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[chincip]

I saw in a petshop a little box where chin can poop i was wandering if that works...cause i think mine will just jump on it.How big is your cage,and is ok if  i put cardboard boxes in it ,cause i saw chin likes to stay hidden under them.is the wheel very important and is safe to give him a little cotton toy to play with ?and at first i used a metallic bowl to put the food,but he was always jumping in it,and all the food was in his cage...

[GrayRodent]

A litter box can work for pee since typically they will choose one location to do that. The way the chin's intestines work I doubt they will ever poo in one location. I do not have a chinchilla so I have no cage dimensions. There are varying opinions on what is the best cage size but I think 3x3x5 is probably fine for one chin. Cardboard is good for chins as long as it doesn't have anything harmful on it including staples and tape and if they don't make a habit of eating and swallowing the cardboard which can cause them to eat less food and loose weight. I would not recommend giving cotton as this won't digest and may cause an obsruction. The wheel is good if it's a solid metal type and made for chins. Wire mesh wheels are notorious for causing serious and fatal injuries in chins. Small wheels can cause fatal spinal injuries. The food bowl problem you are having is something that you might just have to live with and hopefully he'll find something better to do. Make sure he has constant access to fresh hay in case he empties all the food while you're not around.

[Marip]

yes they can pee in just one place but poop never cause they are constantly pooping   the litter box the coverd one it's more for the bath i use a metal tray , the cage the bigger the better but you can go to the cage part of the forum caause i dont know the right size . Cardbord boxes are not very good because they are usually paint and have glue what is not good and can cause serious problems they are rodents so they will always eat it , the toys you can buy them made of wood but nothing like cotton go to the birds part should have some different ones . The wheel is good for them to exercise some don't use it but others love it  if you buy the wire mesh wheel you can cover with metal from the out side.

[GrayRodent]

The big problem with wire mesh wheels other than it causes broken ankles is the flat bar that connects the wheel to the frame on most designs of that type. It spins around like a food processor. I remember having a hamster with a severed leg from this kind of design when I was a kid and have read about chinchillas being decapitated by them. A proper wheel will have a solid back and bearings mounted in the back so there is no possible way there is interaction with metal moving passed metal.

There will be varying opinions on cardboard. I know this because I have a parrot and there is some debate on parrot forums. We let him have toilet paper rolls to play with on occasion and plain brown cardboard with little or no printing on it. We give him printer paper (unused) as well and make toys out of it by folding the paper int different shapes. But he is also not one to eat the shreds he makes.

Some chinchillas are okay with cloth products such as the chinchilla hammock or stuffed toys with regular batting in it and will not chew on it. Others will swallow the cloth and die from it. It kind of depends on the chin and how much risk you are willing to take but chewing on cotton or cloth should not be encouraged.

Bird toys are very similar to chinchilla toys. Just avoid anything with plastic or rubber in it or anything that can entrap a chin. Wire balls are notorious for chinchilla deaths.

[jmdebb]

it would be very nice if they did poop in just one place.. oh wow, a world without so much chin poop...