Chin Proofing A Room

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LannyCoop

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2009
Messages
89
Hello All.

So I have been reading about chinchilla playtime and I was just wondering if someone could help me with what all the things are for a chin proofed room.
I know people say the bathrooms a really good place to let a chin run around but Mine is super small haha, and He would have no fun in there. So he is let out in my room. Just wanting to make sure I have everything Chin proofed for him.

There are no wires that he is able to chew, And nothing harmful that he can get his hands on and take a bite out of. All my closet doors are kept closed, everything is kept clear so nothing will fall on him or make him fall off anything. The only main concern is that he can jump from my bed to my window and chew on the ledge, which I have moved my bed out so he hasn't been able to jump on it recently.

Any advice on what I can do to make sure he isn't in any harm would be greatly appreciated. And anyways people chin proof there rooms would be awesome help. I just want to make sure he is safe while running around my room. Thanks everyone!
 
I used to let my chin run around in my bathroom and she would be ever so quick to take a bite out of my cabinets or the wall moulding. It's amazing how incredibly destructive they can be, even with you right there watching. I have found that for me a pen works the best. Then I don't have to worry about wires or furniture or anything else that she may find before me. I have two playpens attached together, that I got at Petsmart, so she has plenty of room to run around in a safe environment. This works for me because my chin is not a jumper and has never tried to jump over it. Others have used tall sheets of cardboard attached together to make a pen. Just make sure that you are with your chin during play time to make sure he is safe.
 
Yeah I am highly considering getting a large pen for him, so he doesnt chew on my wood furniture and such haha. but the cardboard idea is a good plan until i can get one :)
thanks for the advice. I was wondering if pens would work. my guys a bit of a jumper but he more just likes to run around in circles haha. but yup. I am always with him whenever he is out. its funny what they still do, even when you are right there haha
 
I had the petsmart pen, but my chin just jumped right over it...of course, you can always just put a cardboard over it to prevent them from jumping.....
other ideas like an entire cardboard playpen is great too.....try the housing thread, there are lots of other members who have cardboard playpens that work very very well...best of all its cheap! (i think someone got the flat rate boxes from the post office and just duct taped it all together to make a gianormous playpen) =D
 
A lot of people use their bathrooms because it's easy to chin-proof. You can set up cardboard to protect your molding, doors, etc. Make sure the toilet lid is closed. Make sure there are no wires they can chew on or get stuck anywhere like underneath cabinets or behind washers/dryers.

Just look around and think like a chin...they will taste ANYTHING. Varnishes, paint, electricity, plastics, etc. aren't safe so cover it up or remove it.
 
That is very true, the bathroom would be so much easier.
I think I will try the bathroom tomorrow, and see if he likes it in there
or if its enough room for him to explore. its small enough so theres not alot
of dangers in there. but i will for sure look around, and if its too small
I will look into maybe getting the playpens or even cardboard to try and
block off areas I am worried about him getting into. Or even just have
one for him to play around in.... so far its been good
but I may just be being overprotected. but I just don't want anything to
happen to him, Thanks for the advice you guys
 
I have a play pen and my experience is that a younger chin can jump out. But since Little Dude is an adult now, he cannot. They all try!! I put little boxes with open ends in the pen with a duster or their hiding house. They do run in circles but they always enjoy the time out. They also like you to sit in there with them and nibble and jump on you. I will add that I used to let them out in my bathroom and they were just terrible about the trim. One bite is quite alot of damage to the room. So after remodeling that is no longer an option. I do have a long hallway upstairs and I am going to start saving cardboard to line the entire length. They should have fun being able to run and bounce off the walls surfing.
 
One other quick thing if you're using the bathroom - make sure the tub is dry!

Also, if you're looking into one of the metal playpens, you may need to modify it, depending what type you buy. We got one that had 1.5" bar spacing and Kenai squeezed through it with ease. We lined the lower ~18" or so with hardware cloth... he would jump/climb it and then try to squeeze through up top. We then added another 6" or so of cardboard, and it's finally "chin proof", though he still has fun jumping up and trying to tear down the cardboard...
 
I let my boys play in the bathroom. When I 1st got my 1st chin and wasnt on this forum, I would leave him in there alone and he destroyed the bathroom by chewing molding and the walls. Now I always stay with him. But even while I am in there I saw he was able to open the cabinet under my sink, so now I tape them (where he cant bite the tape). That way I can leave him for a few minutes while I clean out his cage.
Also when he trys to nibble on anything I clap my hands to stop him.
 
So I tried the bathroom, and it lasted all of.. ten minutes.
he started climbing the side of his cage and hopping on the top
which wasnt good cause his foot kept slipping. accident waiting to
happen. So i cut that short and went back to my room, which he is fine.
I think im going to go and get some cardboard and try to just block
off areas i dont wnat him chewing...
and maybe get a playpen later in life haha
thanks for all the advice.
if you have any othe ideas please do share :)
 
I use a very thin board like is used for people that hang up their tooks except there are no holes and its a little thinner. I keep the shiny side toward the chin. They don't chew it because they don't have anything to get their teeth into and I use little carpet nails to nail around the moulding and put it up high enough so that the door frames are saved too.

One thing to be very careful of, is to check bathroom cabinets. Alot of builders in apartments will leave a space if you run your hand under the bottom of the cabinet near the area where the piece of wood on the floor goes up to meet the cabinet. Sometimes there are little holes on the sides. The chin can get in these areas and there is NO way to get them out except wait. I know from experience because it happened to me in 2 separate apartments. The first type is easy to get them out, you can just push a duster underneath and it will scare them out, the 2nd one is NOT so easy. I ended up tearing the frame off the cabinet getting a chin out because she was making terrified noises and I was scared to death of what could be in there with her. That was a VERY EXPENSIVE mistake for me when I moved out!!
 
Yes be careful of those bathroom cabinets. Ours had this tiny space under it. I didn't think our chin could get in but sure enough she did. Took quite a bit of work and cutting to get her out. That was the last straw for us. We turned a room downstairs into a chin room once our son moved out. We have cardboard all over the walls to keep them from chewing them up.
 
These chins are so darn crafty! I really thoguht my Bella was the only little Houdini out there, but apparently not.
 
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