So i am a photographer and i have cords around the room to sound systems computer and to my camera. My little buddy TJ runs around the room for hours when i am in there he dosnt bother anything as of right now. I want to know what i can do to make the room safe for him so he dosnt even think about starting to chew everything. Also anything tht is wood he chews and he has alot in his cage.
ChinProofing A Room
- Thread starter Zach B.
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ChinnyMom
slave to Rhino and Guss
chins chew, that's what they do. lol. even if his cage is chock full of things to nibble on, he's still going to find whatever he can to chew when he's out for play time.
you can make cardboard panels that go against your walls, to protect your baseboards and walls from him chewing. providing lots of things to keep him occupied and interested is good - cardboard boxes with holes cut for him to run in and out of, wood chews placed around the room for him to discover, etc.
all cords need to be put out of reach. electrocution is way too scary a risk to even leave one cord plugged in around a loose chin where they can get to it.
you can make cardboard panels that go against your walls, to protect your baseboards and walls from him chewing. providing lots of things to keep him occupied and interested is good - cardboard boxes with holes cut for him to run in and out of, wood chews placed around the room for him to discover, etc.
all cords need to be put out of reach. electrocution is way too scary a risk to even leave one cord plugged in around a loose chin where they can get to it.
mistywaterwoman
Pooper Scooper
Marshal makes a ferret gate system that is awesome, but it's a bit of an investment.
www.ferret.com
Marshal Deluxe Ferret Playpen
www.ferret.com
Marshal Deluxe Ferret Playpen
PetoftheDay
Well-known member
The cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls make good cord covers. We also got a length of plastic tubing from the hardware store, cheap black stuff, and made cord covers from that as well. We got 1-inch wide stuff, so plugs didn't fit through, but we just cut a slit the length of the tube, put the cord in it, and the plastic is rigid enough so it closed right back up on its own. The cardboard tubes you may have to replace from time to time, as they are nibble-able, but it keeps the cord within safe!
For wood that you do not want nibbled, you can just wrap the bottoms of the legs of furniture in foil and tape it in place. It's not the prettiest solution, but it is effective. We actually had to do that with the corner of one wall in our old (1890) house, as our bunny suddenly decided one day that 100+ year old plaster was tasty. Yuck!
For wood that you do not want nibbled, you can just wrap the bottoms of the legs of furniture in foil and tape it in place. It's not the prettiest solution, but it is effective. We actually had to do that with the corner of one wall in our old (1890) house, as our bunny suddenly decided one day that 100+ year old plaster was tasty. Yuck!
mistywaterwoman
Pooper Scooper
Chins chew plastic and love to eat tape.
perabalaofmystery
Well-known member
another option to try would be a play pen . i use this. it works great .
http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-Happy-Habitat-Indoor/dp/B002KWHE1E
and its big enough for a person to sit and play with them in it too.
as long as you make sure there are no cords under the pen it works perfectly.
http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-Happy-Habitat-Indoor/dp/B002KWHE1E
and its big enough for a person to sit and play with them in it too.
as long as you make sure there are no cords under the pen it works perfectly.
PetoftheDay
Well-known member
It's funny, because my rabbit loved SOME plastics, but the advantage of the plastic tubing was the circumference of it makes it too big for even a bunny to open its mouth wide enough to get a bite out of. The remote control lost a couple buttons before we realized it, and one day she ate the plastic coating of a pair of players, but she never touched the black plastic tubing - roundness was the key, I guess.
jess32247
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2012
- Messages
- 576
I think the safest idea would be not to let the chin run around the room you have all your equipment in, it would be hard covering it all and making it chin proof. Are you sure he hasn't chewed anything? I thought I had my room chin proofed, but I guess I didn't because she got a hold of some things.
Do you have a extra room or spare bedroom you could use? Bathrooms work well and are easy to chin proof.
Do you have a extra room or spare bedroom you could use? Bathrooms work well and are easy to chin proof.
They very fact that you chin was around a cord and didn't bolt towards it amazes me.
My chins eat/chew on literally everything. Furniture, walls, (paint on the walls), base bored, floor, fleece. Absolutely anything they can get to.
My chins eat/chew on literally everything. Furniture, walls, (paint on the walls), base bored, floor, fleece. Absolutely anything they can get to.
DevnChip
Well-known member
I love the Ware version of the wire surround playpen. Petco's good for something and they're on sale right now.
http://www.petco.com/product/113679/WARE-Clean-Living-Small-Animal-Playpen.aspx
http://www.petco.com/product/113679/WARE-Clean-Living-Small-Animal-Playpen.aspx
DevnChip
Well-known member
Lucky you! My pair are little demons when it comes to chewing. They know exactly where I don't want them to chew and that's what they chew on. Chipper was in my home for 2 years and I only had to keep him off the plaster corner in my bathroom. He never touched the plastic shower curtain or the baseboards and he didn't like the taste of the laminated cabinet the sink sits on. Miesha and Sonic chew everything they can get their mouths on. Even some things you wouldn't think they could! They get separate play time, which is good because it's the only way I can keep up with them and protect my stuff.
jess32247
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2012
- Messages
- 576
Are you sure he isn't chewing? Have you looked at all the wires and every bit of the room? It's strange he isn't chewing wire (at least not yet, but sooner or later he'll figure out he can). When I started letting my chin out, I didn't think she was chewing anything. Welllll, she was, A LOT more then I thought. Since then I have the room a lot safer, just pointing out they can get into anything!
