Hi, similar question here, my female hamster Mauve, 3 months old, has arrived 2 weeks ago, has a playpen, lots of toys, enrichment, about 10/12cm of bedding since is the biggest cage they had at the store, but she keeps biting the cage, I offer cardboard when she goes crazy, let her free roam the room, she escapes the playpen, and even though she has lots of things to chew on, she still goes insane with the bars, I haven't slept ever since she arrived and don't know what else to do, she's pretty active in 3 slots of hours a day, and doesn't bite us, but she keeps biting the cage and it's making a mark on her nose. Any suggestions please?
New Syrian bar biting
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Hi. I moved your post to a new thread so it gets seen more easily 
She is so gorgeous!
Female Syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space. It does sound like she needs a bigger enclosure. Are you in the US? It'll be bad for her teeth if she keeps bar biting and also she could develop a sore on her nose.
I'd say go as big as you possibly can for a female Syrian, but at least 100cm x 50cm (about 40" by 20"). I'll wait to hear if you're in the US or not before making some suggestions for the least expensive options!
She is so gorgeous!Female Syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space. It does sound like she needs a bigger enclosure. Are you in the US? It'll be bad for her teeth if she keeps bar biting and also she could develop a sore on her nose.
I'd say go as big as you possibly can for a female Syrian, but at least 100cm x 50cm (about 40" by 20"). I'll wait to hear if you're in the US or not before making some suggestions for the least expensive options!
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Welcome to the forum gorgeous Mauve. My Syrian boy, Socks, has the same colouring 
He doesn't bar bite any more now he's over a year, but he was a terror at Mauve's age, and females are possibly more active. I put toilet roll inners on the bars to give him something else go bite at and tear up that is tooth friendly. At one stage there was cardboard all over his cage. You can also thread pieces of cardboard through the bars where she attacks them to create a barrier around the bars. I found that I could sleep through the sound of cardboard chewing as long as I knew that his teeth weren't being damaged on the bars. I kept some extra loo roll inners and pieces of old cereal box next to my bed at one stage when it was really bad to stuff into the bars at night to replace what Socks has chewed to bits.
I stopped feeding him treats through the bars as well, which helped, as sometimes bar biting was a way of saying, Mom, give me a treat!
He doesn't bar bite any more now he's over a year, but he was a terror at Mauve's age, and females are possibly more active. I put toilet roll inners on the bars to give him something else go bite at and tear up that is tooth friendly. At one stage there was cardboard all over his cage. You can also thread pieces of cardboard through the bars where she attacks them to create a barrier around the bars. I found that I could sleep through the sound of cardboard chewing as long as I knew that his teeth weren't being damaged on the bars. I kept some extra loo roll inners and pieces of old cereal box next to my bed at one stage when it was really bad to stuff into the bars at night to replace what Socks has chewed to bits.
I stopped feeding him treats through the bars as well, which helped, as sometimes bar biting was a way of saying, Mom, give me a treat!
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Maz's advice about cage size is excellent. Getting a larger cage helps, and possibly one without bars or wood, but it is up to you. @Lovelyness is mum to Blossom, and is brilliant with her. Blossom is quite a demanding Syrian girl. Good luck, enjoy your little one. Later when they start to get on
Hi Maz, thank you for your response, I'm in the UK and her cage is the 100x50 from Pets at Home, I believe it's called savic plaza or something similar.Hi. I moved your post to a new thread so it gets seen more easily
Female Syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space. It does sound like she needs a bigger enclosure. Are you in the US? It'll be bad for her teeth if she keeps bar biting and also she could develop a sore on her nose.
I'd say go as big as you possibly can for a female Syrian, but at least 100cm x 50cm (about 40" by 20"). I'll wait to hear if you're in the US or not before making some suggestions for the least expensive options!
