Chinchilla Toys
Chinchilla Toys - For More Than Just Fun
Chinchilla toys serve a couple of purposes beyond simply being a source of entertainment for your pet. For one thing, the chinchilla's teeth grow continuously throughout the life of the animal. Too keep the teeth in good condition, and not grow too long, the chinchilla needs something to chew on. Most toys therefore are chew toys, and most chew toys are made of untreated wood, rope (sisal), or a combination of both.
Give a chinchilla a wooden toy and that toy will likely be chewed upon and destroyed rather quickly. Placing several chinchilla toys in the cage is a much better idea. Your pet will probably go from toy to toy, taking a nibble here and a nibble there, and the toys may last for quite a while. Of course, there's always the chance it will zero in on a "favorite" toy, and make shorter work of it.
For starters, a few small tree branches will give your pet something to work with. Willow, apple and aspen are best. Avoid cedar, or branches from citrus trees, as these types of wood contain compounds toxic to chinchillas. There are toys on the market, although every pet store will not necessarily stock chinchilla toys. There may well be toys for other rodents, chew toys, which will serve nicely, as will wooden toys advertised as parrot toys. If you insist on toys made specifically for chinchillas, there are plenty of different types available on line.
As we mentioned in the beginning, most toys are either untreated pine, sisal, or a combination of the two. Popsicle sticks make nice toys, as do pine sticks, blocks or planks. Wood and sisal toys can be toys that hang, or toys that can be tossed in the air, or carried around. Chinchillas have been known to carry a favorite toy back and forth, sometimes leaving it in the same spot.
Chinchillas love to run in and out of places and hide. Give them small houses or tunnels made of pine. They may chew on them a bit, but that is good for them. Avoid toys made of plastic, as the chinchilla might end up ingesting small pieces. For that matter, wood houses or tunnels should be glued together and not nailed, so your pet doesn't injure itself on a sharp nail. You might be tempted to get your pet an arrangement of plastic running tubes to exercise in. Don't! They can easily become overheated, which can be fatal. The same goes for plastic exercise balls, as they often do not have sufficient ventilation. Instead of a running ball or tube, put an exercise wheel in the cage. Most, though not all chinchillas, take to an exercise wheel, and will keep busy exercising for long periods of time.
At first glance, chinchilla toys might seem a bit frivolous. Why bother to keep a rodent entertained anyway? The answer is, you're doing your pet a big favor, by giving it interesting toys to play with, by helping it keep its teeth in tip-top condition, and by giving it the means to exercise and stay healthy. Next Christmas, hang up an extra stocking for a gift of chinchilla toys for your pet.