Hello . . . and a question

[Daraine]

Hi, my name is Anna (but you can call me Daraine) and I recently bought a male chin that we named Ninja. I thought I had done a good amount of research, but my question isn't in the FAQs here either, so I figured I'd ask....
Why will he chew on things outside of his cage during our nightly playtime, (stuff he shouldn't be, by the way) but he hardly chews inside the cage at all? He has a wood stick-ball toy, two ledges, a hidey-house, a pumice stone, and a hanging metal thing with about 8 peices of wood on it, and an ice-cream chew snack thing, but he hardly marks any of them. His cage is a decent size (three levels inside, with the ledges and at least as big as I've seen in recommendations) so I think it's not that, but it's a little frustrating and worrying - I don't want his teeth to overgrow.....
Just let me know if I should repost my question in another section (and where) if it shouldn't go here....
But I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you!

[Miyu]

Welcome to the forums.
I cannot try you why he doesn't chew on his toys, but I can tell you I have a simiaral probelm. Although I have found that my chin will only chew a couple of toys pretty well and that is it. Mine will chew critter crunchies and critter cave chews really good as long as they are the color blue, and some on he blue pumice stone. I have given him red and yellow of the same thing and he barely touches them.
So my only advice is to watch and see what he chews the most and to try all different types and colors of toys.
Good luck.

[parkerspetchins]

Welcome Daraine, as Miyu said try different colors, textures, etc. My girls love bark - they'll chew bark off apple twigs very quickly then won't touch the rest of it. They love loofah I bought from Norcalchins colored with sugar-free koolaid. You'll eventually find something they can't resist! Have fun learning on this board!

[Chinmama]

Welcome! ZZ does the same thing. He loves to chew on everything in our dining room - walls, baseboards, furniture, baby gate, bills...anything he can reach. He isn't a big chewer in his cage, either. His chew toys last forever. Some chins just chew more than others and some chins prefer nicer, more expensive things to chew on, I guess...lol.

[K. May Li]

From what I've seen, my chins love to nibble on the new and interesting. :) So, when outside the cage, will test-chew anything they've never encountered before...be sure to keep an eye on Ninja, so he doesn't chew anything like an electrical cord by accident. I also had the problem with unchewed toys, what I did was remove a few for a week or so, then put them back. They were "new", so the chins got to chewing! Also, sometimes cheap works best...if I buy some sisal rope from Wal-Mart, and tie strands of it to the top of the cage so they dangle down, they'll be chewing and entertained for days! :laugh:

[JBBinTex]

Welcome to the forum. It is a great place to learn about the newest member of your family. There is so much great information on here. Enjoy!

I would try a larger variety of toys. Different types of wood work too. Most love apple twigs, grape vine, and cholla (sp?). That is just a start. They really go nuts for the fresh twigs, not the store kind. There are quite a few people who sell them on here. You can also try other different pumice. If you are giving the natural type, then try lava bites. If you are giving lave bites, then try the natural. You can also find the colored natural pumice. There are so many things to try. Check out the classified section. There are some great toys/chews for sale.

[lovechinies]

:welcome8: Welcome to Chins N quills. If you have any question you like to ask just post them up on New chin owner questions..

[chinchewy1]

Hello and welcome to C n Q ! .. like everyone said there are so many chew toys you can try that you will find something he likes. And the NEW factor really is true. I rotate all my toys in and out so mine do not get bord. BTW we LOVE pictures! NEED some of Ninja!! lol