Common chinchilla supplies/foods sold that are bad for your Chin?

[iheartfurryfriends]

I always kinda thought that the dyed mineral stones shaped like ice cream cones were disgusting. same with the dyed wood, and more or likely the wired wheel(considering their wittle feets could get caught)
.. what else is there?

 

[Pikaia]

Tons of stuff. Just about everything sold at Pets Supplies Plus and Petsmart except Oxbow and Mazuri food, Oxbow hay, Wicker tunnels and the pumice triangle chews...

Definitely stay away from most treats sold at these stores. No fruit or nuts, ever.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

My chin's cage was a "chinchilla starter kit" which came with Charlie Chinchilla food, those weird "natural" "healthy" treat clusters of nuts and seeds held together with sugar, and vanilla scented dust. Yikes. I also had a death ball for a while, but banilly wouldn't really go anywhere in it so thank god I stopped using it before I came here and found out how deadly they were.

Pudgey, my craigslist chin, came to me with all her "favorite treats" which included yogurt covered dandelion drops. Her food was ridiculous, it had BAGEL BITES in it. Wut.

 

[tunes]

Death balls.

 

[AZChins]

Pretty much all of it isn't that great for chins. It's usually made in China and overpriced. (I sell chin pellets to local people at about 1/4 the price of what the stores charge!) I think it's a great idea for people to be more proactive and try to make things for their chins out of better materials.

Definitely stay away from the stupid exercise balls. I was talking to a prospective new owner, who bought what she thought she needed at the petstore, and she said that the ball cost $25! That's highway robbery! It's a cheap piece of plastic that can break by dropping it from the height of the average person's waist. Not to mention that the chins hate them for the most part and they are soooooo dangerous.

All the treats should be passed over immediately. The cages that are a "reasonable" price are usually so cost reduced that the chin will destroy it in a matter of a year or less.

I didn't think it was possible, but the petstores have gotten worse by offering more products for chins. The simple fact is that it is very difficult for them to profit off of chinchillas because a chin's needs are so very simple. Pellets, hay and some safe toys...that's about all they should offer....oh, and dust...almost forgot the dust.

 

[Chinmama]

I don't buy any wood sticks or wooden toys from pet stores because they never say what kind of wood they are made of.

 

[dayofhope]

I don't buy any wood sticks or wooden toys from pet stores because they never say what kind of wood they are made of.

I have a few I bought before finding this site, and my chin rarely ever chewed them anyway. She may have nibbled it a little bit, but not nearly as much as safer toys.~

 

[Myt]

I'm really glad I found the forum when I did. I used to LOVE anything and everything a pet store had to offer haha.

Between the brightly colored chews, the treats, the food; I loved going to the pet store almost every other day buying something for either my chins, hamsters, or my kitten. Now I can't even remember the last time I went in a pet store!

It was funny because I always wondered why my chins or hamsters never actually used any of the toys. Now I know why!

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Lava ledges?

What about the lava ledges at pet stores?



Also, I was told here that the Super Pet (I believe that's the brand) wooden shelves are safe for chins as well..... ?

 

[Stackie]

The lava ledges and Superpet ledges are fine, though they are severely overpriced!

 

[Chin_Parent]

The sleeping ledges aren't bad if you consider the cost of shipping for ledges ordered online. They're 9.99 at the petland I go to, and seriously, you're getting like a pound of wood. I don't think Chinchy could chew on them if he wanted to, and they look like they're an 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Lava ledges are definitely overpriced at pet stores. Drsfosterandsmith or amazon is the way to go.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

The sleeping ledges aren't bad if you consider the cost of shipping for ledges ordered online. They're 9.99 at the petland I go to, and seriously, you're getting like a pound of wood. I don't think Chinchy could chew on them if he wanted to, and they look like they're an 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Lava ledges are definitely overpriced at pet stores. Drsfosterandsmith or amazon is the way to go.

I was about to post that the sleeping ledges at the store here are at the most $8.00. Plus you don't have to wait for them, which is nice if you're in a pinch.

Good to know about the lava ledges though, :thumbsup:

 

[yellnpsych]

It almost seems safer and wiser to make everything a diy project, albeit time consuming.

 

[chinchatcomics]

I gave my chinchillas the timothy hay squares and for some reason it gave the female chinchilla diarrhea. We stopped giving it to her and the diarrhea stopped...