my hammy has taken to chewing his bars (soooo noisy), he has plenty of chew toys, and he's actually starting to make a gap between some of the bars! I'm scared he may escape, is there any way i can get the little *£!?@*, i mean little darling, to stop this?!
2006-09-19 13:57:39 · 12 answers · asked by s1monlebon 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
OMG...I know how you feel..my rats actually bit through their cage and did escape. I got them back, but I don't know how to get them to stop either. It keeps me up at night too.
2006-09-19 14:01:01 · answer #1 · answered by Michelle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've had this problem with just about ALL the small animals I've ever owned... bunnies, hamsters, chinchillas....
The best way that I've found is to completely cover their cages with a towel. Or, buy an aquarium/plastic cage without bars (no bars = no chewing). But I don't suggest that b/c of bad ventilation.
2006-09-19 21:04:50 · answer #2 · answered by Eloise 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO!!!! don't let the Lil darling bite the bars...it can messed up his teeth and give him brain damage!!!! if his teeth get messed up they'll break and grow irregularly and make his teeth grow into his brain!!! get a fish tank for the lil baby......and put some oil on the wheel it'll stop trust me...ive had more than 2 hamsters..and my current one( Hammy is her name too) she is the worst at night!!! i just put some oil and it stopped so far about 3 months...just follow what i'll said and the lil baby will be fine :)
2006-09-19 21:49:15 · answer #3 · answered by NothingPersonal x3* 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are nocturnal like a cat....So up all night. Sounds like you need a better cage so your darling @*,can not escape. Though for my pet rat nothing worked and my husband use to get so mad. I worked nights and he would sleep on the couch and the rat would get out and sleep in his crouch. Of course I found this very funny. I even put a huge book on his cage and of course he ate that. Talk about prison break. Good luck with the little one.
2006-09-19 21:06:35 · answer #4 · answered by Didi S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had to eventually put my hamster in a different room other than my bedroom as he kept me up at nights. I had a plastic aquarium/cage for him and he actually would lift the lid off it, so I had to pile heavy books on top of it...then he eventually ate a hole right through the plastic and escaped. I then switched to metal cage so he could not chew through it.
2006-09-20 01:05:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
30 seconds it's for his teeth. if longer, it's because he's bored and wants out. it is NOT NORMAL to chew for more than 30 seconds---it's obsessive---like the animals that pace at the zoo. sometimes a bigger or 2nd cage cage added will do the trick but most of the time u have to get a hamster ball for them to run in. use tape on the lid because they pop open. let them run til they stop---make sure u r around cuz as i said the lid can pop open---just listen for him u dont have to watch. then put him back and if hes had enough he wont chew again--if he wants more he'll start back--then u can just let him run some more. my girl runs for about 2-3 hrs with hourly water/food breaks. i know when shes had enough because she doesnt chew and goes to bed. they r used to running in the wild for 5-6 miles and they want this freedom. this is safe freedom. get him a ball---$5 at petstore or even walmart. the best ones have screws in them---mines from meijer. he'll then just chew to let u know he's ready to get out.
what time does yours wake up in the evening? this is when u will have to let him out or early morning. i go to bed at 1am so mine runs from 10am-1am with breaks every hr. my other one is blind so shes not nocturnal & runs in the day.
do make sure he has chew sticks(mine use tiny greenies dog biscuits) & give him the toliet paper rolls and even plain, dye-free toilet tissue---scott. he does need these for his teeth. but i'm telling u that's not why he's chewing when it lasts over 30 seconds & it won't make him stop. if u can add a 2nd wheel that helps too because my youngest wants to run all night but cant when i go to bed so she has 3 wheels to choose instead.
it can cause brain damage & misaligned teeth when excessive so why not use this easy fix?
2006-09-20 10:40:21 · answer #6 · answered by galaxygurl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oooo, that is a pain. Our guinea pigs love to play with all their toys at night. When you turn on the light the angels look so innocnet don't they? Ours don't bar chew, just lots of other noise.
Good luck.
2006-09-19 21:02:03 · answer #7 · answered by Proud to be an American 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy him some milk bones. He'll eat those which will help him satiate his gnawing needs, without damaging his teeth. You could also try moving him to an aquarium instead of a cage, as he'll be much less likely to escape, and won't be able to gnaw at anything metal.
2006-09-19 21:52:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe he wants more attention. Try letting him out for a stroll in a hamster ball (rolling ball).
you can find them at a pet store. my son used to have a hamster and she always was chewing on her bars too
and barely touched her chew toys so we let her out of the cage and she calmed down.
2006-09-19 21:14:28 · answer #9 · answered by gertrude 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try rubbing lemon juice on the bars - you'll have to re-apply every so often but lemons are pretty cheap. There's supposed to be a spray for it too but I've never bought it.
2006-09-19 21:23:43 · answer #10 · answered by Lorri YM 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well you can try one of those expensive plastic cages...they are like a hamster playland.
As for them being active at night,it is generally known that hamsters are nocturnal and except for waiting for generations of evolution to change this, if it does, there is nothing that you can do.
2006-09-19 21:04:31 · answer #11 · answered by starting over 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