Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Q & A => Topic started by: Dex21 on June 24, 2015, 04:36:09 PM
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Hey guys, sorry to bombard this forum with all of these questions but I had another question. I have recently noticed that Dex (while he has a bunch of chew toys including wood chews, apple orchard sticks, lava/wood hanging chews, lava ledges, and a wooden ledge), he really only chews on the apple orchard sticks and the wood chews (though once he chews the wood ones for a day he doesn't chew them anymore). I know that chinchillas need to constantly chew on toys, so is there anything I can do to get him to like his chew toys more? Or does someone recommend a certain chew toy that has given them success? Thanks again guys!
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They get plenty of wear from hay and pellets. Chews are just for their enjoyment more than anything else. If he likes Apple twigs, then just get more of those. They have personally preferences just like people do
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I have recently noticed that Dex (while he has a bunch of chew toys including wood chews, apple orchard sticks, lava/wood hanging chews, lava ledges, and a wooden ledge), he really only chews on the apple orchard sticks and the wood chews (though once he chews the wood ones for a day he doesn't chew them anymore). I know that chinchillas need to constantly chew on toys, so is there anything I can do to get him to like his chew toys more?
If these are all petstore toys/chews that may be why... they tend to be bland/stale compared to what you'll get from chin-specific vendors, and I agree with BSL that a proper diet with good quality hay and pellets is really more critical for proper tooth wear than the "extras" - those are mainly for enrichment and our own entertainment. With apple twigs/sticks, most chins aren't interested in them after they've stripped the bark off, so if that is what you are seeing, that's fairly normal. Mine will eventually nibble the sticks in their hanging toys after stripping the bark off, but it takes them a while.
Pumice certainly isn't a necessity - my chins will nibble on theirs, but that's about it, they don't really chew on it much. They do from time to time go bananas with the one blue cloud rock they have access too during playtime, but that's because it essentially lets them make their own bath dust, which is hilarious to watch their futile attempts to bathe in what little dust they create - but if I let them dust immediately during playtime, they don't care about the rock at all.
To be honest the things in my cage that seem to get chewed the most are their wood ledges :)
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Thanks so much guys! :)