Although many hamsters chew on their cage bars, it is neither healthy or
safe. Chewing on the hard metal bars of their cage can cause brain damage
and misaligned teeth. Excessive bar chewing can cause the brain to
become misaligned, in turn causing brain damage. Likewise, chewing the
bars can cause a hamster's teeth to break, misaligning them. Misaligned
teeth will need regular trimming to keep them at the proper length. If a
hamsters teeth break off, they will be different lengths. Left untreated, they will
grow up into the brain, eventually killing the hamster. Bar chewing is sometimes
caused by boredom, so take plenty of time to play with your hamster, and provide
plenty of toys. Swap the toys around regularly to stop your hamsters' environment
from becoming monotonous. As an alternative to chewing the bars, you might try
providing fruit tree branches (make sure they have not been treated with
pesticides) or wooden chews. However, many hamsters will not want to chew on
the wood. As an alternative to wooden chews, many hamsters prefer to chew on
unflavoured dog biscuits. If, even after all this, your hamster still continues to chew
on the cage bars, it is in your hamsters' best interests to move it to a barless or
aquarium type cage to stop the problem.
Barless cage types can be explored in further detail on our HOMES page.
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Although many hamsters chew on their cage bars, it is neither healthy or
safe. Chewing on the hard metal bars of their cage can cause brain damage
and misaligned teeth. Excessive bar chewing can cause the brain to
become misaligned, in turn causing brain damage. Likewise, chewing the
bars can cause a hamster's teeth to break, misaligning them. Misaligned
teeth will need regular trimming to keep them at the proper length. If a
hamsters teeth break off, they will be different lengths. Left untreated, they will
grow up into the brain, eventually killing the hamster. Bar chewing is sometimes
caused by boredom, so take plenty of time to play with your hamster, and provide
plenty of toys. Swap the toys around regularly to stop your hamsters' environment
from becoming monotonous. As an alternative to chewing the bars, you might try
providing fruit tree branches (make sure they have not been treated with
pesticides) or wooden chews. However, many hamsters will not want to chew on
the wood. As an alternative to wooden chews, many hamsters prefer to chew on
unflavoured dog biscuits. If, even after all this, your hamster still continues to chew
on the cage bars, it is in your hamsters' best interests to move it to a barless or
aquarium type cage to stop the problem.
Barless cage types can be explored in further detail on our HOMES page.
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