Having spent the last 15 minutes freeing the head of one of our chinchillas from a toy, I figured I’d make a post here, just in case anyone ever visits. The toy in question is a wire-frame ball that hangs from the ceiling of the cage and can be filled with hay. The chinchillas love the idea and play with them constantly. However, Vin managed to somehow get the wide area of the ball stuck on his head. It might have been funny if he hadn’t been choking and nearly hanging himself. As it was, the thing was too tight (and the wire too thick) to get wire cutters in to snip the wires away, so I ended up gently talking to him and slipping it around his head. Unfortunately, he had both forelegs in there as well, so it took a bit to work him out.

Unfortunately, we can’t remember exactly which pet stores they came from, but we’ll be sure to mention the incident in every store we’re in. The toy concept is a great idea but they should probably be pulled from the market unless they can be made safer. If our son hadn’t noticed, I’m pretty sure Vin would have been dead by morning.