Playtime

[surfinpikachu92]

I'm trying to think of ways to keep my chin entertained and out of trouble. I got him a mini maze haven and tubes but he doesn't seem interested in it. All he wants to do is hop over my cardboard play pen. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Shenanigans]

My chin seems to start tearing up his stuff (like the shedders he ignores or throwing hay and pellets everywhere) if he doesn't get a variety of chews. The same ones are boring. I'm glad I have access to a lot of wood types. I make him grape, apple, pear, and blackberry sticks. Plus he's got plenty of loofah (koolaid-dyed, which was fun and sorta like doing easter eggs-but leave out the sugar! and make sure it's not bleached or treated loofah). Besides chews, time out of the cage every day and his wheel are typically enough for Yuki. I project that he's bored more than he actually is, I would be sitting in a cage just chewing. So I've been working on plans for play structures for out of the cage, but I haven't been able to build yet.
If he's got a smaller cage, more playtime would help, and if you dont have a chin-spin or other wheel, I suggest saving up for one.
Also, they naturally are foragers, so some days I take whatever Yuki's treat was going to be-an organic Cheerio or rose hip or a bit of Post shedded wheat- and break it up even smaller and hide the pieces all around. I'm sure Yuki would rather gobble the treat down outright, but I'm sure he likes the game too.
If you have a staircase that's chin-proof-able and easy to block off on both ends, maybe that would be a nice change from a normal play area, Plus it's cute watching them hop up and down.
I think I'm out of ideas for now. I'll try to think of anything else Im missing.

 

[fuji9991]

I find it takes time for a chinchilla to be comfortable exploring, at least mine. I put a new chaise lounge chair in the room and she explored underneith it immidiately, but even though she can easily jump up in the chair she is still not comfortable being on the chair. I think just give it time and you'll see.

Chinchillas are pray animals in the wild so they are cautious by nature and will not charge into most situations without observing from a safe distance for some time.

 

[obcsed]

LOL I have all kinds of stuff for my guys to play in when they are out. They ignore most of it and concentrate on getting over my barricades to eat my walls, get on my table or climb on the other chin's cages. They do everything they are not supposed to.

 

[surfinpikachu92]

I guess I should explain a little bit more lol. We chin-proofed a pretty big room for him. We made a cardboard box wall to block off our washer, dryer, and a desk in the corner of the room. Being the escape artist he is, we found out that he likes to sit behind the washer and dryer... Since we have this blocked off, he now spends about half the out of his cage time staring at the wall/running the length of the wall/attempting to jump over the wall. He has tubes we move around the room, and a maze that I rotate so its different each time. I was hoping there were some suggestions on how to help him so he wouldnt keep focusing on that. Its been around 8 months since we started doing it this way so I dont exactly know why he keeps trying...

 

[Godofgods]

like a dog with a bone. Once a chin knows something is there or has tried something, they tend to keep on trying. They have a great memory like that.

One breeder a long time ago suggested trying ping pong balls. Its small that they can roll around and chase, or if they are vry careful they might be able to get a slight grip on it with there mouth and run around. - For the most part mine ignored them after a day, but it was worth a shot for me imo.

 

[Shenanigans]

I'm going to have to run out and get ping pong balls then. The image I'm conuring up in my head is too cute. But it'd probably be a supervised only toy-I fuss over plastic.

 

[ChinChild]

LOL I have all kinds of stuff for my guys to play in when they are out. They ignore most of it and concentrate on getting over my barricades to eat my walls, get on my table or climb on the other chin's cages. They do everything they are not supposed to.

I couldn't have said it better. Our boys have a heap of toys and several playgrounds outside the cage, and yet 2/3 of their playtime is spent misbehaving & trying to escape. Mojo even hops away popcorning his little butt off after I nudge him away from chewing things he shouldn't be. Some days I swear he's baiting me on purpose for kicks.

 

[FayeEsquire]

My chinchilla has a whole chinchilla-proof bedroom to run around in (supervised of course). I've pretty much converted 3/4 of the room into things for him. I have one of those $20 entertainment centers you can get from Wal-Mart that is his. His bathhouse sits in the middle and he enjoys jumping between the shelves. Surprisingly he rarely tries to chew on it but sometimes he does try which is why I never leave him alone in the room.

I also have a cheap butterfly chair that he likes to jump onto. He'll eye whoever sits in it until the get up. Then he runs over and jumps onto it. It's adorable.

I'll scatter toys around too but for the most part, he really likes running and jumping on the furniture.