What are safe chew toys?

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rocket29

Rocket&Bilbo
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
48
Hi, I usually order 500g of apple sticks for my chinchilla but I'm worried that he's eventually going to grow bored of them. It's always necessary to have these sticks around since they last longer. Every other toy I've gotten him he destroys after one day; it's beginning to get expensive. I've read on some websites that magnolia trees are safe (prepared), but other websites say otherwise. Is it safe to give him some baked and prepared branches?
Are there any other homemade chew toy ideas?

I've seen others give chinchillas bird and rabbit chew toys, are they safe as well? I'm currently looking at Kaytee Perfect Chews for Rabbits, Bunny Blast Yucca Chew Toy, AUOKER Bunny Chew Toys, BWOGUE Small Animal and Bird Chew Sticks, Sweet Bamboo Chew toys, and Niteangel Natural Wooden Hamster Mouse Tunnel tube. A friend of mine gave me a few timothy hay sticks and my chin loves them, is this a safe treat to give daily?
Thanks
 
It looks like mangolia is safe, but looking around online Chinese mangolia (different species) is questionable and might not be safe. If you are preparing wood from a tree make sure it's 100% organic and never ever in it's whole life been sprayed by any chemicals. The chemicals can be stored deep inside the wood for years, and in some cases decades.

Most bird and rabbit toys are safe, so long as you stick with the wooden toys and not the ones with things like, cotton rope, leather, corn, nuts, small bells, or plastic. Doing a quick look of the toys you listed the only really questionable one is the hamster tunnel, I would worry about the chin getting its head caught in the holes and it doesn't list what kind of wood.

A much cheaper option is buying toy parts in bulk and making your own toys. You can often make several toys for the price of one premade pet store toy. I have a few steel skewer/kabobs (cheaper and bigger if you go with bird ones) that you unscrew one end and just slide the toy pieces on it, as the pieces get chewed I can just replace them reconfigure the toy and it's "brand new" again. I buy the pre-drilled thick chew sticks by the pound (about $8-$20 per lb depending on the vendor and type of wood) and put the thick chew sticks along with wood blocks/shapes, and other stuff together on one toy.

If the hay sticks you are talking about are those compressed hay sticks, then yes they are safe to give daily. It's just crushed up hay like you would find in pellets, but they are not a replacement for loose hay.
 
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