Free range chins

[Tillygizmo]

I am just curious about this. I am not wanting to do it, but have been wondering about it. How do you all feel about giving free range to chins? I mean like having a huge chin proofed room and letting them be out all the time always with their food water and some jumping things that arent high enough for them to get hurt. Interesting right?

 

[I<3MyChinnies]

Sure...if I had a room with no molding for chins to chew, with flooring that would hold up and sweep up easily, walls with no corners to chew, completely litter pan trained chins, no electric cords or even outlets, a safe place to secure a water bottle, etc. etc. then I guess it would be sorta just like a giant cage - a giant, and for the majority of chin owners completely unfeasible cage. Don't get me wrong, I would love to let mine roam around unattended...I just can't envision ever being able to fully chin-proof anything other than their cage...and accidents can happen even in seemingly safe cages.

 

[gella]

I've heard some horror stories of free range chins, they can and will get into anything and everything, I think I remember one chewing through a screen and escaping...

I wouldn't let my chins out without supervision, even in a chin proofed room, you just never know what trouble they'll get into. I think it's best for their safety to be in an enclosure meant for chins.

 

[Rickman]

Someone else brought up the subject on C+Q's and I believe it was determined unfeasible, for many reasons!

 

[Sesame]

Yeah... when left alone, chins can become quite devious and up to no good.

Also, if someone were to that, I don't understand how they would be able to open the door and know where their chins are. Open can open doors on them by accident, one can try and zip out of the room really fast and close the door on them, step on them by accident while trying to get into the room really fast, etc. Of course, everyone says that they will be careful, but you just never know.

 

[alli713]

I think if you had the money and could build a zoo quality exhibit in your house it could work, but for a standard room, it would not work. Chins can chew through drywall.
If you had the means of making concrete rock work and making essentially a huge cage like the size of a walk in closet with either bars on the doors or glass with proper air circulation through vent work, then it'd be kind of cool. But this would be time consuming and expensive.
Here's what I think would be really cool, it's the exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington DC. But if you had the time and money I think something like this would be really cool as a focal point in a house.

I think if I did this in a house, I would make it larger but it's cool none the less. I've done rockwork at the aquarium so I do know how to do something like this, it'd only be expensive. Especially if you had to set up a vent system with the glass front.

 

[Essentia]

So very cool. I would love to have something like that. I would have to hide a hammock in the back somewhere. Somewhere cozy that doesn't take away from the "nature" aspect of it. My chinnie can't live without a hammock.

 

[StarGaz'N]

What alli713 has pictures is really awsome. Like she stated though, I don't think it is feasible for most people. Chins are pretty smart and will find something to get themselves in to trouble. I don't think it is a good idea to let them roam free in a room unsupervised.

 

[Pyronymph]

Alli that is so cool! I plan on doing that some day... when I'm finally ready to settle down and stop moving every 6 months or so... and actually have money...:err:

 

[alli713]

I know that would be so cool! The other night I was trying to imagine how you could make it but have it be movable just incase you ever had to move. I mean, think of trying to sell a house with one of those in it lol!

 

[Midwest Exotics]

Unfortunately i dont have any pictures of the whole cage, but long ago, before having a child & many other adult things holding us back we created a cage that was 7 feet tall, 5 feet wide & 3 feet deep. We had cut down a smaller apple tree in our orchard that was dying, let it dry a season & then put it in the cage with lots & lots of other things to hop around on. It was an amazing cage & given that experience i think we could do a far better one now days. BUT, now that we have a child & are planning for another, its just not practical. I also would feel badly that only a selected few would have the chinchilla dream house while the others are left in customized breeding runs.

i always dream of having a chinchilla room that would be like a cage..

A basement would be a fairly acceptable place to do a room cage so they couldnt chew through the walls.Even in that instance, im SURE flaws could be found making it unrealistic.

Ahh, if only they would comply with my ideas.. but that wont happen.. haha