Picky , picky Romeo

[Juliebrei]

I just can't get him to use any chew toys! I feel like I've tried anything: wood, those little yarn carrot things, tried smearing said carrot with peanut butter, chew sticks, dog biscuits, multiple kinds, grass ball. I don't know what to do anymore. This can't be good for him…

[HenryHazelHammies]

Sometimes hamsters just don't prefer wood. Check if he's been bar chewing and look for solutions to that. Maybe he's finding the flavour of the wood dull. You can try buying flavoured chews or making them.

[Juliebrei]

He was bar chewing… one of the main reasons why we got him the detolf. We haven't tried flavored wood yet, maybe I should look into that

[AmityvilleHams]

Try soaking wood in fruit juice.You can also offer Whimzees if you haven't,those are extremely popular and 100% safe(Greenies are not,as they contain questionable ingredients and have caused problems at least in dogs).

What sort of wood have you tried?Sometimes it is the type of wood,as some animals will go crazy over willow but not bother with something like pine or apple!

Another option is offering something like a nut in shell(make sure the variety is safe in shell though!)or certain seeds can help too.Harder vegetables and plant matter such as dandelion root can be very firm and so they're better for teeth grinding than softer foods.

[Juliebrei]

He likes sunflower seeds, and I give him that every day. I remembered I haven't tried loofa either and the local set shops actually has dandelion roots, willow sticks and loofa. I completely forgot about the dandelion root. The woman in the pet shop already recommended it if moving else works. Good thing I already know my memory is lousy

[cypher]

A lot of hams don't chew on wood, or other things sold as chew toys, as long as he's eating a good mix then you shouldn't need to worry as their food will keep their teeth trim.
Some do like dandelion root but not all, worth a try though, the only dog biscuits mine have ever chewed on are Biscrok, they won't even look at any others, Whimzees or Antos chews are enjoyed by almost all hams, if you can't get those then Greenies are fine too.
If you flavour wood with food or juice keep a very close eye on it as it may go mouldy & you really don't want that in the cage!