Chinchilla very angry when I remove wheel

[xcuteikinz]

I know it's bad, but we gave our chinchilla a plastic wheel to run on. We've only had her for like, 2 weeks now maybe, so she couldn't come out of her cage and run. Anyway, I decided that if I saw any bite marks or saw her biting the wheel I'd take it out. And I saw quite a few bite marks on her wheel. now keep in mind, I didn't see huge chunks out of her wheel, or any chunks at all for that matter. just scrape marks from her teeth. when I took the wheel out, she started running around like crazy and making a soft squeaking noise. I got scared and put the wheel back in. An hour or two later I saw her bite the wheel again so I took it out and placed it on the counter. I also fed her a raisin so she wouldn't think I hate her???
since this all happened at 4 am, I left a note on the counter for my family and went to sleep. when I woke up, I was told that they put the wheel back in her cage because she started moving her house like she was trying to leave and was still pissed as all he||

Basically, I don't know if we keep the plastic wheel in there until we get a wooden or metal one, or take the wheel out until then.

 

[Amethyst]

I would remove the wheel completely and throw it out, the plastic wheels are no good at all. Unless you were able to find a "15 wheel then it's too small, which will lead to back problems (chins backs are not suppose to bend backwards) and swallowing plastic will cause a gut blockage. If it's one of those plastic flying saucers wheels then she is also inhaling plastic dust as she runs on it since it's plastic rubbing and grinding against plastic.
Chins don't actually need a wheel or even out of cage running around so long as you don't have the chin in a tiny cage (less then a 2'x2'x2' which is too small for a chin to live in). They do enjoy wheels though, like a kid enjoying a swing set, but it's not required. Get a metal wheel when you can, just make sure you get a solid metal one, no spokes or bars (good options are the metal flying saucer, the chin spin, and the silver surfer, to name a few). Make sure there is plenty of other things to do in the cage in the mean time, lots of ledges and perches to hop around on, various toys to play with and chew on, lots of sticks to chew on. Having her throw a fit for taking the dangerous wheel away is much better then a vet bill in the thousands for an emergency gut surgery or having to put the chin down because the wheel has caused a back injury and the chin is now paralyzed and/or in serious pain.

On another note raisins are not good for chins at all, chins should not have any fruits fresh or dried. Also on the same note, no seeds, vegetables, nuts, or animal products (dairy, bones, meat, hide, etc). Also nothing high in sugar as they can't really digest sugars. Chin safe treats include, rosehips, rose pedals, pain cheerios, shreddies, or slow cook oats.