How often should chinnies get wood?

[caballtaz]

I see lots of pictures of chinchillas with tons and tons of wood in their cages, and I worry that I am underfeeding wood. They have lots of safe pine perches in their cage, which they chew the edges of but do not destroy. Wood sticks, on the other hand, are destroyed immediately. They only care for the bark, but they will finish with whatever chews I give them in less than 24 hours. A big piece of cholla MIGHT last two days. I feel like if I give them a constant supply of wood, I would go broke! :wacko:

How much wood should a chin get? I like making them happy, but my #1 priority is to avoid tooth problems.

 

[tunes]

They don't have to have wood every second of every day to chew on. A couple times a week is fine.

 

[Evelyn]

All woods are safe for chinchilla?

 

[Stackie]

All woods are safe for chinchilla?

No, not all woods are safe. Here is a safe and unsafe woods list: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34

 

[AZChins]

Maybe a different type of wood like pecan or manzanita would be better since they chew things up so quickly? The harder woods may last a bit longer. I make cheaper toys for my chins out of pine blocks...they may not last forever, but they are inexpensive enough for me to provide hanging toys for all the chins here.

I don't have a whole lot of toys in with my chinchillas, just one hanging toy and a few little pieces of wood for them to throw around. A lot of these chin people really do spoil their chins!

 

[caballtaz]

You guys are awesome, thanks! They do still tear up the hard woods pretty fast, just not in a matter of minutes like with applewood.

 

[Sandi]

You guys are awesome, thanks! They do still tear up the hard woods pretty fast, just not in a matter of minutes like with applewood.

Manzanita too? My boys take forever to chew anything manzanita. Barbi of petproductsbynature.com has great deals on wood, I believe she has a thread going in the classifieds as well.

 

[mishellyshel]

My boys get 1 Apple stick per night and each have 1 hanging toy in their cage. I also give them other safe woods, sometimes in place of the Apple, sometimes in addition to. I did find some unsprayed trees on my dads property so I started to prepare some on my own.

My biggest expense has always been wood chews & toys.

Susan sent me a one of the cheaper pine hanging toys and they r awesome!
I also love, well my chins love the wood from PPBN & my Apple wood from stacey wolf.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

If my girls were answering this question, I'm sure their response would be "All day, every day!"
I have lots of hanging toys available for them, but they always pick one and go at it, and it's usually in the same spot in the cage, so I end up rotating the rest of them to that spot. :hmm:

And I have a little toy box in each cage that I put a handful of loose twigs in each night.

I didn't realize pecan was considered a hard wood!! Maybe that is why mine hardly touch it... and that sucks because it's one I can get lots of for free!

:hair:

 

[caiti]

Yea my chin freakishly chews anything she can get her hands on. I slept over someone's house one night and my rommates watched Chloe. I came back the next day and she chewed an entire lip off one of her shelves. It was a 1x2 board of poplar that was 12 inches long...gone! I'm not gonna even bother replacing it haha.

The girl could make her own wood shavings at the rate she chews wood.

 

[brittanycrystal]

I try to have 2 resilient hanging toys. Willow and pine are generally the cheapest, I get enough of those to supply them with a few chews a day. And then I provide the more expensive wood toys a couple days a week. But I'm extremely malo paranoid, so I probably go overboard.

I get lots of apple wood and peach wood by looking up local organic orchards and contacting them. A lot of times, when they have a free picking season for the public, they'll give you branches and cuttings for free =). Just remember to clarify that they absolutely do not treat their wood

 

[kimbt622]

I get lots of apple wood and peach wood by looking up local organic orchards and contacting them. A lot of times, when they have a free picking season for the public, they'll give you branches and cuttings for free =). Just remember to clarify that they absolutely do not treat their wood

For some reason I recall peach wood NOT being safe for chins? I could be wrong though, hope someone can verify that!

 

[Idgie]

For some reason I recall peach wood NOT being safe for chins? I could be wrong though, hope someone can verify that!

Right--peach wood is not considered safe. Anything with a stone or pit like peach, cherry, plum are not safe according to www.chinchillas2home.co.uk/safewoods.htm.

I give Idgie apple wood, but she also just largely chews the bark off. I also give her pine and poplar. I buy 2x4's and cut skinny slices and I buy poplar trim and just cut 3" lengths. She usually chews some of each every night. If she has wood in her cage for more than a day or two, she won't chew it. So I usually pass on any hanging toys.

 

[3CsMommy]

I keep 1 hanging toy with different types of wood on it in my guy's cage at all times, plus his pine shelves, plus at least one nommable perch. Usually a $50-$60 order from Pet Products By Nature lasts me the better part of 6 mo. (I last ordered before Christmas, and I'm near the point of reorder now.) Crash doesn't have much else to do, though, since he doesn't have a roommate, and when he did have a roommate, one of them was a fur chewer. Having a good variety available to them lessened the problem, so I've tried to continue that now that Crash is a singleton (for a while).

 

[InkedupTara]

Kara I am the same way, there are at least 3 hanging toys in each cage, and I fill them myself, so I am not killing money buying toys, and I give a small handful of sticks every night and I have 7 chins now.... lets just say I think I need a 2nd job to supply their wood habit lol!

 

[brittanycrystal]

Eep! Ignore that guys, I had cobbler on the brain. Pear* orchards. Pear good, peach wood has toxic seeds like cherry.

 

[ticklechin]

I have 4-5 hanging toys in each cage and everyone gets 4-5 apple sticks a night. Once a week they get a new willow item.

 

[Jenn]

I have a few wood hanging toys in Tink's cage, but for the most part, she pays them little attention. But I feel reassured having them in there in case I do forget to give her wood. I know she does have something to gnaw on. But I usually give Tink about 3 apple sticks a day to demolish...but I have only one chin and it is more affordable for me to be able to give a few stick a day.

 

[moon]

I wish I could afford to give my guys wood every night! I have to stick with the cheap trick of pine blocks, but my little guys LOVE their apple wood if I can get it!

They still wouldn't get it once a day, but if they're lucky and I have some they get it once a week when I clean cages.

 

[Stackie]

I don't put a bunch of hanging toys in my boys' cages at once because they will just go into buzz saw mode and destroy them all in one night! I space them out and put a new hanging toy in once a week. They do get a handful of twigs every night and some other random chew/shred toy..usually a cardboard bagel or a random toy piece.