I have 2 hamsters, both in their own separate cage. I put things like cardboard tubes from toilet rolls in their cages to keep them occupied but at night they both insist on chewing on the bars. Not only is this annoying but can keep me awake at night.
Can anyone suggest any other (cheap) ways of keeping my wee furry friends amused during their nocturnal hours?
2006-08-31 01:53:35 · 14 answers · asked by lauren_hanson00 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
I have two russian dwarf hamsters (Poppy and Susan, who were 2 years old yesterday) and they don't make a sound... but then they are in a clear plastic cage :) The only bars are at the top, which they can't reach. (Well, that's not strictly true - in their younger days they climbed up the food sticks I hung from the top and started swinging around on the bars. A very impressive sight, although they never did figure out how to get down, other than dropping to the floor like a stone lol.)
Oddly enough they don't really chew the wooden blocks and other toys I put in there. Even when I make a house out of half a cereal packet (that's not me being cheap - they love it) they don't really chew that either. Although they are partial to toilet/kitchen rolls and egg boxes.
My sister has gerbils and they eat everything in sight, including the wheel. And yet Poppy and Susan seem content with a toilet roll.
Mind you... I have got a play-pen style thing for them, which folds out to allow them to run around a large area without escaping, and they really attack the bars on that, quite viciously sometimes, but then maybe they think they've been put in prison? I also heard excessive chewing on metal bars can cause brain damage, but I'm not sure how true that is.
As for the wheel noise - I bought two 'silent wheels' a while back (the latest in wheel technology apparently, using ball-bearings or something like that) and they don't make a sound (and at £7 each I would hope not!). So no squeaking or creaking... and Poppy even likes to sleep on hers!
2006-09-01 01:40:20 · answer #1 · answered by hastetothewedding 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In any pet store they have wooden shew tows and sticks that you can put in their cage so they can chew. Like most everyone here said, they chew because their teeth do not stop growing but continue to grow, they must chew to trim their teeth, otherwose will be come unable to drink and eat.
You could also find some natural sticks or branches in there. Try either Oak or Birch.
2006-08-31 02:09:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea I've had a couple of hamsters, and if they wasn't chewing on the cage all night they, were making noise running on that crazy wheel, going nowhere. Sorry I can't help.
2006-08-31 01:59:48 · answer #3 · answered by sweet.pjs1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are chewing blocks you can get but they dont often stop them chewing the bars.. hamsters always seem to chew the bars all night long.. only thing i can really suggest is putting them in a different room to where you sleep.
2006-08-31 01:58:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't really train hamsters. They chew to keep their teeth at a decent length, else they would look like little yellow toothed vampire hamsters. I suggest you put them in a different room.
2006-08-31 01:56:56 · answer #5 · answered by Kayteeee 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to the pet store and get any kind of chewing sticks mine seem to like the wooden kind Do they have a wheel in their cage?
2006-08-31 04:53:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They chew to keep their teeth to manageable length,they need something quite hard to do this,As for the noise at night the are nocturnal,may i suggest moving them out your room at night
2006-08-31 01:58:05 · answer #7 · answered by havanadig 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i would suggest putting them in the garage or the basement at night. so you dont hear them. you HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE 20 TEDDY BEAR HAMSTERS 2 GERBILS AND A DWARF HAMSTER RUNNING ON THEIR WHEELS ALL NIGHT. i put mine in the garage in the basement. i still have 2 hamsters in my room that chew on their bars all night because they have babies.
2006-08-31 02:24:34 · answer #8 · answered by chelsea-bo-belsie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could always try lightly coating the inside of the bars with Tabasco sauce...I don't think they would want to chew them then!
2006-08-31 13:55:34 · answer #9 · answered by Heather 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They may need something harder than cardboard tubes to chew on...its instinct & it stops their teeth from overgrowing.
2006-08-31 01:56:43 · answer #10 · answered by Well, said Alberto 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