Length of playtime?

[Jawramik]

Hello everyone! Got another question about my adorable little fuffball.

How long is too long for playtime? I recently got a Jespet playpen (unfortunately I had to get the medium size, I just don't have the floor space for the large), and she had a ball running and jumping in there for the first time yesterday. She was in there for about an hour while I was cleaning and doing some modifications to her cage, but someone in another thread pointed out than an hour of exercise might be too long.

I know that caution needs to be exercised with kits, because they can't regulate their body temperature and blood sugar as well as adults, but my girl isn't a kit. I'm actually not quite sure how old she is, since she's a rescue. She's young, probably not more than 1 year, but she's more or less full size (at least she looks that way to me, but as I'm typing this I realise that I don't really have a point of comparison since I have virtually no prior experience with chins). I would guess she's somewhere in the range of 8 months to 1 year.

So what's a good length for playtime for a young adult chin? I want to be sure she's getting all the exercise and stimulation she needs, but I don't want her to be over-exerting herself, either. It's usually cool in the room where she lives and plays (like 60-65F in the afternoon, cooler in the morning and evening), just for reference. As it happens, the ideal temperature for chins is also my preferred temperature, haha. I'm not a happy camper when it gets above 70 either!

 

[Amethyst]

How long playtime should be really depends on various factors. First if you chin is go go go the whole time they are out then about half an hour or less is good. If they are more calm and just run around a bit, then chew on some toys, etc and the room is cool and they have access to food and water then there really isn't a limit other then how long you can supervise. When out even in a playpen they need to be supervised to watch for over heating and with those cloth pens watch for chewing on the pen. Since you got the medium (45" right?) though then that isn't a big area so it's not like she is running around a whole room so she likely can't over do it in there, there are some people with cages with more floor space then that. Chins don't really need a lot of physical exercise, out of cage time is more for mental stimulation then physical, unless you have them in a cage that is too small (the cage you have is fine). If you are worried about them not getting enough exercise you can get a chin safe wheel (14" or larger, 15-16" is better for most chins, and solid metal not plastic or mesh, I've got a list of safe wheels if you need it) to put in the cage.

Also past about 6 months it's really hard to tell age, full grown chins can range in size from about 400g to over 1,200g depending on genetics. Most pet chins are normally 400-800g full grown though.

 

[Jawramik]

Thanks for your response! My plan for the playpen is primarily just to have a safe place to put her while I'm working on her cage. She's pretty active while she's in there, but it's not constant. She'll popcorn and wall-jump for a few minutes, then slow down and naw a toy for a while, then go back to running and jumping, rinse and repeat. I put a granite tile and a ceramic hidey house in there to give her a place to cool off, though I know not all chins know to use those things when they need them. She definitely likes the ceramic house, though I'm not sure it has anything to do with temperature control.

It sounds like I don't need to be overly concerned about her over-exerting herself in the smaller playpen. My main concern was if I needed to learn to be super-efficient at cage cleaning and mods so I could limit her playpen time, but it sounds like I don't need to be too worried about that so long as her activity level isn't too crazy in the playpen (and the room is cool), yes? I'm almost done with her fleece liners, so I'll probably put them in her cage this evening or tomorrow, and I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to rush through that process too much.

I've already ordered her a Chin Spin that should be here next week!

I'm always supervising her in the pen. I set it up right next to her cage so I can keep a close eye on her while I work. She does nibble it a bit, but at least so far she doesn't seem too interested in chewing it, and she hasn't done any damage.

My estimate on her age is based less on her size and more on what little I know of her history....but it's only an estimate.