Bar biting but not boredom!

[Danibear18]

Hello, We got a new Syrian Hamster a week ago - Nibbles the Ninja:

He seems to be settling in well. He is being held for about 10 minutes each day, isn’t biting and is taking treats from our hands when in his cage.

The one thing that is really confusing me is whenever we put him back in his cage, he becomes really hyper speeding round the cage, chewing on all the bars, climbing the walls. I used to think it was fear or stress from being held, but today I put my hand back in to give hand him one of his little wooden knaw shapes so he could chew that instead, but he stepped on it, then onto my hand and I realised he wanted me to get him back out. Surely if he was scared he would go and hide?

Everywhere I’ve read says they bite bars from boredom or anxiety but he only seems to do it after he is held and he takes a while to calm down for his hyper state afterwards. Can it be that he is doing it because he wants to get out? He doesn’t bite any of the wooden shapes he has in his cage, but he does like removing the corn from the dried out cobs your get from the petshop.

Wondering if anyone has had this before, we want to keep holding him and getting him used to us, but I don’t like seeing how crazy he gets when we put him back. Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome What cage is he in? Do you have a photo of it. It could be a number of things or it could simply be attention saying - I want to come out again. Cage size makes a difference as well - over a certain size, bar biting is very rare. But sometimes cage environment can cause it as well - eg if there aren't enough hidey places, a lot of open space, or not enough bedding. We might be able to offer some tips on tweaking his set up if it's that

 

[Socks Mum]

Welcome to the forum Nibbles the Ninja, you are very handsome and I'm glad to hear you are so social

 

[Socks Mum]

Socks does this when he wants out for free roam time. Once he is tired he asks to go back and settles down

 

[Maz]

I forgot to add Nibbles the Ninja is totally gorgeous! He's a lovely colour as well

 

[Danibear18]

Socks does this when he wants out for free roam time. Once he is tired he asks to go back and settles down

This makes me feel better. How do you know when he want to go back? X

 

[Socks Mum]

This makes me feel better. How do you know when he want to go back? X

Glad it helps! He meerkats and looks up at me or starts climbing the sides of the playpen. He also just goes into a hide and falls asleep. If I offer him the hamster taxi (a tube or box for safe transport to and from his cage ) he gets in as he knows it will take him back to his cage

 

[Danibear18]

Hello and welcome What cage is he in? Do you have a photo of it. It could be a number of things or it could simply be attention saying - I want to come out again. Cage size makes a difference as well - over a certain size, bar biting is very rare. But sometimes cage environment can cause it as well - eg if there aren't enough hidey places, a lot of open space, or not enough bedding. We might be able to offer some tips on tweaking his set up if it's that

Sorry for the delay, this is his cage:



I’ve ordered some more wooden bits to add, although so far he hasn’t been interested in knawing on anything other than the dried corn on the cob.

Here he is this evening, just after we put him back in his cage, once again biting the bars on the door to get out:


I’ve come to the conclusion after having him for 9 days that he only bites the cage after being held, once we put him back. I think it’s that he wants to get back out as he gets straight onto our hands if we go back to see if he is ok, whilst he is going wild at the bars! He will then stop biting after about 15mins but I don’t want him to damage his teeth!

 

[Danibear18]

Also another question, I thought hamsters normally chose a corner to be their chosen toilet, but Nibbles does it all in his bed. Is that normal? I’m having to take out the bedding with wee and poo on it daily and replenish with half old/half new bedding!

 

[Maz]

The cage looks nice with the deep base, but might be on the small side - do you know the dimensions? Length and width. The recommended size for a Syrian is approximately 100cm by 50cm - so they have more floorspace - but not too much height. They don't usually bar bite in that size as they can make it more of an enviroment with different places to go etc. Usually just one shelf or platform as a second one might mean the cage is a bit tall which can lead to fall risks (eg if they monkey bar across the roof and drop - which they sometimes do at night when we don't see!).

I suspect he'll do it less with a larger floor size cage. It's lovely he sits in your hands though

Many of us have been there - got a cage and ended up having to upgrade it. The Savic Plaza cage is a good size and there are usually plenty of those available second hand for about £30 to £40. It doesn't have a nice glass base like that one though. There aren't many with a glass base. Some people go much larger or use a glass tank, but 100 x 50 is a good size

The other reason he might be doing it is pent up energy as the flying saucer wheel is a bit small unfortunately. An upright wheel is also easier for them to run in and better for their backs, and that needs to be about 11" diameter. You can get 12" flying saucers but an upright wheel is better for their spine long term.

