Hellooo! I need help

Callisto · 12-14-2020, 05:28 PM

Hello everyone, Im new to this forum and need help

My Syrian hamster wont stop chewing the bars. Ive tried everything I can think of. Shes got chew toys, tubes, platforms. I've changed her cage. Ive used a spray that a pet store worker recommended and she still chews.

What reason would make her chew the bars? What else can i do to stop it?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Shes in a Pets at Home medium cage and is 5 months old

Shannonmcn · 12-15-2020, 06:01 AM

Hi Callisto! Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately the fact she isn't happy in the Pets at Home medium cage isn't surprising. It's very small for a permanent home, particularly for a female syrian who can be very demanding! They do actually sneak that into the product description for the cage now because so many people have had issues, "an ideal starter home" indeed. It's 50x35cm when nowadays most people consider the bare minimum to be an 80x50cm floor area. If you have a look about the forum you'll see this is a very common issue!

Pets at Home do sell cages of this size and over, the Hamster Heaven or Sky Metro, the Savic Plaza is another or you can look at cages designed for rats, the Ruffy 2 for example. Or if you can find a second hand "Alaska", "Barney" or "Alexander" cage (sometimes they pop up on gumtree) these are all decent options. Or a Zoozone 2 if you can find one. Ultimately the bigger the better for the syrian girls!

There are more options out there than there used to be if you want to go wooden cages or the DIY route.

There is a thread here also where users have posted their cages so you can get an idea of what works for people. I know being told you need a new cage sucks. Rants about how ridiculous it is that pet stores sell cages that aren't suitable will get you no end of agreement.

Amethyst_ice · 12-15-2020, 06:51 AM

Hello,

Shannonmcn has pretty much addressed the most likely cause, all I have to add is what spray did they say exactly?

Whatever it is I would stop using it

Callisto · 12-15-2020, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shannonmcn

Hi Callisto! Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately the fact she isn't happy in the Pets at Home medium cage isn't surprising. It's very small for a permanent home, particularly for a female syrian who can be very demanding! They do actually sneak that into the product description for the cage now because so many people have had issues, "an ideal starter home" indeed. It's 50x35cm when nowadays most people consider the bare minimum to be an 80x50cm floor area. If you have a look about the forum you'll see this is a very common issue!

Pets at Home do sell cages of this size and over, the Hamster Heaven or Sky Metro, the Savic Plaza is another or you can look at cages designed for rats, the Ruffy 2 for example. Or if you can find a second hand "Alaska", "Barney" or "Alexander" cage (sometimes they pop up on gumtree) these are all decent options. Or a Zoozone 2 if you can find one. Ultimately the bigger the better for the syrian girls!

There are more options out there than there used to be if you want to go wooden cages or the DIY route.

There is a thread here also where users have posted their cages so you can get an idea of what works for people. I know being told you need a new cage sucks. Rants about how ridiculous it is that pet stores sell cages that aren't suitable will get you no end of agreement.

This is super helpful thank you! She was in this cage aswell https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...tra-large-teal but also chewed the bars in that one. I thought maybe she had too much space so moved her back to her old cage. I'll look into getting her a new bigger cage and hopefully she will be happier

Maker · 12-16-2020, 07:14 AM

Temporary you could line the inside of the bars with plain cardboard she will get stuck in to buying this. Move her into a bigger space as soon as you can before it becomes a habit for her. Does she have a nice big wheel and big bottomless house too

flowerfairy · 12-16-2020, 11:58 AM

Zooplus sell some wonderful cages. The alaska, barney and alexander to name a few.

I found lots of cardboard woven into the bars, loo rolls with food hidden inside and other foraging toys all really helped to reduce chewing.

I do wish pets at home would stock decent cages. Only the savic plaza is a good size.

Shannonmcn · 12-17-2020, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Zooplus sell some wonderful cages. The alaska, barney and alexander to name a few.

I found lots of cardboard woven into the bars, loo rolls with food hidden inside and other foraging toys all really helped to reduce chewing.

I do wish pets at home would stock decent cages. Only the savic plaza is a good size.

Not anymore they don't. I don't know if it's Brexit or what but they haven't been in stock for a long time and seem to have been taken off the UK and IE sites completely now. Very disappointing!

They do still have the Skyline Marrakesh terrarium but otherwise you're looking at meshing one of their rabbit cages.

