the ball

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kaotictenshi

Proud Mama
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
63
Location
Butler, NJ
Do you guys think that the ball is okay for chin exercise time? My little girl gets into EVERYTHING no matter how much I chin-proof her play area she always finds a way to weasel her way in...I want to alot her a decent amount of play time but i find myself chasing her away from stuff all too often. My male doesn't do any of these things when I have him out (they come out separately as they are housed separately) he jumps around and has fun where he's supposed to...any other chin I've had in the house i live in now didn't do that either...ugh I'm frustrated...what do ya'll think?
 
No Ball for a chin. They do not sweat and can overheat. Also they poop and Pee when out alot of times and really isn't nice for them to be in a ball with Poo flying around their heads ewwwww. Let them run in the bathroom or hallway. It isn't hard to chin proof a bathroom. But again NO Ball Period.
 
I wouldn't. I know firsthand of someone who had their chin in the ball, it rolled down their basement steps and broke at the bottom, the chin broke a leg and she ended up putting it down. Now I guess that could be remedied by more careful watching, but STILL, I wouldnt risk it.

Have you ever seen a chin in the ball for even a few minutes? There are poos rattling around, if they pee it gets EVERYWHERE, and IMO they start to look greasy really fast because of how quick it heats up in the ball. Just NOT a good idea.

Plus, even the biggest ball curves their spine, and so if you really let you chin out for a lot of playtime in a ball, you could be permanently helping curve the spine, and causing health problems.

I agree with Smiley1, chin proof a bathroom. I do totally agree it's hard to chin-proof another room, but I only have to take like 3 things out of the bathroom and then it's chin proof...that's probably your best bet.
 
I would not use a ball for the above mentioned reasons. Playtime is supposed to allow them to be free and in a bigger area than their cage provides, not trapped inside something smaller. I think that would completely defeat the purpose. You can try the bathroom or purchase a playpen (or two and hitch them together). You should always supervise playtime anyway but especially with the playpens. Some of them are low enough that some chinnies are able to hop over them. I have seen some members make their own playpens out of cardboard as well :).
 
The Marshall playpen takes care of that JM. All you have to do is buy one of the bottoms and use it on the top. They make one for the expansion pack too. I always put one on the bottom as well, to make clean up easier. It's an investment, but with only a couple chins they will pretty much last forever, so IMO, it's well worth it.
 
tunes said:
The Marshall playpen takes care of that JM. All you have to do is buy one of the bottoms and use it on the top. They make one for the expansion pack too. I always put one on the bottom as well, to make clean up easier. It's an investment, but with only a couple chins they will pretty much last forever, so IMO, it's well worth it.
Click to expand...


We own the playpen and it is totally worth the money. No more worries if they are going to get into something that they shouldn't.
 
I second the playpen idea. We have 5, and use 2 together for more space. We use cardboard boxes on top (big ones opened up) to keep the sneaky ones in.
 
I have two playpens attached together for a bigger play area as well. You can either get a playpen with a top or attach large sheets of cardboard to it to make the walls larger so a chin can't jump over it.
 
excellent, thank you! I really didn't want to do the ball, and unfortunately my bathroom isn't chin proof because I have one of those pedestal tubs (my house was built in 1868!) and I don't want my girl underneath it as it sometimes leaks, don't want her getting wet. All the things you told me such as the size of the ball and the fact that the poop rolls around in it were definite concerns that I had. I'm going to go out and invest in the play pen with a top so she doesn't jump out. I may even get 2 so I can double it up for a bigger play area as Jenn mentioned. Thanks guys!!!
 
I have the claw tub as well and I just use the play gate to block off that area on the bathroom as they would go under and hide, the stinkers! They still had the whole room to play with except under the tub, win win here :D
 
Hey, another idea beside the playpen (because I didn't have the money for it after Tilly got sick) is to go to michaels craft store or somewhere where they sell art supplies and buy 4 or 5 of the cardboard display boards that are made for presentations (the type you use in grade school). I have used mine to either block off under the bed and desk areas, or also taped them together as one huge pen. They are great because they are about 5 inches higher then they can jump and it cost about 20$ for the entire thing. !


use it white side-out in case of chewing.
 
Tillygizmo said:
Hey, another idea beside the playpen (because I didn't have the money for it after Tilly got sick) is to go to michaels craft store or somewhere where they sell art supplies and buy 4 or 5 of the cardboard display boards that are made for presentations (the type you use in grade school). I have used mine to either block off under the bed and desk areas, or also taped them together as one huge pen. They are great because they are about 5 inches higher then they can jump and it cost about 20$ for the entire thing. !


use it white side-out in case of chewing.
Click to expand...

That is such a good idea! I hadn't thought of that board. I was going to order the same cardboard sheets that Puddles&Chubbs used, but their lowest amount to order was 25 sheets and I wasn't going to use even half that much.
 
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