Rotating Toys

[IFireflyl]

Hello again. I am very excited to get my two chins this Sunday (December 6th). There is still something I haven't stumbled across an answer for. How often should you rotate out/clean toys (pumice stones, blocks, hanging toys, lava bites, etc)? Is this something that should be done daily, two or three times a week, or once per week?

 

[Kokorobosoi]

I do mine once a week when i do the deep cleaning. I find my chins are just as smart as my parrot... so i treat them the same when it comes to toys and stimulation. I rotate the toys themselves, and the placement in the cage. About once a month I change the shelf setup- move them to another side, switch where the bigger shelf is, change the gaps/ heights. I use that time to take the shelves out and scrub the crap out of them, sand them down in needed places.

 

[Amethyst]

I switch around toys when they get chewed up or I see they aren't paying much attention to them anymore. So, I guess a few times a year for changing toys (some toys just need to be flipped to offer a new chew surface), about once a month for rearranging. Cleaning toys is done on an as need basis, if toss toys are peed on they might get a vinegar and water bath, or tossed depending on what it is and how chewed up it is. It's really personal preference though you can change up the toys as often as you feel like there is no set timeline.

I also rearrange the cage (move shelves, ledges and stuff) around a couple times a year, makes the cage new and interesting again. Do cage rearranging slowly though so you don't have miss jumps, until you know how your chin reacts to new layouts. Some chins try flying around the cage like they always do, others are more cautious and take their time checking things out.

 

[ticklechin]

Take your hanging toys and flip them upside down, that way they chew the other/under half also. If they ignore the toys, put them out at playtime, I hang them from the cardboard boxes.

 

[IFireflyl]

This has been excellent information. I appreciate all of the advice!

P.S. I didn't even think about rearranging shelves, but I'll do that once every 1-2 months for them (slowly, as Amethyst suggested).