My Chinchilla's Teeth

[Kaygin]

My Chin (Whisper) seems to be what I think is Gritting her Teeth shes only 10 months and she has plenty to chew and bite (All wood chews from the pet store) . I'm just worried shes got something wrong. Any advise?

 

[eroomlorac]

Every once in a while I'll hear one of my chinnies grind their teeth while they are sleeping. It's rare but I do hear it once in a while. As long as the chin is eating, pooping and acting normally and his/her weight is steady or gaining, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Kaygin]

she eats well and does run around alot during playtime as for the poop they look normal enough to me. She's only 10 months old and shes my first so I just like to make sure. Thanks for the help.

 

[trg005]

I have four chins. All of them will occasionally grind their teeth but one of them, Meatball, always grinds his teeth when I pet him. He is the exception though because he LOVES to be petted especially 4 fingers up and down his spine! Petting Meatball is like having a puppy

 

[Laurie]

Chins do grit their teeth sometimes when sleeping, they also can chattering their teeth. I have a couple of chins that are very big teeth chatterers. Keep an eye on her make sure she is chewing, eating and drinking and pooing and if all is normal this is probably nothing.

 

[Kaygin]

Ok so when I got her a new ferret like bed checked to make sure it was all safe to chew on if she does start to get pieces off about 10 minutes after she nibbled and chewed the life out of the thing she started to grind her teeth again. Right now shes asleep in it so it must be a comfort thing. At least i know she likes it lol.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Is the ferret bed made of only fleece and stuffed with fleece? If not, it is not a chinchilla safe item. Ferret beds from pet stores and most ferret beds found through private vendors are not safe for chinchillas. They are made with ferrets in mind, not chewy little chinchillas.

 

[Kaygin]

According to the package it is safe for Chinchillas plus I don't think I could take it from her now I tried to move it a bit while she was out of it and I was no wheres near her and I got warning barks lol. Thats a first for me when only moving things around in her cage.

 

[alli713]

Just because the package says it's safe does not mean it is, and actually now that you said that I can almost guarantee you it's not safe. Chances are you bought it at the pet store, a lot there is not safe. Unless it is made out of fleece completely and stuffed with fleece it is not safe. Your chin has already shown she wants to chew on it, if she chews a hole in it she may eat it and end up with an intestinal blockage.

Remove it and buy her a safe fleece one (found from sellers online) before it's too late

 

[Dolyphinm]

Sadly a lot of stuff marketed for pets isn't actually safe for them. The pet stores also sell yogurt drops with chins pictures on them. Chins do not need anything dairy at all and it could disrupt their digestive system. Peach wood they try to sell in pet shops, which is an unsafe wood for chins. Raw hides aren't digested by dogs, but they still sell them anyways. Some people have no issues with them, others have had to pay for surgery to remove part of a raw that swelled up and blocked the digestive tract and caused a lot of scar tissue in the dogs stomach.

I hate corporate greed. It needs to be an all fleece hammock since fleece doesn't unravel. The unravelling of fabric makes can lead to the intestinal problems from blockage to the thread wrapping up in the intestines and cutting off circulation.

 

[Kaygin]

With both those comments I took the hammock out and tomorrow I'll be going to the breeder and asking him about it. It's whats called a Cozy Hammock from Super pet I got it at Petsmart. For now she'll have to go back to sleeping in her little wood house.

 

[Kaygin]

Sorry for the double post(I think it is at least.) but that's the last time I buy a hammock or any kind of comfort toy from a pet store. I'd rather do something I don't usually do and just make one for her. Ive read a lot about this so called Chinchilla hammock and it's made a lot of Chins sick. So this post is basically me saying thank you for saving me the trip to the vet's and a whole lot of worrying thank you for the advise and thank you for being so helpful.

 

[Stackie]

With both those comments I took the hammock out and tomorrow I'll be going to the breeder and asking him about it. It's whats called a Cozy Hammock from Super pet I got it at Petsmart. For now she'll have to go back to sleeping in her little wood house.

I'll save you the trip to the breeder...I can tell you right now the hammock isn't safe. Take a look around at some of our supplier websites. A safe hammock should be all fleece with no strings for chins to chew on. www.camphorchins.com is one of my favorite sites and all of her items are safe. )

Many of the things in pet stores marketed for chinchillas are in no way safe at all. Buyer beware.