We prefer to avoid reviewing an item that we haven't actually owned, but when we read about a product called the Chin-Chiller, we couldn't resist.
The description of the chin-chiller indicates that it remains cooler than the ambient temperature and thus provides a way to keep your chinchilla cool. This is bogus! How can something without external power remain cooler than the air temperature around it?
What is more likely is that the material that these Chin-Chillers are made of is a good conductor. As such, it feels like it is cooler to the touch because it conducts the heat from whatever touches it. But if the air is warmer than the chinchilla then the Chin-Chiller isn't going to have any effect.
This product is akin to a fan. When a fan blows air on your face you feel cooler. But the air isn't any cooler because it is being blown around by a fan. At best you're feeling cooler because the moving air is pushing away the air close to your face that you've warmed up and replacing it with slightly cooler air in the room.
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June 27th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Another, cheaper alternative that I use is taking a brick and putting it in the fridge then into the cage. Living in Arizona, it's a must for my chins. But bricks are much cheaper, especially when one is always in the fridge.
May 3rd, 2006 at 7:47 am
Thanks for the clarification, Tina! Keeping the Chin-Chiller in the fridge sounds like a good idea.
Our main objection is with the product description that reads, "…naturally maintains a surface temperature below room temperature." This is impossible.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:18 pm
The chin chiller actually is supposed to be kept in the fridge until used. It is very cold to the touch (like marble) and my chins really like it.
I had it ready recently in the fridge for them after returning from a long car trip.
It won't stay cold in the cage forever but it's great for those times when the chins need to cool down.