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Toys serve three purposes for chinchillas. First, chinchillas are active, curious and intelligent animals. They love to have things to play with. Second, since chinchillas chew anything that gets near their mouths, the proper toys can help satisfy this need. Lastly, when a chinchilla chews on its toys it helps keep his teeth worn down.

Below is a list with examples of the types of toys chinchillas do enjoy.

Hanging parrot toys: Just be sure not to get the ones with plastic, small metal parts, rawhide, or leather on them-wood ones held together by chain or wire are the best.

Chew toys: bark bites, cholla chews, pumice stones, lava bites, chunnel chews, apple or pear twigs.

Apple and manzanita branches: Use large and small branches. Make sure they are organic with no pesticides added. They should be scrubbed in hot water, boiled and oven dried prior to giving them.

Grass mats and roll-a-nests: Grass mats work well for wire cages as a place to rest feet and give great chewing entertainment. Roll-a-nests are grass balls that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Be careful if you live in a humid area. The wire can rust so always check the wire support inside the nest for rust. Discard if found.

Link-a-logs: These come in several sizes. They are a series of wood logs joined together. You can make them bend into shapes and they work good for a hide away and chew toy - not to be confused with Lincoln log toys for children which are hazardous due to the finsh and paint.

PVC pipes: Use with caution if you have overzealous chewers. As long as your chinchilla doesn’t chew them, they can be a lot of fun for a chinchilla. If you do try them, just watch for chewing and remove if needed.

Ferret tubes: Holes can be drilled in them to attach to the side of the cage with wire. Chinchillas will use them to rest in and on.

Wheels: All chins love wheels. Recommended wheels include the 15 inch Chin Spin, (smaller wheels cause the chinchilla to arch its back unnaturally) the ED wheel, and the flying saucer.

Grapevine rings: These are untreated grape wreaths available at local craft stores like Michael's.