My syrian girl has been living in her cage with bars (a critter trail cage) for over a year now, ever since I got her. The problem is, she chews the bars constantly and refuses to chew any toys instead. I know this is bad for her teeth and her health in general.
I have been thinking about switching her over to a larger aquarium style cage, but don't know how she would adjust. I'm worried that she would freak out and hate it since she has been living in her cage for so long already. I really don't want to stress her out or make her sick, but I think she deserves more space.
Any serious advice would be appreciated!
Answers:
You are right. People think that hamsters chew the bars of the cage to grind their teeth down. This is infact wrong. Their commercial diet food mix will do this for them. They chew the bars of their cage because they are bored and studies have found that this can actually cause brain damage in your hamster.
She will adjust to her new home but it will take time. Aquariuma are not the most ideal house for a hamster. I know my hamster would go crazy in there ( but then he does not chew the bars of his cage) Barred cages give the feeling of more freedom where they can climb and fresh are is ventilated through the whole cage. Aquariums feel more restricted.
But your hammie sounds fine, if she is alarmed or scared she would be squealing, hissing or grinding her teeth which she is not doing. Although mine would not like an aquarium, its certainly not to say that your baby wont either. Syrians are pretty laid back so with a few days she will be settled in. Your a responsible pet owner. I wish more people would realise chewing the bars of the cage is really dangerous.
She should have no problem adjusting. Just make sure her food, toys, water, wheel, and chews get moved with her :)
it shouldnt hurt the hamster to swich cages, if your worried about space with the tank, they make these wire tops that go on a 10g tank that almost tripples the living space
nah, she'll be fine. most hamsters adjust to things farily well. just don't put many toys in at first...let her have the run of the cage...make sure she has fresh water and food. all my hamsters lived in aquariums and they liked it...just make sure you get her out of the cage at least a few minutes a day so she can get some fresh air.
Meh. Don't worry about it. I need to switch my hamster and mice around aaallll the time. See, I take care of mice getting fed to my snake. I have two mice that I keep as breeders, so I don't have to keep running to the pet store. When my female, Mary, is preggers and nursing, I move my male, Willard, into my hamster's (Kojak)cage. Despite the change in habitat, they do great, although Willard naturally gets a bit freaked out when I pick him up to switch him. After the babies are grown up, I move them to a seperate cage and move Willard back in with Mary. Awww!
my hamster chews on the bars of her cage to there really is no problem with it and if you get another cage she is just going to do the same thing because she wants out of the cage and if you do put her in a new cage just leave her alone for a few days!!!
Shes probably chewing the bars because she wants more room. put the cage exactly how it was last time and leave her alone for at least 2 days. if that is not working then spend time with her put her in the ball , (if you don't have get one). then she will be happy once more
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment