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[dlbaca]

I got two male chins around 2007/2008. Unfortunately, one passed away in March of 2013 after they both fell ill. The chin that recovered has done relatively well, considering he had never previously been alone. However, I am finding it more and more difficult to keep him stimulated. I built a pen for him to be able to run around in the grass outside, but he just sits in a corner of the pen and seems to prefer his cage over everything else. But while in his cage he only purposely unhinges his running wheel and chews on the bars in a specific corner. He does not enjoy being handled much, either. I just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas on how I can keep him stimulated. Perhaps an interactive toy or something along those lines. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GrayRodent]

What do you have in the way of toys and chews at this time?

[dlbaca]

I have the running wheel, which he purposely renders useless for some strange reason, a hanging chain with wooden blocks threaded on for chewing and a bell at the bottom, a hanging ball that holds hay, and I'll occasionally throw in a toilet paper roll. I'm just worried that he's become depressed or something along those lines.

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like there could be more you can do. First of all please remove the hay ball those are dangerous to chinchillas. I've seen many reports of them getting their head stuck in them and some of them die from that. They'll get through the wide space and slide into the narrow space in the ball and then they'll panic and if the ball is over a shelf they end up hanging themselves. Personally I just let the hay loose on the floor and it works.

Do you have wooden shelves in the cage? I recommend putting 2 or 3 hanging toys in there. I use treat-k-bobs with wood and pumice blocks. You can also make your own refills out of wood with a saw and drill.
I also recommend having some loose wooden blocks or sticks on the floor of the cage. Twigs or sticks from chinchilla-safe woods may also help.

You say your pet renders the wheel useless. What does that mean? What kind of wheel are you using?
An occasional TP roll is fine. I use that as well. They should not get that all the time since they tend to eat paper which is not good for them.

[dlbaca]

Thanks for the tip about the hay ball. I don't have wooden shelves. It's a metal cage with plastic trays for flooring and plastic shelves. It's a wire mesh running wheel (very small openings so he can't snag his feet in them) that spins on two metal posts. Every time I put it back on the posts he immediately and purposely yanks on the bottom of the wheel until one side unhinges and it doesn't spin anymore. It's the strangest thing.

I have always been hesitant to give him wood because I don't know which kinds are acceptable and much of what I read sounds like conjecture and I haven't felt comfortable. Which types of wood are safe? I am very handy with tools and would love to come up with some sort of fun, interactive toy or setup. What do you think might catch a chin's attention most? Things that spin maybe? A lot of movement? Sounds? I'm really up for trying anything at this point to get him out of this rut and away from chewing on the bars. He'll even chew on them while lying down. I don't think it's healthy behavior at all.

[GrayRodent]

Chinchillas need shelves. It's funny I just created a guide to making shelves about two days ago. Here is a link:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1459579484355695&set=a.1389112151402429.1073741828.100009109720588&type=1&theater

I agree there's a lot of conjecture on wood. The fact is all wood has a certain amount of toxicity because of the resins it contains so I imagine you'll have a lot of false positives out there. I use white pine since it is common and it is standard practice in the industry is to make shelves and toys from it. Aspen is also common and acceptable. Apple wood is also commonly used in sticks and branches. These woods are proven to be safe and are soft enough to encourage chewing. Avoid cedar or anything that has a strong scent.

The shelves I made are all plain white pine boards. I am using a couple of different widths. Please do experiment and build things. I'd love to see your designs. Just keep in mind chinchillas are very active at night when you are asleep and sleep mostly during the day. They are so active that if there is a way to find trouble they will find it so be very careful when designing your toys so there are no pinch points or openings they can get their head or limbs caught in. The hay ball is a good case in point. If you use chain only very short sections should be exposed. I strongly recommend replacing any plastic in the cage with wood or metal. Plastic when ingested is a known killer of pets by bowel obstruction.

I'd start with wood shelving, maybe a tunnel or half a tunnel. Hanging toys are popular with my pets. Pumice is something that can my chins like. Also have some loose things that they can grab and move around. Mine will carry or drag toys around the cage.

As far as a wheel goes you may want to obtain a better wheel that uses ball bearing such as the chin spin. Diameter should be around 15" This is a bit expensive but it doesn't sound like the other wheel is working. Maybe you can weld or modify yours to see if you can make it resistant to being pulled apart. Perhaps you can use a washer, heat the wire, then crimp it over the washer.

I'd be careful about movement like motorization because chinchillas are easily frightened.

[dlbaca]

Oh, wow. If that is your Facebook, I have the exact same cage. I absolutely love what you've done with it. I never considered removing the middle barrier. There are so many possibilities that way. I'm thinking of how to incorporate a tube somewhere in the design, but what material would be suitable? Is PVC a no-no? One question, though. How do you control the mess? Do you get a lot of waste falling out of the cage and/or spots of urine being absorbed by the wood? I imagine that would begin to smell. I was thinking of replacing the bottom floor with a 2'x3' plastic tub that I can fill with Aspen shavings to make it easy to clean, but I can't find one that exact size.

[GrayRodent]

Yeah that's my Facebook.

Right now it is messy but the shelf configuration is pretty standard for a chinchilla cage. Some owners tilt the shelves downward to help while others install strips of wood along the shelf where it attaches to the cage. I have the materials to make these but haven't installed them yet. Since most of the mess takes place after bedtime I just sweep it up in the morning and I also use a shop vac regularly around the cage.

As far as urine with one chinchilla I have never had a problem with it. Chinchillas usually prefer to urinate into soft bedding or through a grated floor to avoid getting splashed. Now that I have two chins it's been more of an issue. The younger chin is not as consistent as the adult and seems to dribble urine when he quarrels with the adult onto the shelves which is very annoying. If you can establish one good place they'll use it most of the time. When I get the occasional miss I just mist it with mildly soapy water, wipe it up, and it doesn't have a chance to turn into anything significant. This is something everyone with chins deals with. I contend wooden shelving is mandatory for the proper care of chinchillas.

Personally I do not condone the use of PVC or other plastics in a cage as they are known to cause fatal bowel obstructions. It doesn't mean your chin will die from it but it could and if it does will do so in a horrible way. My cage is fairly scent free. I must change the pad that I use about every 3 days or it becomes noticeable. They urinate almost exclusively through the grate.

If you have an FN or CN 182 like mine an aftermarket metal pan is available for it and they work very well according to owners who use them.

[dlbaca]

Great, well thank you very much for your ideas. I'll probably buy the lumber this week and get to work. I will post some pictures when I'm done, or maybe even in progress to see what you think. This should be fun.