Suggestions for chewing toys

[LuckyPunk01]

Hi all,

Im new to posting here but have been watching this forum for a little while and its been very useful. I have two syrian hamsters (seperate cages) and im having a minor issue with one of their chewing habits, I've just moved him into a bigger cage which is now above the minimum but I forget the exact measurements. He has plenty of burrowing space with 7 inches of substrate variying from woodshavings, to paper, tissue roll, and other soft materials. He has plenty of clutter and hides of varying matierals aswell. He is also scatter fed treats, food and fresh veg when appropriate. All in all hes a happy and healthy hamster which is lovely to see since the petshop had sold me a cage too small which is why I upgraded him. Im having one very minor issue though in the form of him taking to chewing on his cage as apposed to his hides/toys. while not a massive problem since I built the cage myself so I can patch it up just fine I would much rather him chew on his toys and such just for peace of mind. Problem with him is he can be a little fussy so im looking for suggestions of less obvious things he could chew on or a way to kindly dissuade him from chewing the cage itself. His chews consist of several different types of hamster safe woods, A carrot and hay hide, apple sticks, and sometimes a tough honey and spelt treat bar or a whimzee and also cardboard tunnels.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Lovelyness]

My Blossom is a real chewer! She loves egg boxes to chew on. I’ve also bought her a range of natural chews including dried banana leaves, vine and coconut husks. She’s also chewed through the bottom of her hyacinth basket and her cork mat

 

[Doodleham]

My Blossom is a real chewer! She loves egg boxes to chew on. I’ve also bought her a range of natural chews including dried banana leaves, vine and coconut husks. She’s also chewed through the bottom of her hyacinth basket and her cork mat

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That looks amazing

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome Is it a wood cage he's in?

 

[LuckyPunk01]

My Blossom is a real chewer! She loves egg boxes to chew on. I’ve also bought her a range of natural chews including dried banana leaves, vine and coconut husks. She’s also chewed through the bottom of her hyacinth basket and her cork mat

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Aw shes so cute!! That box looks amazing where did you find that? I hadn't thought about eggs boxes i'll have to get some, as for banana leaves I just picked one up today after work for him to see what he thinks. Somebody had suggested I soak his wood chews in some fruit juices and maybe one in a very think layer of peanut butter, the woods currently soaking but the peanut butter seems to be a winner so its a start!

 

[LuckyPunk01]

Hello and welcome Is it a wood cage he's in?

He is in a wood cage yeah, I expected him to chew on it some because its wood it just caught me off guard because he hasn't had much of a preference for it historically, i've blocked the piece he was chewing and added some different chewable things for him today for some experimenting. Im mostly just trying to dissuade him from chewing his cage.

 

[Maz]

Generally they seem to ignore wood chews I find - but they are always looking for an escape route! Blocking that area off sounds good. Once they start in an area they don’t like to give up usually! Is it a pawhut or some other kind of wood cage? Helps to know what to suggest

 

[Socks' Mum]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Lovelyness]

The box of chews was from Pride Rock Blooms online

 

[LuckyPunk01]

Generally they seem to ignore wood chews I find - but they are always looking for an escape route! Blocking that area off sounds good. Once they start in an area they don’t like to give up usually! Is it a pawhut or some other kind of wood cage? Helps to know what to suggest

It was a pawhut but being quite handy with a screwdriver (banging my head against a wall until it breaks) I modified and extended it slightly to make sure it had the right amount of space for him. He's usually pretty uninterested in seagrass so i've layed some sea grass over the inside parts that stick out for easy chewing access and it seems thus far like its worked a treat! As for the wood chews I followed somebody elses advice soaking them in a low sugar fruit juice and that has also worked amazingly! Could be worth a try for your own aswell

 

[LuckyPunk01]

Welcome to the forum

Thank you!

 

[LuckyPunk01]

Hi all,

Im new to posting here but have been watching this forum for a little while and its been very useful. I have two syrian hamsters (seperate cages) and im having a minor issue with one of their chewing habits, I've just moved him into a bigger cage which is now above the minimum but I forget the exact measurements. He has plenty of burrowing space with 7 inches of substrate variying from woodshavings, to paper, tissue roll, and other soft materials. He has plenty of clutter and hides of varying matierals aswell. He is also scatter fed treats, food and fresh veg when appropriate. All in all hes a happy and healthy hamster which is lovely to see since the petshop had sold me a cage too small which is why I upgraded him. Im having one very minor issue though in the form of him taking to chewing on his cage as apposed to his hides/toys. while not a massive problem since I built the cage myself so I can patch it up just fine I would much rather him chew on his toys and such just for peace of mind. Problem with him is he can be a little fussy so im looking for suggestions of less obvious things he could chew on or a way to kindly dissuade him from chewing the cage itself. His chews consist of several different types of hamster safe woods, A carrot and hay hide, apple sticks, and sometimes a tough honey and spelt treat bar or a whimzee and also cardboard tunnels.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Update: I have attached some sea grass over the parts that stick out on the cage for easy chewing access since hes usually pretty un interested in it and thats worked amazingly. Thanks to suggestions from here and reddit namely eggs boxes, cork mats, and soaking wood chews in low sugar fruit juices I am happy to report the problem has been solved! Hes now happily chewing away on his wood blocks. He is also loving his now extended house and the whole 10 inches of bedding to burrow through previously having been about 6 inches.