I have a Syrian hamster and I'm aware they need things to chew to keep their teeth in shape.

It has 2 wooden hamster toys but I think he's bored of them now and for the past 2 days he's been chewing at his cage bars!

I can't get to the pet shop any time soon, is there anything around the house I can give him (asuming this is the reason he's chewing at the cage)

I've searched the net and a couple of suggestions is cardboard or the bit in the middle of a toilet paper roll.
I have a cardboard box that I could cut a bit off for him.

But won't he eat and swallow it? Especially the toilet paper roll, or will he know its not food and happily chew and maybe even add to his bedding?

Hamsters like to chew on their cage bars. I wouldn't worry about it unless you think he might escape!

I wouldn't of been so worried but he hasn't always done it, and he's stopped chewing the wooden toys. Maybe it is fine but I'd rather him chew something else it just doesn't seem healthy or safe for him to go at his cage.

Found the following bit of advice here

"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. "

Our hamster had one of those hamster systems which looked like a space station. Lots of tubes linking separate living, playing, eating and sleeping areas

Our hamster wasn't interested in chewing wood or cardboard but preferred the bars of his cage. Perhaps its because it is harder and wears the teeth down better

I think the boredom thing is a bit of a red herring. Our hamster was played with constantly and still gnawed the cage bars when he was put back in his cage. Its in their nature to chew things. Barless cages are not good for hamsters as the air does not circulate so freely.

Hi Haphash, we had a hamster, when my children were young, called "Thumper". He would start either chewing his cage bars or riding his squeaky wheel any time something good was on tv and effectively drowning it out

There were three children so he got quite a lot of playtime but he was a real hog for the limelight

Found another site online, seems to have some nice, down-to-earth advice - http://www.factmonster.com/hamsters1.html - probably, as they live underground in the wild, they wont be too bothered about too much free movement of air, just as long as there is adequate ventilation so they don't suffocate.

I would think that the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls, kitchen rolls etc., would be ideal toys for them, both to nibble and to run through.

Lovely little creatures, may have to consider getting another. For my grandchildren of course

I wish we could get another one. Ours died and we were really sad. My husband doesn't want us to get another one but my daughter and I still miss him.

Aww, sorry you lost your hamster, they make such an impact in their short time don't they?

The thing with men is, they are quite jealous creatures, even though they will deny that emphatically, so it's usually best just to present them with a fait accompli. Happy hammy, happy family, happy hubby being treated to his favourite meal Get the picture?

Thanks for the info and links. Gonna have a look now. The hamster being bored could actually be a good theory. Before reading these replies I tried to toilet roll cardboard, he chewed it for a little while and now hes gone to sleep.

When I get a chanceI'm going to get a variety of toys and swap them around as said above.
Thanks again

Hope everything goes well AV

you can use milk bones, basically they are meant for dogs but are perfectly safe for hamsters to use and its vute watching them carry them to their nests, i would use the pedigree ones.

It doesn't seem healthy, no. I remember it going through me! My hammy wasn't interested in wood, though. Or anything else we tried. Only the bars would suffice.

my current hamster was out of her cage for about 5 hours a night at one point, once she started bar chewing - as soon as she was back in her cage though, she went straight back to it

in the end i removed the bars from the equation and put her into a glass tank - now she chews on cardboard and dog biscuits, stale bread and willow stix
she's recently turned on her toilet though and there's a big gouge out of the bottom corner of it :/
as well as her wheel stand, she's chewed all the enamel pain off of the bottom of it

they can have just about anything in moderation, i give her markies, bonios, gravy bones, milk bones, wagg complete, harringtons complete, shapes... basically anything we have in for the dog
she's had crisps, cheetos to be precise, mini cheddars, crackers

i know someone who even made theirs her own mini pancake last week!
and she's nearly 3 years old now, can;t do much harm, if any

I've heard the dog biscuit thing a few times. But the above post I wasnt aware you could feed your hamster all that.

The most I've put in so far is half of an apple as an extra treat. I dont like risking other foods, I don't know whats bad for diet that will make it ill and also what would choke the hamster.

Just to update, he likes the cardboard, still chews the bars but not for as long so I think it may just be a habit to get him out of rather than him feeling the need to fo it.

half of an apple is a bit much, maybe just a small slice, just enough to eat in one sitting as if they store it, it can spoil and they're also quite high in sugar.
beware of seeds in apples - they can be poisonous if eaten

you can give them small amounts of most fruits and vegetables though, avoid onion and raw potato as those aren't really good for anything.

small pieces of banana, apple, carrot, cabbage, broccoli, pear, parsnip, corn, cucumber and sweet peppers off the top of my head are fine.
unshelled peanuts are really fun to break open to get to the seeds! (i know some sources don't recommend them though)

they're omnivores, so can have small amounts of lean meat as well.
mine have all been partial to the odd live earthworm, or meal worm
small pieces of cooked chicken, cooked fish
a piece of (unsalted) chip usually went down well too.

one was quite partial to cheese and the odd drop of milk - however it's common for them to be lactose intolerant apparently. so that's probably best avoided.
it never bothered the one of mine who ate/drank it though - all the ones since haven't been interested in it so they haven;t had it.

I thought bananas and other soft fruits were a no no?
I think I'm too careful, I don't even like to give him too many of them flavoured treats you get in the bags.
I don't leave the half apple in there until its gone, It's just fun to watch him crunch bits off. I remove it shortly after.

Five hours a night?? Gosh, you are good. Mine used to come out for two hours and I thought that was good going. Now I feel guilty! How long is recommended, anyone know?

or a free syrian rebel

she got the 5 hours to avoid the racket more than anything!
two hours is very good
i don't get her out for anything near 5 hours any more, probably an hour at the most at the minute.

i know if you put them in a ball you have to limit that to 30 minutes, then a visit to their cage so they can feed and drink if they want to

I have a question about hamsters so thought I would put it here rather than start a new thread.
Which hamster would anyone reccommend?
Does anyone have experience of dwarf hamsters? I have been told although small they are possibly easier to handle and less likely to bite than Syrian ones. Just wondered if this was correct.
Any advice appreciated. Thanks

dwarf hamsters are very fast and in my opinion harder to handle than syrians , I have both and would say that syrians are a lot lazier than dwarfs. if you did get dwarfs you have to have double of everything so they don't fight. for first time I would go for a syrian and you have to get a large cage(most pet shop cages are unsuitable, i would go with a criceti 15(online only) or a ferplast mary (which you can get in pets at home) and at least an 8" wheel to avoid arching backs.

Thanks for the advice Will have a look at the cages that you mentioned. I know that Syrians can only be kept singly, can dwarfs be kept in same sex pairs?
Will do some more investigating.

i've found dwarves to be more nippy and harder to handle than syrians
i'd personally never have one, but i love syrians

dwarves can be kept in same sex pairs, but be prepared as they can fall out as well, two of everything is a good idea to try and avoid them scrapping.

What type of cage do you have, xdow?