Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Is it ok that my hamster eats his house?

My hamster always nibbles on the "window" of his little yellow plastic house. Is it okay becasue hamsters like to chew things or should I do something?
Answers:
This is perfectly fine and normal. He does it for 2 reasons. First he is making tiny, tiny shavings to use in his bedding. This isn't the best thing he could use and it isn't because you didn't give him the right bedding, some hamsters just like to use the palstic shavings. He is gnawing the plastic into such tiny pieces that it won't harm him even if he does swallow tiny amounts. The second reason is that hamsters, and all rodents actually, have teeth that CONTINUE to grow for their whole lives! They keep them at the right length by grinding the upper and the lower ones together. Sometimes they just like using something else as well.
You might want to put one more toy in his cage, some people will say that they do it because they are bored, but this is much less likely and he might just end up chewing on that too :)
Hope this help! :)
You will need to visit a good pet store.They sell products for chewing.He is trying to keep his teeth sharp but from growing to long.
Does he have other objects to chew on in the cage?
That would be the first thing to look at. If they do not have wooden or calcium/mineral chews in the cage, they will find another object to satisfy their gnawing needs on.
If he does have other things to chew on in the cage and is still chewing on his house, then he likes his house better. A lot of small animals chew on their houses no matter what you do.
I highly doupt he is eating it though. You should be able to look through his bedding and see tiny pieces of the plastic in it. They will chew but will almost never actually wat their houses (even though it may seem like it).
If you know that he is infact eating it though, then you should take the plastic away from him and get him an eddible hut to live in and chew on.
I hope this helps...GOOD LUCK!!
Yes, it is perfectly normal. Hamsters like to naw on all kinds of things including plastic. You should try to buy a house that your hamster can eat that way in case of anything nothing will happen to him.
its ok if its plastic but if it is a wire, then no
get him an edible hut at petsmart
buy him a wooden house
If you hamster insists on chewing the house I suggest you get a wooden one.Plastic toys aren't healthy for them.If they swallow it they could cholk.But if you wannt to keep him occupied with something else give him some toilet paper or paper towel rolls.I some times give my gerbils some plain white printer paper.
They are supposed to be safe. I ended up getting rid of my plastic cage for a 2 story aquarium with a wire cage on top. You could try chew stix (mine didnt touch them)
its norml hamster behavior. Make sure it has other wood to chew on. There is a liquid that tastes like bitter apples that you can get , rub a little of that anywhere you dont want chewed.

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