Pawhut chewing issues

Maz

Maz

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Happy Hamsters pet rescue recently posted a warning to people about hamsters chewing out of Pawhut cages, which apparently have some particular chew points. The recommend adding tiles to the bottom of the cage, brackets to corners, and a click together playpen wall round the outside in case of any escapes.

It's good there are solutions but it sounds like a lot of tiles and work! And something to consider before getting one. Although maybe easier than building a diy cage from scratch.

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I think wooden cages are a chew risk for Syrians and people line the bottom with tiles to prevent chewing. It is unfortunate glass tanks are so expensive in the UK as they would be ideal really. i notice in Germany they line DIY cages with tiles if they are to be used for Syrians.
 
I think it is nothing new really, wood cages being chewed out of - some hamsters will, some won't. I think that's why the diy melamine cages became so popular. It's rare for a hamster to chew out of a barred cage, but there were some cases, with the thinner plastic bases, of a hamster chewing a hole in the cage base! Some of the perspex tanks like the maxi duna (which doesn't have a thin base) had a hole for a bottle and that used to be a place for a hamster to start chewing through (which is why people block that hole off). Some people had the same issue with the wood bars of the eco habitat and had to reinforce them. Glass tanks are definitely chew proof (mostly) although I have heard of hamsters chewing through the silicon and the tank starting to falling apart!
 
I too have heard of hamsters chewing through silicon. I guess it needs to be monitored. I wonder if those hamsters had enough enrichment and did that out of boredom.
 
I think some hamsters are just chewers - but instead of chewing bars, they chew cages. Stress can make them want to chew out (ie over cleaning) regardless of how much enrichment. That's noticeable with barred cages - it's usually either lack of space (that can be ruled out in this instance), lack of enrichment (apparently already ruled out above) or stress. They did mention above that it doesn't seem to matter how well enriched the pawhuts were, the hamsters were still chewing their way out. Or possibly the wood parts of the cage come across as a boredom breaker! It's typical a hamster will ignore wood chews but chew a wood cage. I think also their basic instinct is to escape. You see the same in a large room! However large the room, the hamster wants to get through a door into the next room!
 
I can understand that. I guess they have the desire to escape. I would not recommend a paw hut for a Syrian but I have seen people use them and the Syrian's seem very happy even females.
 
All cages have their pros and cons. People have been wanting the perfect cage for a long time! I guess that's why some people build them but I think the ones with a large front door are the best (some people diy a front door in things like the Pawhut or Eco Habitat) - but then it probably works out cheaper to do a diy cage from scratch - if you don't mind the diy.
 
I think making it from scratch is very expensive as the price of wood has gone up. You also need power tools. I looked into it and it just came to too much money for me.
 
I agree it can work out very expensive. It used to be the same with bin cages actually. Bin cages were very popular for a long time due to cost. But then you could get the Alaska cage from Zooplus for about £32 which worked out cheaper than making a bin cage by the time you added up the cost of all the bits and pieces. Glass and perspex are often the expensive bits of a diy cage. Some people like diy though and some hate it ha ha. I wouldn't say I don't like it but there is time, space and ability!
 
Yes, I looked up the price of the perspex etc. It costs quite a lot of money. It is not possible to DIY a cage without power tools. I do not even own a drill. I know people do IKEA hacks but you still need a drill for those too.
 
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I think that's why ideally people just think buying a cage is easier and that's where the pet stores need to have better choices. Some people would rather spend a lot of money on a cage than have to do diy! If the right cages were available. Where did you get yours Rainbow?
 
I got mine made from Manor Pet Housing. They were an amazing company but due to the pandemic they closed down.
 
I remember now and I do know Manor Pets used to make some amazing houses for guinea pigs - castles even! That is very sad they closed down due to the pandemic. I think this happened with a lot of small businesses. On the other hand a lot of cottage industries have seemed to spring up during and since the pandemic as well.
 
Some hamsters don't like to be in a solid cage and want to be able to sense and smell their surroundings including their humans. Hamsters rely on their noses to find out what's what.

A hamster i rescued chewed his way out of a very well set up Platsa which is even bigger than a Linmon.
He's in a Barney now and happier. He's also become more interactive with his humans.

For newbies: Platsa and Linmon are Ikea conversions, tank style enclosures.
A Barney is a barred cage.
 
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