Your hamster gnaws on its cage at all hours of the day and night? Determine the cause of your hamster’s behavior before you can correct it. It’s possible that your hamster gnaws on its cage due to boredom, stress, hunger, or the need for exercise.
Cage gnawing can be a destructive behavior indicating its desire to escape, or conversely, it can be a positive behavior if it is trying to relieve stress or have fun. Let’s see together how to make the right diagnosis.
Possible Causes
Boredom
Hamsters are naturally curious and playful animals: they love to explore their environment and scratch surfaces to dig up food. Thus, if your hamster does not feel comfortable in its cage or does not have enough objects to play with and explore, if it is bored or frustrated, it may reflexively bite its cage in an attempt to escape!
Stress
Your hamster may also gnaw on its cage to release its fear or cope with anxiety. Its stress can be caused by many factors, such as lack of space, noise, changes in the environment, or the presence of other animals nearby.
Hunger
What if your companion is simply hungry? Is it eating properly with appropriate food and in sufficient quantities? These are questions to consider before considering any other factor.
The Need for Exercise
Hamsters are very active animals that need space to expend energy. If your hamster is confined in a cage that is too small, if it feels cramped, it may start gnawing on the bars of its cage in an attempt to escape.
Possible Consequences
Cage gnawing is a common behavior in hamsters, involving chewing on the bars of their cage or gnawing on other objects they find inside.
It can have many negative consequences for hamsters: by gnawing on the bars of their cage, they can injure their teeth or gums, or they might swallow splinters of wood that could cause intestinal problems.
It goes without saying that excessive gnawing can damage the items in the cage, which can be costly to replace in the long run.
How to Prevent a Hamster from Gnawing Its Cage?
It all depends on the diagnosis you have made among the 4 possible causes explained earlier!
Your Hamster is Bored
The most obvious solution to the problem is to give it a larger cage and provide toys and objects for it to play with, to help it have fun and keep occupied.
If, for example, due to lack of space, you cannot provide your hamster with a larger cage, try to give it more time outside of its cage to play and explore. You can also put toys in its cage to help it have fun, such as wheels or balls.
Your Hamster is Hungry
Feed it adequately! Provide it with appropriate hamster food in sufficient quantities. Hamsters need a balanced and nutritious diet to stay healthy. Give them healthy food and clean water regularly.
Your Hamster is Stressed
Hamsters need a safe and comfortable place to feel secure. They should have a cozy nest where they can rest and hide. Identify the source of stress (heat? excessive light? children’s noise? presence of another animal?) and modify this parameter.
Your Hamster Needs to Run
Let it out from time to time, in a closed room so you can catch it and not expose it unnecessarily to external dangers such as other animals. If you don’t have time for this, change its cage to provide a larger one or a taller one, which will allow you to offer games and toys that utilize the height of your cage.
In summary, it is essential first to make the correct diagnosis to solve the gnawing issue, starting with properly choosing your hamster’s cage. If none of the reasons above seem valid, the cage gnawing behavior may be caused by an illness; your little friend might be gnawing on the bars of its cage to try to relieve itself. In that case, do not hesitate to consult a veterinarian.