Hi Socks mum, I did the same, we put cardboard in her cage, in the bars, for the most part, and her cage biting I believe it's signal to let me out, because she loves to roam around the room and never gets tiredWelcome to the forum gorgeous Mauve. My Syrian boy, Socks, has the same colouring
He doesn't bar bite any more now he's over a year, but he was a terror at Mauve's age, and females are possibly more active. I put toilet roll inners on the bars to give him something else go bite at and tear up that is tooth friendly. At one stage there was cardboard all over his cage. You can also thread pieces of cardboard through the bars where she attacks them to create a barrier around the bars. I found that I could sleep through the sound of cardboard chewing as long as I knew that his teeth weren't being damaged on the bars. I kept some extra loo roll inners and pieces of old cereal box next to my bed at one stage when it was really bad to stuff into the bars at night to replace what Socks has chewed to bits.
I stopped feeding him treats through the bars as well, which helped, as sometimes bar biting was a way of saying, Mom, give me a treat!
but we don't give her food through the cages, only cardboard and unfortunately my brain never shuts off so whenever she's biting I'm nervous about her getting hurt and don't sleep till she does. Maybe because the routine is new. We are willing to try anything at this point, because sleep has been severely compromised.Thank you. I'm sure I will miss those days too, time runs so fast specially for these little guys. I'm lucky she doesn't bit us, only the cage, so we get to enjoy her a bit more
I actually googled them at 4am the other day with the biting as musical background and much desperation, but unfortunately they were way off my budget at the time, that's why I was looking into maybe a clear strong plastic storage but couldn't find any on amazon or Ebay
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Savic Plaza 100 Complete Cage Screens - Viking Laser
Transform your Savic Plaza 100 with crystal clear acrylic complete cage screens. Replace the bars on your Plaza with almost invisible screens.
www.vikinglaser.co.uk
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Oh, sorry, our posts crossed. Yes, it is a bit expensive. The good thing is they grow out of it. As you say, it's probably a request to come out for a run. I found Socks was OK with me gently stroking his scent glands. When he learned to associate hands with out of cage time, he was practically climbing up my arm. Now he's good when I pick him up. You can use a Pringles tube or a jug / mug to transfer him to his playpen to make carrying him safer as they can jump out of your hands and fall, although luckily this hasn't happened to us
Hi Biazc and welcome to the forum. Mauve is lovely, great photo in the competition.
I am not sure if you have seen it but it might be worth looking at Hank's threads about Jas (formally known as Jasper). When Jas was a similar age to Mauve she sounds exactly the same, lots of energy and bar biting, I know this has now stopped so there might be some ideas in there for you.
I am not sure if you have seen it but it might be worth looking at Hank's threads about Jas (formally known as Jasper). When Jas was a similar age to Mauve she sounds exactly the same, lots of energy and bar biting, I know this has now stopped so there might be some ideas in there for you.
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The Savic plaza is a good sized cage Female Syrians can be super active high energy! I was also going to say have a look at Hank’s thread for Jas, as Jas is also in a Savic Plaza and it did settle down with a few adjustments.
Yes unfortunately the Perspex replacement panels work out at about £120 I think - which is the cost of a new cage.
There aren’t any storage bins big enough in the U.K. unfortunately. But if you’re good at diy you could possible cut the ends off two and weld them together to make one larger one. Then the same with the lids to make one larger lid - with the top of the lid meshed. Ie the whole ce the part cut out just leaving the rims, and meshed. It would be beyond my diy skills!
You could also look out on eBay maybe for a used 4 foot fish tank - they used to be quite cheap (not sure about now). Some would be very grimy and dirty of cheap and need a lot of cleaning out! There were never any in my area when I looked as it’s a small population area - but depending where you live you might find one. You’d then need to make a lid out of strips of wood and mesh and find sane way of fastening it down or weighing it down.
The advantage of the full Perspex for the plaza though, is you can re-use the same cage and also have deeper bedding.
For the moment I would put in as much bedding as you can - that might encourage her to dig more. Sometimes just adjusting the layout can help them settle if they feel a bit exposed (ie can’t burrow down far or don’t have a large house that’s dark inside).
