He has a cage with horizontal bars and at night he climbs on it and chews on them..not furiously..just nibbles for 20 minutes at a time..is he mad or is this normal? he also chews on the sticks i provide for him
2007-01-05 09:27:11 · 10 answers · asked by Hi 5 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
yes it is when excessive. it can cause misaligned and broken teeth which makes it difficult to eat properly.
ideally he needs a bigger cage. he wants out cuz he's bored. people think 10 gal cages or those other small plastic ones are fine but they aren't unless u have 2 or more attached.
a hamster ball is also needed. let him run in it every night for hours while u r up. (put tape on the lid!)mine run from the time they get up usually around 8pm til i go to bed. i put her back every hour of course for a water break & she chews when she's ready to run again. chewing is their way of saying "im bored!" they will chew when they want out & stop after they get enough runtime. while it may not stop chewing entirely, it will decrease a lot if they get to use the ball. if u have the cages with tubes, u can connect 2 cages & that will sometimes satisfy them-mostly older ones. 1 cage is just too small. also before u go to bed, hide his food in different spots in the cage rather than in 1 bowl. he'll enjoy the hunt after his run.
u do have a wheel in the cage right?
2007-01-05 10:54:40 · answer #1 · answered by galaxygurl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All hamsters chew on their bars, well atleast mine did. But I was told that they should have chew toys. You can find these in any pet store. Hampsters teeth continue to grow through out their life. If they do not knaw them down they will eventually not be able to eat. On one of our hampsters that would not chew on the chew toys, I had to take it to the vet to have her teeth cut as they were getting too long. Their teeth will grow into their head if you do not watch out. Make sure to watch this closely.
Goos Luck!
2007-01-05 10:05:58 · answer #2 · answered by Da Neener 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's normal but not good for the rodent--he could possibly damage his teeth.
Get several chew toys so that he has a variety to choose from. It may be that the sticks you offer aren't hard enough for his satisfaction.
2007-01-05 09:32:45 · answer #3 · answered by Redneck Crow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hamsters will chew on bars if it has nothing to chew one. You need to buy chew blocks.
2007-01-05 10:12:46 · answer #4 · answered by chamelean75 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be normal. my guniea pig chews on the bars of his cage whenever he wants food. He might be bored. Give him toys and more things to chew on.
2007-01-05 09:30:26 · answer #5 · answered by jj 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many years ago when I had a hamster (he lived for about 5 years & his face was gray when he died), I would attach a wooden clothespin to his cage for him to gnaw on. He needs to gnaw because of his teeth. Try that & I think you'll be surprised at how well it works!
2007-01-05 09:54:13 · answer #6 · answered by cynthia51 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no it is normal, my hamster use to do that, it is a good thing that you give your hamster sticks to chew on
2007-01-05 09:30:45 · answer #7 · answered by a 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is very normal., their teech dont stop growing, so they must "grind" them down so that they dont become too big. you can buy little chewing blocks for that purpose.
2007-01-05 10:26:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes totally normal!! they do that to trim the're teeth into shape beacuse they cant eat with lonng teeth dont worry about it
2007-01-05 10:46:10 · answer #9 · answered by MissNOYB! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i beleive its normal
2007-01-05 09:34:56 · answer #10 · answered by Prostidude 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