Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Leslie]

Hmm there is no dust in it....just the dust they transfer from the bath.  It's a small tube though. like he fills the whole tube with his body.  I think he just likes being upside down in the dark. 

[FluffBall]

I have an apple tree branch in mine for them to climb on and i also have some pvc pipe they come in dofferent sizes just make sure that they are big enough for them to beble to turn around in. and not to make it too  long mine love hiding and playing and running in and out of it

[ChinnyGirl]

hey FluffBall

did u attach the branch or is it just sitting in the cage?

~steph

[FluffBall]

i just set it in there but the branch is farely large here is a pic of it the cage me and my brother made it

[ChinnyGirl]

hey

awwww thats a cute picture. and yea you must have a REALLY BIG cage!!!! Cheerio would love to have a cage that big but i don't have the room in my room, haha

~steph

[chinchillaboy4]

I just saw this and had to say Dust Buster is such a stinker! We are constabtly trying to get him to use his chew toys, ( lava stones and some cardboard) but he just gets bored with it.  A good idea is to but those toys that are made to hang from the cage and all the wood has holes in it and they slide on, but take off the wood, its icky and place the lava stones on it cause they have a hole to. we have one with a bell

[Jo Ann]

Hi Leslie,

like he fills the whole tube with his body.  I think he just likes being upside down in the dark. 

It's no so much wanting to be upside down, but wanting to feel safe when he is resting or sleeping.  In the wild, chins would sleep in the crevices between the rocks.  It protected them from their predators and the density of the rocks kept them out of the hot sun, so they could be cooler in the heat of the day. 

They still carry many of the instincts their ansestors used to stay alive.

 
Jo Ann  [/i]

[FluffBall]

I wanted to add the my chinnies love to play with pinecones i get the small ones on the ground by my house cause i know that they were not sprayed with anything like at the craft stores and such (those could make you chinny really sick) i get the small ones cause they like to carry them around and on the different levels and even put them in their little house and drowp them to the bottom floor and carry thm back up they do chew on them too also any fruit tree banches that are not sprayed are good for them too they will chew and play on them

[Jo Ann]

Apple tree branches (never been sprayed) are great.

    As far as some of the other fruit trees, I'm not sure about them.     I know chins can not have fruit that is grown with a pit in it (like peaches) ... makes me wonder if the branches from a peach tree would also be toxic to a chin?   

    I have been told many times the hard woods were not good for chinchillas.  Cedar is definitely NOT SAFE for chinchillas.

   Anyone out there have a list of the woods that are safe for chinchillas? And/OR a list of the woods that are NOT safe for chinchillas?

   Come on, we need more participation!

   But, please do not guess ... make sure of your source of information!

 
Jo Ann

[FluffBall]

Jo Ann I just looked in my  chin book "The Guide to Owning a Chinchilla" by Anmarie Barrie

and it says " make sure you use untreated, non toxic wood" the  toxic woods are

CEDAR, PLUM, CHERRY, OLEANDER, AND REDWOOD

IT ALSO HAS IN THERE THAT YOU CAN TURN ORDINARY HOUSE OBJECTS INTO TOYS LIKE UNTREATED WICKER BASKETS IF YOU WON'T MIND THM GETTING DESTROYED WOODEN TOYS PAPERTOWL TUBES I HAVE ALSO seen tissue boxes for them to hide in and play in if you want to get creative you could try putting them to gether to make a little town to play hide and go seek with each other or you

it also has in here to not use cedar shavings sawdust or concob bedding for them and says that
those materials are not recommended for use with small animals

[chinchillagrl06]

I know my chinnies love love love Pecan wood. Susan at AZ Chins sells Pecan wood toys. They are excellent. http://chinstore.azchins.com/List.htm

[Stacy]

and it says " make sure you use untreated, non toxic wood" the non toxic woods are

CEDAR, PLUM, CHERRY, OLEANDER, AND REDWOOD

I think you have that backwards or I may be confused. I thought cedar was toxic not non toxic.

[Jo Ann]

Jo Ann I just looked in my  chin book "The Guide to Owning a Chinchilla" by Anmarie Barrie

and it says " make sure you use untreated, non toxic wood" the non toxic woods are

CEDAR, PLUM, CHERRY, OLEANDER, AND REDWOOD

I think there is a very good chance that is a miss-print that was not caught

 especially since, in the same post you quote the same book as saying:
 

it also has in here to not use cedar shavings sawdust or concob bedding for them and says that
those materials are not recommended for use with small animals

Here's what my info says concerning cedar:

 

DO NOT USE CEDAR

this is from the California Chinchilla Research Center on their web site at CA Chins at: http://www.cachins.org/

I have seen many books that have incorrect information in them.  I have seen books written for chinchillas by people that have never owned a chinchilla.  Just because you see it in print, does not mean it is true. 

"After Forty Years" by A. Kline and "The Joy of Chinchillas"  by Lani Ritchey
(check out CA Chins for this one) are the two best  reference books for any breeder or chinchilla owner. These are people that have worked with a large number of chinchillas for many years ... in normal and research atmospheres.

 
Jo Ann[/i]

[chinclub]

I get so angry with chinchilla books.  95% of them are wrong.  What happens is a freelance writer decides to write a book about chinchillas (which they know nothing about) so they then hunt for sources.  They take interviews and then use the info to compile their book. Sometimes it is quoted right and sometimes it is not.  I was a source for one of the new chinchilla books and they didn't even get my information correct in the acknowledgment!  After seeing that I didn't even bother to read the book.  Now I only recommend books written by known authors in the chinchilla world.

I did a little research on the wood thing because I know cedar is a bad wood since that lovely smell it gives off causes respiratory problems in chinchillas and I know the oleander is poisonous.

In my Joy of Chinchillas book which was written by chinchilla breeders (one of whom is a vet).  on page 12 it says Never use cedar, plum, cherry, oleander or redwood.
Non-toxic woods include peach, apple, birch, aspen, maple, willow, manzanita, and hazelnut. 

[FluffBall]

Thnks Jo Ann that is wrong I was excited again and wasn't paying attention to what I was typing and they are TOXIC

THE WOODS THAT ARE TOXIC ARE:
CEDAR, PLUM, CHERRY, OLEANDER, AND REDWOOD


sorry if i confused anyone