Do you have a photo of your set up and we can suggest some tweaks
Female Syrians can be super active high energy! I was also going to say have a look at Hank’s thread for Jas, as Jas is also in a Savic Plaza and it did settle down with a few adjustments.Yes unfortunately the Perspex replacement panels work out at about £120 I think - which is the cost of a new cage.
There aren’t any storage bins big enough in the U.K. unfortunately. But if you’re good at diy you could possible cut the ends off two and weld them together to make one larger one. Then the same with the lids to make one larger lid - with the top of the lid meshed. Ie the whole ce the part cut out just leaving the rims, and meshed. It would be beyond my diy skills!
You could also look out on eBay maybe for a used 4 foot fish tank - they used to be quite cheap (not sure about now). Some would be very grimy and dirty of cheap and need a lot of cleaning out! There were never any in my area when I looked as it’s a small population area - but depending where you live you might find one. You’d then need to make a lid out of strips of wood and mesh and find sane way of fastening it down or weighing it down.
The advantage of the full Perspex for the plaza though, is you can re-use the same cage and also have deeper bedding.
For the moment I would put in as much bedding as you can - that might encourage her to dig more. Sometimes just adjusting the layout can help them settle if they feel a bit exposed (ie can’t burrow down far or don’t have a large house that’s dark inside).
Do you have a photo of your set up and we can suggest some tweaks
Hi @Maz , this is her cage, I put the tunnel in so she wouldn't feel exposed, just now she is missing inside my daughters bedroom, went out for a stroll and it's not coming back, when she does and she is out inside the cage she goes insane with the bars. I removed the cardboards to take the picture, and she already destroyed some, I'm gonna need more boxes.
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Hello and welcome.
This does sound very familiar, Jas was just like this. She would come out for a long time, but still chewed. I actually moved her to the plaza, which did help, but that won't help you here.
Are you able to add more bedding? Maybe if you added a small amount of cardboard at the top of the base, so you could add more bedding, to see if this helps, rather than Perspex. Jas loves to burrow, I use a mixture of Aspen and clean and cozy, as I find it holds her burrows quite well.
There are quite a few ideas for cardboard creations, my little one enjoys them.
Also Whimzees are usually popular.
I did sit there and post cardboard through the bars, for her to chew and just talk to her, she would usually go through many pieces, but she would usually realise that I wasn't going and head off to do something else.
This is a bit random, but have you checked her wheel? Sometimes they are trying to tell you that they can't burn off their energy.
This does sound very familiar, Jas was just like this. She would come out for a long time, but still chewed. I actually moved her to the plaza, which did help, but that won't help you here.
Are you able to add more bedding? Maybe if you added a small amount of cardboard at the top of the base, so you could add more bedding, to see if this helps, rather than Perspex. Jas loves to burrow, I use a mixture of Aspen and clean and cozy, as I find it holds her burrows quite well.
There are quite a few ideas for cardboard creations, my little one enjoys them.
Also Whimzees are usually popular.
I did sit there and post cardboard through the bars, for her to chew and just talk to her, she would usually go through many pieces, but she would usually realise that I wasn't going and head off to do something else.
This is a bit random, but have you checked her wheel? Sometimes they are trying to tell you that they can't burn off their energy.
Thank you, that's great advice, I'm gonna try adding more bedding to see if she gets happier
At the moment she is missing, my autistic daughter got exhausted of searching and blaming herself on a look and fell asleep and me and my husband are searching for over 4 hours, she normally comes back within 1 hour but we are starting to worry. I've looked for tips here on the forum, we did most of them and nothing yet.
Yes we tried that, also put some broccoli which she loves more than anything, we've been doing it for the past 4 hours or more, no sound, actually the silence is eerie. I've got a head lantern and been looking non stop. Don't know what else to do, when my daughter wakes up she's gonna feel terrible.