Toy Questions!

[Timon_Pumba]

Hello Fellow Chin Parents!
I am a chin parent of 2 lovely fuzzballs, Timon and Pumba. They are 7 months old and as happy as can be, wall surfing, hopping around, the usual. Quickly I learned that the two of my babies together chew up a good hanging toy in 1 or 2 days. So...I had an idea that maybe I can get them a bird toy. I mean after all, the bird toys look like chin toys, just giant. So I bought a toy, it's by 'All Living Things' and it is a Bark Cluster. It has a bell on the end. As soon as I got home from the pet store, I realized that I'm not sure what kind of wood it is. So before I give it to my babies I want to make sure that I don't hurt them.

Has anyone ever purchased a bird toy for their Chin(s)?
If so please let me know how this worked out and what kind of toy it was!

Or better yet, if anyone has any idea of what toy I am talking about and has perhaps purchased it, do you know what kind of wood it is and did it hurt your chins?

Also, what types of wood are not recommended for Chins?
:hmm:
Thanks so much guys!!
-Shana
and Timon & Pumba

 

[hobbit721]

Make sure you stay away from cedar and fir, for sure. (at least, that's what I read) Pine or aspen or apple wood I think are all safe bets.

I haven't bought any bird toys for my chins because I don't usually know what kind of wood it's made out of. I get my wood toys for my chins from chinchillacity.com, they have lots of great hanging toys and plenty of smaller kick-around toys for chins. Check them out

 

[Amethyst]

Fir is a debated one, like other pine like trees I don't see why it wouldn't be ok if kiln dried just like pine. This is an older and shorter list but should give you an idea of what to look for http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34 If you do a search for safe wood in the search you'll find other lists some include more wood. As said though it's best to error on the side of caution and only buy toys that you know what kind of wood they are made of, there are some kinds of wood that are ok for birds but not for chinchillas. Bird toys can be ok, and as you said they tend to be a lot bigger, but they also tend to have extra bits that are ok for birds such as leather or plastic that chins can't have, and don't label the wood used. You are much better off either buying toys from online chinchilla supply vendors or buying toy parts and making your own toys, that way you know for sure everything is safe and it's a lot cheaper then from a pet store.

 

[Timon_Pumba]

Thanks!

Thank you so much guys! To be safe I will just not use that toy. Possibly just toss it because I cant find the receipt anywhere! and the tag for it is gone as well. It fell off of the toy and I forgot to pick it up because i was like oh okay that won't hurt the chins. AND of course the boys ripped it apart. haha
But thank you so much to the both of you for your advice. I never thought about making the toys! That's a great idea!

 

[chrisbradley6]

it never hurts to ask if you can return it. the store can always get a new tag for it, if it is obviously not used. you might just get store credit, but thats better than nothing!