Hamster chewing enough?

[virtualkeith]

Hi everyone,

I have a syrian hamster, and I got chew sticks for him, and he ran on his wheel. I bought a hanging chew toy and he ran on his wheel. I got him a clip on wood chew, and he ran on his wheel. I bought him a little rolling ball, and he ran on his wheel. So basically, he never chews on wood toys. I have wooden ramps as well as wooden shelves. They're all in excellent condition without chew marks.
While all of that is nice in one way, I am concerned about his teeth not being worn down properly as I've read their teeth keep growing. He eats Hazel Hamster food (the american version of harry hamster I've heard). He also eats an assorted seed mix as well as some broccoli, carrots, cucumber, and snow peas.
I am basically asking what a hamster needs to chew on to wear his teeth down enough. Any suggestions?
Thanks

[hammy2]

Sounds like you've got everything right for him have you tried toilet roll tubes? If they're too narrow to fit through you can unravel them

[virtualkeith]

Oh yes hammy2, I forgot to mention that. I put one in his cage and.................
he ran on his wheel. :)

[cypher]

He should be fine with his mix & extra seeds, not that many hams seem keen on chewing wood (unless it's something you don't actually want them to chew!) Whimzees are usually well liked & good for a bit of extra chewing along with a small piece of dog biscuit once in a while.

[Pebbles82]

Our Syrian never chews wood either - in fact he doesn't chew anything, which has its pros and cons! Mainly pros I think as it means they aren't going to destroy everything in sight. I get him wood chew/treat sticks (I try and keep to the healthy ones) and that seems to do the trick - along with the whimzee chews which all hamsters seem to go potty for. They're not stupid these Syrians! And can be quite lazy lol! Why chew wood if there's no food attached to it! Now food on the outside of wood - that's more like it - and they get to chew the wood at the same time without realising it. The idea of the wood treat sticks is they eat the tasty stuff off the outside and then chew the wood that's left. Charlie eats the tasty stuff off the outside and then ignores the wood! But while he was getting the tasty stuff off he had to chew the wood to get it off.

The best thing I had for him was a kind of log roll stuffed with carrot - he spent ages and ages chewing at that to get the carrot out of the middle. When it was done, I got him another one but he didn't like that one - it wasn't the same one that he loved!

I'm not sure which wood/treat sticks are availalble in the US - most of them have honey in which long term can give them bad teeth! I get the Rosewood naturals ones, and he still eats them even though they are healthy and sugar-free - because there is no other sweet option I think. There are a couple of Rosewood naturals ones with wood on Amazon.com but as usual they are more expensive than in the Uk.

This one is stone covered in foodstuff

http://www.amazon.com/Boredom-Breakers-NATURALS-Wellness-Stone/dp/B000ZSU7VO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_199_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=1H7S3WZA9JMVSAYH0MNM

This one isn't cheap but it's quite big - it hooks onto the bars - it's similar to the carrot log I had. I think this would be a good buy - their stuff is very good and it should last quite a long time and keep him happy. It's also got healthy herbs in.

Amazon.com : Rosewood Boredom Breaker Natural Treat Double Woodroll : Edible Pet Treats : Pet Supplies (http://www.amazon.com/Rosewood-Boredom-Breaker-Natural-Woodroll/dp/B005M3Q08Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1437983692&sr=1-1&keywords=rosewood+naturals)

These are the mini whimzees - They are dog chews as Cypher says, but good for hamsters too. Vegetable based. Most hamsters seem to covet them highly - even Charlie dragged his into his house. The toothbrushes seem to be the most popular ones. If you get them elsewhere be careful to get the small ones as there are bigger sizes for bigger dogs and some are huge! The small ones are just right for hamsters.

http://www.amazon.com/Whimzees-BC329975-Toothbrush-Treat/dp/B00DKXGCXS/ref=sr_1_13?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1437984384&sr=1-13&keywords=whimzees+small

