A few questions

[kimmidwife]

Hi we have had our chinchilla a few weeks now and I have a few questions.
Firstly about the plastic shelves. We were told at the place we got her that they were fine, now after reading here I am all worried but we can't afford to buy her a new cage right now. I did read you can put tile on top of the plastic which we did on most of the shelves. Except the ones with the holes to go up to the next level. I have the tile but need to get them cut to fit and not block the holes.
Secondly, I keep reading how much they love to chew but she doesn't seem to be chewing on her wood or rock. Occasionally I see her chewing on the cage bars to get our attention when she wants to one out. I am concerned because I know they need to chew to prevent overgrowth in their teeth.
Thirdly, how do you keep the poop from flying out of the cage?
Lastly I am worried about her being bored when we are not playing with her. She constantly wants to come out of the cage to play and while we love playing with her we can't do it every minute. How do we keep her entertained?

 

[kimmidwife]

Bumping this up. Hoping to get some answers.

 

[Shooper]

What cage do you have? You can try different types of wood, some chins are picky. You don't keep the poop from flying out, it just happens! You can put wooden ledges and toys and a wheel in her cage to keep her busy.

 

[Newt]

Offer a mix of different woods (check the "safe wood" list first though), try lava ledges and lava triangles, loofah, pumice.

Could you cover the plastic shelves with fleece fabric?

 

[kimmidwife]

I guess we could over the shelves with fleece. I bought her some applewood sticks yesterday and loofah. I think she likes it but she is really finicky.

 

[kimmidwife]

Hi all,
Our chinchilla just started doing something weird. When my sons put their hands in the cage to pet her she peed on them. Has anyone ever encountered this? What should we do?

 

[Cuddlebug]

This is a common reaction from female chinchillas when they are either scared or angry. I am guessing that she did not want to come out. What you need to do is to pick her up any way. After a while, she will figure out that peeing on you will not make you go away. If you don't do this she will always pee to keep you from picking her up. You can also add giving her a treat when you hold her to make being held something good.

 

[kimmidwife]

Thank you! She has not done it again. I do have another question though, She usually pees in her litter bowl we have for her except when she is on the wheel. For some reason she pees on the wheel every time. Is there a reason she may be doing this?