Why does my hamster chew her metal cage & water bottle? How to stop?

Thanks for reaching out about Skittles. Possibly Skittles is attempting to escape and might need more exercise out of the cage. Maybe a hamster ball. Otherwise you need to provide a barrier to prevent chewing on the bars as hamsters can possibly fracture incisors. Good luck.

Some hamsters may continue to chew on cage bars just out of interest even when the rest of the environment is enriched. It can be problematic if Lulu accidentally chews on something sharp and causes damage to her mouth, or if she gets a paw or even her head stuck between the bars. If you've tried enriching her environment with little success, switching to a different enclosure such as a tank or solid side cage may help eliminate the behavior.

Show this to your sister: Check him thoroughly for injuries, or other abnormalities. Watch him when he eats. If his eating style has changed, he may have a problem in his mouth or with his teeth Most of the time hamsters chew the cage because of boredom, attention-seeking behavior, managing teeth growth, and the simple fun of chewing. Does he have a hamster wheel or an exercise ball? If not, those can relieve boredom. Give him some apple or birch twigs, Willow works too,dog biscuits, carrots to gnaw on. A hard dog treat helps with keeping teeth healthy.  Spend more time with him. Let your hamster crawl around on top of you while you lie on the floor. Hamsters love to explore, and once he has developed a trust in you he will want to climb all over you. Let him sleep during the day. Hamsters are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are awake and active at night. Waking him up during the day, may cause him irritation. Interrupting his natural sleep schedule could lead to further undesirable behavior.  Check the size of his cage. As a general rule of thumb hamsters need at least a cubic foot of space. If your cage is smaller than that, he will need a bigger cage. Change the furniture in his cage around a bit to make it more interesting for him to explore. A cardboard tube from a roll of paper towel or toilet paper makes an excellent chew toy for hamsters and he should like to use it to hide and play in it. All this may help avoid biting , whether it is cage biting or biting your fingers. This is likely not a medical problem, unless you find an injury or you find that he is not chewing or eating properly or you think he may be in pain. And, unfortunately, sometimes Hamsters can turn into little bite machines. So if your hamster has plenty to chew on as described above, and the cage biting does not stop, you should move him into a glass aquarium, so he cannot keep up chewing bars and ruining his teeth. Be patient, it will take time. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

If she is claiming up after falling, she likely isn't hurting herself. You can get a smaller wheel or a larger cage so she can't reach the bars. Provide additional chew toys or hides to occupy her. Make sure the bars are close enough together so that she cannot get her head between them. Hamsters are nocturnal, so she is going to be more active at night.

It is completely normal for a hamster to chew and chew and chew! Just be sure you are offering plenty of safe options for him to chew on, which it sounds like you are doing already. You may need to move him to a metal/wire cage that he cannot chew on and remove the plastic housing so he does not ingest any plastic. It is also normal for him to be a little jumpy as he is still getting used to his surroundings. Just continue working with him and encouraging him to come to you. Using his favorite treats can help too. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

It may be that Roxy doesn't have enough to chew on naturally to help keep her teeth healthy. Adding in additional toys to chew on, hay to munch on and making sure she has a balanced rabbit diet may all help to reduce or stop the behavior. If the issue continues even with increased enrichment, you see dental issues, or other health problems arise, having a vet take a look is always best.

Hello! A rusty cage is not recommended for a few reasons. First, your hamster could be exposed to heavy metals like lead and zinc that are components of cage metals. Animals are protected from these heavy metals by the powder coating that’s applied, but as the cage ages and the coating cracks and peels off, exposure can occur. The rust is an indication that any powder coating is old and compromised. Secondly, the rusty bars may damage your hamsters insicors and this could become a bigger issue if there is an incisor fracture or damage to the roots. I would recommend getting a new cage for these reasons. Hope that helps.