Bar chewing girlie

[Justinend]

Hi, we have just gotten our son a hamster. Well she is for both of us :). And I'm concerned with her bar chewing. She is a young Syrian, we have her in a large cage, with a proper size wheel for her full growth, many things to chew including edible tunnels, sticks, flavoured wood...etc. I provide her with plenty of enrichment things to scamper around on in and through, plus I change it up for her. She loves her ball, and she gets out morning and evening for ball time, then rest, handle time, them a little break, playpen time. She just seems to want out to roam. I've done everything I've read to do. I'm hoping someone here can help, she is starting to rub fur off her nose. She also seems more interested in chewing than running on her wheel... Help please!!! Ps we have had her for about two weeks

[DrKMcK]

So many hammies bar chew and rub the hair off their noses. I don't like the chewing and I use tanks. No bars. :-) However, quite a few people on the site recommend putting a chewing toy in front of the place where your hammy is bar chewing. One of those bird toys might attract her attention. Also they say to weave cardboard in and out of the bars. She'll chomp on that instead. Only thing is, once it's destroyed, you'll have to replace it again. If she does become a determined bar chewer and none of the tricks work, you may have to consider a glass tank. In that case, she'll need a 40 gallon breeder tank, which is considered the minimum for a Syrian. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she gets distracted by the toys and cardboard :-D. Hope this helps.

[POLAR WHITES]

You could try putting wooden pegs where she is chewing. I have found with my syrian that if he starts bar chewing I change his toys and this often stops him as he beomes more interested in the new toy, maybe you could take a few toys out then give them to him one at a time and change them around to keep his interested

[Justinend]

Thank you! I will be trying these suggestions for sure today! Any suggestions on increasing her interest in her wheel? It's an 8 1/2 inch comfort wheel. Also is the 12" silent spinner just too large for her? Wishing that company would make the correct size for a Syrian!

[Aleyra]

The best way to gauge wheel size is to watch her run or stand on it. A hamster should be able to run on the wheel without arching their back at all. In general, it is better to get a wheel that has a bit more room than necessary, than to have one that is a tad small. While I cannot speak for your ham, Huxley is far too large for an 8 1/2 in wheel. Since you mention she is young, keep in mind she might grow over the next few weeks.

[Justinend]

Thank you as well for your advice. I've woven some boxboard in a few places, I will probably need more :) I'll be going out to get some hanging chew toys this afternoon. If she doesn't get distracted enough by that, I'm thinking of changing her wheel to the large Silent Spinner. This is a great forum! We adore Wilson (and yes Wilson is a she), and want to provide her with the best care and attention we can. Here she is "chillin" on top of her wheel. She really is the sweetest thing.

[Justinend]

So, a ton of box board all over her cage, new dangle things to chew. These include honey stick, a mini dried corn clipped to her cage, a hanging wooden and loofa assorted shape thing, mineral lick and these neat Timothy hay ropes that I wove through the bars. After checking everything new out and seemingly acting excited, althgh somewhat stymied, she is crawling over the honey stick (what self respecting hamster does that ) and sitting on the dried corn to try and get not some position to chew her bars. Although a wonderful suggestion, an aquarium is not a practical solution for the space available or for my son. Hoping that after getting blocked from her favorite spots for the night she will start thinking of other things to do...so she has a ton of stuff in her cage!!!

[DrKMcK]

I hope she thinks the new stuff is great and stops the bar chewing. You could also look at the housing thread and check out the bins people have made. I plan on making some of these myself. :-)

[kjwc92]

Our hammys love chewing the bars, I've tried putting toys in the way and it doesn't work, I don't think it does any harm though, it's just incredibly annoying. Tig has this plastic kind of think I got from pets at home, it's in the shape of cheese and its white (they do them in carrot shapes etc too) but he loves chewing on that. They don't bother with wood chews though

[kyrilliondaemon]

Our syrians need 11" and 12" wheels, 8.5" is too small for both of them.

And... Both have been bar chewing pests lol. Both live in converted hutches now, we remeshed them with 6mm square mesh and neither girl has chewed since - some hams chew that size mesh but its stopped ours :)

[DrKMcK]

Our hammys love chewing the bars, I've tried putting toys in the way and it doesn't work, I don't think it does any harm though, it's just incredibly annoying. Tig has this plastic kind of think I got from pets at home, it's in the shape of cheese and its white (they do them in carrot shapes etc too) but he loves chewing on that. They don't bother with wood chews though

Keep and eye on the hammy for any tooth damage, they can break their teeth from bar chewing.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Missed that post... Yes bar chewing can do them harm. I know a ham who seems to have permanent tooth problems from bad luck and five minutes bar chewing.
Hams can break teeth, pull teeth out of alignment, chip teeth, lose teeth, lose fur, cut their snouts... Lots of bad things can happen. Its only a few weeks ago we were in the vets with a ham who'd chipped and loosened her teeth from bar chewing. She's fine now but we were lucky, it could easily have been irreversible damage.

[kjwc92]

I have tried every chew toy imaginable, she has wooden banner type ones, wooden ones that attach and stick from the bars, I've tried her with cardboard chubes. Everything and she won't use any of it. I refuse to put her in a cage like and ovo that has no bars and her cage is far too big for me to cover every bar so there is nothing more I can do

[iwasbornwright]

What cage is she in kjwc92? x

[kjwc92]

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a506/kjwc92/image_zpsbe59e57d.jpg

[kjwc92]

But in there at the min she has that pink wooden thing (right hand bottom corner), a green willow Xmas tree ( floor right hand bottom corner), the flower and heart garland thing, that black and green pouch she chews on, she has the fruit chew stick, she has a toilet roll tube behind the pouch

[kjwc92]

Oh and them rope things on the ladder which she sometimes chews

[iwasbornwright]

Wow that looks huge! Can't imagine why she bar chew in a cage that big with so much to do! She must just enjoy the sound it makes lol x

[kjwc92]

I don't know if its because when she was in the shop she was in a glass display cage thing so she hasn't has bars before but it just makes me feel bad people saying her teeth are gonna break and stuff, obviously I don't want anything to happen to her but I've done all I can or know how to do without putting her in a plastic cage which I refuse to do based on what I think is best for her :(

[Buttons]

Don't feel bad, your trying your best to get her to stop and that's all you can do for now. Buttons has suddenly started showing an interest in bar chewing but I can usually distract him by placing those fruit shaped wooden chews everywhere where he tries to chew . Also i place food and maybe a treat in a toilet roll tube, stuff the ends with bedding and that distracts him too.

[Justinend]

Wow! Look at all the fun stuff you have! Mine as well has a huge amount in her cage that she wants to ignore. Now last night I did hear her run on her wheel more, which has me hopeful. She seemed stressed yesterday after I put in all the preventative measures, causing her to rethink her bar chewing strategies. To the extent that some of her stool seemed soft. I cut out all treats for the day and took out the honey stick (in case she decided to chew it) and am keeping a close eye on her output today

[kjwc92]

Freddie used to bar chew and I covered virtually every inch of his cage in wooden chews, eventually he just grew out of it.

She isn't just chewing the bars, she chews the fabric pouch but I can't stop her chewing the bars and from my personal experience I believe plastic cages like ovos can make then antisocial and harder to tame so I don't want to move her.

She has dental bites to help her teeth and a lot of harder treats and chews so I don't think it's a teeth think, I thin she just enjoys it

[kjwc92]

Aww bless her :( I think they must just like doing it. I would imagine it can get pretty boring stuck I'm the same came every day. We need to get her a bigger wheel, it's far too small for her which I'm disappointed about :(

[neily]

Try covering the bars with something bitter and non toxic, put some on a cloth and rub it on the bars, it may not work but it's worth a try. My syrian bear has started bar chewing again, I know how annoying it is and I like you refuse to change him cages as I've spent a fortune on the one he's in. I'm going to try coating the bars that he chews with olive oil or something similar.

[milly100]

Some hamsters are just bar chewers no matter what. I have 2 female syrians who are housed in a zoozone 2 each with lots to do and Bella still finds a why of getting to the bars and chewing. It is really annoying at 3:00 in the morning though!! I have had to start taking her corner house out at night time as she climbs on top of it to reach the bars.
In my opinion girls are worse than boys for bar chewing. I have had 4 boys in the past and none of them chewed their bars at all.

[kjwc92]

My boys did chew but grew out of it pretty quickly. I personally don't mind her bar chewing, she has other options and she clearly doesn't want to use them. But I don't want her to hurt herself and I don't want people to accuse me of being a bad mummy because she chews them :( I'm trying desperately to find a wodent wheel so she will have something big enough to run in and that might keep her occupied

[Justinend]

I'm hoping that with the measures we have in place and with age she will outgrow it. Interesting point for all of you experts. I just called the shop where I purchased her to check her age. They in no way can tell me as they are not informed. They tried to tell me she was six months, but I remember when they got her litter in and they were just wee little things. And that was after Christmas. She is still small to me and in no way looks full grown. The girl at the shop yesterday tried to tell me they were an "in between size hamster" and when I looked at her like she was a nutter and said "she is a Syrian, right?? " she looked like the question caused pain.... Obviously does not know the difference. So at what age will Syrians reach there full growth?

[kjwc92]

My girl is sypposedly 3 months and is still very very small. I would say my boy reached his biggest at about a year old, both Syrians

[hforhammy]

If my hammy know yours has such a large cage, she will be very jealous.

I cope with bar chewing problems by speaking "NO" and then blow gently towards her.
Now, when she hear "NO" she will stop chewing ( for some moments )

I also hang wooden sticks (W2cm x L6cm), she likes it, but since she has chewed too quickly and too often, I guess the wood somehow upset her digesting system.

I heard that somepeople are rubbing orange juice or vinegar onto the bars...

I also wanna find a solution to stop bar chewing.

[DrKMcK]

I'm hoping that with the measures we have in place and with age she will outgrow it. Interesting point for all of you experts. I just called the shop where I purchased her to check her age. They in no way can tell me as they are not informed. They tried to tell me she was six months, but I remember when they got her litter in and they were just wee little things. And that was after Christmas. She is still small to me and in no way looks full grown. The girl at the shop yesterday tried to tell me they were an "in between size hamster" and when I looked at her like she was a nutter and said "she is a Syrian, right?? " she looked like the question caused pain.... Obviously does not know the difference. So at what age will Syrians reach there full growth?

An "in between size hamster"!!! Oh, for Pete's sake. The question caused pain ...ROFL, what a twit. It doesn't take that much to learn about hammies. I don't know why they don't train their employees. {shaking head}.

[Justinend]

An "in between size hamster"!!! Oh, for Pete's sake. The question caused pain ...ROFL, what a twit. It doesn't take that much to learn about hammies. I don't know why they don't train their employees. {shaking head}.

I know!! But I think it is more than that. I think that what is marketed for hams is horrible. Small starter cages and tiny wheels. If you took the time to learn about proper care you would know that those are not appropriate. The manufacturers of these products and shops are out to make money. And you are so right, it doesn't take much to learn what is right and what is wrong...if you care enough to do so. And in my opinion if you are taking on the responsibility to care for another living thing you owe it to them to do right by them... Oops, stepping off soapbox now!!! Lol. As a first time hamster owner (along with my son) I find myself totally in love with the little furry creature!!!! In between size or not LOL