please help

[Member ID2]

I find that hamsters don't necessarily chew bars because they want something different to chew on.
Even if you'd buy 10 different chews she may still chew the bars. Mine usually try to tell me something with this kind of behaviour. They want out to freeroam or don't like waiting for example. Or something isn't right in their cage or they are mad at me for doing a bit of cleaning. Maybe i put something in the wrong place.

Did you do the routine checks like water bottle and wheel working ok?

I agree that she'll probaby need a bigger cage and wheel going forward but just now she's little so there's no rush.

Some baby hamsters need up to two weeks to settle in before attempting any taming or out of cage time. They are scared and nervous so need to be left alone for a while to re adjust to their new world.

It took one of my Syrians six weeks before he was ready for humans. I tend to go at their pace.

In the meantime you could cover the areas she chews with thick cardboard.

Regarding the pistachios. Please make sure that any nuts are the unsalted variety and pistachio shells can be sharp. Peanuts in the shell are fine though.

 

[gumball737]

Im being very patient with her. She is still scared of me and that's okay. I'm happy with the way she is adjusting at the moment. The bar biting just concerned me because of how loud and aggressively she was biting it. About the pistachio, I take the shell off, and they are always natural and unflavoured/unsalted.

 

[Member ID2]

So, you say she bar chews when she sees you?
Is it always in the same place? Does she stop when she doesn't see you?

One of mine did that when he was younger and still a little bit now. It's more of an attention seeking behaviour in his case. I push looroll tubes through the bars and he chews them instead. I need to layer the cardboard so the tubes stay between the bars. If they fall down he chews the bars again.

Great that she likes the new chews.

 

[Maz]

For now you need to maybe make it cosier and add a lot more substrate, and some kind of hide that's dark inside and big enough to build a large nest. If they have nowhere to "hide" or be in private in the dark, they can feel frantic. If the bedding is deep enough but not house, they can burrow down. If the bedding isn't very deep but there is a good house, they can build a good nest so they feel secure.

As mentioned by others, you will need to upgrade her. But as a temporary measure, try and put a lot more substrate in - at least at one end. It may come out of the bars a bit, if the base is shallow but it won't come out that much. Also what kind of house does she have in there? Could you maybe add a cardboard house made out of a tissue box? A shoebox house is ideal but it may not fit. And also put a big pile of torn up toilet paper strips in the cage so she can build a nest under a shelf or the corner of the cage eg if there's no large house.

The other thing is to avoid weekly full clean outs. The psychology of it is - she feels exposed, and can't do normal burrowing/nesting habits maybe. She won't feel settled or at home if her scent is removed regularly (eg by overcleaning) - so she will want to escape.

Personally I don't think the bar biting will stop until she has a bigger cage. A bin cage or detolf would be good - as long as the bin cage is bigger than the current cage.

 

[Riven]

As mentioned above, you could have every chew possible and she may still bar bite. Bar biting is a way to show that she isn't happy about something like Beryl said. Chewing on the bars has been shown to help lower anxiety in hamsters who are stressed as it releases endorphins. It's good that you're trying to stop this so early on as it can be very difficult when they have been doing it for a long time.

My RB Manis was a chronic bar biter. She had been kept in a tiny cage for quite some time by her previous owner. They did upgrade in the end and they custom made her a barless enclosure. They did have to give her up not long after as they were heading to university. Even after I had her for a while she would bar bite to self soothe during anything stressful.

Keep an eye out on facebook market place for second hand cages and tanks. You can save yourself quite a bit of money that way

Sometimes the best boredom breakers are the cheap, homemade ones. Cardboard boxes stuffed with unscented toilet paper or shredded paper with food hidden inside are a favourite here. You can suspend some cardboard tubes with sisal or jute, then add food/treat and fold the ends in.

Check out the cardboard creations section for more ideas and even add your own.

Cardboard creations

This is a thread to show how many things you can make for your hamster or enclosure, out of cardboard :-) Cardboard is your friend.

www.thehamsterforum.com