Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Q & A => Topic started by: Snickerdoodlesmom on March 15, 2016, 09:09:05 PM
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Hi all!
My favorite chinchilla supplies website is down (TJ's) because the owner is sick. In the meantime, I was hoping to order toys for Doodle elsewhere, and I came across abirdtoy.com, which sells toy parts that are the same as you'll find in any chinchilla supplies store. I was wondering if I can safely assume that a pine block sold for birds is treated the same way so that it'll be safe for chins, too? Some of the product descriptions say they're chin-safe, but I wanted to double-check.
Also, I thought some of the other items sold on the site were interesting. There's coconut husks, pine cones, bamboo, natural cork, hemp rope, coconut fiber, banana leaves, and palm leaves. I was wondering if any of these items are safe for chins. Thank you all :)
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Most bird toys are chin safe. Just watch for rope, plastic or chain in it. The dyes are the same for birds and chinchillas
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So the items I specified are okay? Thanks!
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Here's based on my knowledge. I don't claim to be infallible here.
I know pine cones are generally considered unsafe. They are thought to have too much aromatic oil in them.
Pine block for birds is fine. Typically these are dyed with vegetable dye. I used to verify this with the manufacturer with our birds to make sure they were safe for birds too.
I'm not sure about hemp, a little skeptical as to how digestible it is. Wouldn't want bezoars.
I think coconut husks are okay but not sure. Bamboo not sure but don't expect there to be a problem.
Not sure about natural cork. Worried about obstruction risk.
Banana leaves I'm not sure. Probably safe only if completely dried.
Palm leaves I don't know but may be high in calcium oxalate which is bad.
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I purchase many different toys for my chins from the ferret section, the rabbit section, and the birds section (parrots, as they don't usually have plastic). Some of their favorite toys I are the bunny roll and chew toys for parrots. Just make sure they font gave plastic parts, bells (toes can get caught in the bell). They also love cuttlebone but can only give them in small pieces on I assign so they don't get too much calcium.
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We remove the bells off parrot toys for our parrot as well since their talons can get caught in them. There are very few safe designs.