bigger cage!

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annm13339

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Mar 21, 2011
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62
Location
central new york
So ive had rocko about 3 weeks now *finally figured out a name for him!* and i got the money to spend on him :D i got him a new cage, new food, hay, chew toys, a house, hammock, and a wheel. my questions are:

the shelves in the cage are plastic, but hes not chewing on them so are they fine until i can get wooden ones? he loves the big cage to move around and such.

how do i get him to actually use the wheel? will he figure it out on his one? he will sit in it but thats about all. the other night he stood up in it and made it move a little but then he jumped out.


when i get the chance ill post pictures :)

btw the food i got him is the mazuri pellets and oxbow alfalfa hay. hes eating the new food and LOVES the hay.
 
i have chins that are not plastic chewers and did fine in a cage with plastic shelves. Others are nibblers. Just watch the edges until you can replace what you want to with the wood.

i think some chins just eventually figure out the wheel. give him some time. cute name!!!
 
annm13339 said:
btw the food i got him is the mazuri pellets and oxbow alfalfa hay. hes eating the new food and LOVES the hay.
Click to expand...

Mazuri is an alfalfa based pellet, so you want to be feeding timothy hay, not alfalfa. Alfalfa is really high in calcium and protein, and it's really not good to feed loose alfalfa hay along with an alfalfa based pellet. Def. switch him to Oxbow timothy hay (or another grass hay, any grass hay is fine), and just give the alfalfa as an occasional treat. :))
 
Congrats on the new cage! I'm sure Rocko will continue to love it! My chin is not a plastic chewer at all, and has plastic shelves as well as wooden ones in her cage. She does not even nibble on the wooden shelves! I know some chin owners aren't as lucky and are constantly replacing their shelves. It's always safest to remove all plastic, but just continue to keep a close eye out for any test nibbles.

He will also figure out how to use the wheel on his own. Mine figured out her saucer right away, but others have said it has taken quite a while for their chins to figure out their wheels or saucers.

And I agree that you should be feeding Timothy hay and not the alfalfa if you are feeding mazuri. You should be able to find the Timothy just as easily.

Can't wait to see pics :)
 
it's so adorable when chins are first trying out the wheel... you'll never forget this moment! when rutherford first decided to try on his wheel, he tumbled and fumbled. it was cute to watch him trying to hop, instead of run. it'll be a memorable moment for you and rocko! i wish i filmed that moment, but every time i whip out the camera, rutherford stops running and starts posing.
 
This is Rockos new cage. its so much bigger than what he was in before. when he first went in he didnt want to come back out. he was exploring everything! he loves being able to jump from ledge to ledge or he will be lazy and walk :p and he even still has his boxes next to it so when i let him out i open the bottom door to the floor and open the top door and place it on the boxes. that way he can run in and out from top to bottom :) he loves it so much. and yes that is my cable line taped to the wall lol. we've already had a run in with that so i put it out of his reach :D


100_0181.jpg by <3 Ann*, on Flickr

then rocko in his hammock. hes just getting used to it. before he would just run through it. its actually a ferret hammock so i just turned it upside down so pop doesnt go into it because its opened in the middle. but its thick and im guessing comfy!

100_0180.jpg by <3 Ann*, on Flickr
 
Ummm... please don't hate me! :neener: ...but that hammock isn't really safe either. The only fabric really recommended for chins is fleece. Those ferret hammocks made out of nylon? aren't considered safe.

But other than the plastic items (shelves/hay feeder/wheel), the alfalfa hay, and ferret hammock, it still looks like a really nice cage! :thumbsup: I can tell you love your guy very much! :)) Just remove that stuff and fill it with nice wooden shelves, a fleece hammock, and a safe wheel, and he'll be in heaven! I hope you don't think I'm being a pain, just wanted to point out a few things I noticed to keep your guy safe! ;)
 
the hammock actually is fleece. its not nylon. i refused to get a nylon one for him because i could just envision him chewing it. its actually flipped upside down because there is a slit in it so the ferret can go inside of it but all it does it collect poop inside of it and its harder to clean. but it it fleece! its very soft :) he still hasnt chewed on the shelves so im hoping he doesnt! i plan on getting better stuff for him just at this point in time i wanted to get the ball rolling on getting a bigger cage so he wasnt cramped. when i get the extra money im going to get better shelves and such but at least he isnt chewing these!
 
i dont think the issue with those hammocks is the material it is made out of it is more often the material that the ties that hold it to the cage are made out of.

often chin will chew on the nylon used and in addition to rendereing the hammock unusable the nylon can cause an impaction.

just keep an eye on little rocko and watch for shelf & nylon chewing. and make sure you offer lots of chew toys like wood and pumice, etc to encourage him to chew the good stuff and not the bad stuff!
 
i saw a chew block made from pumice but we werent too sure on that one so we didnt get it. right niw he has some lufah chews, apple wood sticks, some wood blocks, his house which is out of wood, oh and his one wood ledge lol. i thought i heard him chewing on the house this morning and ive been seeing chew marks in the chew toys i got him so at least i know what he is chewing on. havent seen him chew on anything hes not supposed to yet but i keep an eye on him when im home. im home most of the time except when im at school or working but my bf is usually here when im not. every day he comes to us more and more when we let him out. last night all he kept doing was running across us :D he will let me scratch him for a couple seconds then he runs off. he just doesnt like being taken out of his cage. he would rather come out on his own which is fine with me :)
 
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