Is Copper pipe safe?

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

I'm designing an activity centre for my Chinchillas (as yet unborn :impatient to keep myself occupied while I wait :rofl: and I was wondering about using copper pipe with sisal/seagrass wrapped tightly round it.
Also I've seen raffia for Chinchilla's is this safe? If yes I was thinking of crocheting mats to sleep on and chew up (not one with holes! Don't want tiny paws getting caught).
:thanks: for all the help I've had to other questions

 

[Amethyst]

No copper is not a safe metal, I think I also accidentally added brass as an ok metal on another post, it too is not safe. Brass is copper and zinc (both toxic), I think I was thinking of nickle plated brass was ok. Sorry for the confusion.

Looking up raffia, it's a type of palm? I know palm leaf is chin safe just not sure what species or if they all are.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Ok, thanks for this.
I'll give up on copper for structure and rethink :~)

 

[IceMaiden]

If your going to use raffia get it from here:

http://www.chinchillas2shop.co.uk/WOODCHEWS.html

There's some about half way down, it says Degu safe so I presume it's also fine for chins, but you could always ring or email them to be sure (unless someone else here can confirm it). I've never used it as I use sisal toys instead. It does however say most shop bought raffia is bleached, so I wouldn't go getting any from any other site.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Thanks IceMaiden, that's the plan :~) I got my sisal there too.
I've crocheted a floor mat and a kind of trampoline for my hamster
with sisal and am going to try raffia and sisal mixed next.
Thought about making a rope with the mixture and binding it around
a ceramic tube 6" in diameter, 7" long with ventilation holes down the
length of it. Can then play in the tube and chew the outside :~)
I know Chinchilla don't like change (nor does Grayling hamster) but I
was thinking of keeping a box of toys to replace ones that are beyond
use but also doing occasional swops of toys to prevent boredom.
Would this work for Chinchilla? It's great with dog and cats when they
get a toy out of retirement :~)

 

[Amethyst]

Ceramic works for tube, but is heavy, if you want to use those that's fine, but water grade PVC pipes work well too and are light. Although PVC is plastic, the way it's made it creates dust when chewed not chunks so wont cause a blockage and just passed (not digestible to just pooped out) if chewed on a little (still remove if noticeably chewed though) but most chins don't bother, it's too hard to chew and doesn't accomplish anything. Another tunnel idea is large metal tins, like coffee tins, just make sure they are clean and no sharp edges. If the chin doesn't eat it, large cardboard tubes can be used too, like the kind used for carpet (just make sure there is no glue).

As for chins not liking change it really depends on the chin, some love it, others it scares them. My current two absolutely love when I rearrange the cage, moving shelves, toys, hay feeders, food bowls, etc around, they act like a couple moving into a new house chatting to each other and running top to bottom checking everything out. On the opposite end, some chins act like the whole world's been turned upside down if you move a ledge. I definitely suggest swapping toys out though, some people change them out every week, I do it a few times a year (for the hanging toys) or as needed (for the toss toys). Sometime with the hanging toys all you need to do is flip it over exposing a new chew surface for it to be "new" to the chin. Chew sticks they get about half a dozen or so everyday though. Chin will sometimes also ignore something for months, then decide they must play/use it, or with some toys demolish it, overnight.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Thanks for the tips :~)
As I do pottery weekly I'm quite keen on making ceramic items and spending how thick and what type of clay I use it can be as delicate as porcelain bone china to concrete.
I can't easily access a place for the plastic piping, but I will get some when I can.
I'm guessing if I start my Chin routine from day 1 they will be more likely to accept it?
For instance with my other furry family members I check poo and wee daily (indoor cats and dog only "performs" on a lead. Once a week I weigh them, check claws and toes. Ears inside and out (I shine a torch through their earlobes), tummy and under tail, teeth, mouth and whiskers. I then do a full body check and groom them ending with a gentle massage. They so enjoy this that they try to push each other out of the way, even if the've had their treatment :~) I'd do a scaled down version for Chinchilla as I do for Hamster.

 

[IceMaiden]

My chin doesn't mind some things being changed but hates others. She has no problem whatsoever with me putting new or different things in the cage, but when I had to move a chair in the living room over Christmas as it was the only place to fit the tree, she completely flipped out and it took me an hour to coax her back out of hiding. When I put her in the room the next day, she was fine and playing under and in the tree!

You will get pvc piping in a builders merchant. Over here it's called plastic soil pipe or plastic waste pipe , not pvc water pipe which is that thin hose like pipe that is normally bright blue. It's not very cheap but it is it really tough so it will last a long time. I cover mine with fleece.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Thanks IceMaiden. My cats flipped out recently because I've had to completely change living room layout. They spent days avoiding the new large space and keeping as close to furniture as possible :~)
Thanks for the translation I would def not want to be buying the wrong stuff. I guess Wickes/B&Q will be the place to try for plastic soil pipe/waste pipe.
I'm going to cover in fleece too and some in raffia/sisal. Might try it for cats too as their playroom is due for an overhaul :~)

 

[Amethyst]

You will get pvc piping in a builders merchant. Over here it's called plastic soil pipe or plastic waste pipe , not pvc water pipe which is that thin hose like pipe that is normally bright blue. It's not very cheap but it is it really tough so it will last a long time. I cover mine with fleece.

I guess it's called something different over there (either way it's polyvinyl chloride, here it's abbreviated PVC), but what I meant was water grade pipe (may also be called food grade), pipe that is suitable for drinking water. At least over here in North America waste water pipes aren't tested to make sure they don't leach chemicals, water pipes are. Also over here for example white, blue, or grey is normally water lines, green or black is waste water, they come in other colors too so it can get tricky that's why I specifically said "water grade". PVC does come in two forms, rigid and flexible, but obviously you want the rigid. The connector piece I use as a tunnel in their cage looks like this to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

I wasn't sure if you just worked with one clay type, when I took pottery classes in school we only got that red clay which is hard to get thin without breaking. So a ceramic pipe would definitely work better, no leaching chemicals and ceramic stays cool, just make sure any clay you use is food safe (like what you mentioned in another post).

 

[IceMaiden]

I guess it's called something different over there (either way it's polyvinyl chloride, here it's abbreviated PVC), but what I meant was water grade pipe (may also be called food grade), pipe that is suitable for drinking water. At least over here in North America waste water pipes aren't tested to make sure they don't leach chemicals, water pipes are. Also over here for example white, blue, or grey is normally water lines, green or black is waste water, they come in other colors too so it can get tricky that's why I specifically said "water grade". PVC does come in two forms, rigid and flexible, but obviously you want the rigid. The connector piece I use as a tunnel in their cage looks like this to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

I wasn't sure if you just worked with one clay type, when I took pottery classes in school we only got that red clay which is hard to get thin without breaking. So a ceramic pipe would definitely work better, no leaching chemicals and ceramic stays cool, just make sure any clay you use is food safe (like what you mentioned in another post).

Wow yours have a lot more differences than ours! Ours is called soil pipe as that's all it is, a pipe for waste. Our drinking water pipes are completely different looking things, their more like a garden hose, or for hot water, copper tubing. Water pipes come in bright electric blue, whereas the soil pipe only comes in either black, white, grey or brown so that it doesn't stick out too much or look out of place on your house. We also have ceramic soil pipe, but that's mainly on old houses, most people prefer the plastic stuff as it's cheaper, much lighter to work with and doesn't break.