Chin-safe crochet?

Are there any yarns I could crochet with that would be safe for my chin to chew on/have in his cage? I think it'd be tons of fun to experiment with crocheting toys for him, but obviously I'd want them to be safe. Any other fun crafts you guys make for your chinchildren? :)

Gluttonous chins?

Is it common for chins to be like little piggy's when it comes to treats? Mine wants as much as possible in his mouth- he will put what he can in there and keeps begging while he is chewing. He can't get enough. Is this a characteristic of all chins, most chins, some chins? I haven't been around any others but I find it quite amusing. He gets so upset when I don't give him more. Just wondering if it's a common behaviour or not. It's similar to feeding a dog- he doesn't relish it at all, he just gulps it down like air.

New Chins from the 2014 ECBC Vernon BC show!

Fiore Mosaic Male





Lisandra Mosaic Female

cute "digging"

Hey ya'll. My new baby boy is 2 months old and has been adjusting nicely to his new home. I got really lucky seeing that he uses his litter pan to pee in. Of course, there's poo's everywhere but that's fine. I also noticed that he'll start a "digging" motion randomly, similar to how a dog digs a hole, but much faster. Does anyone elses Chins do this? Is it their way of saying they'd like a dust bath? (I have bathed him regularly since getting him).

Miniature pot belly pig!

I don't have my hedge 'hog' yet, but we have a miniature pot belly pig named 'Moo'. There's a video of him at the bottom, if you get sick of my rambling ;)

Moo came to live with us when he was around one year old and he's almost two now!

Don't let the 'mini' fool you, Moo was around 35-40 pounds when we got him and he is closer to 60 pounds now. From my research, he will probably continue to grow for at least two more years. (This is why he previous owners didn't want to keep him, he got too 'big' and 'bad'. (He grew normally and was spoiled as a cute baby )

I'm sure he was adorable as a baby but he is still ridiculously cute. Look at his snout! He's always smiling and happy! (And hungry)



Moo is very friendly, if you scratch him behind the ear he will happily follow you around for the rest of your life. He's also very smart. I taught him 'sit' in just a few minutes. He will do anything for food.

He lives in a large pen in our backyard, there is a nice house with fresh hay to sleep in, a pool for swimming/mud, and he comes out everyday to run, play with the dogs and vacuum the yard.



We tried to let him live in the house but he has a small issue with my fiancé, Dennis.

They get along very well but Moo always wants to pee in Dennis's shoes, even if he's still wearing them. (Dominance thing)

Moo would probably stop that behavior if we got him fixed but I'm still hoping to bring home a girlfriend for him someday and hopefully have just one litter before having everyone fixed.

( We're on a farm and have room for babies to grow and live here forever, unless you guys want one.. They are so cute! )

Moo loves to play with our four dogs, (supervised)

He can hold his own in a shoving match with our sweety-pie pit bull, Izzie, but you can see in the video that he plays pretty gently with our smallest dog, Sprocket the Jack Russell:



http://ift.tt/1pzDx8U



- Sarah

Love taking selfies with my chin lol

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Fleece hammocks

Anyone sell fleece hammocks? Or knows someone who does? Are they safe?





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Chin's new wheel question

Hi,



I just purchased a flying saucer for my little guy, 6 months. He originally had a plastic wheel, which he loved! But after it broke, I decided to go with the flying saucer. I've read that it takes some chins awhile to run on this wheel. I've had the wheel for a week and my little guy isn't running on it. Will he eventually understand that it's a wheel? As of now, he's pretty confused what to do with it.



Thanks!

What are the signs of head tilt?

I think I just need someone to tell me to calm down and stop worrying.



Last week, I had to take my chinchilla to the vet for a potential eye infection. They found nothing wrong with him and sent me home with antibiotic eye drops just in case (and because I was so worried). He likely got something in his eye and I got it out prior the vet visit. His feet were also irritated/dried/etc., so the vet told me to watch them.



