Hamster biting cage, erratic activity

[crackers198]

Hey guys! My 7 month old Syrian Hamster Crackers is always biting at the glass doors in her cage, even after she goes in her play-pen, gets handling & free roaming (usually I spend 1-2 hours a day with her out of her cage - I would do more but she usually wakes up at 9PM and it just gets too late).

Her cage is ~3.6ft in length and about ~52 cm in width, she has 2 glass doors which slide in and out at the front of her cage which allow me to get her in/out, do cleaning etc. When she is awake she likes to push her teeth in-between the wood & glass and start biting at the glass or she'll put her paws up on the glass and start scratching the glass.

Her cage is spot cleaned often, its a good size, she comes out often, her cage has many things to do (chews, toys, hides etc), her food & water are always checked - what am i doing wrong for my hamster to be like this or is it normal? Please help!

 

[crackers198]

PS. Sorry if this is the wrong category; wasnt too sure what one to put it in

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. I just wondered, if the enclosure has sliding glass doors at the front, if there is enough ventilation in the rest of the cage? It sounds like it might be vivarium maybe? Some of those just have a few ventilation slots at the back or sides and don't have a meshed roof.

The reason I mention that is sometimes when hamsters try and chew their way out, they are trying to tell us something. It might be that she is just extremely active and full of energy (female syrians usually are!) and wanting to be out a lot. Or it could be her trying to get attention to tell you something isn't right. Eg wheel jammed, water bottle not working - or simply that she is finding something not right about the environment - eg ventilation.

It's not that you're doing anything wrong - she just sounds super active (assuming all is fine with the cage and ventilation) and female Syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space. Your enclosure is a good size but something bigger might help with this situation. Otherwise it's just working with her. They can be more superactive when they're on heat, which is every four days. So you could try keeping a diary of which days she does what and then work out a plan for her super-active days maybe

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.
I don’t have much to add to what Maz has already said but maybe if you like you could post a photo of Crackers set up to see if we could suggest any changes that might help.

 

[Socks Mum]

As an interim measure, you could try putting cardboard loo roll inners or parts of them into gaps and around where she is chewing. Ripping them up might help her to get the chewing bug out her system. Also perhaps a dig box with cork granules or coco coir might help, if she doesn't already have them.