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[Ladykelia]

I know chinchillas chew and some chew more than others and whatnot, but my Loki is absolutely insatiable. When I let him out of his cage he chews on EVERYTHING... and when I shoo him away from one thing he will run over to chew something else.  Sometimes I actually have to pull him off of things. It doesn't matter how much I try to startle him or yell at him, or praise him when he is good. He is psycho.
My other chinchilla doesn't chew on things really and my late Hermes would chew but I think it was because he was in pain... and even then it wasn't to this degree!

I'm not so worried about my baseboards as I am for him... Is this normal behavior or might there be something wrong? (poop, urine and eating habits seem to be in check)

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes very normal. I would say you've been spoiled by the ones that don't chew everything.

When I had my first 6-8 chins I would let them run in a hall way. Well all the baseboards and up the corners of the walls as far as they could reach was chewed off.
I removed the baseboards and painted to the floor so they wouldn't be eating the paint, but ended up expanding and doing up a room just for them. There were no baseboards and the walls in the basement were unpainted.
I even tried bitter sprays but that didn't work either.

[Jo Ann]

   No screaming or yelling at your little one, please ... this will stress him which will make him chew even more.

Try to make sure they have your undivided attention the whole time you have them out ... they are like little children ... if they want your attention and you are not giving it to them at that time ... they will do something to get your attention ... even if it is a bad thing.  They would rather be fussed at than ignored.   

You might try dissolving some pepper in water and try spraying that on the places they like to chew.

As Debbie said ... your first two spoiled you ... chins will usually chew anything they can get their little teeth into ... even soft metals.  Below is a 1/4" aluminum rod my Cotton chewed through 1 -1/2 times in an 8 hour period overnight.

    Jo Ann

[tinydancer]

I was just reading this post because I am also having problems with my girl, she just started chewing her wheel like crazy, and I don't know why or how to stop her. Is the pepper in water suggestion good for this situation as well??

Jordan

[chinclub]

Anything you place in the cage is subject to chewing and there is nothing you can do to stop them.  Just be sure everything is safe.  No plastic as it can be fatal.   

[Courtney]

No worries, all mine are chew monsters, Chilly, Digit, Tucker and Silly are really bad. Chicklette and Candy are not so bad. It just depends on the chin. Give them chunks of pine wood they will go to town on those.