I have metal bars on a section of my cage and my hamster bites them and trys to get out, is this normal ?

Question

Hi !!

My hamster bites the bars on my cage is this normal ?

Answer 1

It's normal for hamsters to gnaw on things to keep the the length of their teeth down, and they will gnaw the bars of the cage as well. However if you provide them with lots of other things to gnaw on they will gnaw at the bars less. If they don't have an exercise wheel get one, as they will also gnaw the bars due to boredom

Answer 2

My hamster did the same thing, and kept us up all night!

We brought him some wooden chew toys, and gave him some dry food before bed to stop him gnawing the cage, and it worked great =)

xx

Answer 3

did you say on your cage? what are you in there with the hamster too? lol yes it is normal, get him one of those big balls he can run around in.

Answer 4

yes...i thiinnnk its normal

Answer 5

Yes, hamsters chew becuause of their teeth and because they want to get out. Make sure he has some chew sticks in his cage and some toys so he doesn't get bored. Let him out the cage when you can as well

Answer 6

it doesn't want to get out its the fact you need more gnawing toys x

Answer 7

yes it is its the hamsters way of saying let me out i want to look around

Answer 8

Yes it is totally normal, but you should be careful watch you hamster closley, sometimes they push so hard against the metal bars that they hurt their little noses and they can be quite sore.

You can get cages that dont have bars on, they're generally a little more expensive but perhaps over time you could afford to ge thte wire cage replaced

Anyway, for the here and now, dont worry totally normal and should be fine....

ANd dont be upset that you hamsters wants to escape from you when I first got mine i was like " Oh, they think im a bad mummy!!" "they want to get away"

but its just natural instinct, it isn't necessarily a reflection on your looking after them....

Answer 9

yes! i have a rat and she does the same, its so they can grind their teeth. meaning they dont get enought hard things to crunch on and wear down their teeth with. rodents teeth never stop growing, so they need to constantly wear them down otherwise their gums will get sick.

  

Answer 10

its normal but it doesn't make it good when they chew on the bars it could break their teeth (can cause starvation) and/or make their teeth misaligned that their teeth then starts growing towards their brain and kills them my hamster is doing that and i have been blowing on him gently to stop and saying a firm "no" it takes a couple tries but eventually he stops and goes to sleep or he will eat his bowl food but i just started doing this yesterday so its going to take awhile I'm thinking about buying him dog biscuits (nothing with onion or onion powder or garlic) sometimes this stops them so I'm hoping it will work plus it helps trim teeth and in a safe way...most likely I'm going to return my cage and buy a clear container and drill holes on sides and lid also that way he wont harm himself no more..u can try that, or you can try bitter apple spray or gel i think gel last longer, and put it on the bars make sure he has a lot of chew toys to chew on

Answer 11

Hamsters teeth, like rats, continue to grow. They must gnaw on something to grind them down or they die. You can put sticks in there if you want. I had a hamster that would try to put an entire chopstick in it's pouch haha  baka

Answer 12

He's not trying to get out, he's wearing his teeth down. Rodents have continuously growing teeth, and unless they have lots of fibrous stuff to eat and pieces of wood to gnaw on they will resort to chewing parts of their housing. If they don't wear their teeth down then they can overgrow, giving them difficulty eating and sometimes even growing up into the roof of the mouth and killing them.

You can buy little blocks of wood from pet shops for them to chew on, but I never found any of my animals took to them well. My guinea pigs prefer chewing on wild branches, taken from safe trees such as hawthorn. You can also give them hard dog biscuits- don't worry about the meat content they are omnivorous and naturally would eat the odd little bug.

I can't believe some of the rather uneducated answers people have put, such as telling them off, or putting bitter apple on the bars. Its a natural instinctual thing for a rodent to gnaw things.- its so mean to do those things. Its necessary for their health. They are more likely to have teeth which overgrow if you don't give them anything to chew on!

I have just researched into hamsters teeth, and one source advised clipping their teeth with nail clippers- NEVER do that. I would class it as very dangerous. If you cut through the sensitive part of the tooth you will cause the poor thing unmeasurable pain and using clippers often fractures the tooth , which can cause pain and infection. Many vets nowadays choose to drill the ends of overgrown teeth off.

Answer 13

Why not electrify the cage and see if the little sod keeps chewing the bars ?

Answer 14

yes i think and you hamster maybe want to explore the living room or the room where your hamster cage is in

Answer 15

yes its normal my hamsters did it all the time, you might need to give it toy to chew on

Answer 16

Yeah, hamsters like to chew and it helps to keep their teeth from growing too long.  However, you can go to a pet store and get safer things for your hamster to chew on as the bars could actually break his/her teeth.  They make a variety of wood toys, and they're cheap.  Also, if you don't have a wheel, you need one.  It helps keep them from being bored.