Homemade bitter spray to stop chewing?

thriftymoo

Hiya

Does anyone know of a homemade alternative to bitter spray that you buy to stop pets chewing? I need something to stop my hammys chewing, but the spray you buy from pet shops is quite expensive!

Thanks

foreign_correspondent

Hamsters have to chew - their teeth keep growing, and need to be worn down - why do you want to stop them from expressing a natural and necessary behaviour? What is it they are chewing that is problematic?

I think it is best to just keep anything you dont want chewing out of their reach - and provide them with some nice, suitable things to chew on!

thriftymoo

I realise that hamsters have to chew, he has plenty of chew toys, its to stop him chewing the bars of his cage as i am afraid he will hurt himself and he is very noisy. I have already tried a plastic tank type cage change which is not suitable. I also have two russian dwarf hamsters who are biting at the moment and have been told that one method of stopping them is to put bitter spray on your hands. I realise that there is other ways of doing this, which I also plan to try, but i wanted to know if a home made spray was possible.

My intention was never to stop the hamster doing something natural to them, credit me with some sense, I find it quite annoying to be talked to like im an idiot, surely it was apparent there was a reason that I didnt want the hammys chewing something.

chris_n_tj

lysasparkles wrote: »

I realise that hamsters have to chew, he has plenty of chew toys, its to stop him chewing the bars of his cage as i am afraid he will hurt himself and he is very noisy. I have already tried a plastic tank type cage change which is not suitable. I also have two russian dwarf hamsters who are biting at the moment and have been told that one method of stopping them is to put bitter spray on your hands. I realise that there is other ways of doing this, which I also plan to try, but i wanted to know if a home made spray was possible.

My intention was never to stop the hamster doing something natural to them, credit me with some sense, I find it quite annoying to be talked to like im an idiot, surely it was apparent there was a reason that I didnt want the hammys chewing something.

I dont think Fc was being nasty, i think it was they way you wrote out your post. I was going to reply along the same lines myself. Try reading your post not as the poster but as the repliee, you might see why FC replied as he/she did. Now you have elaborated and explained I think you will get a better response.
Chris n TJ

thriftymoo

fair enough.

With regard to my original problem any advice would be fab.

Generali

lysasparkles wrote: »

fair enough.

With regard to my original problem any advice would be fab.

Well if hamsters chew there doesn't seem to be a solution other than buying a different animal that doesn't chew!

HTH

thriftymoo

yes but them chewing something you dont want them too such as the metal bars of their cage when they may do themselves damage is not something you want to encourage. Wish I had never asked.

Answer my own question already but thanks to anyone who offered any sensible answers.

foreign_correspondent

I thanked you for your clarification, before I read your last paragraph - there was certainly no intention to talk to you like you "are an idiot" or to cause offence in any way - but from your first post I wondered if you were aware that they do need to chew, and why you wanted to stop it - i.e. was it a specific item they were chewing...? which is why I asked why you needed to stop it, and what they were chewing...

Just bear in mind that on reading your first post, I had no idea if you were an experienced hamster owner, or someone who had been bought or been given one this morning!

I am not sure that, even if you find a recipe for making the spray, that all the ingredients will be hamster safe... so you would need to research that aspect too - for example, some people use tabasco for painting on objects they do not want dogs to chew... but I have no idea if that would harm a hamster.

giantmutantbroccoli

Personally I don't think it's reasonable to expect your hamsters not to chew the bars of their cage, it's very ingrained behaviour for any rodent. If it's a hamster cage it should be designed with that in mind, so that they don't hurt themselves - although I can't really see how they could hurt themselves by chewing. I have rats and they chew the bars of their cages quite often (especially when watching the tv, for some reason), in three years they still have not chewed their way out!
If it's the noise that's bothering you, may I ask whereabouts in the house you keep your hamsters? They are very active late at night, being nocturnal by preference, so if you keep them in the bedroom they will still keep you awake even if you stop them from chewing on their cage.
The problem with using a bitter spray on the bars of the cage is that even if they stop chewing the bars they're still going to touch them, so they will be continuously exposed to the bitter stuff while grooming themselves etc. You could put them off grooming, or their food, or you could find that they learn to tolerate whatever you use on the bars and so it has no effect. Plus it seems a bit mean to expose them continuously to an unpleasant taste.
Word of warning - some animals like chilli! My dogs used to love the stuff, and Penny my rat is magnetically attracted to curries.

Have you tried using scented soap on your hands to stop them biting? I often find my rats were a bit nibbly if I'd just been eating, because my hands would smell of food, but if I'd just used a scented soap they wouldn't do this. Maybe you could try a moisturiser, something scented but not especially toxic (check the ingredients). Most moisturisers taste awful