Cage biting with Syrian

Isleofhamsters · 04-22-2020, 01:10 PM

Hello all!
I need help with my Syrian hamster. He keeps chewing on the plastic base and wire on his cage, and the base of his wheel. (It definitely works) He lives in a zooplus Barney cage. 80cm x 50cm. I don’t understand why he is doing this, he didn’t do it before. He has a 10.8” wheel, a sand bath and lots to do. I am considering switching to a detolf, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ikea is shut. Any ideas on what I could do to prevent this behaviour? I cannot monitor him 24/7, he mainly comes out at night.
Thank you in advance.

cypher · 04-23-2020, 12:01 AM

When you say he didn't do it before can you think of anything that may have triggered a change in behaviour? Things like cleaning too much, removing the nest or hoard, moving things around in the cage or changes in the environment around the cage can all upset them & cause changes in behaviour.
How long has he been doing it now?
Many chew toys for hams don't interest them much, most love whimzee dog chews though so if you haven't tried those give it a go. Scatter feeding & hiding treats or food in cardboard treat toys around the cage can help keep them occupied too.
Can you post a photo of your cage set up? There may be suggestions we could make to help.

Isleofhamsters · 04-23-2020, 01:25 PM

Here is a picture of his set up:

Sorry for the lighting.

Isleofhamsters · 04-23-2020, 01:27 PM

I haven’t changed his environment at all recently, except for spot cleaning. He has loads of things to chew, so I don’t understand why he does it.

Charlie Ping · 04-28-2020, 06:48 AM

Hi! Most hamsters have their own expectations on what size cage they want! Many hamsters are in cages the minimum or above and still chew the bars as they want more. Milo was in the hamster heaven but I upgraded him to the Barney (100cm x 50cm) and he loves it in there! I want to upgrade him again when I can financially. Also, bar chewing can be a habit too so hopefully doesn't develop into one. How do you feed him? Scatter feeding can give some more enrichment! I bowl feed, but only so I can keep an eye on how much he's taking but I give him some seeds to forage for! You can also give some enrichment by folding two sides of a toilet roll and putting treats in there!n

Kyrkogrimr · 05-01-2020, 02:45 AM

Hey, I've been having the same problem with my male syrian recently, he's in a Barney too. Did your Barney come with a shelf? (mine came with a wooden shelf, ramp and a corner house.) If it did, I would suggest putting it in unless you have a reason not to. I know it can be a bit of a pain to put in (I'm sure mine is sentient) but it offers cover which can help with stress behaviours. I've also found that Hydrogen *seems* to have stopped bar chewing for now since I updated his layout. There's not a lot of open floor space, but there's a lot for him to interact with and he really enjoys climbing on/over/through things.
He's got a Rodipet chamber house,the corner house that came with the cage, a large cork log and a willow tunnel from zooplus, a couple of grass nests/tunnels, 3 sputniks (he really likes his sputniks) and 2 long bendy bridges across the short ends of his cage to help him climb into the sputniks. And a sand bath.
I definitely recommend the cork log - he loves climbing on it, it offers him cover and the surface offers lots of nooks and grooves for him to hunt around for seeds.
I also try to give him deep substrate because he's both a climber and a digger.

Don't know if this is any help, but it's what is currently working with Hydrogen.