Hamster behavior.

Question
Hello. I have a Syrian hamster, male, age unknown (he was rescued from several mean children). I've given him chew treats and things to teethe on in his cage because I know that, like all rodents, his teeth are constantly growing and he needs to wear them down. My concern is that he is refusing to use the chew treats, and instead chews on the plastic-coated bars of his cage. We've already been through one cage because he chewed completely through the plastic coating in places, and the metal bars beneath were beginning to rust. We were afraid he'd end up eating the rust. Is there a reason he's choosing the bars over the wooden chew treats, and is there any way to stop this behavior?

Answer
Hi,
I had this problem with several hamsters and I didn't find a solution. In my opinion the hamsters get addicted to chewing the cage bars. I always tried to keep my hamsters occupied with other things.  Try to give the hamster old, dried bread (not too much), dog biscuits, fresh twigs and branches (birch, oak, hazel, beech...), patches of grass and moss, hide food in cardboard tubes or egg containers. It might reduce the bar gnawing behaviour.
I recently read about a spray called "Bitter Apple" in the AllExperts questions archive, but I have no personal experience with it and I don't know what it contains and whether it's really harmless. It's meant for dogs, to keep them from licking wounds. You can order it online from Petsmart for example.
I hope I was of some help to you.
Jennifer