Hamster is driving me mad!!

[MissM94]

Okay got a Syrian hamster in Oct/Nov time, asked for a male from p@h, they said it was a male.. turns out to be a female who are notoriously known for being insatiable & nothing being good enough. She's currently in a big savic plaza and she does nothing but chew the bars, it's been this way since we first got her so a solid 7 months of constant chewing. She's in the front room, we can't sit here watching tele because she just constantly does it and i really am at breaking point, I've started to hate her, what are my options? Do I just take her to p@h and put her to for adoption? I feel like they should take responsibility if they did their job proper I would have a male not female as this is the exact reason I didn't want a female!

Please give her back.

They are a shop. They sell animals for money. They have no responsibility. Don’t buy from p@h if you want to be sure of the sex or even that it’s healthy.

They don't guarantee the sex. I'd give it back if you don't like it. It's probably bored if it's chewing the bars.

@Wolfiefan I've really tried everything, I'm in a hamster group on Facebook so I make sure I've got the right dimensions and wheel size etc, she has lots to chew/play with and nothing is good enough it's just constant.. that's enough to drive anyone mad, I'm a very maternal person and love all animals, I've got 2 robo hamsters aswell. All 3 are so looked after, but I just can't take any more

To be honest I don’t think it would be different with a male. I have had a few male hamsters and the last one we called Houdini as he escaped from his cage all the time. Never used the wheel just looked to escape. Spent hours chewing the bats. I would put him in a ball for a run and he would still be looking to escape on return. It was a large cage with tubes etc and it ended up being taped up everywhere and he still got out.

I don't think hamsters are good pets. They just don't seem happy. We have dwarf rabbits now. They need a lot of space and time but never chew the bars on their (huge) pen.

Did you read my actual post?
These animals are bred to sell. Likely not handled at all. The shop doesn’t care. They just want your money.
Move it into another room?
Put into a different type of enclosure without bars?
Give other stuff to chew and keep rotating so it stays novel.

I’ve had hamsters of both sexes that spent hours chewing the bars of the cage , aside from running in their wheels that’s pretty much all they do . When you are sitting in the room could she not come out of the cage in some sort of playpen arrangement or free range if it’s safe .

Is there another room she can go in? I had my syrian in the bedroom but the bar chewing kept me awake, he's now in the lounge and I interact just as much as before but he doesn't annoy me with bar chewing and squeaky wheel! He's in a Barney cage too so plenty big enough

Try her in a tank. No bars, she will chew what you intend her to chew to get her teeth down instead.

Mine did this a lot and I weaved chew toys and wood sticks between the bars where he chewed. It cut it down a bit.

If you wanted to guarantee sex, you really needed how to learn how to sex yourself. Pets At Home are notoriously incorrect. But male syrians aren't always easy, my male syrian was unhappy in a detolf and had to be upgraded and his whole set up changed before he was 6 months old. Bar chewing is a stress response, she isn't happy with some or multiple aspects of her care. While a Savic Plaza is enough for some female syrians, it isn't sufficient for many more. Do more research into German standard hamster care. You may need a much larger enclosure, very deep substrate (the entire enclosure 30+cm), lots of enrichment, a good multichamber hide and a lot of free roam time (several hours a night in a large secure playpen with lots of toys or completely hamster proofed room). The easiest, cheapest option for a suitable enclosure is likely to be a Linnmon ikea hack cage, or a similar diy designed around it. They can be made in nice big sizes, mine is 120 x 60cm for my male syrian, and allow for enough substrate which the Savic Plaza doesnt. I honestly would never recommend a barred cage for any hamster, they are burrowing animals.

Hamsters are not easy pets, they are exotics with complex needs. If you aren't able to or prepared to provide what she might potentially need, you should rehome her to someone who can, because 7 months of being so stressed isn't good for her.

@lopiu she had more than enough enrichment, she had so much bedding to burrow it would push out the bars at the sides, she never ever went without I wanted to make her happy but for whatever reason I wasn't able to do it, but I really tried and it's shit that it's had to come to this but I had no other option.. but thank you for your advice! I had a male before her and he was a lot calmer than my crazy lady, but just part and parcel of the breed isn't it I suppose

@lopiu she hated being in a play pen she wouldn't relax and would constant try to climb out, made homemade play pens and bought one for her, both had the same response from her

You gave her back then did you?
"Had no other option" - really ?? Hamsters chew, she was hardly being a terror and tbh the fact that you were that wound up over a natural habit speaks volumes. Please don't get another one ever. Males are the same.

