To loufa or not to loufa?

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Is the louffa that I see on some of the chin sites, the same louffa (sp) humans use to scrub with in the bath? or is there a special chinchilla louffa? I have always just given Herby the standard lava and pumice blocks and an occasional apple stick to chew on. But I see where many people give their chin's louffa to chew on occasionally and it got me to wondering about it.

 

[Essentia]

It is the same loofah. What the difference is, is that the loofah we give our chins is not chemically treated like most loofah you can purchase in stores.

Whenever I am in need of loofah, I purchase from the same seller on Ebay. It isn't as pretty because it is only washed, not bleached, but I feel more comfortable giving it to my fur butts.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Thanks! Is it safe to give them the loofa that has been colored and flavored? I'm looking at different items to start giving to Herby and I do not want to giver her anything that may hurt her.

 

[shubbles]

Really?! i thought chinchilla loofah was a special formulated chemically created thing. That's interesting. I would never try to feed a chinchilla my shower loofah.

 

[AZChins]

One thing to bear in mind about things you buy for the chins to play with is that sometimes certain chins will demolish things in record time making them not the smartest choice for toys. I have a few chins that see a piece of loofah and turn it into loofah crumbs in about a minute. On the flip side of that - some chins don't like certain things that other chins normally do. Try a little before you buy too much because you just never know!

Pepita destroys loofah immediately, Nacho sees it as an evil object that he will only pee on. Chins are weird sometimes....

 

[beanjelly]

Really?! i thought chinchilla loofah was a special formulated chemically created thing. That's interesting. I would never try to feed a chinchilla my shower loofah.

I'm not a chin owner, but hopefully I can clarify (please feel free to clarify if I am incorrect!).

There are many things I call "loofahs"...the ones that are natural, that are chin safe, are long, tube shaped (often cut into slices) that have four "sections" but there are also the human-made loofoahs that are synthetic materials, with a rope attached! I hope that helps.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Thanks again! I was thinking about just buying like one or two pieces and seeing if she liked it. And of she doesn't I can always see if the Hammy likes it. And if need be, I can just stick with what Herby likes..

And I agree..I wouldn't think about giving my shower loufa to my Herby

 

[PetProductsByNature]

Natural Loofah comes from a plant like a cucumber or a squash...only larger. If not chemically treated, it is course and crunchy. Of our 4 boys, 3 of them like it, the other 1, well, like Susan's, thinks it's an evil thing to be peed on. (Our bird, of course, likes to destroy anything crunchy so we add her pieces deep in her toys so she has to work to get to them.) If you offer Loofah to your chins and they don't seem interested, you can also throw a whole new twist on it by soaking it in water and offering it to them soft and pliable.

What I have learned about chins!!! They love to destroy stuff!!! This is just one more safe offering for them to destroy. Those who love it, love it.

I don't think that the loofahs intended for the shower are manmade, I think they're just chemically treated to keep them soft.

 

[Sugarmama]

Alli has pictures of a whole loofah, don't you Alli?

Perhaps she'll share those photos again with us.

 

[Ruby]

Alli has pictures of a whole loofah, don't you Alli?

Perhaps she'll share those photos again with us.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1449&postcount=1

I remember that!

 

[alli713]

:hilarious: Yes... the giant loofah.. I've got lots of those here

Like was stated, loofah is a plant like a cucumber. If you get natural loofah from someone and it's white, then you got one that has been bleached. You want one that is an off-white to brown.

Some people color the loofah with food coloring, others flavor with kool-aid, both are safe. The kool-aid is used without sugar, so it isn't bad for them.

Loofahs in the store have been bleached, so don't buy the shower kind and give it to your chin.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I ended up buying some colored loofah from one of the vendors off of here, but all Herby does is use it to anchor the hanging toys in her paws, so she can get at the pumice stones I have on them.

And that is a HUGE piece of loofah in those pictures!

 

[AZChins]

I have these two little rescue boys, they are Harold and I can never remember the other guy's name. They have this tomato red loofah slice. All they do is stuff it through the cage bars so that it is on the floor in back of their cage every morning. LOL Evil little chins. I could have given it to, say, Haskell - he would have actually enjoyed chewing it up. Harold is a bad little chin, his cagemage eggs him on...they were spoiled in their last home but the owner developed allergies. Basically, I ended up taking on two little crazy spoiled chins, they are worse than the rescues that were neglected because they MUST have what they want when they want it or they pout.

 

[alli713]

Yeah, some chins like loofah some don't. My girls aren't too partial on it. They do prefer the flavored kind though if I'm going to give them some.

 

[Sugarmama]

:hilarious: Yes... the giant loofah.. I've got lots of those here


Yes...it caused quite the 'loofah envy' around here! illowfight:

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Where do you guys order the giant loofah from? My chin may not chew it, but it would make a GREAT conversation piece when I have company.

 

[alli713]

lol I order mine wholesale. I know some people have bought them off of ebay, but I don't buy from there.

I'm always willing to sell a whole one if someone is interested.

They come flat and then you can put them in water and watch them expand! lol

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Now that sounds like fun! Kind of like those toys that expand in water, but funnier!