HAMSTER SOS

[Hurstlandshome]

Please help!

I bought a hamster for my daughter, before lockdown. It’s a dear little thing, very tame and very cute. Everything we do with it is balanced, from diet to exercise and handling.

Here’s the thing... IT WILL NOT STOP BITING IT’S CAGE.

I first bought her a metal cage and the sound of the biting during the night was totally disruptive and twice as loud as you’re imaging it to be! So, I forked out for a plastic one. She quickly learned to do monkey bars, to bite the metal grill at the top of the cage. We now load this with books so she can’t climb and bite it. She then found two biteable areas (the two opening areas where the clips are) and now gnaws on these all night. The noise is unbelievable.

I have put wooden spoons/metal spoons and specific hamster biting toys in her cage and she doesn’t touch them.

I have put olive oil on the openings, I read it deters them - it does not.

I knew they made a noise during the night - I assumed a little rustling around or a squeaky wheel but nothing near this!!

We live in a small flat and even with the cage in the kitchen, it’s keeping us up!

Anyone have any ideas what I can do, or if this gets better with time?

If nothing else, please let this be a warning to anyone living in a small space, thinking of buying one 🙁

Thanks for any replies.

Bar biting is usually a sign of boredom. How big is the cage? How deep is the substrate? What type of hamster is it?

My hamsters have never really liked wooden chews probably because they don't taste of anything. I would suggest using antos/whimzees dog chews which are hamster safe.

Please don't put metal spoons in the cage as they can break a hamsters teeth.

She’s bored. Buy her a ball, the kind she can get in and roll along the floor (assuming you have a carpeted room somewhere). Also, does her cage have a wheel? Hamsters need a surprising amount of exercise.
When she knows you really well and again assuming you have no other pets, let her out and carry her about frequently for interest. My daughter used to carry hers around in her pocket and watch the telly with us! he seemed to enjoy the company.

Our hamster (also a lovely tame little thing) started doing this too, really badly. We got a bigger cage (80 by 50cm) and wheel (28cm diameter) and he hasn’t bit the wheel since (he’s also doesn’t look as desperate to get out). The wheel made the biggest difference I think. What size cage and wheel do you have?

Hasn’t bit the cage I mean, not the wheel.

A "bin cage" made from a plastic storage box is the best option. The largest Ikea Samla box is perfect for hamsters. Just poke a hole for the water bottle and done. It's deep enough so you don't even need a lid and even the most acrobatic hamster can't climb the sides. I believe the smaller Samla box might also be high enough so you don't need a lid. Anything else might require a bit of DIY to create mesh ventilation on the lid and there are lots of good tutorials on YouTube.

You can also try giving the hamster other things to chew. Hamster teeth continue growing all their life so they need to wear them down otherwise it can actually be harmful. Pet shops sell apple twigs which they might prefer as those taste better. Toilet paper rolls, cardboard, walnut shells, peanut shells or wooden houses might also work. The hamster might also be bored, try giving it a ton of shredded tissue to burrow around in.

Olive oil doesn't deter them...mine loved it ! I used it to grease her wheel and she'd squeeze herself into a tiny crack to get to the oil.

Good luck :)!

Funny enough the biting really seemed to take off when we gave him the run of half the kitchen most nights - taste of freedom! Now the wheel tires him out.

I've just looked up the Samla box and that is pure genius! You could get all sorts of layered climbing apparatus in there... that's a lockdown project sorted!

Thanks for your replies.

She has a ball, which we use for short periods and she is played with/handled frequently - I was actually worried over stimulation could be a factor! With my daughter not at school, she’s always getting her out - I’ve been telling her to put her back!

She has a wheel in her cage and external tubing that she can whizz through. Cage size was the largest for a Syrian hamster in the store. We were told we had to have the large size. Bedding is about 5 inches deep - although it’s less than that in other areas.

Noted about the metal spoon - I got that ‘tip’ from a hamster forum.

We’ll get her out for longer periods and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks again.

Like the idea of the Samla box! Great shout! Thank you

The cage we had was also the largest they had in store - I think it was 48cm long - but still too small, less than the RSPCA minimum of 75cm by 40cm. The wheel was also far too small. Generally pet shops do not sell big enough cages so you might just check the size. Same with the wheel, it should be close to 30cm. Really made a difference, even though, like yours, our hamster was frequently out of the cage.

We put fine mesh on the outside so my DDs hammy couldn't physically get his nose through. We then wove wooden twigs through the gaps and let him gnaw those instead.....so much quiter!