Questions about toys!

[LilBubs]

As if I need help spending more money on chinchilla stuff... I've been shopping around for toys and I could use some help making sense of all the options!

So it seems like most chinchilla toy stores have "toss" toys, "shred" toys, and/or "hang" toys, with maybe a few other categories thrown in. What exactly is the difference between these toys? Are they all intended to be given to the chin or does each chin usually have a single preference (i.e. should I make sure Bubs has one or two hanging toys, one or two toss toys, etc, or if he doesn't show interest in a hanging toy should I give up on them?)? Are you supposed to leave most of the toys in the cage for him to play with whenever he wants, or save them for occasional use so they stay special?

Specifically re: Bubs, I recently got him some of those apple orchard sticks to chew on. He loves these fruit-shaped chews and could vaporize two in a single night if I let him, although he can be a diva about the selection--he's obsessed with the bananas but barely touches the turnips haha. Anyway I thought he was chewing the twigs up but it turns out he was just stripping the bark off them and throwing the naked sticks in a pile behind the cage. Lol! So I won't be buying those again, but does that indicate that he would like "shred" toys? What are the best ones/what other toys are best for fans of bark stripping?

He has a hanging toy with a little treat bucket which he has nibbled on half-heartedly. It seems that when he thinks I've gone to bed, he zooms right to the toy, checks for treats, then doesn't touch it for the rest of the night. Other than that he has a saucer wheel that he really likes, and a chin buddy that he mostly uses for cuddling in stressful situations (e.g. when I'm cleaning his cage). I'm not sure what kind of toy to try next and it'd be good if I didn't waste money on stuff he doesn't like. Any ideas or additional info would be helpful!

 

[AZChins]

First off, that is just photographic genius with the chin on your head.

For me hanging toys are going to be around for longer than just a day or two, they attach to one spot in the cage so that they cannot be easily moved around. Toss toys can be moved around the cage and may last awhile, but usually don't have the permanence that the hanging toys do. Shred toys or shredders are meant to be destroyed right away within a day or hours or even minutes...the chins love them but they aren't going to be a fixture in the cage. Well, they won't be there for long, unless the chin decides that he or she doesn't like them. Vine items, bamboo shredders and other more flimsy things fall into this category.

Rotate out toys in the cage for others when the chin gets bored, for sure. Toys serve two purposes 1) Keeps chins stimulated and occupied and 2) encourages chewing and wear on teeth to help keep them at proper length and in good condition.

If you have a chin that chews the bark off of wood and tosses the sticks, you could go with natural wood hanging toys...it will keep the sticks in the cage.

 

[LilBubs]

Thank you for the detailed answer! This is exactly the info I needed. Your site also has great details on each type of toy--I will be placing an order soon! Any idea when you'll have more yucca in stock?

Re: the photo, he had just started climbing on my shoulder so I positioned my phone ready for him to jump up there...and suddenly he jumped all the way on my head! I got a bunch of pics of me looking super surprised while he looked in each direction from his new mom's-eye-view, lol.

 

[AZChins]

I have to wait until more yucca grows before I will have more. The only places I can find it now I don't trust because I think it may be tainted in some way. I hope to have more in June or later in the summer. It sells out so quickly!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I second Susan's answer on the toys. Very well explained.

Also, watch your chins as some prefer certain types of toys over others. One of my boys, Chase, prefers hanging toys over all other toys. While Gizmo prefers shred toys.

 

[Chinmama]

I can have the same two toys in my chinchillas cages and one will last a month or more and the other can be gone in a matter of days. Different chinchillas have different chewing preferences and it's just a matter of figuring out what your little guy likes and what he doesn't.

ZZ also likes to chew the bark and then toss what's left, except for twigs. He will destroy a twig completely. It's important to let him chew, even if it's just the bark. His teeth are constantly growing and chewing is a great way to keep them filed down naturally.

Pellets and hay provide nutrition, but they also help keep the teeth in check. Sticks and chew toys also help with their teeth. Softer things, like shredders and vine, are just fun to destroy. Wood and pumice are harder and really work the teeth more. I think it's important to offer a variety to your chinchilla at all times.

 

[halfstache]

You can also collect up all the tossed out sticks that have already been stripped and give them back to them later and they will attack them all over again as if they were new. If you have multiple chins this works even better, it's like one chins trash is another chins treasure. Eventually they'll completely destroy it.

 

[AZChins]

hehe Yes, rotating old toys through different cages works well.