Loofah

[Chinchilla City]

Are there different types of loofah? Do some loofah's smell differently? I ask because I had always purchased loofah from a bird toy supplier however recently I purchased an unbleached natural whole loofah from a grower. My new loofah has a distinct smell that does not go away no matter how much I wash it. The new one looks a little different, not as dense. I gave a piece to my boys and they have pretty much ignored it which is odd, I don't think I've ever seen them turn something down; they chewed the old loofah. Is there a way to decrease the smell other than flavor them?

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I wonder if they dried it right? Is it musky smelling? I've never smelled anything with my loofah. I do know there are different types, some are more dense than others.

 

[Chinchilla City]

hmm not sure I would call it musky but I don't know how to describe it. I found a post on here that said loofah has an earthy smell, which I guess could describe it, maybe. I actually did not notice a smell until I smelled it since they were not eating it, so it's not like I opened the box and was overwhelmed but I'm a little hesitant. They do smell a lot more when wet. I bleached one piece and dried it for a while and the smell seems to disappear but not too sure about giving it to the chins.

Maybe I should try drying it in the oven?

 

[Cuddlebug]

How did you bleach it? Bleaching it could leave chemicals in the loofa that would not be good for the chinchilla.

 

[Chinchilla City]

I washed it with less than 10% bleach to water, then rinsed it a lot, the same way I'd wash their hide house, then dried it in the oven.
Maybe it was just that piece cause I just gave them another piece today and they fought over it.

 

[Chinchilla City]

Has anyone found that your chin likes some loofah but not others?

The new loofa is tannish but the previous loofah was more white, like the ones you see for baths.

 

[Cuddlebug]

No matter how much you rinse it, the loofa will still absorb some of the bleach. since loofa is something that they actually eat, I would not use any that was bleached at all. That includes the loofa used for bathing. Tan is the natural color for loofa. If it is white, it has been bleached. As far as cleaning their house with it, vinegar or peroxide would be better choices since neither of them leaves a harmful residue.