Chinchilla DIY

[dragongirl653]

So I have been looking online and in pet stores, and everything is really expensive stuff for chins. I live on 45 acres of land and we have everything from fruit trees to grape vines, a garden, etc. I have access to all these all natural things yet I'm at a loss on how to put them together for my chin.

So my questions are:
What kind of stuff do you guys make for your chins?
What kind of tools do you use?


Any ideas would be great. I found out today that He likes grape vines.

Thanks =)
Tendra

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

Mine love apple,willow,grapevine,mulberry, and pear the most. After preparing it you can cut it down to 4-5 inch pieces, drill holes, and string on wire or chain.
I use a drill press for making my own holes, a band saw for cutting the wood, and sometimes the chop saw. Needle nose pliers come in handy too!

 

[dragongirl653]

Any certain type of wire or will any work? I got wire out the wazo lol.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

You can use galvanized wire, generally find it in the hardware stores in a coil. There is stainless steel too, but it is more spendy, but another fav for making toys.

 

[dragongirl653]

Cool I think tomorrow i will spend the day in the garage testing my hand at making toys hehe. Thank you Twilight


Edit- Where would i find this Loofah stuff? I know there are seeds for them, just having issues finding them. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places >.<

 

[kendra]

Sometimes loofa shows up in the classified section, I don't remember who sells it though

 

[ChinCity]

I just bought around 60 loofah seeds on eBay for like 2 bucks. Will plant them in the spring and hopefully grow some down the road.

 

[javachin]

Amy555, Whimsy, and Alli (Camphor Chins) all sell loofah.

 

[ChonchoMom]

How do you prepare the wood, is it like you can just grab a branch from the apple tree and wash it or something? Help?

 

[dragongirl653]

How do you prepare the wood, is it like you can just grab a branch from the apple tree and wash it or something? Help?

If i remember right, and i know there is a sticky thread some where just don't remember. You bake the wood at 350 for 30 min. This is after scrubbing and boiling it. If this isn't right please fix it. I just cant for the life of me remember where that master sticky thread is.

 

[Spoof]

How do you prepare the wood, is it like you can just grab a branch from the apple tree and wash it or something? Help?

You'll want to scrub the dirt and lichen off if there is any. Then you cut it into lengths that will fit in the oven and bake it on a very low temp for a long time. For a handful of little twigs your pinky or smaller 200/250 for 30 min might be o.k. If you're doing a whole pan it'll take an hour or more.

Some of the bigger stuff can take up to 4 or 5 hours.

 

[LoveBug]

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41

 

[ChinChillinVillin]

Master sticky on Treating Wood

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41

 

[Riven]

Funny this came up because I was processing wood today and decided to make a step by step with photos for processing for my site! LOL It's not done yet, but I just thought it was funny.

If you haven't owned the land for a long time then you might want to make sure the trees haven't been sprayed or treated, also check the safe tree list and know what trees you're using for sure. Not all trees are safe for chins to eat!