New owner questions about play time

[bannanababy146]

Hi! I recently got my first chinchilla and have been letting her out for play time. When I first got her I noticed at night that she'd constantly naw at her cage bars. I researched it and the general consensus was that she wanted out. Once I had her for a while I began to let her out for play time. However, even on nights I would do this she STILL naws on her bars. Her cage has hiding huts, toys, chews, ledges etc...is there anything else I can do to get her to stop? Also, what is the general amount of time or nights a should let her out?

I currently let her run around my chin proofed walk-in closet, but I want to make her one of those cardboard playpens. I know there are links on how to make them but the websites listed for buying the cardboard sheets says they have to be purchased in huge bundles, is that what everyone did to make the playpen?? Thanks!!!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

You can't make her stop wanting out. She'll want out even after being out for a while. Some people same nightly playtime, some days every few days, and some chins don't get play time at all. Depends on your schedule.
there are sites that you can buy the cardboard playpens individual. The huge bundles are usually for wholesalers (those with a store, tax id #, etc)

 

[bannanababy146]

Thanks! Can you direct me to a site that sells them individually? everyone that made them said papermart but as far as i can tell you have to buy them in bundles there. And googling where I can get them individually isnt much help.

 

[Newt]

One of my chins used to gnaw on the bars whenever she wanted a bit of attention. Hard as it was I had to ignore her so as not to reinforce the behaviour. Maybe your chin is attention seeking too?!

 

[~Alex~]

On the carboard boxes, if you go into a appliance store or appliance part store they are usually more then happy to give you boxes for free. it might be a little putting together...but free is always nice!!

 

[jess32247]

I let my chin out everyday (well, offer for her to come out, sometimes it's to eailer and she'd rather sleep) but even after she went back in she would bite the bars. I think she's just annoyed that I'm still a wake and my light is on, because as soon as it's off she does her own thing. Either that or she's attention seeking and wanting to come out!

I've been distracting her with toys and such, hopefully I will be getting her a chin spin sometime soon. But for now, a stern "no" stops her.

You can always go to a hardware store and pick up boxes for shipping, that's what I plan on using to make her a little "hide out" for play time. They're free, so that's a plus! If your chin decides to make a meal out of treats/chews/cardboard, then I suggest to take it away for a while. Never good to let them eat all there chews in one day!

 

[Henrie01]

My chinchilla did exactly the same thing when I first got her. What helped me was making sure that she had a bunch of hay in her cage before going to bed. Although, once she was done with the hay (around 3 am) she would start gnawing on her cage. Henrie loves crumpled up paper, what a cheap toy, cardboard and wood sticks. But having a lot of hay in there for her to chew on keeps her from being bored.

 

[melbur10]

Most of my girls chew bars, chins often get bored or are like others said, attention seeking lol
I swear they can be bratty little fuzz bums!
I usually give my girl in the small quarenteen cage about 2-6 hours of play time a day... Nothing she can get into in the room and I do my orders while she is more relaxed out of cage... A good portion of the time she sleeps... Once back in the cage she wants back out in 2 min lol they always want what they don't have

Additionally as a side note, how old is your chin? Many would recommend no playtime/ no wheele while they are young and growing.

 

[bannanababy146]

She is two years old, I got her as a rescue so she's fine to come out for play time. Also, I posted somewhere else on this forum but didn't get a good response about another question. She doesn't like being picked up at all, or really being touched. I try to be gentle and slow when picking her up. The only time I pick her up is to take her out of her cage for playtime, and to put her back in. Is there a way to make her less freaked out when I try to pick her up?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Constant handling will help the chinchilla to learn to at least tolerate being touched and picked up.