Shadow Cat · 12-25-2020, 04:34 PM

Girls are feisty and hard to please! Mine chews the bars of her perfectly perfect cage and I've just come to accept it. One thing that did work for me on one particular part that she favoured (because one of the bars actually snapped and I was worried she would hurt herself) is securing a flattened bendy bridge to the inside of the bars with zip ties. Now she chews the bridge instead.

Pebbles82 · 12-25-2020, 04:58 PM

Yes she needs a bigger cage. Having said that cage moves can be stressful too. There’s a way round that - we usually recommend that when changing to another cage you move over all the old bedding without cleaning anything- it’ll be fine for a couple of weeks. Also a similar set up to before. Eg house back right, wheel at the back, shelf on the left and toys in similar locations. As near as you can. This helps enormously and they settle in the new cage within a few days and aren’t too skitty. Because you need more bedding in a bigger cage you can put new bedding in to the right height then spread the old bedding on top (for familiar scent). You then need the two weeks settling in time again (same as when you first get them). That basically means don’t clean anything for two weeks or move things around or take anything away (unless it’s a safety issue). Adding the odd new thing tends to be accepted ok but removing things can lead to hissy fits. You can spot clean the pee area after a week of it gets a bit whiffy. Just take a handful out and put a new handful in and mix it in a bit.

Also move the nest and most of the hoard across. I scoop up the house with a flat board or something with the nest inside to keep it in tact and move it over that way.

I also give them a transition day which can speed up settling in even more. So the day before the move you partly set up the new cage with bedding and any new items and perhaps put one familiar tunnel or something in from the old cage. And the wheel maybe. And let the hamster have some time exploring/playing in it. They usually want to get out after a while and “go home “.

Then next day pop the hamster somewhere safe - eg pet carrier and transfer everything over from the old cage to the new one and finish setting it up so you don’t need to adjust things during the two week settling in time.

Then pop the hamster in the new cage. But before that move the old cage to a different room. They can still smell it and it can drive them a bit frantic.

Stress can also cause bar chewing - eg stress from a sudden cold Turkey cage move. But I think the main cause is cage size.

I think you want to get something at least 100cm x 50cm for a female Syrian. The Barney cage is a good option as it has narrow bars (7mm) so bar chewing is much harder and I have hardly ever heard of a hamster chewing bars in that cage.

It takes some thinking about though because bar chewing can also become a habit. So you may want to think about a tank style cage to avoid the risk of yet another cage change being needed. Tank style cages are not many and usually not that cheap.

It does seem to be difficult to get hold of cages at the moment and I think it is partly the pandemic and supply and demand , reduced output by manufacturers and shipping issues. Might be Brexit as well.

Female Syrians can need a lot of space and one good option - that isn’t too expensive - if you don’t mind a minor amount of diy - is a detolf. IKEA glass cabinet tipped on its side and the door left off. It then needs two lids making from strips of wood with mesh stapled to them.

If you have space for a detolf. If you Google “Hamster detolf” and click on images you will see some examples and set ups. It works well stood on top of kallax units which also provide storage underneath. Detolf costs about £60.

A more portable option is the Maxi Duna multy which is a Perspex tank style cage 100cm
X 50cm. It needs a platform really as not possible to fix shelves in it. But that costs about £95.

Or the living world eco habitat if you have space also.

Pebbles82 · 12-25-2020, 05:02 PM

Maxi duna multy

Ferplast Large Plastic Cage for Rabbits and Guinea Pigs MAXI Duna Multi House for Dwarf Rabbits, Small Animals , Ventilation Grid, Transparent Roof, Grill and Plastic Bottom, 99 x 51,5 x h 36 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Can’t find the eco habitat in stock anywhere. The detolf is from IKEA.

Meanwhile you’ll need to give her plenty of out of cage time. Don’t use the spray. Lots of substrate and lots of nesting material and a few toilet roll inners slit down the side as toys. She might enjoy ripping them up. No fluffy bedding (if you’ve been sold that). Plain white toilet paper torn into strips is the safest nesting material and they like it and pouch it and take it to the nest. So put a big pile in the cage but not actually in the house.

Finally another thing that can lead to bar chewing is if the wheel is too small and it probably is in a cage the size she is in. They need a 28cm diameter wheel.