Extreme bar chewing

[Bookish]

My hamster is just over a year old, for a long time she’s been a bad bar chewer, I’ve tried everything I can think of including:
X a tank (made her worse she just chewed the edges)
X deeper bedding
X more enrichments
X more chews
X chews attached to the bars
X scatter feeding
X bigger cage
X moving stuff around more
X moving stuff around less
X olive oil on the bars
X covering her cage at night so my light doesn’t disturb her

She will chew 90% of the time she’s awake, she doesn’t really run on her wheel.

I literally have no idea what to do, but it’s to the point you can hear her in other rooms of the house and she wakes me up at night!

[LunaTheHamster1]

I'm afraid your only answer is a cage that has absolutley nothing on the inside that she can chew. My female syrian Moonbeam was the worse cage bitter I have ever had. At the moment she is in the Marrakesh cage and she has been fine in that.

Is it where the sealant is in the tank that she is chewing? If so, is it possible to add some tiles or metal strip bars as long as she doesn't chew that and hurt her teeth.

[Lilafernim]

Also, I know it won’t solve the issue but all my hamsters have loved whimzees dog chews. If you don’t already use them you could put some in and she might at least be distracted for a while.

And you say you put chews against the bars. I just want to advice if any of these chews against the bars are edible, perhaps the taste of them is rubbing against the bars. Again I’m not saying this is the reason because that would be extreme but maybe it’s not helping if it is edible chews on the bars.

[heidii]

How big is your cage? Does it exceed 1000 square inches? That could help.

[Bookish]

How big is your cage? Does it exceed 1000 square inches? That could help.

Yes, she’s had bitter too but was chewing the glass

[Bookish]

I'm afraid your only answer is a cage that has absolutley nothing on the inside that she can chew. My female syrian Moonbeam was the worse cage bitter I have ever had. At the moment she is in the Marrakesh cage and she has been fine in that.

Is it where the sealant is in the tank that she is chewing? If so, is it possible to add some tiles or metal strip bars as long as she doesn't chew that and hurt her teeth.

She was chewing the glass so I moved her back to a bared cage so that it didn’t damage her teeth as much, I’ll have a look at the Marrakesh cage

[Pebbles82]

Size of cage can make a difference. What's the biggest size cage she's been in? She maybe needs something like a four foot fish tank.

[Ria P]

Does your hamster get enough out of cage time to use up some of her energy? What's she like when you handle her? Just wondering what kind of personality she has.

Is her wheel big enough and working ok? Syrians need a 28cm wheel.

Have you tried covering the areas she chews with thick pieces of cardboard? Some hamsters like to shred cardboard and chew the bars when they run out.

[Pebbles82]

She was chewing the glass so I moved her back to a bared cage so that it didn’t damage her teeth as much, I’ll have a look at the Marrakesh cage

The Marrakesch isn't that big really. Internally it's about 95cm by 45cm and quite low. I would think it may not be right for a highly active chewer of a female. Although not much to chew on.

[Pebbles82]

She was chewing the glass so I moved her back to a bared cage so that it didn’t damage her teeth as much, I’ll have a look at the Marrakesh cage

Which barred cage is she in now? I can't imagine a hamster chewing glass! Some chew the aquarium sealant away but surely they can't get their teeth into the glass.

It's very hard to find cages bigger than 100cm in the UK and Europe, but you can get bigger tanks (or diy cages). Space may be the key.

Do you have a photo of her set up? Because sometimes it's something to do with the set up that can make them want to chew to escape - a stress thing. On the other hand sometimes it's just a habit they're in.

[LunaTheHamster1]

The Marrakesch isn't that big really. Internally it's about 95cm by 45cm and quite low. I would think it may not be right for a highly active chewer of a female. Although not much to chew on.

Yes I was surprised Moonbeam has been happy in hers, no signs of stress behaviour like in her barred cage. With Moonbeam I think bar chewing was a habit she picked up from her previous owners, because if I put her jn a small cage with bars she will go mental chewing the bars, but if I put her in a travel carrier that is even smaller but has no bars, she is fine.

I was using the Marrakesh as an example of a cage with nothing on the inside that she was able to chew. Personally, I don't think it is really high enough for a syrian hamster but plenty of people use it for Syrian hamsters. I am making her an Ikea Komplement cage but until it is built and she has used it I didn't want to recommend it for bar chewers as in theory it should be ok but in practice I don't know yet.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Also, just want to say I also tried Moonbeam in the zoozone large which is a few cms shorter than the marrakesh but I had to fill in all the groves/holes with epoxy resin so she had nothing to chew on. I thought I better mention that too just in case you were thinking of trying a cage like that. Obviously every hamster is different so others may be ok in those types of cages.