Where did you get the cage from? Some members have got another one to transfer the hamster into, then taken the first one back for a refund (even though it's been used) saying it's not big enough/not suitable - but that might depend where you got it from.

Are you in the Uk or US or elsewhere? Just asking because of which wheels to recommend - different ones in different countries and some are inexpensive.

As for peeing in the nest - that is something baby hamsters sometimes do until they get into better habits. They usually get into better habits quite quickly once they realise it means their nesting area gets disturbed!

One way to encourage them to use a litter tray is if you have a large house (a shoebox house is ideal). That will also give him somewhere dark to retreat to as another reason they can bar chew is if they feel a bit exposed.

With something like a shoebox house, it's large enough to put a corner litter tray inside with sand in. They almost always use a litter tray if it's "ensuite"!

So I'd suggest adding a shoebox house, on the right side of the cage for now. You just cut the base out of a shoebox and keep the lid as a lift-off roof (so it's easy to take the littter tray out and empty it once or twice a week and means their nest doesn't fall apart).

You then just cut a hole for a door. The best place for the door is on one of the long sides, near one end. That means the other end is darker as light doesn't go round corners, so they tend to nest at the end away from the door, and a good place to put the litter tray is in the back corner at the other end, opposite the door. If you put a bit of pee'd on substrate on top of the sand the first time, they're more likely to use it straight away,

If the house does get pee-soaked, it's easy enough to replace - if you have a spare shoebox

So I'd start by adding the shoebox house and adding some more bedding. Ideally fill the base almost to the top - they love burrowing down in bedding and burying hoards under the nest - then they feel more secure.

Our first hamster used to do exactly what yours is doing until I upgraded him to a bigger cage. Basically they just want out permanently if it's not quite big enough.

Also if you have a look at this thread (hasn't been updated recently!), you can see examples of other peoples' cage set ups - to get an idea

They like plenty of bedding, plenty of hidey places and a shelf or platform to sit under or climb on. But not too much height. They climb but aren't good at getting down again and tend to just drop and can hurt themselves.

Show us your cages 2023 onwards

A new thread for 2023 to show cage set ups :) Some may have changed or be new but feel free to add your existing set up again. It's mainly so all current ones are viewable in the same place.

www.thehamsterforum.com

This is one of my Syrian Hamster's set ups in a Savic Plaza cage - although he does have quite a lot of stuff in there! One ceramic hide on a shelf is a good idea as it's a place for them to cool off in hot weather, but other things can be made out of cardboard or an old ice cream tub for a sand bath eg. The "sprays" are millet and flax - some hamsters like them - some Syrians ignore them! It doesn't have to be glamorous - I've acquired quite a lot of stugff over the years. The large front door on that cage is nice as it means you don't need to take the bars off to do spot cleaning and it's easier to interact with/get the hamster out. They don't usually jump out. But have a "taxi" handy just in case. I use a large rat tube as a "taxi" the hamster gets used to walking in the tube to come out and you can put both hands over the end and transport them in the tube to wherever is safe to let them out.

 

[Danibear18]

Love the idea of the shoebox house, thank you. The pet shop told me to get the flying saucer as that’s apparently better for Syrians! I’ll get a large wheel as I’m happy to swap, I find the flying saucer an eye sore anyway!

 

[Maz]

Pet stores do give terrible advice sometimes! I do have a 12" flying saucer (Syrian size) which I sometimes use in a playpen, but they're not good for regular use due to them not running at the right angle sometimes. Hamsters will tend to run on anything, even if it's bad for them! Although sometimes if a wheel is too small, they'll just stop using it and start bar biting with pent up energy. I would take the saucer back for a refund and say it's too small for the hamster - might be worth a try! What size cage is it also? You might be able to get that changed too possibly? Which pet store was it?

