Terra cotta tiles and pots to keep cool

I have heard of using terra cotta pots and tiles to help keep our chins cool in the summer. I was told by a fried in the UK that she thought that here it is advised we not buy terra cotta made in Mexico. I am wondering then what I should look for that would be safe for Trixie.
Thanks.
:temp:

i bought a marble tile at menards for about $3 and its like 1ftX1ft, they love to lay on it in the summer.

I got my terra cotta pot at Home Depot (or was it Lowes??) and I just made sure it didn't say "Made in Mexico". You want to get ones that are made here in the US. I also have a big 1' x 1' tile that I freeze and then put it in the cage. She loves it so much, she'll roll on it like a dust bath haha. Oh, and I also freeze the terra cotta pot too. Rinse it in water, then in the freeze (it doesn't crack). She loves to just sit in it.

OK, thanks, Cinder. And I like the idea of the marble square as well. Will have to go looking after work today.

And to think I spent almost 10 dollars at Petsmart for the "chin chiller"!! :banghead:

Michele, I bought two of them if it makes you feel any better :tantrum:

I'd use about any tile--marble, granite, ceramic--in the cage. I wouldn't use terra cotta b/c it can be a bit soft and a chin could chew it. I'm not sure if it is safe to chew or not, but I wouldn't bother to risk it nor would I want the tiles chewed anyway.

I have terra cotta strawberry pots for my chillas and chewing is not an issue.

I have had them for years, not sure I even remember where I got them from; some greenhouse type place I think. Anyway, I have no idea where they were made, why the warnings against the Mexico ones?

Lead I believe is an issue.

There was a thread on this forum about Terra cotta pots made in Mexico and China that are known to have high lead levels. Here's the link -

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1404&highlight=terra

Lucky me, we had a box of tiles from when the kitchen was re-tiled. :thumbsup: Not that Shiina needs them to keep cool, considering the highest temp it manages to climb to on her side of the room is like 67° F, likely cooler in the summer.

I was also wondering about whether chewing terracotta could be bad. I put a terracotta pot in Shiina's cage recently, and she's taken to sticking her little nose in the drainage hole and gnawing at it. It says it was made in Italy. This morning she woke me up at 4:30am chewing at it, and I took it out because I'm a worrier. But does anyone know if it would be ok to put back in?

You can test any household product including the pots. I've seen "lead" test kits at several places for around $10 at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Menards....

Here's a helpful link -

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2007/10/testing-the-lea.html