Chinchillas are active, inquisitive pets that need plenty of enrichment in their environments. Providing DIY toys and accessories is a great way to keep your chinchilla entertained and engaged. Homemade items allow you to customize playthings to your pet’s unique personality. This article will overview some fun DIY projects you can make for your chinchilla.
- DIY Chinchilla Hammocks – One easy DIY chinchilla item is a hammock made from fleece or other soft fabric. Cut the fabric into a rectangle, adding side slits to thread the hammock through the cage. Make sure to use chinchilla-safe fleece without loose threads. You can include wood beads or other safe accessories for interest. Hammocks provide cozy sleeping spots for chinchillas.
- Wooden Chew Toy – Chinchillas need to chew constantly to wear down their continually growing teeth. Create DIY chew sticks and hanging toys from untreated wood like kiln-dried pine. Avoid wood splinters and paints or varnishes. Drill holes to string toys together or hang them up. Add wood crinkle balls, sticks and logs to create engaging chew stations.
- Fleece Tube Tunnels – Use leftover fleece to fashion tube tunnels for your chinchilla. Cut long rectangles of fleece, then use a stitching machine or hand-sew the long edges together. Make tubes in varying diameters – some wide enough for your chinchilla to run through, and others just big enough to peek out from. Place the tunnels around their cage for burrowing enrichment.
Chinchillas will enjoy playing with safe, homemade toys you design specifically for them. DIY cardboard puzzles, shredded paper for burrowing, and wooden ramps or ledges also make great additions to their enclosures. Be creative and have fun making new chinchilla-approved playthings and accessories! Proper supervision is still required when introducing any new item to your pet’s environment.
