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Post by KID COYOTE on Jun 7, 2019 2:57:49 GMT
Howdy doodly! So long story short i'm working on a new diy cage for my chin, Wilhelm. I've been planning for the last few months -- as per my last thread, I have indeed already made a diy cage for will, but it was pretty hastily made. There's nothing inherently wrong with it as such. It's about 2'x2' with a height of 4' which feels a teensy bit narrow. Will also lives in my bedroom (I know, ill-advised; however my boyfriend and i are both really heavy sleepers haha) so his current set-up, which is on castors and pushed into the corner, isn't very space efficient. So I've been working out a corner fitted, wall mounted cage. It likely won't be as tall but Will isn't much of a climber anyway unless he's really hyper (his current cage has some hawthorn branches installed, which I might do again)
YIKES, that's a lot of backstory for such a simple post, i know. But basically I've absolutely fallen in love with natural cage setups -- i see a lot of hamster owners do it and I think it's really gorgeous. For ease of access (and cleaning) though I plan on doing a half and half type idea – I'll likely make a second more comprehensive thread about this down the line, but anyway-- I've been thinking a lot about live plants.
I have two succulents on my windowsill that will likes to nibble from time to time, which makes sense given the plant life in his natural habitat. I know modern domesticated chinchillas are pretty independent from their wild cousins at this stage, but darn I just think it would be aesthetically pleasing if nothing else! (I dabble a lot in design so the feng shui of the cage visually is important to me)
Anyway, I'm assuming most plants that actually grow on the slopes and foothills of the andes would be safe enough but i haven't found much research about specifics. I've seen a few threads here and there about live plants and grass seems to be the safest bet, but i just wanted to be sure! especially since succulents shouldn't cause too much problem with humidity? (ideally)
I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on the matter though, because there are people on here much more experienced than I! :')
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 7, 2019 9:50:40 GMT
Hi, welcome back to the forum  I don't have chins so I'm going to tag a couple of our regular chin owners for you ntg randomname @darchinchi and hopefully they can help more with specifics. Food safety has to be done on the actual species of succulent, rather than just the succulent group, so the more you can tell us about the plants you want to use the better. I'm hoping one of our chin keepers can give you an idea how practical growing plants within the cage might be, I suppose it depends how destructive Wilhelm is and how fast he might eat the plants relative to how fast they grow. As long as you can confirm the safety, then ideas like this are really good to try, quite often if can take a couple of attempts but really nice things can come of it. You may need to protect the soil surface of the plant with a layer of gravel or something else to protect Wilhelm from any moulds on the surface or from eating or digging out the soil. You are right about the floor space in your current cage, given the body length and stride of a chinchilla, they really need a good length of cage, I think absolute minimum would be 100cm, but 1.5m and above would be much better. Are you aware of the wild chinchilla facebook page, you might find it interesting, I think they mention native plants www.facebook.com/savethewildchinchillas/ |
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Post by ntg on Jun 7, 2019 21:49:57 GMT
Hi! I've thought about growing plants in the cage and I'm not sure it's a great idea with chins. Succulents in particular need a lot of light, while ideally your chin cage should be in a shaded place. As far as I'm aware too, aloe vera and opuntia/prickly pear cactus are the only common ones I've read as being safe to feed and I'd be reluctant to feed aloe since there are cases of sensitivity to it in other animals (as far as I'm aware). The reason I say I wouldn't is because they are so destructive so most plants wouldn't stand a chance, so then have to find a way to protect the stem (or heart leaf for some plants), protect the pot if not using clay, and stop them from getting to the soil which can breed fungus and bacteria depending on the water requirements of the plant. From what I know, it works well with hamsters because they don't bother with plants. What might work better is to keep fast-growing plants close by such as spider plants, or trailing ones like english ivy or tredescantia zebrina/wandering jew where they can nibble on any leaves that get close. |
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Post by randomname on Jun 9, 2019 10:23:07 GMT
