I hope I put the on the right area if not I'm sorry- I got a new baby a few weeks ago and named her Freya.. She's with my other gals and there are zero problems except for one thing... She's decided that the cage bars are her chew toy.! I thought it meant she wanted to come out so I opened the cage and she kept on chewing the bars even after I poked her.! There are other things in the cage that she can chew on and she does, but it seems that the bars are her favorite... I was wondering if there was something I could put on the bars to make her stop chewing.? Something bitter that won't harm her or her cagemates.? I'm worried she may hurt her teeth by chewing the metal..
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My girl macaroni, used to bite her bars. She would do it SUPER loud if I came near, and I could poke her nose, and she'd stop long enough to lick my finger, then continue. That was when she was in a cage with vertical bars. Now that they are horizontal, she doesn't bite them like that. I always had healthy options for her to chew, but she preferred the bars.....¯\_(ツ)_/¯
How big is your cage, and is she aggressive towards any other rats?
Maybe she doesn't have enough room?
My guess would've been that she wanted to come out.
Try giving her some raw pasta to chew on or more play time out of the cage, she could just be stressed in a new home
Maybe she doesn't have enough room?
My guess would've been that she wanted to come out.
Try giving her some raw pasta to chew on or more play time out of the cage, she could just be stressed in a new home
ViciousCurse
Well-Known Member
I don't know if it's the same with rats, but hamsters chew on cage bars when they're stressed, bored, or kept in a small cage. Is she going to sit still long enough for you to see her teeth? If my boys let me hold them and pull at their upper lips, I'll check their teeth. If not, when they're sitting still in their cage, I'll pull their lower lip down and feel around. Of course, these boys are older, have known me for a long time, and know I won't hurt them by digging around in their mouths lol. Will they let me look for a long time? No. I have to be fast 
I have yet to have a cage bar biter, but you can try rewarding the good behavior (no bar biting) with yummy foods like yogurt or baby food. Alternatively, start sticking treats inside of chew toys. I used paper cups for this. I dropped a ton of puffs inside, then folded the cup in on itself. My rats LOVED it. Albeit, they tore it up in a few seconds flat, but it did entertain them.
I've heard you can also increase frequency or how much time your girls spend outside their cage and that may help.
If all else fails, you can spray a bit of lemon juice or apple vinegar on the bars and see if that deters her.
I have yet to have a cage bar biter, but you can try rewarding the good behavior (no bar biting) with yummy foods like yogurt or baby food. Alternatively, start sticking treats inside of chew toys. I used paper cups for this. I dropped a ton of puffs inside, then folded the cup in on itself. My rats LOVED it. Albeit, they tore it up in a few seconds flat, but it did entertain them.
I've heard you can also increase frequency or how much time your girls spend outside their cage and that may help.
If all else fails, you can spray a bit of lemon juice or apple vinegar on the bars and see if that deters her.
Ahh okay thank you all.! As for some of the questions she isn't aggressive with her sisters(adopted older sisters lol) and has plenty of room in the cage. Her teeth are perfect I think she's just a large chewer.! I take her out and when I put her back in she goes back to chewing when the door is opened.! She started chewing the bars again today so I gave her a turkey bone that her and her sisters were playing tug of war with. That stopped the behavior so I think she just wants other things to chew on.! So that's top priority because I don't want her little teeth to get hurt
Mackie stopped when I moved her to a bigger cage with new toys and things to do. Don't know if I said that in my first comment, but her cage was plenty big, and when I put her in the critter nation, she stopped. The old bars were vertical, so I think that may have something to do with why she liked chewing them. But skittle likes to chew metal things, and his teeth are great. I guess some just like the metal feeling?
