degu chews bars because of wheel

[lindie]

I have a small problem. My wheel addicted degu Ethel is chewing the bars because she is does not want to run in the wheel anymore. 
When I got Ethel she was chewing the bars, but it stopped when I moved her and her sister to a bigger cage. When I got them their wheel she became totally addicted to the wheel!

Fast forward a few months, she now lives with her sister and two nieces in a large cage. Her nieces are about 4 months old now. 
About a month ago I noticed that she started chewing the bars. First I thought it was because of the pot with sunflower plants next to the cage which she wanted to get to. But after removing the pot she still continued. I started observing her and noticed she did not run in the wheel anymore. Which was very weird for her because she was always running in her wheel. I checked her for injuries but found nothing so I ignored it a for a while hoping she would just stop. But she didn't.  She chews the bars about 10-20 minutes at a time about 4-6 times a day, and it is very loud you can hear it in the whole house. So About a week ago I added a second wheel. After I added the wheel I started seeing her running in the wheel again. But she was avoiding her nieces, if one of the babies would get in the wheel she would jump out and run to the other wheel. So my thought was that the babies had claimed the wheel and she wasn't allowed to run in it, and I solved it by giving them a second wheel. Well, that did not work out because yesterday she started chewing the bars again and she doesn't run in any of the wheels anymore. 

I am not sure what to do anymore. I can add a third wheel, but I am afraid that she will not be allowed to run in that one either. Since I suspect the whole wheel problem is a dominance issue and her nieces/the babies will claim that one too. Their cage is big enough and they still sleep together. Getting a third wheel is not that difficult since I have most of the materials to make a another one. Placing it in the cage is a bit more difficult since the only space left is the backwall, and attaching it means I need to move the cage forward, and that is not easy because the cage is very large and extremly heavy (last time It took 2 people, I damaged the wooden floor and still could not get it in the proper place).

I hope someone knows what could help? if it is really a dominance issue or something else? I just can bear to she her so frustrated anymore. 

[savvy]

It could just be a simple case of her liking to chew the bars, some degus do.

[moletteuk]

Are you seeing any other dominance behaviour against Ethel? Is her access to food and water being limited, do you weigh her regularly?

I would try adding a third wheel because two degus can't defend 3 wheels simultaneously, depending on how their mother behaves. Perhaps you could get a floor mounted wheel. We have found a parcel trolley or flat 'dolley' very useful for moving heavy furniture.

[deguconvert]

Are your four girls in the double critter nation cage?

[lindie]

Mar 2, 2022 18:01:01 GMT deguconvert said:

Are your four girls in the double critter nation cag
e?

No, my girls are in a triple critter nation which is at the moment a  total 21.600 sq cm floor space.
I still need to add a big level in the center to make better use the vertical space, since it is now open and filled with some branches for climbing. 

[lindie]

Mar 2, 2022 15:32:40 GMT moletteuk said:

Are you seeing any other dominance behaviour against Ethel? Is her access to food and water being limited, do you weigh her regularly?

I would try adding a third wheel because two degus can't defend 3 wheels simultaneously, depending on how their mother behaves. Perhaps you could get a floor mounted wheel. We have found a parcel trolley or flat 'dolley' very useful for moving heavy furniture.

I am not sure there is any other dominace behaviour against Ethel. The babies don't want to share the food bowls with anyone when they are using them, but this is normal for degus. They still sleep together ect.

And it is not that the babies are really defending the wheels. Even when the wheels are not being used Ethel won't run it them now. I suspect that Ethel sees the wheels as claimed/owned by the babies and she does not want any problems even though she could easily use them when the babies are not around. I have not even seen them being aggressive against Ethel, the only thing I saw was just some screaming/talking and then Ethel jumping out. I once saw Remi (mom)  defending Ethel by screaming/talking back and then a baby jumped out XD.

Ethel and also Remi are not dominant at all, For example they always shared a food bowl. I guess they both are very sensitive and not dominant, but Remi has a 'special status' as the babies mom. 

So that is also why I am hesitant to add a third wheel, because I am afraid that after a few days Ethel also sees that wheel as the property of babies and won't use it. 

[lindie]

Mar 2, 2022 10:23:46 GMT savvy said:

It could just be a simple case of her liking to chew the bars, some degus do.

I hope it is not, It is a very loud annoying noise, and it damaged the paint/coating on the bars a bit.

[savvy]

I had one, Bumblebee, who liked to twange the lip on the tray while he was standing on it. I christened him Dwane Eddy.

[moletteuk]

OK, so we can rule out dominance and bullying then. It might be worth giving the wheels a really good disinfecting wipe, making sure any scent is gone, just to see if that makes any difference.

If it's not to do with the wheels, then maybe it is just as Savvy says, and she has developed a thing for bar chewing. You could explore any possible reasons, like is she seeking your attention, but it may just be that she likes it. You may be able to weave some cardboard between the bars, but that doesn't usually help for long.