Through the whole thing, he's acted entirely normal. He chirps and bounces around and even sort of wall-surfed off the side of his cage when my boyfriend came home for the weekend on Friday. He's been peppy and eating and drinking and everything. He gets grumpy with me and very suspicious when I do anything that indicates I'll be grabbing him to administer the eye drops, but there's nothing I can do about that (and I think he realizes it's for his own good, he stops resisting when I have the dropper over his eye).



Then this weekend I got a fever, I have at least one bad infection, I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow, and it's got me worried about everything left and right.



I've noticed him laying down on his side more often, though. Maybe I've just been paying too close attention/being worried with all these health disasters. He lays like that frequently in his hammock but I saw him doing it in new places. That doesn't sound like anything to be worried about, right? If anything, that means he's just more comfortable and enjoying new parts of his cage? Or that he's always done it and I'm just noticing it because I've been home all day this weekend and I'm worried about him.



I also noticed him sitting on a shelf and before he plopped down, he tilted his head towards the floor a couple times, as if measuring how to lay down. It looks a lot like they do when they dust bath. Is that normal?



He's not walking in circles, he's not falling, his head isn't frequently tilted to one side or the other... He took his dust bath without a problem.



I've heard him sneeze maybe four times over the weekend... but I know that could also just be from dust...



Should I calm down? Should I call my vet and make sure they checked for these things? I have to imagine they did from the sounds of it, but I don't know.



Would the antibiotic eye drops take care of anything potentially going on? I'm a biophysicist, so part of me knows that yes, that antibiotic is going into his bloodstream and should take care of any infection... but I'm also not sure about the blood flow in their ears and if the antibiotic would get to any potential issue in his ears and.. I don't know.



I think I'm just freaking out because this has been a rough week, but I could use some reassurance. :(



Thank you, guys, as usual.

Relaxing!!!

Just thought I would share a pic I actually got of Blueberry chilling in her new hammock that came in the mail today. She has never had one before, and I was hoping she would like it, and she does!!! Sorry about the cage bars in the pic, I have to be sneaky as she hates her picture being taken and she will move away if she sees you trying haha.

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Chinny Babies

Hi my chinny has just had babies, wasn't expecting this as was told she was a HE! not sure what to do with babies, mum seems to be looking after them well, I have left her to it, I weighed them today and they were approx. 2oz's in weight is this ok for 3 days old? I have 3 adult chins already and im hoping to keep the babies but am I a little worried as these are the first babies we have had

Chinchilla sizes

Been looking for a companion for my female chinchilla and seen a couple of females at my local pet store. Only trouble is they are about twice the size of mine. Mine is almost a year old. The pet store said that they are from the same litter and are around 15 months old but they are massive compared to mine. Not really sure what to do. I was gonna have another female chinchilla sectioned off in the same very large cage (3 stories) so that they could see and sniff each other to get used to each other that way without the immediate contact. I considered getting the two from the pet store as i thought it would be unkind to seperate them. despite me only wanting one, and the store having them for many months they weren't prepared to do a deal for the two so that they were cheaper.



I guess what im asking apart from your opinions is why mine is so small.



Thanks

Nice BARKY Willow: Coming SOON!

I wanted to give a heads up to my willow customers. It's been a long winter and I've been unable to harvest in quite some time. I apologize. With that said, I have a batch in the oven as I type. I intend to make "packages" out of it to include nice thick (3" diameter) 8" long perches, hanging toys, sticks and rings. As with my apple, my willow is usually a hit and is shipped "fresh" from the oven. It has not sat for months before sale. SO, if you're interested...I will have a definite "list" of available packages by the end of the weekend!

powdering pellets

Hi I have noticed over the last couple of weeks that there has been a lot of powder left in my chins bowl and have just read on another post that this can be a sign of tooth problems. They are both eating fine and chewing their wood treats/toys and seem fine in themselves. Could their be any other reason they're doing this? Thanks Cathy

intros part 2

Hey everyone! So I've noticed one of my kits starting to mount it's mother and siblings, so I figured it must be a boy. But when I put my him with his father, the father behind to mount him? Is that normal? Thanks

Hey from Ohio

On January 31st Loki joined our family.

While I'd always wanted a Chinchilla I didn't know what to expect, and I took him from a friend who did not have the time or money or still to take care of him. I know that he is 5 years old, but where he came from, ect, is a mystery.



