Is plastic really "THE EVIL"?

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Is plastic "Evil"?

  • Total voters
    88
Ash

Ash

Trouble....
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
2,963
Location
Mount Carmel, PA
So, is it? Is plastic really this vicious thing that will kill your chinchilla if he so much as LOOKS at it the right way? :sarcasm:


But really, is plastic any more dangerous than the other things we give our chins?
 
My personal feelings:

If you do not have a heavy chewer, or a chin that will chew the plastic-it's fine. Even if they CHEW the plastic, my experience has been they don't injest it--but chew it and leave a nice pile on the bottom of the cage.

I've used plastic in the cages when I had pet cages (had those igloos for instance) with both the chins, and when I had cavies. I did not have any problems. Heavy chewers got wood and no plastic, non-chewers to mild chewers did fine with plastic. Sometimes i'd find a small pile of plastic peices on the bottom of the cage, but nothing more..and no one died from it.
 
As to whether or not it is the "true evil" I cannot say. But in my experience with my chin she generally shys away from chewing on plastic and focuses only on wood. She'll acknowledge the presence of something plastic and nibble once or twice and then she's like "Hmmm, that's boring where's my apple wood?".
 
I figure I'll add my two cents since I started this.

I'm of the "no" variety. My chins have had plastic in their cages and other than disappearing faster than wood into a pile of useless junk, I've never had a problem with it. I recently got a chin who had a Marshall Penthouse, plastic shelves still intact, and the chin had been living in it for nearly a year. The cage still looked brand new, because the girl was given other things to chew on. She's now to the point she's living with 2 of my other girls, and so far they haven't touched the plastic either.


So.... Nope! Besides, if they ingest wood or fleece, they can cause impactions as well, can't they?
 
I have used plastic in our cages in the past and just kept an eye on if they chewed it or not. I actually have found that my heavy chewers go after the fleece tubes more than the plastic and had to remove the tubes from their cages.
 
No, if it were I would probably not have any chins left. I have plastic shelves and plastic pans in the cages that have been chewed along with some carriers and a bunch of other stuff. It is chin dependent just as fleece and everything else. I prefer metal shelves and glass bottles over plastic because they will last longer (supposedly, I guess not with my chins) and will clean better. Just like anything, you need to watch your chinchilla with a new product and inspect the accessories often to make sure they are ok. I do not like "chewy" plastic though, I had a cute waffle block hide house a long time ago and it made me nervous when little pieces started disappearing so it came out.
 
I think that if a chin ingests anything that they are not able to break down in their digestive tracts, such as plastic or fleece, or any other synthetic substance my brain can't think of right now, it stands to reason that there could potentially be a problem. Some chins are far more aggressive chewers than others. Some chins barely chew anything. Personally, I would rather have items in my cage that I don't have to worry about. None of my chins have ever chewed fleece so I keep that in my cages. It will be removed if I ever find that they have chewed it. I have plastic items (tubes and such) out at playtime because I supervise them and I have had to deter them from nibbling on them. It is not something I would leave in their cage because I just can't be sure that they wouldn't get themselves into trouble. I do believe they can break down bark since I see them eat it so I feel it is something they are able to process fine (I've never seen a splinter come out of my chinnies bum :p) and I don't worry about it. Anything is possible though which is why I do the daily poo checks LOL. They are stinkers LOL! So I guess my short answer is, while I don't think plastic is "evil", I think people should be aware that if their chins eat it that it could cause problems (along with a multitude of other things but this thread is specifically about plastic LOL). I remember a couple of cases on CnQ involving plastic ingestion. One that sticks out in my mind was where a chin was found to have eaten some plastic rings from a SuperPet cage (I believe) and there were x-rays that showed the rings in the chin's stomach or intestines. The poster's name was Gramcracker. I am not sure if she is on this board or not. I believe the chinchilla passed.
 
I do not think that hard plastic is hazardous when monitored and will not condemn anyone who chooses to use it when they know their chins' habits. However, I will never tell anyone it is safe or even "okay." I don't want anyone to take the thought that plastic isn't a great evil to mean their chins can live with nothing but plastic in their cages. And while plastic may not be a death sentence for every chin that comes in contact with it, I think wood is always preferable.
 
