Pet Advice: How do I persuade my Hamster to not chew the carpet?

[tarquinsuperb]

It's beginning to be a bit of a problem. Before Christmas I was exercising him just out on his own but then all of a sudden he wouldn't run around he'd just chew the carpet. For the last couple of months I've been letting him out in a plastic excercise ball which has been fine. However over the last couple of weeks he's been doing nothing but trying to chew the carpet. There's no problem with his teeth and he used to enjoy running around is there anything I can do so he exercises rather than gnaws my floor.

Can anyone help?

 

[zoney!]

tabasco sauce!

 

[redkat]

Go buy a cheap patch of carpet and let him have at it

does he get enough of those wood sticks to chew on??

 

[tarquinsuperb]

Go buy a cheap patch of carpet and let him have at it

does he get enough of those wood sticks to chew on??

I've had thought about the small carpet idea but I don't think it would last very long. He's got plenty of bits to chew but the carpet appears to border on obsession. I'm in University owned accomadation so it means the carpet is a bit strange so he can't actually get hold of it and do it damage but it doesn't mean that he doesn't try to the exclusion of everything else. For a normal Hamster (I've had a few) it wouldn't be a problem but this one doesn't use his wheel at all so he didn't get a lot of exercise as it was.

I just wish I could reason with him.

 

[Carek1230]

Spank it.


Try some of that nasty bitter apple spray they sell at pet stores, maybe that will do the trick.

 

[tarquinsuperb]

Spank it.


Try some of that nasty bitter apple spray they sell at pet stores, maybe that will do the trick.

Oddly I'm not too keen on this idea, I am after all still quite attached to the little so and so. He's a very pleasant creature in every other area, it's just this one thing that's a problem. Maybe it's teenage rebellion.

Animal's like chewing things I can understand that. I could do with something like the tobasco sauce but doesn't render my room uninhabitable.

 

[impy13]

Threaten to punish it by sending it to Richard Gere's house.

Wait that was a gerbil.

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Replace the carpet with floor tiles.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Besides sitting on it accidentally, I'm not quite sure TBH.

 

[Liesje]

I don't know about hamsters, but we give our cavies an unlimited supply of Timothy Hay because it's actually more healthy and nutritious than their food and they love to chew it. If he can have hay, or maybe alfalfa, you could put some of that on the floor.

 

[tarquinsuperb]

Threaten to punish it by sending it to Richard Gere's house.

Wait that was a gerbil.

I don't think we have the sort of relationship where threats would work. There was a British comedian Freddie Starr who ate a Hamster it was a massive scandal at the time.

 

[tarquinsuperb]

I don't know about hamsters, but we give our cavies an unlimited supply of Timothy Hay because it's actually more healthy and nutritious than their food and they love to chew it. If he can have hay, or maybe alfalfa, you could put some of that on the floor.

That might be the best idea. It'll make a royal mess of the place and it's difficult because I shouldn't have him here but still.

It's a shame there's not some sort of spray I can put down, I've heard that people wanting to keep cats out of their gardens use lion feces. Now I think that would be frankly disastrous in my little university room besides which I'm not convinced it would work.

He's reacted badly to banana in the past so maybe there's something in that area, I'd rather the smell of that than big cat product.

 

[~BrightestStar~]

Hamsters can be curiously strange little fellows.
The fastest and easiest solution I can think of is to throw a blanket or towel on the ground when he comes out to play. It also has the added bonus of being easier to clean if the little guy chooses to leave any "presents" behind.
Also, it can never heart to get him something to gnaw on. Dog biscuits often go over well.

 

[To-Ho]

Let the hamster play in the bath tub.Plenty of room,he cant get out and you could leave him alone.Put a toy and something for him or her to snack on.

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

Let the hamster play in the bath tub.Plenty of room,he cant get out and you could leave him alone.Put a toy and something for him or her to snack on.

just be sure to close the drain first

 

[Liesje]

I doubt chewing the carpet is healthy for the little guy since carpet is synthetic and often treated with chemicals so that it's stain resistant. You can also get one of these and then put something under it, like a scrap of linoleum/vinyl and then put some hay or hard treats for him to chew.

We have one of these that we use for the cavies while their cage is being cleaned. We have a large rug we put under it. The rug is machine washable so the cavies can mess on it without ruining it. When they go back in the cage, we just shake off the rug outside and clean it in the wash machine.