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Thetuckerfarm

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
17
We are new chinchilla owners. We have two females in a critter nation cage.

Can anyone recommend where to get the following:

Water bottle
Hay rack
Food bowls
Wheel
Dust

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Pretty much all that stuff can be bought at pets stores and or vendors on the forum here. You can also check the classified section too, there is also a list under the supplies for sale section of vendors, as well as the rotation links under the Chins n Hedgies logo sign.

-Water bottle you want a glass one, you can get those at any pet store. If you go with plastic you have to make sure the chins can't access it or they will chew it. Also not all chins can figure out the no leak valve like the one Tikibirds mentioned.
-Hay rack, you want one that is solid not bars, chins have been known to get caught in the bars, once again pet stores work or there are vendors on here that make wooden hay boxes and fleece bags.
-Food bowl, I find that the bird coop cups work best since they screw to the side of the cage so the chin can't throw the whole bowl. Those are found in the bird section of a pet store, as well as some vendors sell them too.
- The wheel is different, you need a minimum of 15" wheel for a chin to avoid back injury. You also want a metal one, so you have to order those online. Flying Saucer Wheels, Silver surfers, and Chin Spins are all good safe wheels.
-Dust check out vendors on here, or once again pet stores sell it. Blue cloud is the preferred chin dust.
 
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20384&highlight=supplies+list
There is the grand master supply list. It has links to various places that you can purchase supplies.

Hay Racks
Make sure you don't use any of the metal hay racks/balls found in pet stores. Chinnies can break legs in those so you want to avoid them. The wooden one is said to be okay. Personally, I just use a fleece pouch for my chins.

A lot of vendors sell them so just check around on their websites. :]

Wheel
Be sure you purchase a safe wheel as well. Any wheels found in stores are no good, so you'll need to order one online. Most people recommend the Chin Spin or metal Flying Saucer. Wheels must be at least 14" in diameter(for a small chin, though most recommend 15") and non plastic.
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1802
^Chin Spin
http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/detail.aspx?ID=106
^Silver Surfer
http://www.flyingsaucerwheels.com/products.php?cat=17
^Flying Saucer


Dust
http://chinstore.azchins.com/Bulk.htm
That is where I buy my dust. I get about 15lbs for $25, and that leaves room for something else in the box as well.

Water Bottle
This is the water bottle that I've had the most luck with. It's a Lixit glass bottle. I can't find them in stores so I always order them online, but they work better than any other brand I've tried. You want to make sure that the bottle is glass. You may think they can't chew a hole through it in a CN but they can.
I've ordered these from a few different places, so just use google.
LIXIT-Chew-Proof-Glass-Water-Bottle-16oz-0.jpg


Food Bowls
Honestly, you can get these almost anywhere. Any ceramic ones from petco/petsmart will do... Just avoid plastic. I use a ceramic one for one of my chins, and a metal one(it attaches to the side of the cage) for the other. The metal one works if you have a chin who likes to dump food.
 
Thank you all so much, this is great information!
 

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A varied selection of chinchilla safe chew toys is also important to keep teeth healthy and provide chinchillas with plenty of activities. Just be sure not to provide anything containing plastic, as I believe someone has already stated. Apple, hazel and willow sticks are all firm favourites with my lads. :)
 
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