Chins eating plastic

[Wheelie1985]

Here is my dilemma... my chin doesn't care one little bit about a huge PVC pipe that has been in his cage for like 2 months... meaning he barely chews it, only every once in awhile... i put a corner litter pan in there last night, and by tonight he has managed to chew the crap out of it. I kept waiting all day, hoping he would just give it a few introductory chews and then move on.. but he just keeps chewing and eating the plastic. now i know they cant keep eating plastic, so i had to take it out.... My questions are, how much plastic is too much plastic to be eating, and is there any way to keep them from chewing the plastic so much? Something safe that you can put on it to keep them from chewing it to bits? Kinda like how people use on dogs and stuff??

[Crazy Chin Lady]

I've heard Fooey works (you can buy it at chinworld) and Bitter Apple also makes a spray for small animals.

I had a chinchilla who would not stop chewing on his water bottle. I swear, I went through three water bottles in a couple of weeks. I finally got sick of it and bought Bitter Apple, but never used it. I just went out and bought a glass bottle.

[Denise]

I used to have corner litter trays in some of my cages and they also took a great interest in nibbling the plastic. I no longer use plastic litter trays for potty. Instead I use a clay flower pot, lay it on its side, and put bedding in it. You may also want to look at rabbit websites for a stainless steel litter pan.

[Chinchilla_Girl]

I use plastic litter pans in 3 of my cages but have never had a problem with them chewing it...if they did, I would get stainless steel ones like Denise suggested. I did have a certain little girl who kept chewing holes in her water bottle...ehem..Jetta...so I replaced all plastic water bottles with YooHoo glass bottles.

[Tilt]

When I got my Chinnies I tried finding glass water bottles and could not. It was ridiculous. I know I'd seen them before. Then when I need them they're gone. None of the pet stores had them. I wasn't pleased. Had to rig up a plastic water bottle in such a way that they couldn't reach them to chew on them. What a pain. Sigh.

[Chinchilla_Girl]

Quote: Originally Posted by Roz When I got my Chinnies I tried finding glass water bottles and could not. It was ridiculous. I know I'd seen them before. Then when I need them they're gone. None of the pet stores had them. I wasn't pleased. Had to rig up a plastic water bottle in such a way that they couldn't reach them to chew on them. What a pain. Sigh.

If you are still looking for glass ones...the smaller sized YooHoo Chocolate drink bottles (found in six packs) are glass and the spouts from the Critter Canteens you get at Petsmart (blue bottles) fit on the YooHoo bottles perfectly! Just don't screw them on too tight or it will split the spout. That's what I did with my plastic bottle chewers and even the hangers for the Critter Canteens fit around the Yoohoo bottles to hold them on to the cages! It really works!!

[Tilt]

I will save that tip, Mandie. I don't need glass bottles right this moment but I may in the future. Thanks for the info!