Lemon Juice Safe?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

Our teddy bear hamster suddenly began eating the silicon glue that keeps her
tank together.  We are afraid this could be bad for her and wanted a way to
stop her from continuing.  I Googled it, and half the people on Google say to
use lemon juice, the other half say it will actually kill your hamster.  Can you
please advise what you suggest to prevent a hamster from chewing on
something she shouldn't be?

Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Justin

I'd like to get back to you on this.  I have heard both arguments and want to check with someone who rescues hamsters and has considerable experience.  I will email you as soon as I have spoken to her.

Hamsters do need to chew in order to keep their teeth short and unfortunately if they find an area of their cage that they can chew they often go back to it. In many ways a wire cage is preferable to a tank so that they can climb.  Does your hamster have lots of things to occupy her - has she got climbing frames etc. in the tank, along with a wheel?  It is important she gets plenty of exercise otherwise hamsters can suffer from cage paralysis or boredom. Has your hamster got other things to chew - there are wooden sticks you can buy for hamsters that are safe for them, also some of the hamster treats that are stuck on wooden sticks are good as they have to gnaw to get the food off.  Perhaps distracting her in some way might help.

I will get back to you as soon as possible to try and answer your question.

Regards
Sheila

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks a lot!  I look forward to hearing what you find out about lemon juice.

We had a wire cage at first to get started, but it was pretty small and after visits to four pet stores, we found no wire cage that provided more room for her to run around.  We were told a tank is actually better by a few people at the store(s), so we bought one and added a good-sized wheel and playhouse.  We also take her out to play in a ball every day, as well as let her run around an enclosed area.  Hopefully that is sufficient exercise, but if there's anything else you recommend, I'm all ears.

And we always keep wood chew toys in her tank.  It seems she occasionally looks to escape and thinks she can chew her way out by scratching/chewing at the silicone.  In her wire cage, she used to climb to the top and try and escape, but then she'd fall and we didn't like her dropping like that.

Thanks again!  

Answer
Hi Justin

I have been asking around and the general view is that lemon juice won't harm your hamster, but it may not solve the problem.  The main questions raised were really about the type of cage, size of cage and amount of things to do.  From what you have said it sounds as though your hamster has plenty to occupy herself, however, it is hard to know what a hamster is thinking!  I've had several who I felt needed larger cages and subsequently moved them into tall cages, with tubes etc.  I thought they looked great fun - they obviously didn't and wouldn't even venture onto the next level so I ended up moving them back into their original cages.  I appreciate that you originally tried her in a small wire cage (a lot of the wire cages sold are so tiny they really aren't suitable for a Syrian hamster# and that the tank is an improvement on size.  Syrians do like to climb and chew.  Fitting a climbing frame into the cage somehow is a good idea #not sure what type of roof your cage has, but if it is wire (like a gerbil tank) perhaps something could be attached to that.  As their teeth grow continually they do need to chew a lot to keep them short.  With wire cages they often tend to chew the wire some do this more than others and it can be a bit of a habit.  It might just be a case of putting something in her cage that will distract her - you can buy a great range of edible houses etc. now - this way they can sleep in them or chew them.  They are called 'snack shak'.  

The problem with hamsters is that if they get into a bad habit of chewing their cage/bars it really is a case of trying to snap them out of this behavior.  Some hamsters respond to different things and I am sorry I can't give you any real solution to this problem.  It probably is just a case of trying her with different toys etc. to see if she will transfer her obsession to something else.

Regards
Sheila