Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Cages => Topic started by: IkiKolohe on July 01, 2016, 06:28:55 AM
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Aloha!!
I want to "paint" the shelves and stuff I'll be using in my cage, as well as coloring chew toys I might make. I've read sugar-free kool-aid and food coloring. In another life, I like to decorate cakes so I have a full, expensive set of gel colors used to color frosting and cake mixes. Do you think this would be safe? It's not sweetened or anything, just good, intense colors.
Mahalo in advance for whatever help you can give!
Tina
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Food coloring is fine. It is used in many chinchilla toys. Some people who are really picky say you should use vegetable dye. If its safe for food it's certainly safe for animals. The only problem is getting it wet. If your pet urinates on the shelves (which happens occasionally, and with females could happen if they decide to spray), or drips water from its watering source (which can and does happen) beware. I've seen chinchilla toys stain the wood floor and shelves and sometimes my pet's feet and fur. You may want to start with one or two shelves and experiment. Let it dry completely then see what happens and see if it rubs on on your pet's fur. Not that it would be harmful to the chin but it might be a problem if that gets on your clothes and furniture.
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These are the colors I was talking about...
Wilton Icing Colors (https://smile.amazon.com/Wilton-601-5580-2-Ounce-Certified-Kosher-Colors/dp/B0000CFN0Y/)
Tina
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Looks like fun. Like I said I recommend testing it on the wood first and make sure it doesn't turn into a nightmare mess on contact with water or chinchilla urine which will occur at times inside of cage.
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yeah i think gray rodent is right, i have some dangly chew toys with corn leaf paper coloured with vegetable dye. I sometimes find the fleeces got dyed too, probably because of urine on bits they chewed off.