# Rat Chewing on Cage Bars



## madman118 (Jul 29, 2012)

Ever since we moved out rats into their new cage one of them (Loki) discovered he can fit his mouth around the bars now that they're further apart. The other 3 tried it out and learned that its not really all that great. Loki however wont stop. Ever. For anything. I have tried:

Clean bill of health from our vet.
New chews/toys
Positive reinforcement
Different bedding
Different food
More out of cage time - up to 6 hours on my days off
More toys again
A spray bottle - he hates water
Positive reinforcement again
Individualized out of cage time
Walks out side
More treats
Less treats
More toys.....AGAIN
Bitter apple spray - didn't phase him one bit, at first he wiped it of with bits of bedding and bread, hence the bedding and diet change. 

And he wont stop it is driving me nuts, the sound is so loud that our next door neighbors can hear it (apartments). I have to put him in a separate container without any openings he can get his nose through at night so I can at least sleep. My only last option I can see is _Maybe_ a cage with smaller bar spacing but I just spent 200+ for this one that he is destroying at record speed. In addition to the cage he has destroyed a pair of shoes, a t-shirt, my laptop cable, a tv remote. I don't understand if there's something I'm missing hes healthy, seems happy, loves to spend time with his brother, other rats and me, chews on plenty of things, but just is so fixated with these bars its driving me nuts.


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## KelseyShea (Jan 20, 2013)

I hate to tell you, but you might need a different cage... my rats did the same thing, I think it's definitely the wire spacing, and the coating on the wire. Must be tastier or more pleasant to chew. The one they liked to chew on was a thick white metal (also spaced further apart), the cage they are in now is one I custom made from green vinyl coated hardware cloth. They have no interest in chewing that. You might be able to "line" the inside of their cage with hardware cloth, that way you wouldn't have to buy a whole new cage. 
I also gave my rats "snack shacks" which are edible hidey-spaces, but that can get pretty loud too. It's a good distraction though.


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## KelseyShea (Jan 20, 2013)

Also, thought I would add that rats' teeth are constantly growing, so they always are going to chew things. This won't mean they're unhappy or unhealthy!


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

If you don't want to invest in a new cage, as KelseyShea mentioned, adding hardware cloth to the inside of the cage will stop him from biting the bars. It's not as pretty as the cage would be without it, but it will do the trick.


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