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VoiletCallie

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Jan 20, 2017
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Where s a good place to get chinchilla toys and other chinchilla supplies? I have found that Petco and PetSmart really don t have that much of a selection.

Can you use regular popsicle sticks to make DIY chinchilla toys?

Is there any other chinchilla advice you can give a new owner I will be picking up my adopted chinchilla this Thursday?
 
The best chinchilla supplies tend to be from vendors online, there is a list of them in the classified section, as well as the banner ads on the top of the forum. If you are a bit more specific as to what you want, like the best place to get hay, or the best place to get fleece items, etc. we can point you in the right direction.

Yes regular popsicle sticks, like what you would use to make popsicles (food grade) are fine. They do splinter though, so they can be debatable in terms of safety, so it's something you do need to watch to make sure they don't hurt themselves.

The best rundown of new owner basics is found in General Chin FAQs Also check out the FAQ under other sections as well, like housing and supplies, diet and nutrition, and new owner. Most questions new owners have have already been answered, but also you will find answers to things you didn't think to ask.

Aside from that the best advice is, take time to do lots and lots of research. This forum has tons of info from people in all aspects of the chinchilla world, breeding, showing, ranching, and just plain pet owners.
If you already have the cage all setup take a pic and link it on here, we can also help you make sure that it's got everything you need and is good to go for your new chin.
 
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He comes with all this which is pretty darn excellent

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
Wow, that cage looks nice, not a fan of the feisty ferret cage, but the wood shelving and setup is nice. Most new owners get plastic filled garbage cages if they get a chin that comes with the cage, or are told by the pet store to get the plastic crap, it's nice to see a good setup for a change.

There are a couple possible issues I see though, first, the only chin safe material is fleece, so that hammock may not be safe. If the chin chews on and swallows the fabric it can cause a blockage in the gut and strings can cut through gut. Fleece can cause a blockage if enough is eaten too, but it doesn't shred like other fabric so you can take it away before much is eaten. Just because the chin hasn't chewed the hammock yet doesn't mean they wont decide to one day. They tend to get into trouble it seems on a weekend or a holiday in the middle of the night, so the regular vets are closed (I swear they plan it, lol). Oh that's another thing, make sure you find a vet, or better yet vets, that treat and have treated chins before. Not all vets treat chinchillas, so it's best to find one before you need one.
The only other thing I can see that might be an issue in the cage is that bridge. Depending on the gaps a chin could accidentally get a foot or toe caught between the boards.
 
That's an AMAZING set up for a cage when buying a chin! Like Amethyst said, most chins come in cheap plastic one level guinea pig cages. The material of the hammock does not appear to be fleece so make sure that you replace it/ get rid of it before any chewing occurs.
 
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