Hamsters chewing?

PicoloChelsea · 01-18-2016, 09:51 PM

Hey guys,

So firstly, my Syrian girl Houdini has always been a big bar chewer, She was always non-stop in her cage so I go her into the ikea detolf thinking I was a genius, however, she is just chewing the railing bar bit inside instead -_-
I have tried blocking it with lots of toys and it does nothing, she has a lot in her cage, lots of tubes and chews platforms, sand bath etc.

Also my new Syrian Fofa who I've had for a week and a couple days started chewing about 4 days ago, she only chews one part of the cage, the door, she doesn't chew anywhere else. I'm not sure how to stop this. She also has a lot of toys in her cages.

Both get time out of the cage nearly every day and have time in the ball, play pen, bath and being held ( Fofa is doing well with taming already and I hold Houdini practically everyday )

Stay safe x

Pebbles82 · 01-19-2016, 04:37 AM

That's a shame that you got her a lovely big detolf and she is chewing the metal frame! I'm not sure what to suggest about that. I think someone else had this problem and also found their hamster was chewing a hole in the wood end piece of the detolf, but I think the chewing had been exacerbated by the stress of a move in that case (Cookie in the US was it?)

I think someone said you can have the detolf without the bars in but I'm not sure how you would do that. You could try wrapping sisal string round the bars - so they are covered with a layer of sisal. It would be a bit of a bind (sorry, pun there) and you'd need a big ball of sisal string. Sisal is safe to chew so it would need to be that kind of string. She might still chew it, or might not, but if she did it wouldn't hurt her teeth so much, or she might decide not to bother when it is no longer a 'bar' but a sisal thing.

The only other thing I can think is cage cleaning. If you disturb the set up too often with say weekly cage cleans, that can make them stressed and want to escape. Apologies if you don't do this. Erin's hamsters cage cleaning video has some excellent tips on avoiding cage clean stress, if that helps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

Do you ignore her when she chews, or get her out? I believe some people say that if you get them out when they chew they are training you to get them out. If you do then it might be best to ignore her. Charlie went through a phase of bar chewing when he was a year old, and after he had had a change of environment when we left him somewhere while we were on holiday. The only way it stopped in the end was, when he started we would turn the lights out and go to bed early. I used to sneak down a bit later and he had always stopped once there was no-one there. If he saw me he'd start doing it again.

That might not be so easy to do if they are in your bedroom though.

As for the new one doing it - crikey! You could try a slight cage set up change to distract her before it becomes an ingrained habit - put deep substrate in (if you haven't already), as deep as you can get in the cage base. Try scattering her food so she has to forage for it and weave some cardboard round that section of bars.

If it isn't cage size, then sometimes it is something else in the set up that isn't right for them. eg not enough substrate or bedding, wheel not big enough or needing a bigger house for a nest or something. But assume you know all that already. There is a thread on tips for bar chewers.

Pebbles82 · 01-19-2016, 06:24 AM

It was Oatmeal Cupcake had the chewer in the detolf! I'll send her this link

PicoloChelsea · 01-19-2016, 06:13 PM

couldn't believe it, broke my heart, went through a lot of stress to get her it aswell.I will be checking the wood, I didn't think of that, but I have noticed it is only the bar she chews on. I can try do so but I'm low on money at the moment so I'd have to see how much it is :S

I sometimes tell her to get away, she occasionally listens, I will ignore her completely and play with the others. Same as what I'm trying to do with my new one, I will talk to her and once she starts chewing I leave. It's in the sittingroom so it's not somewhere we can really just leave 'cause it where everything we use in the house is haha. We work nights and she is up in the day time aswell and does it, so because our schedule is messed up we cant just go bed 'cause we need to leave for work a bit after they get up.

When I change her cage I don't change everything in it and I don't move things around much at all, only a couple of her chews. I change the dirty areas and then add new bedding in but change her house fully as she poops in it lol. Bedding is usually quite deep aswell especially because of this as I add more in than I take out. They also both have wheels that their backs don't bend on and they also get time out of the cage.
I really hope she doesn't get the habbit because it literally drives me crazy. I've watched erins video, I watch a lot of them actually, it's what I based most of my hamster care off.
Also when I change the detolf, I tend to either leave her in there and give her some treats, she just chills out and comes sits on my hand and stuff or she goes for a run in the ball.
I'm going to try add some extra bedding into the cages, give a little move around of things for the new one and keep ignore them when they chew.

