My hamster chews and her cage stinks!Please help me!!

[Mandy1101]

At night a little after my hamster gets up she starts to chew on the bars of her cage and I don't know how to stop her?And after about 4 days after I clean her cage it stinks again.What do I do to stop that?Can you help me?

[bubblz]

How big is her cage? What are you using for bedding?

[Mandy1101]

She has 2 cages.Their both crittertail and their nomal size for one of those.I'm using aspen for bedding.

[muse]

What does her poo look like? Is it runny, or?

I would reccommend Yesterday's News or Carefresh for bedding, it absorbs smell 100% better than just aspen.

Edit: And she's probably chewing because she's bored, maybe tie like a chew stick where she is chewing on the bars or something.

[TiaMaria]

Chewing on the cage isn't nessicarily a bad thing, it trims down their teeth. Some people have said chewing on the cage causes brain damage, but I haven't seen enough proof in order to prove that arguement.

[PetLuver21257]

Yes, give her more toys to play with and some chew sticks. The cages shouldn't smell after four days... Aspen is just fine, maybe it is her.

[honeythorn]

theres not much you can do about the chewing i'm afraid, other than provide more toys and chews that is. and if this crittertrail cage is made of plastic, or has a lot of plastic compartments, then you need to switch to yesterdays news, just put a pile in the areas she pees and scoop it out and replace when its wet.

[dwankrista]

i use aspen and have yet to have an odor issue. daily spot cleaning is a good way to reduce the odor of a smelly girl./ some smell more than others when they go into season (every 4 days) and it often is normal. i find plastic cages also absorb urine and lead to an increased stench of ammonia which is why i've condemned plastic cages such as crittertrail, habitrail, etc. the tubes can also get quite smelly.

another thought is that you may just have a territorial girl who scent marks a lot. you can try not completely scrubbing her cage at bedding changes and just replace what is soiled and such. this will not give her need to go around scenting everything again. :)

[Mandy1101]

Thx ppl.Now I going to get her some more toys to chew on.What kinds should I get?:D

[Sparky2006]

untreated wood...not too much plastic etc etc....chewing: my gerbil used to do that on his metal cage bars and as it was big so it basicaly amplifyed it!!! (V. Annoying!!)

p.s.toys: toilet rolls....things like big stronge tubes (like what pringles come in) tissue boxes,ceral boxes, fish food tubes, pipes....(like hard materals,espically if plastic....then its too hard to chew) wheel (i guess you already go one?) also let her get out of the cage more often (like in a run-about ball) also milk bottles, glass jars (clean and no cracks etc) plant pots (maybe from dollar store/poundland) paper plates

(also you can get paper plates,cemertic (however you spell it...) house kinda things for her to go in,wooden spoons,racks for second levels, etc etc all from poundland/dollar store)

so yea...raid the dollar store/pound land!!

[GillyXBean]

She might like milk bones dog biscuits. Ham's can eat them just fine, and they're hard enough that they help with the chewing need ham's have, while keeping the teeth trimmed down.

Definatly try spot cleaning once a day if it smells badly after 4 days. Also, if you can, wash the entire cage in hot water to help get rid of any lingering smell from prior cleanings. If you don't have a place to put your ham, use the bath tub for her to run around in with a few toys.

To clean it, I use a sink sprayer with hot water, and just spray the whole thing down, then dry it out. Tubes can also lead to smellier cages if they aren't getting cleaned out completly, since ham's will do thier business in those, too. Again, use a sprayer, or go to a dollar store and buy a baby bottle cleaning brush. They are flexible, and tube shaped bristle brushes, so they'll help get the ickies out.

When you spot clean, take out any soiled looking bedding- wet, discolored, etc, and add some new. No need to completely change out the bedding in a spot cleaning.

[Mandy1101]

mandy wouldn't chew on anything made of cardboard.I've tryed that already.

[daddysgurl9245]

Yea, I've discovered that most hams won't really chew on anything but their cages bars. :D About the smell. You could try spot cleaning everday and she might not feel the need to mark everything again. You could also try switching beddings to a more scent absorbing one, like Carefresh or Yesterday's News.

[Yorkie Licious1]

What?

My hamster doesn't chew on anything but her block of wood!

And I can't even smell her and it's almost been a week!

[daddysgurl9245]

Well, all hams are different!

[Yorkie Licious1]

I guess so!

[TiaMaria]

Mine LOVE toilet paper tubes, they will chew them up and will avoid the cage bars. I also give mine doggy biscuits and they go crazy over that. They also have flavored chewing sticks and such, they have tons of stuff to munch on but every once in a while, they enjoy smacking on those cage bars..

[Yorkie Licious1]

Don't you think TP tubes are a little tacky looking, though?

[bubblz]

toilet paper tubes may not be the most attractive addition to the cage but they have many pluses.
They cost you nothing ( I assume we all use TP in or homes LOL)
They're is nearly a constant supply
they contain not harmful dyes
& yeah we all want are set ups to look nice but function needs to come first.
besided as soon as they look ratty chuck them and put a new one in.

[bubblz]

You said mandy won't chew on cardboard though so TP rolls won't help your problem.
I suggest dog Biscuts also. My hammies love them and it takes mine a while to chew through one (I have a big dog so I have big biscuts)
Just make sure your not giving your hammie things like raw hide or pig ears.

[animalmagic]

Mine ignore the toilet paper tubes completely. They go nuts for dog biscuits though. Other than that they ignore anything I put in there to chew- like wood blocks etc, they don't pay any attention.

However mine are in tanks so they can't chew bars anyway! :laughing: You could always try that as a last resort!

[Mandy1101]

yea i always put dog biscuits i always have them bc i have 2 big dog(labs)she chews on them for a little while but then hides them and doesn't chew on them anymore.the min i give her a bit of wood she chews on it
then doesn't want it anymore.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Your best bet are dog biscuits... or wood blocks.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Sugar chews on her wood block constantly... no problems with chewing the plastic.

[bubblz]

Some hamsters just like options. I have one hamster her name is toilet paper actually (my niece who's 5 named her). Well toliet paper has so many chew items it's crazy. She was a cage biter too and basically she has at least one of ever "chewy" option I could find in her cage. she reminds my of a small child constantly changing her mind.
some of the things in her cage are:
Purina marrow bones (dog biscut)
original flavored milk bone
flavored chew blocks
nnatural with the bark chew blocks
mineral chews
hamsteroids
salt wheel ( I know they're suposed to lick but sometimes she chews it)
pumice stone
tasty twigs
tp roll
not sure if this will help

[Yorkie Licious1]

That's a good amount of toys for ''Toilet Paper''.

Hehe.

[bubblz]

Yeah she's got quite a few "chewies". But I keep all of my hamsters in my bedroom so I absolutely can not deal with the cage bitting all night long.
I see you dig her name (my niece named her, she's only 5)

[Mandy1101]

i just got Mandy some flavored wood blocks and she loves them.right when i put one next to her she started to chew on it.:D

[bubblz]

Nice thsat's waht we like to hear