Hey everyone, I hope that someone can help me with ideas for my chin. My chinchilla, Lyra, is 3 years old and I have had her since she was 4 months old. She does not chew on many things. I have tried tons of toys, different materials, etc. Recently she has started pulling her food dish off the hanger and dumping her food all over the place. At first I thought it was because it was close to being empty, but she just did it last night when it was full. I am not sure if she is doing this because she is bored but I have no idea what to put in her cage to help her since she is sooo picky and does not like a lot of things. She has plenty of wooden ledges, hut, hay holder, etc. She has a fleece cube, wheel, two pillows, a tunnel, and of course glass water bottle.
Here is what she likes:
Only as small thin sticks - apple, red elm, and mulberry
She sometimes like vine made things (balls, stars, hearts, et). She will chew on them some and then never again.
Small pieces of colored wood which comes on many toys, but again will chew on them some and sometimes never again
Very small thin pieces of loofah
Lava stone ledges that I break into smaller pieces, like the size of a quarter
Palm leaf objects, only chews on them a little and then never again
Finger traps - hit or miss
Water hyacinth ball
Hay cubes
She does eat the hay when I stuff it into balls. Once the hay is gone I can recycle the ball a few times before she has no interest in it.
Things she does not like:
Any other kind of wood (pine is hit or miss because I know the small colorful toy parts are pine and she will chew on them sometimes)
Any kind of wood in shapes besides thin squares or rectangles (beads, flowerpots, etc.)
Sea grass
Cholla
Big pieces of loofah
Bagels (she actually eats these, so anything papery or cardboard is a no)
Pumice not from Lava ledges
Coconut shell and husk
Twisted hay
She gets fresh Timothy Hay in the mornings and more fresh at night and I will sometimes mix in some Orchard hay with it. She also gets treats like plain shredded wheat, rolled oats, dried hibiscus, horse cookies (they are apple flavored and sold on some chinchilla store websites, but broken into very small pieces) and an occasional goji berry. She also only has one bottom incisor (tooth). She has been to the vet and had x-rays done, it is not causing her problems with eating or chewing and I check her teeth regularly to make sure they are not getting too long. The tooth is "dead" and has not grown, I believe she came to me that way as she never had an accident or anything that could have caused that. I did not take her to the vet until I notice it about 4 months after I got her. Anyway, does anyone have any ideas to stop her pulling her food bowl and dumping it or for things she can chew on? Thanks so much!
Here is what she likes:
Only as small thin sticks - apple, red elm, and mulberry
She sometimes like vine made things (balls, stars, hearts, et). She will chew on them some and then never again.
Small pieces of colored wood which comes on many toys, but again will chew on them some and sometimes never again
Very small thin pieces of loofah
Lava stone ledges that I break into smaller pieces, like the size of a quarter
Palm leaf objects, only chews on them a little and then never again
Finger traps - hit or miss
Water hyacinth ball
Hay cubes
She does eat the hay when I stuff it into balls. Once the hay is gone I can recycle the ball a few times before she has no interest in it.
Things she does not like:
Any other kind of wood (pine is hit or miss because I know the small colorful toy parts are pine and she will chew on them sometimes)
Any kind of wood in shapes besides thin squares or rectangles (beads, flowerpots, etc.)
Sea grass
Cholla
Big pieces of loofah
Bagels (she actually eats these, so anything papery or cardboard is a no)
Pumice not from Lava ledges
Coconut shell and husk
Twisted hay
She gets fresh Timothy Hay in the mornings and more fresh at night and I will sometimes mix in some Orchard hay with it. She also gets treats like plain shredded wheat, rolled oats, dried hibiscus, horse cookies (they are apple flavored and sold on some chinchilla store websites, but broken into very small pieces) and an occasional goji berry. She also only has one bottom incisor (tooth). She has been to the vet and had x-rays done, it is not causing her problems with eating or chewing and I check her teeth regularly to make sure they are not getting too long. The tooth is "dead" and has not grown, I believe she came to me that way as she never had an accident or anything that could have caused that. I did not take her to the vet until I notice it about 4 months after I got her. Anyway, does anyone have any ideas to stop her pulling her food bowl and dumping it or for things she can chew on? Thanks so much!
Every chin is different, so my best advice is to experiment not just with materials, but also with the size and presentation of various chew toys. And offer a variety. Rotate things in and out every few days to keep things fresh and exciting for her. My chin loves loofah and pumice stone, but if I give those to her every day, she seems to start to get bored of them, so I'll try to rotate the sorts of chew toys I offer throughout the week. One day she might get apple sticks and a hay ball, the next day she might get willow sticks and a seagrass ball, the next day she might get pumice stones and a willow vine ball, the next day she might get loofah and pine wood.....etc. Plus I keep a variety of hanging toys that I try to change out and switch around weekly. Some are apple wood or pine wood hanging toys that I buy, but I also make my own hanging toys with stainless steel wire and/or toy kabobs. I'll hang up things like vine balls, coconut shells, loofah, pumice stone, etc. 
