that she doesn't really pay much attention to. Maybe I will try putting a home in one of the corners since that's where she is chewing. There is also a tube in the tank but I will put more in definitely. Dog toys are an interesting thing I wouldn't have thought about that!
katiekay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2017, 03:40 PM   #10
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Hamster Chewing

Mineral chews are not good for hamsters,nor would they be necessary with a good diet Have you tried something like a dried grass toy?I know that there are some really affordable small ones from most pet stores which can go down well with some hamsters.

Dog biscuits can be good if you get ones that are completely safe and actually healthy,with no biproducts or questionable ingredients or unsafe ingredients of course.I personally just go to Dollar General and get chicken flavored Ever Pet biscuits,as the ingredients are shockingly enough superior to Milk Bones with not having biproducts or unsafe preservatives.

Loofah is nice,but not all hamsters enjoy it.I also offer raffia by itself or attached to other toys,and this is fairly affordable since you can get it at Dollar Tree for three bundles that are just all natural raffia.Dandelion root can be good as well but it would need to be ordered online,though it can be ordered off Viovet if you wanted to do a big order and perhaps find some interesting treats and toys!
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
chewing, hamster, play, stop, tank

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:20 AM.