What is it?

[PetProductsByNature]

I don't get at all what the comment about the clock was, but...I love the Pick-It Fence. Can anyone think of something that is better than that? Does anyone think that is not the perfect name? The 9 hole female breeding colar was good too, but what would people think if I put that up on our site? PETA would be all over us!
Something a wise old woman said to me...she was in my head..."We are all different." There are some that are more...and some that are less...concerned about safety. Some have had more first hand experience with serious/sad/troubling/scary situations, some have had fewer and some have had none...and not necesarily just the youth. (Those of you that have known us for awhile, think of the housefire, the loss of a father at the age of 3, the near loss of a baby sister, drugs dominating family life and now the loss of his mother. Our 8 year old grandson, Joe 5 has been through more trials than many of us will experience in a lifetime.) None of US are the same and neither are our pets. THAT IS A GOOD THING. Has anyone ever considered that if everyone were just like me what a boring world this would be? Let's agree to dissagree, okay? I want to live on a peaceful planet. I NEED to hear what you object to, even if it's some minute little detail! All of our kritters are like us, none of them the same. Like Tunes said in a previous thread I started, "her (my) choices could put my (her) chins at risk." I NEED to hear your various opinions! HONEST! So...I need to hear what parts of our ideas may (or may not) cause a danger. How can we offer products that you can feel confident putting in your chins habitat if we don't care about this? (or is that a !!!!!) If we don't hear the ideas from both ends of the spectrum, how will we know what is the medium? I also need to hear the comments like spacing being acceptable or not, or the suggestions about letting the customer choose the wood types, or offering different lengths or hardware options. Like AZChins said, "criticism does not need to be negative" but it does need to be constructive. You KNOW what I am looking for...the PERFECT chin stuff! YOU THE CHIN OWNER ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN HELP ME FIND THAT!!! Create happiness and please create peace, for us, for our pets, and for each other.
I love all of the great ideas I have heard so far. How fast this thread blossomed. I want to do this when I have a new toy or chin-a-tat idea, but I can't do it in good conscience if people's feelings get hurt, so help me out here...create peace...and just be creative...or critical...or whatever it is that will help PPBN.

 

[Puddles&Chubbs]

Barbi: I had the cutest wooden chubbichin clock made for me recently. That's what the comment was referring to.

 

[3CsMommy]

Okay, here comes another opinion.
Name: Jeffy's (or Barbi's) Ladder
How I'd use it: Probably hang it by one end from the roof of my Quality Cage or near the top over a shelf, depending on how long it is. The other option I could see working in my cage is attach it catty-corner over a shelf like a little awning, so they'd have to stand on their back feet and chew above themselves. I wouldn't give mine a true 'ladder' because one is a consummate klutz (hence the name Crash) and the other one is a pushy little brat. I like to leave most of their toys accessible from more than one spot so there are fewer shoving matches and fights.

 

[mercynursie]

How about the "pitter-patter ladder" for all of those little critters tootsies to enjoy?

 

[PetProductsByNature]

How about the "pitter-patter ladder" for all of those little critters tootsies to enjoy?

Hold that thought..."What Is It? #2" (and 3 and 4 and 5 and.....) will be coming very soon...I tell you, honestly, our creative juices are flowing!
So long as people that are in the top 50 "chin owners we trust" list, perceive a ladder with 3" x 3" opening as possibly posing a danger to chins, we won't be calling this particularitem a ladder....but again, I like the name, not just for this particular idea...oh! darned, and you wanted it, huh? AZChins has been with us FOREVER and I respect her opinions.

With that said, how wide can a chin climb? like I mean how far apart do the rungs need to be for a "ladder"? How big (in inches) is a chins head, body, butt? I don't mean to be so pathetic. I know birds, I know mice, I know rats, I know rabbits and dogs and cats, but it just wouldn't be fair to the chin if we had one of those little furballs :wink2: Would a customer (you) be more inclined to purchase a ladder from us if we had it 6" wide? 8" wide? or???
How long would YOU like it??? Tell me...tell me...tell me and I'll have What Is It #2 ready to begin tomorrow.

 

[PetProductsByNature]

How about the "pitter-patter ladder" for all of those little critters tootsies to enjoy?

Hold that thought..."What Is It? #2" (and 3 and 4 and 5 and.....) will be coming very soon...I tell you, honestly, our creative juices are flowing!
So long as people that are in the top 50 "chin owners we trust" list, perceive a ladder with 3" x 3" opening as possibly posing a danger to chins, we won't be calling this particulam item a ladder....but again, I like the name, not just for this particular idea...oh! darned, and you wanted it, huh? AZChins has been with us FOREVER and I respect her opinions.

