Thursday, July 30, 2009

Hamster Question?

I have a dwarf hamster and its always chewing its cage and plastic tunnels. I know it has to do that because of its teeth. But i baught it some shew sticks and even a chewable little house that he can chew on and sleep in. but he does not like them he only chews on the plastic, and its loud and since they are nocturnal some times he doesnt let me sleep. any suggestions. and no i will not get rid of him, i rather put up with the noise. thank you!
Answers:
to keep him from chewing, you can use Bitter Apple small animal spray. It's safe for your hammie and will help keep him from chewing on things he shouldn't.
You may also want to try giving him a wider assortment of chewies to see if you can find something he'll like better... just a few ideas... old toilet paper and paper towel rolls are wonderful (don't use the kind with glue)... pine cones %26 pecan branches (as long as they are free of any bugs, chemicals, or fungus)... dog biscuits, dry uncooked pasta, and organic salt/sugar free banana or apple chips... be creative, but avoid anything that may have glue, ink, pesticides, salt, sugar, or any other chemical or additive that may be unsafe or unhealthy. When in doubt, err on the safe side and skip it.
Stuff his cage in the closet at night so you can sleep.
Try sticking some card board in the cage or switch cages so where its not bars. even a big plastic box is good. i have 3 hampsters. well 8 from yesterday (my hampster just had 5 babies and they big-o)
try this link
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/system/to...
a few people responded..
Try putting a little vinegar on the bars where he chews most often. The bitter taste will make him not want to chew that, and it is not toxic to hammies.
Think of the gnawing as a peaceful, calming sound. I had rats for years, and they ran their squeaky wheels all night, and I got so the sound was comforting to me.
I don't like to use these due to lack of air flow, but get a 10 gallon tank and put no plastic in it with a screen top (they're not too expensive). Only put the wood chew and other items you want him to on in there. Make sure the water bottle has a metal guard on the bottom to prevent chewing it also. After a week or so try him back in the other cage to see how he does, if he beging to chew again, remove him and try again after 2-3 weeks. He may not even get the hint, so he may need to stay in the tank.
We have 11 dwarfs, but luckily none are plastic chewers, not even on the metal bars. For us it's the gerbils that chew everything plastic including their wheels, food dishes and cage bars. We use glass bowls for food and metal mesh wheels (no slats) now. Our Syrian hamsters do a lot of the chewing on metal bars. Our baby rats chew on the plastic cage bottom and we now need to replace it or put them in a tank, but there's 5 of them and a 10 gallon tank is too small for that many.
Mine would do that to get out of his cage...very smart hamster. So I would put the cage in an empty and clean bathtub and cover the drain (if not covered) This allows him to be free yet safe from being stepped on and he can't escape but he will feel like he is free. Just make sure no one turns the water on...my hamster loved to stay there at night!
well there is a spray that you can put on the cage and plastice that is safe for hamsters but they dont like the taste and so they stop bitting the cage
Try hanging some treats up in his cage, like the hard cereal bars. Im from England and here you can buy a dried out corn on the cob to hang in the cage too, and my hamster loves it.
My hamster does not chew the bars of his cage often, only when he has been out of the cage playing and we put him back! So your hamster may be a little bored, when he is chewing the cage, take him out for a while. They are social animals and love to come out for a run around. If you dont already have one, invest in a hamster exercise ball so he can have a run around the house, it will distract his reaction of chewing his cage.
awww my hamsters has been doing the same thing...I read on www.hamsterific.com that hamsters that chew there cages are trying to grind down there teeth.and it is very bad for them...they can ram there teeth into there skull or break there teeth off or cause a brain anurisim!!...They also say they bite there cage out of boredom.so last night I bought my hamster "hamsteroid balls"..they are toys made out of seashell and stone..and they have a flavour to them..so they like to chew them..its used to grind down there teeth..MY HAMSTER LOVED THEM..maybe you could try that? And buy them a ladder to exercise on.
My hamsters did that too, I had to keep them in the spare room so I could sleep at night! Rodents never seem to like chew sticks.
See if you can find them some hard treats to gnaw on - they're more likely to chew something they can actually eat. You can get these big sticks with nuts on them that take them AGES to devour, so look in a pet shop for those. Failing that you might just have to put them out of ear shot, hammies seem to like nothing better to chew on than cage bars! I suppose you could try getting them a tank instead of a cage, no bars then! Just make sure it's a well-ventilated one.
Chalice

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