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heidii · 05-04-2022, 04:29 PM

Certain textures, especially wood, are really desirable for hamsters as they wear down their teeth. Obvious issue is some cages, like the PawHut cage, are made from wood.

You could attempt to reduce the chewing of wood, or eliminate it completely. Ensure the hamster has A LOT of room to make intricate burrows, such as at least 6 inches of bedding across the entirety of the cage, or perhaps 10 inches for half the cage. Add a variety of chew toys, such as willow sticks, willow balls, dandelion roots, wooden chews, seagrass hides/mats, etc. Ensure the wheel is at least 10 or so inches, if you have a bigger Syrian, maybe go with a 12. Try scatter feeding if you aren't already, and hide things like dandelion roots inside the bedding. You could add a "topper" to the bedding, such as hamster-friendly leaves, marigold and dried dandelions. Add in sprays too, such as oat, and you could even add in moss if its something you're comfortable with. Ensure the hamster has out-of-cage time, and a lot of it! That is, if he's comfortable with it.

However, all in all, some hamsters will just chew wood. It doesn't matter what you coat it with, how much enrichment you provide - they will just chew their way out. These hamsters should be given glsass enclosure with weighted lids to avoid escape.

05-04-2022, 04:29 PM
heidii Hamster Pup Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: England Posts: 232	Re: Hamster chewing wooden cage Certain textures, especially wood, are really desirable for hamsters as they wear down their teeth. Obvious issue is some cages, like the PawHut cage, are made from wood. You could attempt to reduce the chewing of wood, or eliminate it completely. Ensure the hamster has A LOT of room to make intricate burrows, such as at least 6 inches of bedding across the entirety of the cage, or perhaps 10 inches for half the cage. Add a variety of chew toys, such as willow sticks, willow balls, dandelion roots, wooden chews, seagrass hides/mats, etc. Ensure the wheel is at least 10 or so inches, if you have a bigger Syrian, maybe go with a 12. Try scatter feeding if you aren't already, and hide things like dandelion roots inside the bedding. You could add a "topper" to the bedding, such as hamster-friendly leaves, marigold and dried dandelions. Add in sprays too, such as oat, and you could even add in moss if its something you're comfortable with. Ensure the hamster has out-of-cage time, and a lot of it! That is, if he's comfortable with it. However, all in all, some hamsters will just chew wood. It doesn't matter what you coat it with, how much enrichment you provide - they will just chew their way out. These hamsters should be given glsass enclosure with weighted lids to avoid escape.