212 replies to this topic

[Paramorerokerr<33]

don't do that! you could poison your hamster by putting something on the bars of their cage .You can get her a bin cage , a bigger cage or you could change to different toys at least once a week ( hamsters lose interest easily!) , try covering the cage at night but make sure they can breathe! (just do your best to make her cage dark but she must be able to breathe too) , or extra bedding ( a bit less on hot days though you don't want your hamster to get heatstroke (if they can but don't take the risk) , or gnawing blocks or just simply an apple tree twig ( I would stick to apple tree twig you don't want to poison little Dixie but cherry tree is also OK but you never know ) . Even though you have heard it works don't put anything on the bars of her cage to stop the bar chewing you could kill him ! I found that the best thing with my hamster to stop the bar chewing was a sandpit . Humphrey loves digging in it since hamsters live in sandy places and burrow a lot . One time little Humphrey tried digging a hole in the carpet , and when I put him in his playground full of sand he never notices that there's no more sand to dig in that area even when his paws hit the ground he still scratches at the cardboard . A sandpit might help your hamster by stopping the bar chewing , and it will help with their health , and if he digs the sand she will get some exercise , and the sand in it will make her fur soft and clean . They might use it as a litter box as well so change the sand out at least once a week . You can't use normal sand for this or moon sand , you must use chinchilla sand which is a product used to keep chinchillas fur clean but can be used for hamsters . Don't buy chinchilla dust it's not the same and you could harm Dixie if you do!

Note: any twigs given to him should be baked before use to kill bacteria and shouldn't be sprayed with any poisons to kill off bugs.

Please take your time to read all of this (I'm sorry!) because you could poison Dixie if you don't . if you find the word Dixie in this i copied and pasted one of my posts onto here for my answer because i'm lazy.

you can take her to the vet to be cut but vets cost £25 something just to give 1 hamster a box of medicine and to look at their teeth. plus the medicine gives them diarrhea and it takes a long time . maybe its not such a good idea..... but try flavored dog bones just not potato or anything garlic or herb . hamsters are allowed sandwich ham but not pork ? so try find a meat flavored dog bone or you could try a plain dog biscuit . i would choose flavored stuff , as long as not colored because a stick doesn't smell like food and hamsters don't have very good eyesight so judge by smell so there not that likely to dig into a stick . if you try a stick bake it first to get rid of bacteria and make sure it isn't covered in any poison used to kill bugs . i would stick to apple twig but cherry tree is OK but you never know.... or you could try salt dough . its totally safe , will keep them healthy and there teeth down but they probably wont chew it if its not covered in food smell ... so rub it in food very well every day and Dixie might chew on it . give it your best shot !

and replace the salt dough every 2 years it does go moldy !

also you can buy edible houses but there for bunnies but i think there safe for hamsters or an edible birdhouse

maybe not the birdhouse because sometimes it says on bags of sunflower seeds for birds not for humans but usually when somethings poisonous to 1 living thing its poisonous to other living things! if u find any the word Dixie in this i copied and pasted one of my posts because I'm lazy . this is if u decide to use chew sticks but there not the best option .

[Plushie]

Ummm...it's just about impossible to poison a hamster by putting vinegar, bitter apple spray, or lemon juice on the bars of the cage. I don't know where you're getting this information. Vinegar and bitter apple spray are edible. Lemon juice can cause an upset stomach if given in too large a quantity, but simply rubbing a lemon or putting juice on the bars is NOT enough to cause any problems.

Excellent post otherwise though ;) Very good suggestions.

[Christmas_hamster]

Vinegar and bitter apple spray are edible.

I don't recommend trying it though, it tastes all chemical-y. And don't ask.

[Plushie]

I think you may have gotten the wrong message from my post! It's best to not use anything at all, because chances are, bar chewers are bored and it is better to prevent the boredom in the first place (i.e. adding more toys, expanding the cage size) than to mask up the symptoms (bar chewing). If you prevent them from bar chewing using a deterrent, they will simply find something else to destroy, and the problem won't be fixed.
(SPAMMER, Y U GET YOUR CONTENT DELETED AND MAKE MY POST OUT OF CONTEXT?)

Edited by Plushie, 08 October 2011 - 06:18 AM.

[Christmas_hamster]

Plushie, methinks you found a spammer!

[Plushie]

Do I get a prize?!

[Lauren Weekley]

Question!
I have six hamsters, all Campbell's Dwarves, and 3 of them (the girls) are all in the same cage. They have two wheels, two water bottles, a salt chew thingie, willow sticks, wood chews, and well over 360 inches of space, around 530-550 actually. Only one of them actually chews the bars. Is this a situation where they are stimulated enough, or are there other things I could try before trying the lemon juice or bitter spray?

[Creative Hamster]

Isn't citric acid POISON for hamsters? Which is the reason they can't eat oranges, limes, and LEMONS...so isn't lemon juice on the wire bars dangerous and unhealthy for a hamster?

[Dingdong516]

I don't think it's necessarily POISONOUS for them, it's just not good because it's so acidic. I don't think a little bit will hurt them too much.

[Plushie]

Lauren:
It sounds like they are getting enough stimulation. Like some posters have noted above, some hamsters just like to chew the bars. :( Does she play with other stuff too?

Creative Ham:
Like Dingdong said, a little isn't going to hurt them. The amount people place on bars isn't enough to give them stomach problems, but if someone is, like...feeding them whole lemons/oranges there may be something wrong afoot :P

[Lauren Weekley]

They're always always always on the wheels, even during the day haha. I've never seen them chew on the wood blocks, I think they chew on the willow sticks because they're a bit frayed but not very much, and the salt lick thing is pretty popular. Its just one particular place on the bars that she chews. So I should do the lemon juice I guess, since she it's not because she's bored?
I don't have lemon juice at the moment, but I have some "Apple Bitters" that we used after my dog got spayed. She chewed/licked on her wound so we had to stop that. I suppose that would be appropriate for this too? It's what you guys were talking about before, right?

[Carla]

Lots of pet stores in here feed orange to their hamsters . The other day I tried to convince an owner that it was not good for their stomach, and I thought she understood because she took it out... But some days later I went back and there was the orange again . The worst part is they seem to have months in there.. full of bugs and so smelly!

[jalswim]

I have 2 dwarf hamsters and 1 is chewing on the bars ALL THE TIME. they live in the same cage and i answered yes to all of the questions D: what do you think is wrong?

[Creative Hamster]

Creative Ham:
Like Dingdong said, a little isn't going to hurt them. The amount people place on bars isn't enough to give them stomach problems, but if someone is, like...feeding them whole lemons/oranges there may be something wrong afoot :P
[/quote]
Okay thanks! I was really worried that hamster owners could put their hamsters and risk, but now I'll try this idea. Thanks again!

[kittycatcat5]

Hello,
That is such a great point.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what a winter white dwarf hamster would like to play with?
Well done.
Thank you for the info, i will try find some toys.