Shredder hamster

[Ria P]

I had a hamster who shredded before. Maureen, a female foster hamster who shredded her boredom breaker mat and then cardboard, any shape of cardboard.

Resident hamster Clive who is currently running on his wheel after a long freeroam, shreds small, cut to size pieces of cardboard placed by his front door. He won't touch loo rolls or egg boxes. He shreds it so finely that it looks like finacard and i have to remove some from time to time.

I'm trying to figure out why he does it and who else has hamsters who shred cardboard.

I originally placed a piece there when he bar chewed because he had to wait for his freeroaming turn. But now when the cardboard goes down and his teeth hit the bars he'll stop and look around for another piece of cardboard. He gets so carried away that sometimes his door is wide open and he's not even aware of it.

I'm just wondering if this is a negative behaviour, am i missing something or is he trying to tell me something?

[sushi_78]

Destruction can sometimes be a way they deal with feelings of frustration, stress or boredom. It's a two-sided issue because on the one hand, it could be seen as negative that they have those feelings in the first place, but on the other hand, if a particular hamster is more prone to those kinds of feelings (often due to no fault of the owner), it's healthy for them to have an outlet. Wheel-running is another potential outlet for a hamster.

It could also be a "housekeeping" thing - destroying stuff they think is out of place in their home.

Finally, they might just enjoy shredding cardboard.

[Ria P]

Thank you sushi, that makes sense.

Could be his personality, that he is an impatient and easily frustrated chap. Hopefully he'll grow out of it as he matures.