My personal feelings are...Why risk it? I'd rather have my chins have some nice wood ledges to chew on, but then again all of my chins are very heavy chewers.
I guess it's really up to the person with the chins.
 
I have 3 plastic littler pans in my cages and they haven't been chewed on at all. Also, one of my cages has a plastic slide-out pan that also is not chewed. I think it all depends on whether they have enough "safe" things to chew on to deter them away from the plastic. So personally, I don't have a problem with it.
 
Diva Chins said:
My personal feelings are...Why risk it? I'd rather have my chins have some nice wood ledges to chew on, but then again all of my chins are very heavy chewers.
I guess it's really up to the person with the chins.
Click to expand...



That is my point exactly. I mean, if some if not most chew it into a pile of nothing, why not spring for the wood that lasts longer and is okay if they do decide to chew it? It may not be the devil, but I don't have any plastic in my cages. I had those igloos but they were chewing and chomping away one day outta the blue so out it went
 
Actually, wood doesn't ALWAYS last longer. PM Deena for her picture of what her chin did in one night to a wooden shelf she'd just put in the cage. And Deena's cage is quite filled up and looks fun.
 
I have plastic PVC tubes in some of the chin cages and it's so hard none can really chew it. I always tell everyone, supervision even if its on the "safe" list. We all know what little rascals they can be!
 
I voted "no." Chins can get impacted from whatever they're chewing on, whether it's plastic, wood, fleece, whatever. While I don't intentionally put plastic in a chin's cage, I don't think everything plastic is "evil" and completely needs to be kept away from chins. I tend to use wood though - even chewed wood looks better IMO than chewed plastic.
 
I don't really allow the chins to have any plastic unless its their igloos. I love the look of those little igloos, I just think they're precious. Each time I make wood houses for them, they're destroyed in no time. I've had the igloos for years, and they're still in great condition. I don't have any problem with the chins chewing the plastic, so I don't worry. I've been told off a few times because I have plastic igloos in my pictures, but I've learned to ignore it, what works for me may not work for others.
 
I agree with what has been said, I see plastic as more of a waste of money than anything. I mean those Super Pet plastic igloos cost what...? $10? For $14 you can buy a nice, neat house from Linda (Simply Chintastic) and it will last a LOT longer. Plus, you have that mind set that it is safe for them to chew, if they do.
 
kaykay said:
I agree with what has been said, I see plastic as more of a waste of money than anything. I mean those Super Pet plastic igloos cost what...? $10? For $14 you can buy a nice, neat house from Linda (Simply Chintastic) and it will last a LOT longer. Plus, you have that mind set that it is safe for them to chew, if they do.
Click to expand...

I agree. Doof has had the same wooden hut since February of last year. She's gnawed on it, but hasn't destroyed it. Plus I know if I leave for a day, she can gnaw away and I won't come back to a dead chin. Also...I read somewhere that a lot of chemicals were used in plastic, so that makes me wary.
But it's really up to each owner and the chin's personality, I'd just rather have wood.
 
I always tell people no plastic of any kind in the cage. It is not worth the risk. Some chins will never chew plastic and others will go through it very fast. Some chins DO eat plastic. Plastic is not biodegradable and if a piece should lodge in the intestinal tract, it could cause serious problems. I also tell people that hammocks are great unless your chin chews them, them remove them from the cage.

With so many other options, why take the chance of your chins health.
 
Many of you have said what I can agree with. I have two cages with a few plastic ledges and have replaced 90% of the remaining with pine. I offer alot of apple wood and rotate toys. They don't show an interest in the plastic. I also adopted a pair of girls that had to have the giant plastic igloo. They would argue inside the biggest wooden house I could find. So I went to the plastic igloo and the space was big enough to offset the bickering. They did bite it upon inspection. Then the newness wore off. All of us if who are ranchers or pet owners are careful to inspect daily for any changes in our animals or their environment.
 
I guess I have alot of hard chewers? I had two chins in a cage with a platic bottom and they chewed a hole in the bottom on the cage (they were only in the cage for 3 days)
 
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