Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
You may know that it was quite difficult for us to get our hamster to use the chew toys that we bought her, but I am pleased to tell you that we have had a much easier time finding toys that Gary likes.
Off the bat, I’m going to say: try to avoid salt licks. Salt chews can actually be deadly to your Chinchilla and should only be given if your Chinchilla has a sodium deficiency or very infrequently. You can usually tell that your Chinchilla has a sodium deficiency if they are chewing on their cage even with toys around, but always take them to the vet and ask questions before self-diagnosing.
Let’s get started!
Sharllen Apple Sticks Pet Chew ToysThese sticks are small but mighty. They keep Gary’s attention for a good while, but he doesn’t usually pick them up on his own. You have to hand these suckers off to him, but he’s happy to snatch them from your hands. I like the fact that they come in large packs so you always have something in the cage and they do come for a fairly reasonable price. Gary recently started chewing on his cage (sigh) so I’ve been giving him these sticks more frequently to see if it helps. It might be that I never noticed, because I’m usually asleep by the time that he’s awake, but we’ve also made it a point to find more durable toys that he can have in his cage at all times. |
Kaytee Lava Block Chew ToyHands down Gary’s favourite chew toy are Lava chews. He loves them so much that I freaked out and questioned if they were any good for him. Gary finishes a Lava chew in about 4 or 5 days, so they can become fairly expensive, but I definitely recommend them as a treat or a reward for your little one! |
Natural Woven Straw MatsProbably one of my favourite and most versatile chewing toys for Chinchillas. These double as bedding for Chinchillas, and while I would still recommend grabbing some proper paper bedding, it’s great to give them different textures to sleep/rest on. These will definitely have to be replaced periodically as your Chinchilla can go through them fairly quickly, however at the price they come at, you can’t really go wrong! |
Ware Willow Critters Pretzel Sticks Small Pet ChewWe always have these sticks on hand. Similar to the apple sticks these pretzel chews are most popular when we handed off to Gary. He loves to hide these in his house which also doubles as a chew toy! I wish I had a link to the exact house we have for him because it’s quite a large and spacious size, but I don’t know if they are only sold in certain pet stores… shame when that happens! (It came with him, and we actually didn’t source it ourselves.) |
Zoo Med Habba HutI love these huts so much, especially as a cat owner. Kalista, our younger cat, is much too interested in Gary and sometimes even tries to reach into his cage to eat his hay… what an odd cat she is! Since she’s so young it’s a bit harder to train her, compared to Beau, since her curiosity tends to win. These huts are both a hiding place for Gary and they double for a chewing toy, which he regularly uses at night. It seems like these huts are more durable than the home as you can’t see too much missing in. |
Trixie Natural Living BridgeIs it weird to admit that I always had a soft spot for these bridges, even before I had a Chinchilla? Back when I worked at the pet store I was impressed with the fact that these bridges can take virtually any form and can be used for multiple purposes. They can be used as hiding spots for your little one, they can be used as ramps for them to get up to higher spaces, or for the purpose of this article, they can be used for chewing! Luckily we have a large enough cage for Gary, so he has one of these suckers inside and it also works well as a hiding spot from Kalista. He chews on this one a bit less than the cat hut, but he does like to sleep in it for a good amount of the day. |
ULIGOTA All Natural Timothy Grass Molar Rod, Apple Sticks and Bamboo SticksThese are great and come in all different flavours and textures. If your Chinchilla isn’t interested in one type, you have the choice for others. They’re also great supplements if your Chinchilla isn’t a huge fan of eating loose hay. (Which reminds me to let you know that you may also be interested in Oxbow’s Stacks which are compressed haystacks. They all have Western Timothy Hay and some are combined with carrot or chamomile. I’m pretty sure when I worked at the pet store we also had one with alfalfa, but I may be wrong since I haven’t seen that one in a long time. |
Kaytee Wood ChewsKaytee is a great brand that has a lot of different versions of chews such as the Perfect Chew, 3 Count Chew Toy, Carrot Patch Variety, and Combo Chews Apple Slices. These were actually the most popular with our hamster Twitch and they do fairly well with Gary. I’m just not a huge fan of the fact that they are painted. The paint is non-toxic, but it still doesn’t make me feel any less weird. Out of precaution, I’d always say try the products above first before trying these products as they are safer in my opinion, although since Kaytee is a well-respected brand by pet owners and vets, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about and I may just be a bit over cautious. |
Interpet Limited Superpet Nut Knot Knibbler Wooden ToyQuite honestly, this was one of the most popular small-mammal toys when I still worked at the pet store. My little ones haven’t actually found too much interest in it, although I’ve heard some great things. Each pet is going to have their own taste/desire, so even though it didn’t work for my little ones, doesn’t mean it’s not going to work for yours! Similar discomfort as mentioned before. Just not a huge fan of the fact that they are painted and would have rathered that they were just left natural. |
Kaytee Lava LedgeThese are quite cool, although they aren’t necessarily the most useful. Your Chinchilla will absolutely love these ledges for both chewing on and jumping, but they do go through them fairly quickly. Think about it like this… if my Chinchilla goes through a regular chew within a few days, this ledge is going to be obsolete in the same amount of time. It is good to know that they are the #1 best selling chew on Amazon though, so other folks must love them! |
Hope this list helped you out and showed you some different types of toys than the ones that you may already have! Let me know if you’ve tried any toys that aren’t on this list! I’d love to try them out myself. In my opinion, you can never have enough toys!