The unstoppable bar chewer?

TNTWORX · 01-09-2016, 09:59 PM

Hi, I have had my Syrian, turbo, since late November. we recently moved her to a larger cage. but now he bar chews. I aint' talkin he chews them every so often, but literaly half the time she is awake is bar chewing. She has many hamster chews, homade and store bought, plenty of things to do, plenty of bedding to dig, and plenty of out time. I don't think I can get my hands on a glass cage though. I am going to check her wheel tonight. I know there is a thread all about bar chewing on one of the forums,and I am following all that. She has developed gray hair on her nose from being up against the bars so much. what I'm asking is what are the side affects of this, and other ways to stop it, other than a glass cage. please help!

cypher · 01-09-2016, 10:29 PM

Some hams will chew bars no matter what you do & a glass tank can be the only option, if you can't put a stop to it she could potentially damage her teeth & even possibly injure her nose & face from constantly rubbing up against the bars.
What do you do when she's chewing the bars? Sometimes it's a form of attention seeking so it's generally best not to reward behaviour by reacting to it.
How much out of cage time does she have? Does she have a good safe area with lots of things to explore & space to run around?
If you've read the bar chewing thread there isn't much more I can suggest really.

**DrKMcK** · 01-10-2016, 12:01 AM

Cypher's right TNTWORX. A confirmed bar chewer needs a tank if it can't be stopped. The kind of chewing you're talking about will end up with either an open sore on her nose or the loss of teeth, which can be very painful for her. Losing teeth means vet visits to cut the opposite teeth down every so often. Hamsters teeth grow continuously, so if one is lost the opposite tooth has nothing to grind against to keep them trimmed.
Please don't blow at her when she is chewing a bar. She can be startled and pull back, maybe damaging her teeth.

I am able to let my hams play in the tub alone since there is no way they can get down the drain. A strainer is screwed in place on the drain. So, when my Ted E. Bear (RIP) used to try chewing I just set up the tub with some toys, a water bottle and some food. He had a hidey and his wheel in there. I let him play in there for about 3 hours. When I put him back he went right to bed. I did this about 4-5 times and Ted E. stopped chewing.
By the way, I did this BEFORE he chewed when he woke up as I was going to bed. So he wasn't getting rewarded for chewing behavior. I got to him before he started up.

TNTWORX · 01-10-2016, 09:48 AM

thanks. I think I am going to do the bathtub thing, because, being a younger age, a lot of my things come from my parents and we just got her the new cage. so the chances of getting a new one is slim. I am going to rub lemon juice on the bars as well.

flowerfairy · 01-10-2016, 09:59 AM

I seem to remember that lemon juice isnt good for hamsters (read it on here somewhere). Hope the bath tub idea works well.

TNTWORX · 01-10-2016, 03:41 PM

I think I've gotten through to her! I did the bathtub thing and it worked! I also fixed her wheel, and I haven't seen her chew sense!(also no lemon juice was needed. I am going to wait till tonight to confirm though!)

herbi7 · 01-10-2016, 05:36 PM

That's great. One little thing to watch out for..My Syrian can jump out of a normal sized bath on her own... But she is quite a full-on one. Since yours is quite young, keep an eye in case she is similarly acrobatic