Rawhide?

[samantha_84]

Hey guys,

Is rawhide (without the dye) okay for chins? We just got a dog, so we have osme kicking around now, so I thought I'd see if I could share it with the chinnies...

Thanks
Samantha

[magillah]

HI, I was told by someone who helped write "The Joy of Chinchillas" that it is safe for chins to chew.

[prem]

not to be argumentative, but isn't rawhide essentially unprocessed cow skins? If so, wouldn't that be a meat product and be off the recommended foods list for a chinchilla?

---Prem

[chinchilla_boy]

The skin is an organ and doesn't contain any meaty edible tissue unless your skinning skills are horrendous. Just think of your own skin peeling off during sunburn. There's no meat attached to it (hopefully not). This thread did get my curiosity about rawhide toys though and if they are safe for chinnies. But at the same time, their are so many things out there already for chinnies and people can go on forever asking if anything they see is chinnie safe. When will it ever end? :laugh:

[dondeb562]

I would NOT reccomend rawhide. It can actually carry small amounts of bacterieas and it is NOT digestable

[magillah]

I asked an expert a question about baskets and rawhide and these are her exact words :
"You can buy the willow or grapevine baskets and balls for them to chew on. Most can figure out they are for chewing. Once in a while you get a chin that is clueless about willow. Rawhide for dogs also make a tasty treat for chins."

[chincolores]

Once rawhide is processed and dried....it's great for chinnies!! They love the different texture of it and grind and nibble away on it!! It actually gets pretty well pulverized and powdered, not much of it do they swallow....great for their teeth and boredom too!!

[blurshey]

Chincolors, what kind of rawhide do you use? There are a couple of different types. One is solid and the other looks like it was chopped up and formed back together. Also, I am assuming you get the unflavored type.

[chincolores]

The solid only and I've used both the tiny looking bones or their favorite, I think, is the flatter chips....all in natural bleached white rawhide only. (I color it myself)

[Ashleiy]

I have also heard that bacteria grows on the rawhide and can make even dogs sick. I would think this would bad for chinnies, is this true?