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[sarahs5]

My chinchilla, Boxer, was born with a birth defect.  She was born without any front paws, so she just hops around on her back paws.  I love that she's special - she looks like a tiny kangaroo when she hops around. 

She can run in her wheel, eat, drink, perform most normal activities, but I have to hold her treats for her and it's hard to find toys/chews she can play with.  She has lava chews but she can't hold them, and when i mount them, they spin around and she can't catch them.  She had wooden sticks but they kept falling through and getting stuck in the bottom of the cage.  I've mounted wood on the side of the cage, but she doesn't seem to be interested in it.  Does anyone have suggestions for chew toys that don't require the chinchilla to hold them?  Or any suggestions for ways I can modify her cage to make it a little more fun for her?  Thanks so much!

[Jo Ann]

    He is precious! So cute!

Have you thought about making little wooden "trays" and wire hay holders to attach to the side of the cage?

If not ... you might think about getting some wire and make wire hay holders to attach to the side of the cage or to the floor  of the cage.  If these are mounted about the same height as her head, she could easily walk up to them and eat the hay without needing to have hands to hold it.  Lava stones could be placed in these also.  

Little wood trays (with a rim all the way around the top of it), could be attached to the side of the cage to place pellets in {or hay that has been cut about 1/4 inch pieces} ... placing the tray  about the height of her shoulders.  The rim around the top of the tray can be made of quarter round or half round molding made of pine.

You could make a series of leaping ledges that you can attach to the side of the cage in an upside down "V" formation so that he can go up and down hopping from one to another, without much trouble.  {Make sure you space them like steps and very close together ... up one side and down the other.}

How about making him some PVC 'tunnels' he can crawl through from one level to another or from one place to another?  PVC pipe that is 4 or 5 inches in diameter is great for this.  {It's also easy to clean. }

Chinchillas tend to adapt to any birth defects they may have ... we just have to help them by making their cage handicap friendly.    

   Jo Ann

ADDED: Ramps of wood with Popsicle sticks or 1/2" molding attached to the surface will give him a better "grip" as he goes up the ramp.  Use tiny wood screws instead of glue.

[Harleychin]

She's a cutie pie! I think super pets make a lava dot also that attaches to the cage.
 Some of the the wood suppliers make perch's too that.
Two of my chins only like apple wood so might want to try a few diffrent woods and Jo Ann has some great ideas too.

[Ladykelia]

Since you mentioned lava chews, I just thought I'd share that I found a lava ledge at the pet store that might be kinda fun for your little Boxer.

http://www.amazon.com/Pets-International-Ledge-Small-Animal/dp/B00176F466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1259701396&sr=8-1

[Jo Ann]

   Looks good to me.  They also have the "Super Pet Lava Landings Perch Chew Treats for Chinchillas, Rabbits, Hamsters & Gerbils (2 pack)" listed on that same page.

BEWARE of shipping and handling charges when buying on the internet!

Always check out your local pet stores, breeders and ways to make them yourself!!!
Example:  You can make 25 to 50 chew blocks for what many stores will charge you for less than ten of the same thing.

   Jo Ann

PS Many items can be made for a "special needs" chin that are not available for purchase in stores.

[jmdebb]

What a cutie.. I'm so sorry she doesn't have front paws, but she is lucky to have someone like you to care about her.

Here is something that might help.  You can always add your own items on it.  It attaches to the cage and many things come with predrilled holes in it, like the lava bites, wood toy pieces..etc..

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751782&lmdn=Small+Pet

[jmdebb]

its me again 

in light of the holiday season,  i would like to send you a free toy.  i have a store so i have some items on hand and i have new one clip like the one shown above and i have some items i can put on it.  if you are interested, you can send me your address threw my regular email account becuase i don't log on often in here at all, just put in the subject line so don't delete it thinking its spam special needs chinchilla.

my address is jmdebb@verizon.net

[Jo Ann]

   I like your little store and am looking forward to what you might add to it.

Might I suggest to list ingredients on each product?   

   Jo Ann

[sarahs5]

Thank you all so much for your responses! I might try out the lava ledge since I mounted her lava bites on the side of the cage but they keep spinning around! I have wood ledges now, but she doesn't seem interested in chewing on them much. She has a PVC pipe she likes to hide in, but I might get her a little bed too (something soft and cuddly might be nice). The hay cage is a great idea.  Right now I just put the hay on her wood block, but it's so sad when she's trying to get a piece and it falls to the bottom of the cage and she can't reach it. 

Jmdebb, thank you so much for your offer of a free toy.  That's incredibly sweet of you.  I'll be sure to send you an email, and maybe Boxer will have a new Christmas toy

[Missy8964]

Boxer is very beautiful.    Black velvet has always been one of my favorite colors. I just posted a reply to your question about Boxer wedging between the wheel and cage and now that I know she's got special needs I'm really impressed! Anyway, it seems like everyone has given you some really good ideas for chew toys but I wanted to make one suggestion. 

Your cage has bars for the floor, right?  One of my chinchillas was a rescue who was brought to me in a cage with metals bars for the floor (instead of a solid floor with bedding). He's a bit older, but sometimes his feet would fall between the bars and I always thought he looked uncomfortable hopping around, so I bought him a new cage.  Since Boxer has special needs, and you were saying her chew toys sometimes fall through the floor to where she can't reach them, perhaps you should consider getting her a cage with a solid floor and some soft bedding.  It will probably make her more comfortable and it will certainly stop the toys from falling out of reach.

[Crimson_Ham]

Your cage has bars for the floor, right?  One of my chinchillas was a rescue who was brought to me in a cage with metals bars for the floor (instead of a solid floor with bedding). He's a bit older, but sometimes his feet would fall between the bars and I always thought he looked uncomfortable hopping around, so I bought him a new cage.  Since Boxer has special needs, and you were saying her chew toys sometimes fall through the floor to where she can't reach them, perhaps you should consider getting her a cage with a solid floor and some soft bedding.  It will probably make her more comfortable and it will certainly stop the toys from falling out of reach.

Or if a whole new cage is too expensive a solid metal pan in the bottom may get the same effect. There's a variety of places you can get one custom built to your cage size.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

My chins love the small animal mineral blocks. They look like a hunk of chalk and you can attach them too the cage as there is a heavy twist tie that goes through the back.
You can drill a hole in the lava stone so you can attach in a way it does not roll around.
Try wiping a little molasses on small wood blocks and attach. Or quashing a raisin on it, or anything else she likes.