Bad chewing habit

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

JBabies

Guest
There's a soft metal tubing as part of my cage, think like a dryer tube. One of my boys has recently taken to chewing the edge of the thing. Not only is it incredibly loud and annoying, but I can't imagine chewing aluminum is good for rats. What can I do to stop him from doing this? Thank you!
 
Chewing is a normal rat behavior. I personally don't think I'd want to take the chance of metal being ingested, but someone else may have more experience with a rat that has chewed metal. Maybe make sure he has plenty of other healthy chewing options, like plenty of wooden toys, and other toys and things to keep him occupied.
 
I would remove the aluminum simply for the rat's safety. Aluminum can be sharp and cut the rat (I've cut my finger on dog food cans AND pop/soda cans and each time it's been a deep cut and I've had to get a Tetanus shot), can cause the rat to damage his or her teeth and jaws, etc. None of my rats have chewed on metal, but I don't give them the option. Good chewing alternatives can be toilet paper/paper towel tubes, cardboard boxes, pet toys meant to be chewed on, etc. I would be careful about wooden hides since those stink very quickly thanks to rats urinating on them.
 
Back
Top