chewing question

[Brittany]

This question is about my Arlington Chin, but I decided to post it here instead of under that thread because I don't think it's necessarily related to the fact that she came from that situation.

I've had Lady for a week now and she won't chew anything healthy in her cage (applewood, pumice, pine house, yucca, lava products). However she does naw on the metal cage bars, and she started trying to destroy a plastic bath house (bath house was removed immediately). I tried to "tease" her with an applewood stick and she seemed interested while chasing it around, once I let her have it she took a nibble or two and lost interest.

Does she just not know what is healthy to chew on? Does it take new and/or young chins awhile to start chewing? I have two other juveniles, but I honestly don't remember their chewing activity when they were new, although for both of them it did increase with age.


Not sure if it's related at all but here's some more background information:
Without having an xray her teeth look good ( I used a tongue depressor to get a look at the back ones) I felt along the jaw line and under the eyes and everything feels normal, she didn't flinch away in pain either. She has a HUGE appetite for her pellets and Timothy Hay. She weighs 420g and has been slowly gaining. She has a high activity level and otherwise appears healthy. She came in with a case of soft poop which is slowly improving. She is very social and doesn't appear to be stressed or shy.

I guess my concern is that as her teeth grow she won't chew and grind them down on her own. Any ideas?

 

[Carol~Anne]

I don't have an answer for you but I can relate to what you're asking and I just recently started a thread on another forum asking the exact same thing. I've had Carlos (SPCA chin) for at least two months now and I never see him chewing on anything: various woods, toys or shelves etc. hardly a nibble on anything. He's got the most fabulous wooden toys, willow stuff, loofah, you name it he's got it and he doesn't touch it.

He eats massive amounts of hay and a good portion of pellets for his age/size though so I'm thinking his teeth are getting a good workout with the hay. At least I hope he is.

On the other hand these two rescue boys that I've had exactly four weeks now are destroying their wooden shelves and have literally chewed huge pieces off that now the guy Buster can easily fit his huge butt through and access the other shelves that way. I am going to take some pics today of their redecorating b/c I can hardly believe how much they've chowed down on their ledges. I'm going to have to replace them shortly if they keep at it. I've never seen anything like it. They also demolish every piece of wood and toys that I put in there.:err:

 

[Carol~Anne]

I took these pics yesterday to show the difference between my two extreme chewers and the non-chewer guy. The first one is from Carlos' cage where you can see the shelves look brand new. The other pics are Buster & Rupert's cage and these shelves are only three weeks old and they've chewed chunks. That blue plastic shelf is coming out soon, I just ran out of wood and haven't dealt with it yet.

I did notice that even though Carlos doesn't chew much on wood, he does demolish lava landings so that's something I can pick up for him to chew on.

Buster the chew beast

 

[Brittany]

Thanks for sharing. Ironically Lady is in the same style cage as Buster& Rupert! I'm having trouble coming up with design ideas because her wheel is so big. I think I'm going to mess around with it some more tonight. She has started taking some interest in a hanging Cholla log, so I'm hoping that her desire to chew will just keep picking up. Until then she is doing a good job at eating her hay and pellets so hopefully that's enough to keep her teeth in good shape. I'll post some pictures of her cage when I get it set up the way it'd like it.

 

[Tanya]

I think she just needs time to get used to chew toys. Some chins do not like to chew on pine houses that have rounded edges, but happily destroy it if other chin started the destroying process. I think it's just easier this way.

But chewing on metal bars can be a sign of cobalt or iron deficiency. I would try adding some dandelion leaf and root, nettle leaf and some loose alfalfa.

Pellets are designed to be supplemental to hays, they have added minerals from synthetic/inorganic sources that are not easily absorbed and digested by animal's body (they are just isolated components of the main nutrient). The most effective way for herbivores to get the needed nutrients is through organic/plant sources. Plants bond mineral molecules to phytochemicals, amino acid, lipids, the result is bioavailable form of minerals that animal's body can use through numerous pathways.

Animal are born with inner wisdom, if you offer a diverse diet, they feel what they need to correct and prevent any deficiencies. I noticed that sometimes chins are desperate for some barberry root bark for example (even though it does taste terrible, I think only osha root tastes worse). They feel secondary elements. Animals just do not recognize some synthetic elements as nutrients and discard them, that is why it's possible to see changes in normal urine color or feces. It's just some info.