Delilah thinks I am a mean mommy

[Crys12065]

Tonight I had Delilah out from 10pm-midight. When it was time to put her back in her cage she clearly did not want to go back in and once in she kept putting her paws on the cage by the door to come out and giving me those sad little chin eyes! I opened the door to pet her a little and she tried to sneak back out!
I am such a mean mommy, I would love to keep her out all night but at some point I have to go to sleep, lol

How much playtime a day do your chins get? Seems like she needs more or something

 

[dayofhope]

I know what you mean! That happens to me sometimes, too. I give my chin about 30min to an hour, depending how late it is and what else I need to do that night. Usually about 40 min or so, though.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Mind if I ask how old your girl is? 2 hours is a long playtime, especially for a young chin.

My boy does not get a playtime every night. I don't even have a set schedule with it because I don't want him to get to expecting it. He usually gets 20-30 minutes a couple times a week.

 

[Crys12065]

she is 3 yrs old. I am new to Chins so why would 2 hours be to long? I would hate to not let her out of her cage every day, is there a reason I shouldn't?

 

[ChinnyMom]

IMO two hours is fine as long as the chin isn't losing weight, isn't still a growing kit (under a year), and generally is in good health and condition. there's the odd day i'll let Rhino play for that long and it doesn't seem to affect him negatively at all. heck, most days he tells me he's done play time after about 45 minutes or so, by hopping back in his cage on his own, lol.

does your chin have a wheel in her cage? that might help with her wanting to be out all the time.

 

[Crys12065]

Oh yes, she has a wheel, she loves to run on it! She doesn't do a lot of heavy running and playing the whole time she is out. She will also just chill under the bed or on the bed too. She just likes to be out. Probably because she was hardly ever let out in the last year at her previous home.

 

[chinchatcomics]

I don't think 2 hours is too long either IMO. Before when we lived in a bigger place, our chins' playtime was anywhere from 2-4 hours almost every night. Usually if they tire themselves out they will go back into their cage for rest.

 

[Stackie]

I'm going to have to agree with Jer that 2 hours is long. Chins will literally play themselves to exhaustion and I have seen many threads about chins having hypoglycemic seizures because they overexerted themselves. They can also easily overheat themselves, even if the room they are in is cool. Even people sweat in air conditioning when they are running around constantly.

A chin will want more playtime if you give 10 minutes or 3 hours.

 

[Amphy64]

Henry gets at least two hours a night, but it's usually more, about four-five hours - and you know what? He'll still grumble and want to come out again sometimes, so I reckon your Delilah is just being cheeky. )
I feel playtime that long is fine, since he doesn't run around constantly, he'll go and sit under the bed for a rest and to play with the wood chew toys he dragged under there. He just likes being out, and can always get back to his cage if he wishes.

 

[Dusty Foot Prints]

IMO 2 hours is too long. It's not about how much playtime they want, but how much playtime is safe. Annabelle gets playtime about 30-45 minutes about 4-5x a week. If they have plenty of toys, and a wheel they should be fine with less playtime. Plus, giving attention doesn't always have to involve letting them out. You could just sit by the cage, talk to them, give them a yummy stick or occasional treat, and lots of scritchens are always appreciated.

 

[dayofhope]

I always thought the more playtime, the happier the chin. There's even websites that tell you if you don't buy a wheel, you need to let them out for hours, and the very least is 30 min a day to an hour. Obviously, they're wrong. :thinking2:

I don't have a wheel in my cage yet, and the cage isn't very big, so I try to have playtime every night. That might change when she has more room to run around in her cage and has a wheel. At least then I wouldn't feel as guilty if she stays in her cage a night. XD

 

[GorillaJTA]

Flea has a FN142 to himself with no middle divider and a wheel, so if he wants to run, jump, and play, he can do a lot in his cage.

 

[ChinnyMom]

Rhino doesn't have a wheel and although i try to let him out once a day, once in a while that just doesn't get to happen. he doesn't suffer any for it. he's always quite placid and well, lazy, lol in his cage. he does go from shelf to shelf, chewing on toys, but as far as boinging around his cage, that's rare.

 

[chinchatcomics]

well lately we haven't been able to let Shakespeare and Rolo out to play much (usually 30 minutes maximum) and I've noticed they've been more grumpy...time to modify their cage and make it more fun I guess!