Food Dish & Hay Holder Questions

yellnpsych · Aug 10, 2011

Can a chinchilla poo/pee in any food dish? My plan was to go with a clamp-on coop, so that it has stability. Any words against a clamp-on coop? I worried the veggie shaped food dishes would tip over or be used as a litter pan, but then started to wonder if everything is a litter pan.

The hay holder situation has me in a bind. A fleece holder was suggested to me, and that sounds adorable, but I'm not convinced I will have that much extra fleece or sewing skills. I was going to go with this. Stability for this basket wouldn't be hard, drill a hole, and bolt it to a side of the cage. So this is my first choice but only with CnH approval. When searching safe woods, one source (chincillas2home) made the willow used in basket weaving sound harmless, but this forum is by far the very best source I have.

Thanks for your time! I'm verbose today

Brittany · Aug 10, 2011

Coop cups are great, but yes chins can theoretically poop/pee in any dish. I've never had a chin pee in their pellets, but I'm always cleaning poop out.

The basket is cute, I'd be worried that as your chins chew it, it will splinter and you'll have to worry about jagged edges that could impale the chin's mouth. Similar to the issues that have come up with popsicle stick toys. If you want to go the wood route I'd look for a plain pine hay rack. Otherwise a terra-cotta flower pot or plain/thick glass cup (on it's side) will work very well.

yellnpsych said:
Can a chinchilla poo/pee in any food dish? My plan was to go with a clamp-on coop, so that it has stability. Any words against a clamp-on coop? I worried the veggie shaped food dishes would tip over or be used as a litter pan, but then started to wonder if everything is a litter pan.

The hay holder situation has me in a bind. A fleece holder was suggested to me, and that sounds adorable, but I'm not convinced I will have that much extra fleece or sewing skills. I was going to go with this. Stability for this basket wouldn't be hard, drill a hole, and bolt it to a side of the cage. So this is my first choice but only with CnH approval. When searching safe woods, one source (chincillas2home) made the willow used in basket weaving sound harmless, but this forum is by far the very best source I have.

Thanks for your time! I'm verbose today

squeaker123 · Aug 10, 2011

I had a rabbit rip her ear in 2 with those baskets so I'm not a fan. They get pretty sharp as the buns chew on them and they become undone. Yeah I know rabbits and chins, different animals but doesn't change how sharp the edges get.

ChinnyMom · Aug 10, 2011

i've seen those willow box/baskets used in cages before. they do get destroyed, but chins have so much fun destroying willow stuff that it's worth it, lol. willow is safe for chins. with that basket, just be sure there are no materials other than willow used, and if you see it get jagged edges, remove it from the cage.

i'll second the thick glass cup/container idea for hay. Rhino's glass canister is working well (even if he does dig the hay out of it on occasion), and it is really easy to clean, i just wash it with dish soap and rinse it really well.

as for a food dish, anything that is flat bottomed will be very difficult for a chin to tip over. i've found the medium sized 'ergonomic' ceramic dish from petsmart is working well for Rhino, he hasn't been able to tip it over yet. a few pellets do get tossed around the cage, but not that much. poops end up everywhere, and a few make it into his dish, but i've never seen him purposely sit on/in it and go to the bathroom.

Godofgods · Aug 12, 2011

yes, they can use anything as a toilet. Recently one of my girls has been peeing in one of the food dishes almost every day. I ended up having to take the second food dish out.

As for hay dishes, i have two kinds as of now. My males have one of those J shaped containers, and my girl have a ceramic dish shaped like a carrot. The J shaped ones (for me at least) seem rather useless. The hay wouldn't slide down like food or water would. And the opening is not nearly as wide as the hay is. So my males always just take they hay out, drop it on the floor, then pick through it.

The carrot dish actually works fairly well. Its longer which helps hold the hay. Until they take it out at least. The only issue with it that i have is when the chins smack it against the side of the cage, that noise freaks them out a bit. But then again, they freak out if i take a deep breath sometimes.