Through all of my research I have started to provide Loki with the love, affection, attention, and environment he deserves. We've just recently started to have supervised playtime and he has a blast!! He loves to be scratched and makes the funniest faces :)



Thought joining a forum would help me grown my knowledge, as well as make some other Chiller crazy friends!!

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She loves TV!

My chinchilla loves TV! She seriously will start barking if I ever turn it off. Is this normal??





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Fleece biting

I recently purchased this product on amazon and when I put it in my chin's cage, he kept biting the fleece part of the product. How can I prevent such a behaviour? Is it okay for them to ingest fleece?



My chin has been exposed to fleece before as I use fleece for his cage bedding. He does not bite the bedding.

Tiling a Ferret Nation

I was looking at my girl's cages and realized that they are plain. I've been shooting ideas through my head and needed an answer for something

For those of you who took tile how do you do it? Can the middle section hold a good amount of weight so it won't collapse on my little ladies?

Our Supply Shop Is Now Open!!

TaylorMadeChinchillas!

After waiting the 30 days to post on the classified section, I can finally share with everyone all of our designs. We hand make all of our items with care in our home and all of our items are made with 3/4" thick kiln dried pine. Tell me what you think. Prices do not include shipping. PM me with any orders or questions.



P.S. We LOVE doing custom work so if you don't see exactly what you want, just let me know. I'd love the opportunity to work with you.



Items and Prices



Regular Ledge, $5.00

5.5 x 7 with poo guard (attachment hardware is included)



Corner Ledge, $7.00

7 x 7 with poo guards (attachment hardware is included)



Small House, $15.00

5.5 high x 13.5 wide x 7 deep (height not including poo guards). Comes standard with one 2" window and two 4" doors. (If you have a preference to which side the side exit faces, let me know.)



Large House, $20.00

7 high x 14 wide x 7.5 deep (height not including poo guards). Comes standard with two 2" windows, two 4" doors, and one 4" roof escape. (If you have a preference to which side the exit faces, let me know.)



Applewood Chew Sticks, $10/lb

All of our applewood is from a local source here in Virginia. It is thoroughly scrubbed, boiled, and baked for your chins enjoyment. Most of the pieces are approx 6-8 inches long and pencil thickness. Orders are packed in flat rate envelopes/boxes (depending on order size). I will let you know which size flat rate your order fits in.

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Chin Trying To Escape

Hey everyone. So just recently my chin has been biting at the hinges on the cage trying to escape. I let her out for a little then put her back in the cage. She has been knawing at the cage for 3 days now. Does anybody know what she wants? By the way, her favorite spot when out of the cage is underneath my dresser. Hope that can help with things.

Oh lordy!

We got the new FN all set up and ready (will take pix when camera finished charging) and we're picking up our new little boy today! One last thing I need to do is wait till I see his size and in the cage to determine if I'm going to need to block off the top floor and wrap the bottom in hardware cloth so he doesn't escape. I'm hoping he'll be a husky boy so I don't need to. I'm so excited I can hardly concentrate today!!!!! :dance2:



ETA: I'm taking the day off work tomorrow just to keep a hidden eye on him :))

Chin is in new home and stopped eating

I rescued this chinchilla when it was near death. Her body was just skin and bones. She warmed up to me really quickly and she gain all of her weight. She had all of her fur from the waist down ripped out when I got her and she still has small patches missing sometimes. I have now had her for five years and I decided it was time to get her to a permanent home as I have to travel for work.



I found a perfect home. This girl has a chinchilla that is almost the same age as her (5 years). She takes amazing care of her chinchilla (I visited the house a few times) and it is really healthy. Both chins are female, by the way.



At first my chinchilla was nervous but not terrified looking, which was understandable. After a while her new owner realized that she wasn't eating at all, except for her favorite treats, cashews. We both know they can't eat a lot of these so she only gets one or two a day. She is drinking a lot of water, more than usual. It has been five weeks and she still isn't eating hay or her pellets... her poops are about a third the size they used to be and she has lost a dangerous amount of weight. She went from being a little chubbier than the other chinchilla to being a lot smaller. I went on Skype to see for myself and as soon as my chinchilla heard my voice she literally went to her bowl and ate a pellet, then ate some hay!