With that said, how wide can a chin climb? like I mean how far apart do the rungs need to be for a "ladder"? How big (in inches) is a chins head, body, butt? I don't mean to be so pathetic. I know birds, I know mice, I know rats, I know rabbits and dogs and cats, but it just wouldn't be fair to the chin if we had one of those little furballs :wink2: Would a customer (you) be more inclined to purchase a ladder from us if we had it 6" wide? 8" wide? or???
How long would YOU like it??? Tell me...tell me...tell me and I'll have What Is It #2 ready to begin tomorrow.

 

[alli713]

Personally I wouldn't use it as a ladder, since chins aren't like rats, they don't climb. They more jump, so they'd have to have that at an angle to go up.

I'd more use it as a giant vertical chew toy if it were me.

 

[PetProductsByNature]

Personally I wouldn't use it as a ladder, since chins aren't like rats, they don't climb. They more jump, so they'd have to have that at an angle to go up.

I'd more use it as a giant vertical chew toy if it were me.

Do you mean they jump like a bunny hops?
So overall...I guess what I'm hearing here is that this particular chew toy/accessory might be a good idea but would need to marketed differently to different exotic pet owners? That makes perfect sense. A chin would like it for something to chew on, or maybe even hang out under. (I assume they would not use it like a bridge...not really good tight rope walkers, I take it with the rungs so far apart, but more than likely it would need to be close to the wall of a cage? So also, I would take it that if you could hang it down the side of your cage and it was accessible to more than one ledge etc, that the chinnies could gnaw on it, either in different places as their little hearts desired if they are caged alone, or share it with others if they have cage mates. Of course any one owner can choose to hang it any way they prefer and deem safe for their pets.
(Oh Susan (AZChins,) I have just got to take the time to come visit you and the chins and see how they live! I feel like a real goober here with all the apparently silly questions I'm asking. Otherwise, I will always be confused, no matter how badly I want to see it with my mind's eye. Maybe later this week?)

So next question would be...if I were to make a bridge...I've looked in the classified but don't see specific dimensions, how wide would it need to be and how close do the logs need to be to not pose a danger to chins? Can they be spaced with 1" chews in between? I'm guessing that if they're bouncing off walls, they may be coordinated enough to navigate spaced out rungs. Or are logs on a bridge not even a good idea for chins? All I see in the classifieds are rectangular pieces of pine and I'm assuming that's all a lot of people have access to? Or is it a preference? If it's a preference, I'll leave it to them to continue building them.

I'm learning a LOT here. Thanks for all your help and your patience in answering my pitiful questions

 

[sublime5981]

Just wanted to add that pearlinks work fine for me in melamine cages. I just add screw eyes where I need to hang something. :thumbsup:

As for the product idea, I have to honestly say that I haven't and most likely won't ever purchase any type of ladder/bridge for my chins. The way they chew stuff, any kind of "safe spacing" won't last long. I would only use something like this as a chew flat against the wall.

 

[Easterpiggy]

I would call it " Super chin wonder bridge" or "Super chin wonder chew"
I would put 2 clips on each end to make it stable and I would put across the cage like a shelf or a bridge. (obviously not too far from another shelf or the bottom of the cage) or you can hang it above a shelf so they can stand and chew.

I dont know about you guys but my chins think that they are ninjas and they like to climb up the sides of their cages. so a ladder might no be too bad of an idea.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I'm calling it the "YUMMYDELICIOUS LADDER"!!! :thumbsup: ..and I know that my boys would welcome the chance to test-chew one!!!

 

[3CsMommy]

For a true bridge (and this might be a good use for some of those larger pieces you and Jeff have to figure out what to do with), the usual dimensions seem to be about 6" wide and as long as it takes to 'bridge' the gap between shelves with no spaces between. (And their hopping is more like a gerbil or jerboa hopping than a bunny. There's videos here if it'll help: http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a7/NeumeIndil/Chinchillas/ Click on the ones that have little triangles in the top left corner.) For my cage, I'd probably need 18" lengths, or maybe 2'.

 

[BoundNoFtWaL]

As far as climbing goes my Sigmund would scale the sides of his cage. He'd then jump to into his hammock in the middle of his cage for fun. His cage has 1/2" horizontal bars and is 32" tall.

Most information I've read recommends spacing for floors and cage sides to be 1/2" or smaller to be safe for their feet. If there are kit's (babies) that might be too wide for tiny feet. If someone had kits though they may not put this in with them. I know my Stitch has squished himself under a bedroom door (about a 2" opening) to get into another room.

For the wild and crazy chin like my Sigmund, I might attach this to the edge of his cage hanging across horizontally like a fence. Ceiling hanging would probably be my second option. The option to change woods would be nice. Maybe make it all wood even. Do birds chew pumice?

