cage bottom chewers

[pscychopomp]

I have 2 chewers, one is especially bad (I think she brought it out of the other one, because I don't remember her chewing before). I've got a big wood block for them to chew and they always get toilet paper rolls. She's pretty much chewed any raised bit of plastic on the various 'furniture' in their cage. Now she's chewed holes in 2 corners of the cage bottom, one looks like it's the size of a quarter now :rant: . Just today I've seen one of the other girls chewing on it, I don't want her getting into that habit too. I paid a lot for this cage and I'd really like it to not become garbage, is there something I can maybe put on the holes so it tastes bad and they stop?

 

[pscychopomp]

Well I found a pack of cayenne pepper, I sprinkled a bit on a dish to see what they think of it, all of them licked it and then the hotness kicked in and they didn't like it anymore lol. So I made a paste and put it on the edges of the holes, hopefully that works.

 

[xxchelle]

I would definitely NOT have done that... cayenne pepper is so strong, and think of the smell, now the ratties have to LIVE right in the midst of that smell? No way. Their poor noses and respiratory tracts.

Try wire meshing around the bottom of the cage. Or buy a cage with a metal base. Or something that's not them living next door to a spice that's going to irritate their respiratory tracts.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Yeah I agree with Chelle, cayenne pepper probably wasn't the best idea. They might just be bored and need more stimulation in the cage if they only have the one big wood block and toilet paper rolls. Bird toys, Snak Shak Activity Logs, foam blocks, those Kabob things sold by Super Pet, even plastic baby teething rings you can buy at the dollar store are all relatively inexpensive chewing ideas. I'd get as many different toys as you can to see what they like and to distract them from chewing the cage. Even having more hammocks and hidey houses to keep them occupied and giving them more out time. However if you are just looking to fix the cage then you could just get some wire mesh to put over the holes however it probably won't stop them from trying to chew so I personally would the other things I suggested.