Can any experienced hamster owners offer advice?

[1st time hamster owner]

Hi, I've just found this website and hope to learn lots to help me with my first hamster. We've had her for a couple of months and she has settled in well and is eating and very amenable.

However, she won't stop chewing the bars of her cage no matter how many different chews and toys we give her. Does anyone have any tips on how to stop her doing this? I'm worried she is going to damage her teeth or worse poison herself from the paint from the bars. She's chewed some of them right down to the metal

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello and welcome!

What kind of hamster and cage do you have?

Bar biting can be due to stress, boredom or cage being too small. However some hamsters do better in a tank type set up instead and no matter how big and enriching your barred cage is, they will always chew.

[1st time hamster owner]

Thank you, I will look into a tank type cage. I already bought a bigger one than the pet shop standard one. In a tank, what are the best types of materials to use. She currently has sawdust, shredded paper, and soft white bedding. Should the tank be layered with different materials?

[Miko]

Hi welcome to the community!! This behavior is basically due to stress caused by the environment a hamster is living in. Maybe the size of cage is small or has less enrichment. Try shifting to an affordable large bin cage or tanks and you can provide her with several chew materials to help killing her boredom.
Layering her cage can be your personal choice ,its not a necessity. You can try providing her some coco peat or safe digging materials