A name that comes to mind is "critter tracks". Like rail road tracks.
You said it can be twisted in a spiral? DNA came to mind. Double-helix. “Delicious ‘N Appetizing” Double the fun of your pets most pleasurable, primal, past times. It would be attached to the ceiling at one end and a wall at the other at an angle.
Attachment with lanyard clips would be what I would use. For melamine cages you could make small loops on the ends of the wire so the ends could be attached to hooks or screwed to the inside of the cage. Maybe, give the option to buy the screw in hooks. I know I’ve read concerns with hooks in cages though.

If it were bent in a circle, ends connected, it could be hung from the ceiling if close to a flat surface they could hop threw it (like circus animals and hoops) as well as chew it. Then call them "Chew-oops". Chew them, hop threw them, push them over. Created by accident

They could also be attached to the side of a cage as a sort of circle perch. If the spacing was a little closer together this might work. “Wood-in Windows”...

If spacing was wider between slats they might enjoy climbing threw the sections. Sit on it, climb threw it, and chew it. Might be a sort of jungle gym. Call them "nibble gyms". Sugar gliders might enjoy this too.

If it were still the circle form it could be used outside of the cage as a play time toy. Either laid down to hop into and out of, or on its side like a wheel to push and hop off of. How sturdy are they? Then you could call it a "critter or creature cog"

I love this stuff. Looks great! I'm sure my Stitch would love it.

 

[eroomlorac]

I'd call it a "chin chain" but I realize it's not just for chins. I would use this toy as a bridge for them to walk on and chew up.

 

[saszygirl1]

I like it. I would buy it and use it as a bridge with leges around iT

 

[Sendra]

I'd think 'Chewts and Ladders' or 'Chews and Ladders' or something along that line, with or without pluralizing 'ladder' would be fun. Ladders always reminds me of the game 'Chutes and Ladders', and Chutes sounds a bit like Chewts or Chews.

 

[Claire D]

So overall...I guess what I'm hearing here is that this particular chew toy/accessory might be a good idea but would need to marketed differently to different exotic pet owners? That makes perfect sense. A chin would like it for something to chew on, or maybe even hang out under. (I assume they would not use it like a bridge...not really good tight rope walkers, I take it with the rungs so far apart, but more than likely it would need to be close to the wall of a cage? So also, I would take it that if you could hang it down the side of your cage and it was accessible to more than one ledge etc, that the chinnies could gnaw on it, either in different places as their little hearts desired if they are caged alone, or share it with others if they have cage mates.

Yes, these are all real possibilities, along with bending it into a shape (maybe a curve or a triangle or a square or twisted etc) for the chins to chew.
Some chins are pretty good at balancing and some are just rubbish - some may be able to use it as a low bridge or climbing frame but it very much depends on the chin concerned and how the owner feels. Anything 3" or above in terms of gap still allows chins to climb through and around it, especially if it is bend into a shape.

Do you guys have Fiddle Sticks in the US? https://www.thearkpetshop.com/index.php?p=2_4&gr=Superpet%20Fiddle%20Sticks%20Large%2018x10%22&pid=12070
Do you do anything like those Barbi? If you made your bridge with maybe a 1/2" gap between pieces (maybe using little bits of pumice or scraps of coins?) or just enough gap for the wood to be bent to shape that might work.
Alternatively how about using bigger/thicker discs/coins of wood to make up a bridge? A bit like a stepping stones idea.

 

[Kula]

* Could this be used for a cage accessory for a chin?
Definitely!

* Does it need to be attached so it stays stable or can it wiggle? Should we attach it at 2 points per end or just 1? And if it were a ladder of some sort, would it need to be attached on the bottom?
Well, I think it depends on where a person puts it. If they want their chinchillas to climb on it, I'd make sure it can't wiggle. I think the gaps are too large for a chinchilla to use it as a ladder or a bridge. I'd probably put it 5 or so inches above the largest ledge so it could be a roof that they could munch on. Or I'd have one end anchored a couple inches from the floor of their cage and the other end anchored a foot off the floor, close to their bottom ledge.

* Name... Rapunzel's Delight!

When making a bridge, just make sure the gaps between pieces of wood are large enough so toes/fingers can't get pinched, but small enough so they can't get their head stuck. .5" to 1" would be fine, but I wouldn't go any bigger. I'd also use squared wood rather than rounded wood because it would be easier for them to walk across. I think it would look better if wire rope was used instead of regular wire. And for the things between the wood, just make sure they can't pinch a chinchilla's toes/fingers against the wood. Maybe something round?

 

[mercynursie]

How about "Rodent Romp n' Chomp"? it could be a bridge for them to romp around on,a ladder to climb on or just a wood filled toy to chomp on!!!

 

[sheri7]

How about Chinchilladder