I agree with NTG 100%. I'd also add that feeding anything fresh (& with a lot of moisture content) is also something most chin owners don't do & some groups/breeders will insist that it'll kill your chins. I know Darth feeds fresh plants but I haven't been that brave yet (mine ignore fresh herbs so I don't think they'd eat any other plants) I guess you'd have to build it up bit by bit as well, so giving them access to a full plant before they've build up a tolerance to fresh might just be dangerous. It's a bit of a minefield & I can't really offer advice as I've never done it (I do feed a variety of dried plants which some groups/breeders also frown upon) I really think darthchinchi would be the person to talk to about this as she's got the experience & knowledge I just don't have. |
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Post by darthchinchi on Jun 9, 2019 10:39:24 GMT
Ill get back to you when I find my computer |
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Post by darthchinchi on Jun 10, 2019 14:32:39 GMT
Here I am. First of all, if you are on fb I would highly recommend this group www.facebook.com/savethewildchinchillas/ for further references on both their habitat and the food they live of off. There is a paper on the food they eat in the wild; Seasonal food habits of the endangered long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera): the effect of precipitation This covers what they are known to eat, but not succulents as far as I remember, as they can't be detected in the feces. If you joing the group above, however, you might be able to get some names on the succulents and other water filled plantes they live of off as a source of water. But giving them water from a bottle may mess with their digestion when you give them watery-plants. I would recommend sticking to plants lower in water, if you can get them to thrive, and you need to make sure they can't get to the substrate you plant the plants in, as they WILL end up digging the plants out. In the wild they would go for the roots as well, and they do tend to burrow under specific types of plants. They do not eat all that grow where they come from, and they prefer to eat the dried plant material in the wild (experiments were made with wild chinchillas.They were offered both dried and fresh food items and would pick the dried ones. From own experience, chinchillas used to fresh will prefer fresh, whereas chinchillas used to dried will prefer dried over fresh). Personally I would go with something I could remove from the cage again, and make sure they could only get at the shoots so they wouldn't kill off the entire plant. And I would go with either grasses or safe herbs like thyme, that's hardy and very easy to grow. They do have a thing with the taste of liquorice (what kind of a hellish word is that to spell), so if you can find a herb they can have, that has a liquorice flavour, it might go down very well. You do need to start out slow though. That's also why it might be beneficial if they can only get at the newer shoots of the plant. That way it will never get too excessive. |
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 10, 2019 15:16:44 GMT
Here I am. They do have a thing with the taste of liquorice (what kind of a hellish word is that to spell) AH!! You gave me such a good laugh with that one!! I find it hellish too! Though there is another spelling, licorice, that be used as well. However it is nearly as bad. The problem is that the pronunciation is nothing like the spelling! At least . . . over here we pronounce it "lick-or-ish." It took me ages to remember that it is ICE on the end. When I write it, I am saying in my brain. LIC OR ICE, so that I get it right. Then I go back to saying it as licorISH. LOL!! |
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Post by winic1 on Jun 10, 2019 16:27:52 GMT
If you want to put the plants INSIDE their cage, get a small bird cage that the plant fits in, then put the plant inside the little cage inside the chinchilla cage. That way they can only eat the parts that stick out of the cage, and the main part of the plant as well as the dirt is protected from them.
Another way would be to hang the plant on the outside of the cage, so that again, they can only get the parts of the plant up against their own cage, and can't get to the whole plant or the dirt.
(Bird-keeping people do this, as many birds, even tiny little finches, will quickly eat a plant to death if they can reach the whole thing. I also have my house plants in cages, as I have cats who think they are salad-for-cats. I also discovered I had to pick plant-cages with tight bar spacing, as the cats discovered they could reach in and pull leaves out to chew on.)
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 10, 2019 17:25:25 GMT
Our cat has the same idea!! I am going to have to start thinking of plant cages! We did have a terrarium for my daughters plants, but the cat has figured out how to knock it apart. SIGH! So . . . plant cages! Hmmm! Sounds distinctly "Little Shop Of Horrors" doesn't it?
