Help with my hamster???

Question

I've done everything to stop her getting bored, she has a big cage with tubes to each level, a ball which she spends an hr in each night, but she keeps biting her cage. one of the rungs have snapped on one side and thats the side she keeps biting. All her fur has come off one side of her face were the rungs have been rubbing, at one point it drew blood. Also, she has things in her cage to chew but she never touches them. Help

Answer 1

In some pet shops there is this treat you can get

its a round bit of wood with treats in it

my hamster loved it and kept bitting on the wood just to get the treat, try finding that it might help

Answer 2

hamsters forrage for their food in the wild.

mix food into clean sawdust when you clean the cage. we had a really deep section of cage that we filled about 20cm deep with sawdust and food.

hammy was happy, doing what came natural, hunting for his food and putting it in his dish.

Answer 3

play with her

Answer 4

Did you ever get the feeling that the hamster was trying to escape? It's quite normal behaviour actually cos all hamster do that. There are plastic cages that you could use (they're like maze things) I can't remember the name of them but I can pretty much guarantee that your local petshop will have some!

Answer 5

Hamsters are actually better off in tanks or Rotastak houes or similar (basically nothing with bars). I'd suggest getting something like this!

(and as it happens I have a Rotastak for sale.....lol)

Answer 6

Remove the broken bit where she's biting if possible so she can't hurt herself the same way again. Most rodents will chew on their cage bars as they find out that metal is more effective in grinding their teeth than wood.

Answer 7

Just get a really big fish tank and put it in that. thats what my friend did and she doesnt have any of those problems. plus when she needs excercise you can put it in the other cage for an hour or something and let it run around in a roley ball or whatever

Answer 8

hamsters need to do this to wear their teeth down because they grow forever.

however, because your hamster drew blood you need to find something safer for it to chew. you could buy a plastic hideaway (my hamster chews this) or something similar.

If you still cant find anything, you might want to consider getting a new cage and selling your old cage. You need to think about your hamsters safety and welfare before the price in this situation.

Answer 9

Many hamsters do this.  With my little guy, I put his treats and some of his food around the cage so that he could forage for it.  This is natural behaviour in the wild.

You can also try natural food treats, usually sold as fruit sticks or biscuits.  These can be hidden around the cage so she has something to look forward to on her travels.  I have tried chew toys and wooden blocks with my fellow, but not had much success!  Eating seems to be the main activity.  In the wild, they only wander around for food.

I also have two plastic toys, a TV and a Hippo that I can hide food in, and these were regularly visited.  You can also get dried grasses and corn nibbles from pet stores, and these are tasty and require effort to break them down.  Sometimes hamsters that lack certain minerals and vitamins will sometimes chew the bars, so ensure that a mineral block is available at all times.

Wooden, or plastic tunnels in the cage will simulate their natural environment.  Toilet roll tubes are good for this.

An hour in a playball is long enough, as they are quite hard work for a hamster to move around in.  Any longer may cause exhaustion.  An alternative is a playpen for small mammals, that I have seen on Ebay and other internet sites.  You can add tubes and chews, but you will need to supervise as your little hamster may try and climb over!

Good luck with your little one.

Answer 10

just kind of teach her something, so your hamster wont do that behavior

Answer 11

well the best thing to do is get a wood log for her to chew on then when you can whatch her for a while get some cardboard or some kind of box and put her in it and let her chew her wood log do this each day and she  should stop.