Thank you,

Stay safe x

Shannonmcn · 01-20-2016, 02:38 AM

I was in the exact same situation with Cc when she first moved into her detolf, I think she was just so in the habit of chewing something! I covered the bars with more substrate and gave her a ton of stuff to chew elsewhere and eventually she stopped herself and hasn't gone back to it.

She chews the mesh on the lid still but I know 100% that she only does it to get out when she knows I'm in the room so I have to make an effort not to reward her for it.

Pebbles82 · 01-20-2016, 02:40 AM

Has she been in the detolf very long? Sisal string isn't expensive. It could help. I know Jenibelle recently wrapped the rear stand of her wheel in it (for a different reason, just to hide the colour of it and make it look more natural).

Cat Scratch Sisal Rope 6mm diam x100 ft: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Either that or some people have taken the bars out - I believe they used silicone sealant between the glass and some grooves on the wood parts. I'm not really sure how this works I just know silicone sealant is involved. Of course then your lids wouldn't fit if they were made to rest on the bars, but if you didn't want to make new lids, maybe you could stick a 'shelf' (eg strip of wood or metal) to the inside with silicone sealant so the lid can rest on that.

If you start a new post called Detolf bar chewing, you might get more suggestions from people who know more about detolfs than me.

PicoloChelsea · 01-20-2016, 03:21 PM

Thanks for the suggestions guys, really appreciate it.

I literally pilled up the substrate like to the height of her wheel on all corners and put lots of chews it but she moved all of it -_- was a wasted effort lol.
She's been in the detolf for around a week and a half, she only chews the corners which is strange she ignores all the rest of it. I do have a little platform in it that stops her from getting to one of the corners so that helps, I tried wedging her sandbath next to it to block two corners... she managed to tip it over completely and moved it across the cage. This hamster is seriously trying me haha. She is so well behaved but so naughty at the same time. Yeah might have to suggest to my partner we try the string, although I think she'd chew through it ? She has broken majority of her toys with any sort of string.

Fofa has started chewing in other parts of her cage now aswell. I need to stop it before she gets as bad as Houdini. She has like 5 chew sticks, a bridge, a wheel, a chew toy with food inside, two toilet rolls, another wooden chew toy, two platforms, two cages and tubes to go through, a house and a sand bath. So it's not like her cage is empty or lack of toys, i'm going to add some more aswell. Houdinis has even more in it, majority of the detolf is toys lol but she basically ignores them all.

Stay safe x

Pebbles82 · 01-21-2016, 06:53 AM

If she's only been in the detolf one and a half weeks, that's not long. She'll still be getting used to it and if she came from a barred cage she might take a bit more getting used to it. The important thing at the moment is not to disturb her too much while she's settling in, and avoid cleaning other than spot cleaning. Now you've added the extra substrate, maybe leave her to her own devices for two or three days and then start getting her out occasionally. I'm sure she'll settle in soon and then maybe it will stop.

Fofa might be chewing the bars for some of the same reasons (just settling in) and a change from a tank to a cage (assume she was in a tank - most pet shops seem to use them). Try not to stress about it or they'll pick up your stress (although I know it's a horrible sound and a bit upsetting too).

CMB · 01-29-2016, 09:44 AM

Would the old cage fit in the Detolf. Or arrange one end of the Detolf the same as the old cage and put new things at the other end.

Or put a divider in the Detolf then move it once the hamster seems settled.

PicoloChelsea · 01-31-2016, 04:14 PM

I've got some new toys in houdinis cage to try help out a bit and most things are in very similar places to what they were in her other cages. I put some hanging toys in front of where Fofa is chewing to try lead her to chew them instead but she seems a bit stressed about it, only put them there an hour or so ago but ice seen roday how bad houdinis face has been affected from it and I can't let Fofa do the same, thanks for the ideas guys, she does it in one corner so I might try put a platform with a bottom there to stop it.

Stay safe f2f