Other Soon to be Chin owner

ChinChin said:

My main question is, where do I find melamine?

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You can find melamine coated pressboard at Lowe's or Home Depot in the lumber department. It runs about $28-30 a sheet and it's HEAVY. Try using melamine tileboard ($10 a sheet) for the back and bottom of your cage, you will find it near the bathroom stuff.

ChinChin said:

I also made of list of things I need to buy before our pair is ready to adopt. Please add anything I am missing, or give suggestions. Thank you in advance!

- Food Dish
- Water Bottle
- Bathhouse + dust
- Litter tray
- Exercise wheel
- Hammock (will they use this?)
- Treats (Like raisins or cranberries)
- Chewies
- Bedding (Would carefresh work?)
- Hidey House

And what kind of "toys" do they like?

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I make and sell fleece chinchilla hammocks and yes, they do use them! All eleven of my chins love them. They also like pumice, natural wood, kiln dried pine pieces - all of which they chew on. Don't forget the chin pellets and timothy hay! Carefresh is great for chins, but you can also use kiln dried pine shavings from Tractor Supply Co. or aspen shavings. They work just as well and are more economical.

My chin hammock website: (broken link removed)

Treats (Like raisins or cranberries)

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Please take note chinchilla need careful feeding, do not overfeed treatssome is ok.

Exercise wheel

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You should get this kind of wheel it's best for their backs Chinchilla Cage Accessories from Quality Cage Co. sorry about the price. for more info this is a great site... (broken link removed)

I have the Chin Spin from the same company and it is not so expensive. It is a fabulous wheel.

I'm just wondering, but can you let a chin play with a guinea pig if they get along and if you supervise them? I don't have either and I know they obviously can't be housed together, but has anyone let their chin play with their guinea pig?

Congrats. Chins are awesome little animals. Are your pair male or female?



- Food Dish-I use ceramic crocks. Plastic will be chewed. You can also use metal bowls that attatch to the cage wire. I'd not use really large bowls as it's easier for them to sit in them and pee in their food (although some will do it no matter how small the cage is)
- Water Bottle- I prefer glass Lixit bottles. Search online for them, Petsmart carries them..Chins will bite through plastic bottles (even if on the other side of the wire they can bite through them)
- Bathhouse + dust those bath houses sold..don'tlast. They chew through them. You can use a glass fish bowl, or a glass casserole dish..or something similar. Easy enough to find at any Walmart.
- Litter tray chin's can't be litter trained per se. If you are talking about to go under the cage? Sites that tell you how to build your melamine cages should give ideas for that.
- Exercise wheel just make sure it's a solid metal wheel intended for chins.
- Hammock (will they use this?) try it..some will use it /love it.some will quickly eat it.
- Treats (Like raisins or cranberries) Whether or not raisins are OK for them is VERY debateable. I feed craisins, VERY occasionally. Better treats are :dried organic rosehips, supplement,a pinch of rolled oats, a plain shredded wheat square..(the little ones)..apple sticks..and other things to chew on.
- Chewies Apple sticks are one of my herd's favorites. Pumice stones,and pine blocks are also easy to get. Ebay has items fairly often for chews, sometimes get good deals.
- Bedding (Would carefresh work?) Carefresh is good. I use Aspen..i personally don't like the smell of Carefresh, but that's just me. Pine, IF kiln dried..is supposedly safe..and widely used..but personally I don't like the idea of something with such an odor (even if I wasn't HIGHLY allergic). Non kiln dried pine is never safe, and toxic.
- Hidey House can be used..or large PVC pipes. Just make sure their house, if wood, doesn't have nails in it anywhere. They will chew the walls off and can expose the nails in the future.

Toys with wood/pumice are great for entertainment as well as chewing. Those made like for birds, but with Sisal rope and not cotton rope are better. Again, check Ebay...they have some neat stuff. There are also a variety of Chin forums/ joined any of those yet? Alot of members on there sell chin stuff.

FuzzButtLover said:

I'm just wondering, but can you let a chin play with a guinea pig if they get along and if you supervise them? I don't have either and I know they obviously can't be housed together, but has anyone let their chin play with their guinea pig?

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The general consensus is that chins can seriously harm guinea pigs - they have POWERFUL back legs for kicking. I've heard vets talk about chins actually attacking piggies before.

As a rule of thumb, cross-species interaction is to be avoided for safety.

Here's a great website for new chin owners:
The Wonder of Chinchillas : Join Our Board: https://anntwo.proboards105.com/index.cgi