[Bookish]

She’s had a tank and a 3 1/2 by 2 foot vivarium as it was spare and bigger, she still chewed both as she managed to get the edges of the glass.

She’s back in the Alaska with a 12 inch wheel, she’s my fourth Syrian, and I’ve never had a hamster bar chew like this. It seems once she starts she gets stuck in the cycle. I’ve tried covering the bars with the grass mats and she just removes them so she can get to the bars

[Bookish]

Also, just want to say I also tried Moonbeam in the zoozone large which is a few cms shorter than the marrakesh but I had to fill in all the groves/holes with epoxy resin so she had nothing to chew on. I thought I better mention that too just in case you were thinking of trying a cage like that. Obviously every hamster is different so others may be ok in those types of cages.

I have a zoo zone but it is my emergency travel cage for my hedgehog and with the zoo zones being so hard to get hold of I can’t really risk her chewing it, and the roof is

[Bookish]

Yes I was surprised Moonbeam has been happy in hers, no signs of stress behaviour like in her barred cage. With Moonbeam I think bar chewing was a habit she picked up from her previous owners, because if I put her jn a small cage with bars she will go mental chewing the bars, but if I put her in a travel carrier that is even smaller but has no bars, she is fine.

I was using the Marrakesh as an example of a cage with nothing on the inside that she was able to chew. Personally, I don't think it is really high enough for a syrian hamster but plenty of people use it for Syrian hamsters. I am making her an Ikea Komplement cage but until it is built and she has used it I didn't want to recommend it for bar chewers as in theory it should be ok but in practice I don't know yet.


Are there instructions for the komplement cage anywhere that you know of?
I’m happy making a DIY cage

[LunaTheHamster1]

This is the video, instructions and diagram in the description IKEA KOMPLEMENT | DIY New Hamster Cage Tutorial 🐹 Cheap & easy - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-39b5VQYr0)

[Bookish]

This is the video, instructions and diagram in the description IKEA KOMPLEMENT | DIY New Hamster Cage Tutorial 🐹 Cheap & easy - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-39b5VQYr0)

Thank you at this point I’m willing to try anything, I did consider taking her to the vet to see if there is underlying pain anywhere but I think it’s a repetitive cycle she’s managed to get into.

[NanaBeaver]

My wee girl is just the same. She has cost me a fortune changing cages and playpens, not to mention all the toys, chews and new foods I've tried her with. At the moment she has a cage that offers 800 sq inches of ground space, good deep substrate and an 11 inch wheel, plus no end of toys tunnels and hides and still she bar chews.
I contemplating getting an Ikea Detolf.

[Pebbles82]

My wee girl is just the same. She has cost me a fortune changing cages and playpens, not to mention all the toys, chews and new foods I've tried her with. At the moment she has a cage that offers 800 sq inches of ground space, good deep substrate and an 11 inch wheel, plus no end of toys tunnels and hides and still she bar chews.
I contemplating getting an Ikea Detolf.

Don't get a detolf. A chewer can gnaw at the inner bars in that. And the chipboard/wood ends! You'd be better off with a straight glass tank or the Marrakesch mentioned.

[Pebbles82]

She’s had a tank and a 3 1/2 by 2 foot vivarium as it was spare and bigger, she still chewed both as she managed to get the edges of the glass.

She’s back in the Alaska with a 12 inch wheel, she’s my fourth Syrian, and I’ve never had a hamster bar chew like this. It seems once she starts she gets stuck in the cycle. I’ve tried covering the bars with the grass mats and she just removes them so she can get to the bars

It's a game isn't it? Have you tried weaving strips of cardboard through the bars? At least then they have to chew the cardboard away first.

One question - does she have a big house that's dark inside? They can often settle more when they have something like a large labyrinth house so they can have normal burrow behaviours.

[Engel]

Keep an eye out for a bigger cage. See if anyone is selling a 4ft guinea pig cage and add mesh so she can't get out. My last hamster, Mania, was an extreme bar chewer, but when i removed the bars she started chewing through resin and plastic! So sometimes you have to think what's the lesser of the 2 evils. Bar chewing and potentially damaging her teeth, or chewing through a cage, escaping and getting injured or worse. I did weave cardboard like Serendipity mentioned or wedged strips of cardboard between the bars.

In Mania's case, her previous owner kept her in a cage that was too small and it became habit so when I got her it was her stimulus of choice I suppose. Don't know if it was the texture or the noise but she did it up until she passed and nothing would stop her. I was looking for a glass tank in the end but didn't find one that I could afford at the time.

As Serendipity says, just a straight glass tank would be ideal.