Why does my Hamster Chew the Bars of its Cage?

Is your hamster keeping you awake all night while chewing on the bars of its cage?  One of the most common complaints people have about their pet hamster is that the animal is chewing on its cage bars all night long.

Chewing on the cage's bars is a common hamster behavior, it is not a particularly good one, or any indication of happiness in the pet. A hamster who chews on the bars of its cage is bored. It is not necessarily trying to chew its way out, but it is passing time by engaging in a bad, somewhat compulsive, habit.

Hamsters are rodents and rodents need to chew, but even with ample chew toys many start chewing on the bars of their cage.  This is a vice, a bad habit, it is not done to wear down their teeth, or for any purpose other than to keep busy.

Chewing on the bars is really an indication of boredom and mental frustration. It is difficult for some pet owners to think that a hamster would be mentally frustrated, but this is very common.  A wild hamster would have much more space than a cage provides, they would spend their night looking for food, gathering some here, some there, making trips back and forth from sources of food to their den. In most cages the hamster does not need to go further than a few inches to find its food and water.

Some hamster owners do exercise their hamster by putting it in a ball, or by giving it a wheel to run on in the cage. Both are better than nothing, but neither are as interesting as the habitat for a hamster.  Both are exercise but they are not every interesting. 

Anyone who is considering getting a hamster, or who has one and wants to make their pet's life better, needs to invest in a huge cage system, one that offers tunnels and variety, and can be changed around regularly.

While small cages with bars are sold for hamsters they are really not suitable for containing these pets. This is much the same as when we look at old style zoos where the animals use to be kept in small, boring cages, compared with some modern zoos, where the animals are given more room and more variety within their enclosure.

You should also provide tunnels for your pet hamster by giving it empty toilet paper, or paper towel rolls, or by letting it out in a large room to explore.

Other Reading

Tips on Selecting a Pet Hamster for a Child

The Slow Loris is an Illegal Pet

The slow loris is a primate that has gained attention through a few YouTube videos.  As so often happens when "cute animal" videos come out, somebody insists they want to obtain that animal as a pet.  The slow loris, however, should not be kept as a pet. 

Slow loris are native to southeast Asia where it is illegal to capture them from the wild; owning them, and selling them, is also illegal.   Many slow loris are poached from the wild for the purpose of resale in bird and pet markets, or are shipped to other countries for sale in pet stores.  In these stores they are often listed as being "captive bred" however this is usually not the case, but nearly impossible to prove.  Even if they were captive bred, the parent animals were stolen illegally from the wild.



photo source

The real cruelty is the fact that slow loris are put at risk by having their teeth pulled, or cut, before they become part of the exotic pet trade.  If rescued from markets they cannot be returned to the wild because without teeth survival is difficult.

The slow loris has a poisonous bite.  To deal with this the poachers will cut their teeth with pliers or nail clippers, or yank them out.  Veterinarians are not involved because aiding the poachers would be illegal.  The poor little animals are given no pain killers, and nothing to fight infection.  Many slow loris stop eating as a result of the pain, or die from infection.  There is no way of knowing just how many slow loris die, but estimates suggest that many get infections which are often fatal and others die of stress or malnutrition.

photo source

Make no mistake, the slow loris, although cute, should not be part of the exotic pet trade. If you happen to see a slow loris for sale in an illegal pet market, DO NOT buy it, this only rewards the seller.  Rather you are suggested to call police or other animal welfare authorities, who will take the animal and place it in a rescue.  This hurts the seller and hopefully they will stop their involvement in the cruel trade of this beautiful animal.

Please read more about the Slow Loris .