These are the not so healthy ones. I still give Charlie one very occasionally as a special treat and it is demolished fairly quickly over a week or so and he has a good gnaw at the same time. They're not as bad as some but still have honey in - I reckon very occasionally won't do too much harm.

http://www.amazon.com/Vitakraft-Hamster-Honey-Sticks-4-Ounce/dp/B0002DJRNQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1437984566&sr=1-4&keywords=Hamster+treat+stick

These are the ones I usually get

http://www.amazon.com/Vitakraft-Hamster-Fruit-Sticks-4-Ounce/dp/B0002DJRU4/ref=sr_1_14?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1437984566&sr=1-14&keywords=Hamster+treat+stick

Most of them come with a clip or something to hang them up by - I don't hang them up I lie them on the floor of the cage - usually behind something so he has fun finding it! If I hang them up he won't touch them and looks at them as if the devil was in his face or something lol. That might just be a Charlie thing but he really hates anything invading his air space that wasn't there before, but is quite happy to 'find' something on the floor.

[velma]

Hi, I think Serendipity has pretty much covered it but things that seem to be popular with my Syrian are Whimzees small crocodiles/toothbrush & I've just tried Greenies for the first time too. I got teenie Greenies & they were popular. Milk bone dog biscuits as an occasional treat but I know there is some debate about them. Wood is mostly ignored but willow balls seem to get nibbled. And the thing I've just discovered that seems to have gone down a treat is fruit flavour wood chews. I'm not going to lie, I bought it because I thought it would look nice in her cage & hoped it might get a nibble. The one I've got is shaped like a big wooden strawberry & Cleo went straight for it when I put it in her cage. And it's been well chewed in the couple of weeks since it went in.

[Bbhami]

maybe he's just not a chewer? My male syrian ignores his chew toys unless he want to go out, he will chew the hell out of his wood toys to make noise. In contras, my female syrian love her chew toys so much she destroys them the moment i give it to her. Idk which is more scary?

Maybe you can put some of his favorite treats in his chew toys if you're worried about his teeth. Or do some diy tissue toys with hidden treats inside to encourage him to chew. It might also be because he's new to his wheel that's why he loves it so much :))

[virtualkeith]

Thank you everyone for your responses. And thank you Serendipity! You even found sites where your suggestions are sold in US dollars! I'm impressed!
I think the real reason why I asked this question is because I once saw a video of this poor little hamster who was weak and malnourished because his front teeth grew too long, and he could no longer eat. The video was of a vet snipping his long front teeth to make them shorter. It was like a hamster horror film! The poor hamster looked so weak! It broke my heart!
So anyway, I decided I'd try a whimzee toothbrush first and take it from there. The boredom breakers natural woodroll looks interesting, but you're right, it's a little pricey. I'm afraid I'll buy it, and he'll just run in his wheel. :)

[virtualkeith]

Serendipity, if you're reading this, I wanted to thank you for suggesting the whimzees. I think they're a hit with Mr. Carlisle. I looked 2 days after I put them in, and saw that a little bit of chewing had gone on. Tonight I caught the best picture I could. Please excuse the quality

[Pebbles82]

Lol! He's definitely checking it out! I haven't heard of hamster that doesn't love whimzees. Actually I like Bbhami's idea as well - you can make christmas crackers out of a toilet roll inner with irresistable treats inside it, wrapped up in a piece of paper to make it into a cracker. He has to chew the cardboard to get to the treats. I lined Charlie's house with cardboard and he chews bits off to line his nest with. Chewing wood really helps keep their teeth trim - I think that's why the wood sticks with food stuck on are good for that - they get tricked into chewing the wood to get the tasty stuff off lol. The whimzee will help too - I bet it doesn't last long! Charlie drags his into his house.

[barley]

Have you tried the natural wood sticks that still have the bark one? They're the only ones Rupert will pay much interest in as he likes to strip the bark off. He'll chew at the mineral chews that have the parsley filling too, and both like the whimzee & hanging seed bar treats.

Have you tried dog biscuits? Most hams like those and they're hard enough to be good for teeth when chewed.