Yes shoebox houses work well

 

[Danibear18]

Pet stores do give terrible advice sometimes! I do have a 12" flying saucer (Syrian size) which I sometimes use in a playpen, but they're not good for regular use due to them not running at the right angle sometimes. Hamsters will tend to run on anything, even if it's bad for them! Although sometimes if a wheel is too small, they'll just stop using it and start bar biting with pent up energy. I would take the saucer back for a refund and say it's too small for the hamster - might be worth a try! What size cage is it also? You might be able to get that changed too possibly? Which pet store was it?

Yes shoebox houses work well

It’s 80cm by 50cm and I bought it from Amazon. I know it’s a little smaller than 100cm you recommended but I’m hoping if I fill it with deeper sawdust, and lots of fun things then maybe that will settle. I’ve ordered a big wheel and lots of fun things after taking inspiration from everyone else’s cage posts. I’ve ordered dried flowers, coconut hut, sea grass balls, green moss, lots of wooden hideouts, apple wood sticks and walkways.

Do you recommend hamster balls? We bought a huge one which he looks tiny in at the moment. He has been using it for about 5 mins a day just to get him used on it x

 

[Maz]

I'm sure he'll be fine for now and you can think about whether to upgrade as he grows . It's great he's getting a new big wheel

It would be good to get some paperbased bedding though as sawdust is basically softwood shavings and they're not considered to be good for hamsters due to the phenols in pine. In the Uk, most wood shavings say they are kiln dried and dust extracted (kiln drying removes some of the phenols but not all of them) but if it just says "softwood" on the bag, it could be any kind of wood, including cedar and cedar is very harmful for hamsters. If it says pine on the bag and it's bought in the uk then it'll be kiln dried pine.

A lot of people use Kaytee clean and cosy, which goes a long way (it's compressed in the bag) and hamsters really like it as it's soft - plus it holds tunnels quite well if they decide to dig a tunnel. If you get some of that you can just mix it in with the wood shavings you have now, and then gradually as you spot clean, you'll be gradually replacing with the kaytee. There are other options as well - I get Fitch paper bedding in a 70 litre back so it lasts for ages and the bag isn't that big to store somewhere. I'll link both of them below

Hamsters like most of the things they use regularly, at floor level/substrate level as they're basically ground dwellers. So they can go from house, to wheel, to food, to hideouts, through tunnels etc, all at ground level - then go up to a shelf as well.

I think the cage would be safer if you have both the platforms at the same level and just the one ladder. So if you fill the base with substrate, and raise the left (lower platform) a couple of inches and lower the right (higher) platform to the same level and have the second ladder across the two platforms at the back to make a joining piece. That's one option. But - the wheel probably wouldn't fit in underneath the platforms then.

So the second option - which is probably better - is just lose the right hand side platform so there's enough height for the wheel at that side. Putting the wheel on one of the platforms could be risky too as not enough space for the hamster to jump out of the wheel without risking falling off the platform!

So then you'd have

Base filled with substrate (which will reduce the height a bit anyway).
One shelf/level on the left, with the ladder going up to it
No shelf or ladder on the right
Wheel on the right somewhere.

If the substrate is deeper, the wheel won't be very stable sitting on top of it, so it depends which wheel it is as to whether you can secure it. Some of them screw to the bars. Others have a stand and you can tie the stand to the bars which will stop it toppling over or subsiding. Or you can buy platforms on legs that stand on the base of the cage with the top of the platform at the same level as the top of the substrate, and stand the wheel on that.

If you tie the stand to the bars though, don't use normal string or they could chew it and it can cause blockages inside. You can use sisal string or seagrass string though. Or possibly a plastic cable tie (although that might not be long enough).

 

[Maz]

This is the largest pack of Kaytee Clean and Cozy. This should fill the base and leave you a fair bit left over for spot cleaning later. Although it says 85 litres, it's compressed and it doesn't go nearly as far as the 70 litres of Fitch!

Kaytee clean and cozy

This is the 70 litre bag of Fitch - which works out quite a bit cheaper in the long run as it will last a lot longer

1 x 70LTR Fitch Paper Pet Bedding

Fitch 70L Paper Pet Bedding Bales size are 500mmx440mmx330mm Fitch Pet Bedding. It is very absorbent,may vary in softness and colour, our bedding is warm and is ideal for dogs,cats,rabbits,hamsters,guinea pigs and many other animals. The paper is shredded into small pieces of about 15-20mm...

www.fitchfirst.com