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Post by winic1 on Jun 10, 2019 21:24:55 GMT
very artistic if done nicely |
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Post by KID COYOTE on Jun 11, 2019 15:10:09 GMT
Wowee, this blew up a bit. Thanks guys! The wild chinchillas facebook page is a massive help, its a real treasure trove of natural habitat stuff in general, never-mind just plants. i'll be studying up a bit more on there i think! Thanks moletteuk and darthchinchi for that!
i actually wasn't aware that regular old herbs could work (chinchilla safe ones, of course) so i might look into that. as for protecting the more important bits of the plant -- the bird cage idea is gorgeous but i don't think i have the space for it. covering the soil in gravel could work, but it's hard to tell for sure -- Will hasn't shown himself to be much of a digger but he is only seven months old and i don't have much substrate in his current cage bar his litter pan. i guess there's always using a mesh too, but it's not particularly tidy looking imo. i guess i'll be able to gauge what options are best for me further down the line -- work on the new cage probably won't start for another few weeks because my boyfriend/handyman (lol) is in Amsterdam atm. i'll definitely be posting a progress thread sometime very soon on my plans for the new cage so keep your eyes peeled! and thanks to all of you for the great help! although i'm new on these forums i figured i'd come back here for this whole shebang because on my travels before getting will, i found this forum to be the friendliest around. which is good, because i can't be the only one who's encountered their fair share of snobby chinchilla owners, yikes!
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Post by randomname on Jun 11, 2019 15:44:29 GMT
"YoUr ChInChIlLa WiLl LiTeRaLlY ExPlOdE iF yOu LeT tHeM eXeRcIsE bEcAuSe ThEy CaNnOt FArT & ArE aCtUaLlY mAdE oF gLaSs!!!!1!!" type groups?! yeah, most of us have had that experience lol. We try to have a more balanced, science based approach here whilst understanding there isn't a right or wrong way (although there are certainly bad & good ideas!) We certainly don't scream abuse in all capitals & try to back up whatever we do say with studies or links. We don't encourage breeding & we try to encourage welfare as top priority in an open & respectful atmosphere (we hope!) I've been in small animal welfare circles for decades, met many crazy bunny ladies, many crazy guinea pig rescuers, hamster ladies, rat ladies etc & we're probably the crazy degu ladies here on the forum.. but crazy chinchilla ladies are by FAR the strangest imho. Not everyone of course, but the ones I have encountered were.. let's say super intense lol. Never met anyone like some of those ladies on FB! None of us claim to be experts but we do have lots of experience between us & we're always friendly. We have way more degu members than chinchilla members, so it's always fab when another chin person joins We do charge the usual internet chinchilla tax of 1 picture per thread but will accept more if you're feeling generous  You'll need to use a hosting site like imgur or similar to post pics. & while we're here... Wilhelm? There's gotta be a story behind that name? Love his cheeky face in your avatar  |
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Post by darthchinchi on Jun 11, 2019 15:53:58 GMT
"YoUr ChInChIlLa WiLl LiTeRaLlY ExPlOdE iF yOu LeT tHeM eXeRcIsE bEcAuSe ThEy CaNnOt FArT & ArE aCtUaLlY mAdE oF gLaSs!!!!1!!" type groups?! yeah, most of us have had that experience lol. We try to have a more balanced, science based approach here whilst understanding there isn't a right or wrong way (although there are certainly bad & good ideas!) We certainly don't scream abuse in all capitals & try to back up whatever we do say with studies or links. We don't encourage breeding & we try to encourage welfare as top priority in an open & respectful atmosphere (we hope!) I've been in small animal welfare circles for decades, met many crazy bunny ladies, many crazy guinea pig rescuers, hamster ladies, rat ladies etc & we're probably the crazy degu ladies here on the forum.. but crazy chinchilla ladies are by FAR the strangest imho. Not everyone of course, but the ones I have encountered were.. let's say super intense lol. Never met anyone like some of those ladies on FB! Funny thing, here the rat ppl are by far the craziest I've ever run into... Crazy rules when buying from a breeder like "I can drop by when ever I want and you need to keep the animal/animals as I see fit" type of crazy. |
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Post by randomname on Jun 11, 2019 16:21:52 GMT
rat people.. sounds like a sci-fi film Ahh don't think I've met rat breeders much, the rat rescue ladies I've met have all been crazy in a good way (one memorable one had a rat asleep in her hair when she answered the door lol) There certainly are pockets of insanity all over the place when it comes to people & animals, especially online. I wish people would just discuss things nicely & argue their positions respectfully but it's just how things are nowadays I suppose (yeah, yeah I'm an old lady saying old lady things lol) I've always enjoyed this forum's lack of bullying, shouting in all capitals, shaming etc. There's some great hamster, rabbit, guinea pig etc forums too (I guess it's mainly social media groups that I see issues in, so I tend to stay away) |
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You'll need to use a hosting site like imgur or similar to post pics.