Death balls

[tunes]

Because I'm increeeedibly tired of people who are clueless assaulting me with their stupidity via pm, I thought I would just throw this out here as a debate. I understand that in order to use the term "death ball" I should soften the blow and include a with it, because apparently they are just fine to use and I am blowing smoke out my arse.

So - Most long timers of this forum and CnQ know the opinion of death balls by people who actually know what they are talking about, but let's put it out there now so that I can stickie this conversation and just link to it from here on out.

Please choose your answer from above and if you want to post something, that would be great too.

(I made sure to spell everything correctly, so even though I'm "just" a medical transcriptionist who should aspire to something greater, I can let you all know I take my job seriously. <----- See? Smilie! I must mean it!)

 

[lauralynne]

I would like to suggest to any owner who thinks these are ok to use to put on a fur coat, run around for about 30 minutes in a room with no ventilation while you urinate on yourself.

 

[Rebecca]

Personally, I keep chinchillas because I love them. As a decent human being, I do not like to cause unnecessary harm to those I love. Though as a worthless and stupid camp counselor, I don't know if my opinion gets to matter much.

 

[Jenn]

When I first got my chin from a lady rehoming her off of CL, she included a deathball. I first thought this was a wonderful idea, as I had a hamster at the time who was always cruising around the house in his ball. Before I joined CnQ, I tried her out in the ball, and she ended up just sitting in it, confused. She did move around a little bit in it after a time, but never anything like the hamster. What did become constant was her urinating inside the ball, and then having poo matted to her wet fur. I had joined CnH within the week of getting her and learned how these balls were not intended for, or safe for chins. Not only does a chin soil herself inside one of these balls, but the danger of overheating becomes a huge concern. This gets very dangerous in the heat of summer. While I believe these balls are ok for some animals, like my hamster for instance, I would never, never, never tell anyone it is ok to run a chin in one. It is not worth the risk you're putting your chin in.

 

[fanofdmb84]

I "mouse-sit" for a nice young couple in my area on occasion. They have teeny tiny "death-balls" for their mice, and while the mice do race around the house and seem just fine with it, those balls are fit for burning after just 45 minutes! They are so slimy, stinky, and covered in wastes that it is all I can do to keep from :vomit:. Having said that, mice are not like chinchillas, and as we all know, chins overheat far too easily. Trapping them in a little plastic ball is asking for trouble, either from overheating or from not being able to get away from their own messes.

 

[ticklechin]

How could someone think its fun for the chin? They can't see clearly through the plastic, its hot and humid inside, when they run into something the ball stops and the chin gets slammed into the wall of the ball. They pee and roll around in it. Just because people are too lazy to chin proof a space they can run around freely, the chin gets tossed in a ball to make the owner "feel better they got to play". Its a cop out.

 

[Harleychin]

My first chin I was clueles.I read several books that were all wrong so I thought I knew what I was doing and I bought the ball of death.
I used it once,Harley peed in it and got it in his fur so I never used it again.I learned later how dangerous it really is and went ahead and threw the thing away.

 

[cindyv3737]

I would never use one. I have no desire to see the world through a plastic ball. Shelly does not either. They are hot and stuffy. Why put a fur ball into a hot and stuffy ball? There will NEVER be a death ball in my house. I love my pet too much to do that to her.

 

[RDZCRanch]

We don't call them "death balls" because we think it's funny. I have talked to people way too many times over the phone as they cry hysterically because they left their chin in the run around ball only to come back ten minutes later and find a dying chin. They call me because I'm a breeder and I can...what? Bring the chin back to life? No. They are death balls because they have been proven time and TIME again to KILL chinchillas.

I don't know where people come up with their ideas of what is safe or not. They obviously don't do research and because it turned out ok for them X amount of times it should be just fine for everyone else on the planet.

 

[InkedupTara]

I agree with all the above. I did buy one for my first chinchilla, but all the things I had read said just to let them play, so after watching Fuzzy run, hop jump etc, I decided to trash the ball. I knew just by his actions a ball was too tiny and did not allow for natural chin play.

 

[Peep_erz]

I put Polo in a giant ball before I knew better. Since he likes to jump and hop and wall surf he ended up not moving the ball very far and just sat there looking miserable. I then took him out and let him play the way a chinchilla is supposed to play. Now that I have done more research I would never put a chin in a ball like that.

 

[kimbt622]

It confuses me that people would even think that chins would like this ball when they're creatures that like to hop and wall surf and popcorn. They can do none of the above in those stupid balls. They should be able to enjoy themselves, plus the death balls are incredibly dangerous for chins, obviously. I think people are just lazy and don't want to watch their pets while they play. Maybe they should consider not owning chins then, hmmm.

 

[menagerie]

At the rescue we get about 30 death balls of various sizes donated every year. They get smashed and trashed.

 

[AZChins]

Chub_chub...otherwise known as Rochelle uses hers to weigh her chins. I guess that would be one of the only acceptable uses.

They're just not good for anything...except for restraining natural movement.

 

[ticklechin]

I personally don't like them for any animal, I see no point of a living thing being put in a ball to roll around, pee and poo on themselves and crash into things.

 

[Olallie]

We figured after letting our first chin play in a ball that she didn't like it, and it promptly ended up in the back of the closet...

 

[Dragonflye]

In addition to all of the safety issues mentioned above (which are the most important reasons not to use the death ball obviously), cleaning a pee caked chin and plastic ball would be disgusting.

 

[Chub_Chub]

Yep, both of my CL boys came with a ball each. We threw one away and kept the second one to weigh them in. I couldn't think of any other way to keep them from hopping out of the tub on the scale. :hmmm: So they spend just a minute or so in there each to be weighed only.
Poor Ziggy actually only got playtime in that last home in his deathball... He was left to run around for who knows how long, with other animals all around him. The person we got him from said their dogs liked to jump on the death ball while he was in it :cry3:. No wonder he was eating his fur and looking miserable the day we came to get him.

 

[Rickman]

Maybe we should just forward this link to PETA and let them run with it!!

I agree that they're unsafe for ANY animal - but, unfortunatly, we can't do much but spread the word, and are the majority of people going to listen?

Peta may go after the manufacturers!

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I completely agree with the term "Death Ball".

As a new owner, ignorant of the existence of the forums, I was talked into getting one for Mr. Whiskers by the pet store.

After seeing that he ended up getting poos stuck on his fur and also getting wet from the urine that sloshed around, I threw mine OUT!!!

How can you even THINK that a contraption like that is good for a chinchilla???