Are you making a room chin proof? I would start working on that sooner then later, because once he figures out he can chew wires, it might be to late to prevent something from happening. Bathrooms are a good place to let chinnies run
Are you making a room chin proof? I would start working on that sooner then later, because once he figures out he can chew wires, it might be to late to prevent something from happening. Bathrooms are a good place to let chinnies run
ChinnyMom
slave to Rhino and Guss
with chins, there is no such thing as a 'chewing stage'. they chew all their lives, and love to chew on anything they can sink their little ever-growing teeth in to.
you say he hardly chews anything. you mean in and out of his cage? if he's not keen on chewing, i would suggest getting his teeth looked at and x-rayed, as he may not want to chew due to pain from tooth issues. malocclusion is a horrid thing for a chin to have to go through.
fanofdmb84
it IS called 'fur'-niture
I found that my chins wouldn't chew stuff at first...they were too busy exploring. But once they started to settle into a play-area, they started to get bored, and that's when the chewing started. So, he may not be chewing on much now, but it won't last!
I wanted to chin-proof my office (where my cage is), but in the end it turned out to be too large of a project, and no matter what I've tried in the past, they always manage to get around something and cause trouble, so I decided it wasn't worth it after all.
I wanted to chin-proof my office (where my cage is), but in the end it turned out to be too large of a project, and no matter what I've tried in the past, they always manage to get around something and cause trouble, so I decided it wasn't worth it after all.
to clear things up he chews a lot in the cage but when he is out side of it he dosen't like to chew on anything unless its wood. the only wood he has chewed is one corner of the base board in the bathroom when my parents let him out wen i was gone for four days. normaly if he goes by anything and looks like he is going to chew make a noise that i use to get my dog to not do somthing nd he responds to it very well.
on another note i have started letting him play in the bathroom more and my dad and i r working on a woden play house for him to run in and out off.
on another note i have started letting him play in the bathroom more and my dad and i r working on a woden play house for him to run in and out off.
I think a playpen is very cool, but if you use it as an actual playpen (and not use the sides to cover up things they can't bite in the chinroom ) I am wondering what the benefit is.
Considering most people will by the pen without extra panels, it is a bit small for some free playtime no? And what if you sit inside and they jump on your lap - shoulder - out and break something? Cause in all honesty sometimes they do move faster then lightening what is your experience with them?
) I am wondering what the benefit is.Considering most people will by the pen without extra panels, it is a bit small for some free playtime no? And what if you sit inside and they jump on your lap - shoulder - out and break something? Cause in all honesty sometimes they do move faster then lightening
what is your experience with them?
Kialana
Well-known member
I chin proof two different ways. One is if he is only in his playpen, I sit in it with him with a sheet over the top so he can't escape. He climbs all over me attempting to find a way out, but has yet to succeed. Because I'm in it with him, I tell him 'no' if he tries to chew at the sheet. This is is a great way for us to bond.
The other one is way more involved, mainly because he gets to run all over the living room. I have discovered that as long as I cover everything that I don't want him to chew with blankets, he doesn't attempt to chew on them or even dig the forbidden items out. This includes cords, wood furniture, and other plastic items. Of course this may not work for all chins, but so far my experience with these methods have been 100% successful.
The other one is way more involved, mainly because he gets to run all over the living room. I have discovered that as long as I cover everything that I don't want him to chew with blankets, he doesn't attempt to chew on them or even dig the forbidden items out. This includes cords, wood furniture, and other plastic items. Of course this may not work for all chins, but so far my experience with these methods have been 100% successful.
VolcanoBunny
Member
Cardboard Wall Guards
Chin-proofing my room has recently become a necessity for me. I'm a college student and I rent so I really can't afford to repair any damage left behind by my mischievous chinchillas. The molding around the floor is of greatest concern because that's the only thing that doesn't actually belong to me.
Playpens can be pretty costly, but I invested what I could and got one for $40. When I tried letting them out in the rather large area they spent the entire playtime making escape attempts and essentially got nothing out of their time out of the cage.
Plan B: line the walls of my room with old cardboard boxes my roommates had no use for after moving in. I set to work peeling off all the leftover tape and cutting away any glue. It didn't take as long as I would have thought and all I really had to do was sever one side so that the box could be stretched out long ways.
At first I was going to cut away the flaps, but keeping them on gives the bottom half a sort of leg stand and the overhanging top flaps deter them from grabbing onto the top half and pulling themselves over between the guard and the wall. (Although cutting off unnecessary flaps can help you conserve materials and fill in any gaps not covered by larger portions. The molding is the important part anyway.)
I also put the play pen to use by blocking off the underside of my bed with it. Now everything I use to Chin-Proof my room can be folded up and put in my closet when playtime is done. It also cost me nothing- except the play pen :/
***sorry for the long post
Chin-proofing my room has recently become a necessity for me. I'm a college student and I rent so I really can't afford to repair any damage left behind by my mischievous chinchillas. The molding around the floor is of greatest concern because that's the only thing that doesn't actually belong to me.
Playpens can be pretty costly, but I invested what I could and got one for $40. When I tried letting them out in the rather large area they spent the entire playtime making escape attempts and essentially got nothing out of their time out of the cage.
Plan B: line the walls of my room with old cardboard boxes my roommates had no use for after moving in. I set to work peeling off all the leftover tape and cutting away any glue. It didn't take as long as I would have thought and all I really had to do was sever one side so that the box could be stretched out long ways.
At first I was going to cut away the flaps, but keeping them on gives the bottom half a sort of leg stand and the overhanging top flaps deter them from grabbing onto the top half and pulling themselves over between the guard and the wall. (Although cutting off unnecessary flaps can help you conserve materials and fill in any gaps not covered by larger portions. The molding is the important part anyway.)
I also put the play pen to use by blocking off the underside of my bed with it. Now everything I use to Chin-Proof my room can be folded up and put in my closet when playtime is done. It also cost me nothing- except the play pen :/
***sorry for the long post
