# chewing



## smellycato (Apr 7, 2007)

I just recently bought my two rats a hammock, and on the edges they have already chewed it and in some places shredded it. Is this bad for them? If so, how do i stop them?


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

Some rats chew fabric, some don't. It's not harmful for them at all. They don't swallow the pieces.


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

Echoing Kimmiekins and elaborating a little bit. 

_There are many reasons ratâ€™s mouths are so impressive. One is that rats donâ€™t actually swallow the things they chew. They have 16 teeth consisting of 8 molars and 4 incisors. When they are gnawing on something they donâ€™t actually want to eat, their lower jaw moves forward and the upper incisors hold the object while the lower incisors cut it. Behind the incisors is a large gap called the diastema. There is a flap of skin behind the teeth that fills the diastema and keeps debris from getting into the mouth. Thatâ€™s the reason Sully never seems to get splinters in his tongue. Rats can also gnaw through things like bricks and cement, not to mention the sole of my shoe. Although Iâ€™m not always fond of the chunks missing from my possessions, rats have an excuse for chewing. Their incisors constantly grow. They need to grind them down or theyâ€™ll grow too long and the rat will no longer be able to eat or groom._

Quoted from: http://web.bvu.edu/students/johache/brats.htm


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

neat. i usually throw in a couple Hamsteroids from petsmart to keep teeth ground down. they are like $5 and they are little colorful nuggets of limestone and seashell. i always find them the next day, made into perfectly round little balls when the night before they were odd-shaped nuggets, lol...


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

I've found that our rats chew the hammocks less now that they've had them for a while. When I first started making them, there was no way I could've washed them and not worried about them falling to bits in the washing machine. Now, when it comes to washing them, there are usually only a couple of tufty bits where they've nibbled a bit.


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## smellycato (Apr 7, 2007)

Today i woke up and checked on my babies, and they tore the hammock almost in half! My grandma is going to sew it, i really hope they dont keep destroying it >.<


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Ratties destroy hammocks, it's just what they do  Always good to have lots of spares!


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

smellycato said:


> Today i woke up and checked on my babies, and they tore the hammock almost in half! My grandma is going to sew it, i really hope they dont keep destroying it >.<


You could try putting some other things in their cage for them to chew on. I put kitchen paper towels in our hammocks and they tend to chew on those more than the hammocks, now. Every so often, I put hazelnuts, almonds, pecans etc in there, and that gives them something different to chew on.


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## smellycato (Apr 7, 2007)

thanks!


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

try "hamsteroids" from like, petsmart, for about $5. they're little colorful rocks made of ground up limestone and shellfish, and every gnawing rodent i've ever had has loved them. keeps their teeth down nice, and probably more exciting to chew on then their hammock?


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

Ooh, I haven't seen those. I'll have to have a look out for them, too


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

roobs had a hammock and he chewed all the bits that hold it up and now hes just got a non hanging hammock at the bottom ov his cage lol


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

fallinstar said:


> roobs had a hammock and he chewed all the bits that hold it up and now hes just got a non hanging hammock at the bottom ov his cage lol


Aww! Are you going to try him again? Perhaps he won't chew them so much once they're not so new to him.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

The only hammock Jay and Bob ever chewed on was their first Tube Hammock (which they still have, cuz they love it so much) Where they chewed the holes is where, when they lay down there two front paws hang out...I think they did it on purpose, but it looks so funny! Ill try to get a picture of it when I can! xD


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

Ooh, please do! That's sounds pretty funny :lol:


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