Female Syrians are renowned for being difficult.
30cm deep substrate is really the minimum a hamster needs to start to prevent stereotypy behaviours.
As the savic plaza is barred to get 30cm deep you will need to use grass mats, or other suitable barrier to get the bedding deep enough.
If that doesn't work, have you considered a new one enclosure like a 120cm Linnmon conversion (given she's fussy I wouldn't recommend the 100cm version). For the 120cm version you would need to get a piece of custom perspex made for the front as the hemnes glass used for the 100cm version wouldn't be large enough.
If all that fails, and you can't cope, please consider surrendering her to an ethical rescue (I can help identify one in your area if you don't know of one). Taking her back to the store she won't likely get an upgraded enclosure in her new home as P@H give really poor advice.

I can see this is an older thread, but she probably needed a larger cage. For some female Syrians, they need a lot of space! Other times they bar chew because something isn't quite right for them (a big house that's dark inside helps). But she clearly would have been like that whatever you did with the cage.

I'm just adding this now because we have a new hamster forum for things like this! Do come and visit www.thehamsterforum.com

I've had several hamsters from PAH, the first 3 were all fine but the last two only lived a couple of months at best. I have decided I will never buy from them again but will find a breeder who actually knows what they are doing. I have a Rosewood eco pico cage & have removed one of the platforms so I can put my hammy log cabin in the cage. I never had problems with bar chewing with this cage or chewing holes in the cage.

@Nat6999 the rosewood enclosure you have is far too small for a hamster I'm afraid.
If a Syrian you need 10050cm minimum and dwarf 8050cm minimum but I strongly suggest you go bigger. If you don't have space, then consider if a hamster is right for you.
We have 140*50cm lagkapten for our syrian and a detolf for our dwarf hamster.

PinkPirlie we have had that cage for most of our hamsters & never had problems, we normally let them out for at least a couple of hours a day when they are awake. It is the only cage we have ever had that is chew proof, we had one hamster that ate his way through three cages in a month & died because he had a stomach full of plastic.

It helps if they have daily out of cage time but it's overnight they need more space - it's their most active period. I've always thought that cage was a nice design - if it was just bigger! A Hamster Heaven or Savic Plaza would be better as there's more floor space. I've never had a hamster bar chew in a Savic Plaza or try and chew their way out. If it's for a Syrian hamster it's definitely too small because you couldn't fit a big enough wheel in there. To keep healthy they do need a wheel big enough so they can run with a straight back - which is at least an 8" diameter wheel. Which would take up most of the cage. If it's for a dwarf hamster who is let out regularly - well it might be ok but the hamster heaven would be better - you can give them more enrichment which keeps them healthy and happy. Enrichment is - about 6" deep substrate (so they can dig, burrow down and push the substrate where it's needed), Some hidey places and floor tunnels and ideally a house that's dark inside and open underneath and sat on the substrate - so they can build a cosy nest and have normal behaviours.

Having said all that - bonding and human interaction is important as well.

They only chew to get out because they have a very fast metabolism and are highly active at night. And if a wheel is too small and causes back pain they have pent up energy. Female syrians are usually particularly active and maverick and need a lot of space in a cage.

I sympathise . DS has two gerbils which constantly clink about, chew , bash their furniture etc it’s relentless and all night long, I also hate the sawdust and shit they generate as I’m hoovering that part of the house twice a day at least . They’re well cared for but I really wish we hadn’t got them .I can’t wait for them to die to be honest. We’ll never get anything like that ever again .

I got a lovely m hamster from pets at home, he's very sweet and chilled. Guess it's random you can't tell til they are home.

It takes some effort to hand tame them. Big tip is leave them alone for 2 or 3 days to settle in and don't clean anything out or change things for the first two weeks. They're just like us really and need to settle into a new home and get familiar with people. Cage cleaning really stresses them and stress can cause bar chewing. Our instinct is to clean everything in one go but it's better to do a bit at a time and don't clean everything at once. And they can be litter trained quite easily as well :-)