I am going to pick her up tomorrow and take her home until she eats and fattens up again. But what am I supposed to do here?? I am not leaving for sure until Spring of 2015, but I did this ahead of time in case something like this happened. If someone could give me some advice, just know that we have lots of time to do it... I just don't know what to do! I am moving to Australia, so she can't come with me. Please help me!

Fur slip!!!!

I'm soo beside myself right now. One of my little guys' shelves fell while he was on it. Thankfully he is alright - no injuries - but it startled him soo much that he blew out a chunk of fur that left a bald spot the size of a nickel. I'm really hoping the fur grows back. Is there anything I can do in the mean to possibly hasten it's growth or at least make him more comfortable?



:cry3:

New soon-to-be Hedgie mom

Hello everyone:)



My name is Sarah and I live in South Carolina. I hate it here but.. That's okay.

(I'm originally from NJ and the people around here don't like Yankees, lol..)

We had been living in upstate NY together for several years but my fiancé, Dennis's dream is to be a farmer and so we moved here and he is learning as he 'grows'.

He is doing VERY well and I enjoy smirking at some of the local farmers who said those 'dam Yankees' can't do anything.

I think he will be planting on a bit over 200 acres this year, soybeans and corn. I don't work due to my health but I help out as much as I can on the farm, I name the tractors, catch tiny lizards.. Etc.

I take care of our animals, as well.



I'm sitting here staring at my Ferret Nation cage.. Setup.. Re-set-up.. Pover and over, is it perfect yet? Lol. I make my fiancé look at the temp all the time and he is ready to kill me. "Yes, Sarah.. the thermometer is still reading the same temp as it was when YOU checked it 3 seconds ago.." "Yes, the thermostat is plugged in" lol. I'm just a little over-excited.. maybe a little too excited!



My hedgehog should be ready to leave momma and come home the first week in April! I've never had one before but I've been spending the past month scouring the internet for information and I'm pretty confidant I've got everything I need. (Aside from a sewing machine so I can make my own bags and tunnels for them)

My niece is fascinated by our new colony of meal worms.. I'm sure our large poultry flock will appreciate them as much as the hedgehog.

( maybe they'll start foraging instead of standing at the front door screaming for treats.. I have no idea how they learned to do that.. :facepalm: )



I grew up rescuing small animals and releasing them when possible, mammals, reptiles and birds. I've hand raised several different species of bird, from finches to conures. (Baby finches are SO tiny!!!) I really prefer animals to humans, I think.. Lol.



We have four dogs, three are rescues. Two are Jack Russells, Ben & Sprocket, Sprocket is a rescue, a very tiny and timid little girl.

Izzie is a pit/shepherd mix. She was our first rescue and our first real experience with pit bulls.. Sweetest. Dog. Ever. Our niece found her as a puppy when we bought our house here, around Christmas, so she was a great 'present'.



Bugsie, an Australian Shephard, is the newest addition. He wandered into our yard a few months ago about 18-20 pounds underweight. He's beautiful and very loving and protective. (And no longer underweight) We are still learning about how to deal with his high energy levels.. Especially hard now because it's warming up again and he has such long fur.



We have two rescue parrots, a Timneh Grey named Tyler and a Yellow Naped Amazon, Rocky. They are both a bit older, but still very loud, messy & obnoxious (and wonderful)



And then there's Moo. He's our Mini Pot Belly Pig. He's just ridiculous.. I love him and his cute pig noises.

He lives outside because he pees in boots but he has a great area of his own and is out playing with the dogs all the time. He and Sprocket are the best of friends. When they aren't playing chase or shoving each other around, they are napping together in the sun.



I'm sick a lot of the time, (digestion issues) I'm still recovering from my last surgery (#13) and it's been very difficult. My fiancé and the animals in our family keep me going..





- Sarah

Chinchilla wood help!

i was looking to do something with a piece of firewood i have for my 3 chinchillas, I'm just unsure if its safe first of all and second of all if the bark is harmful.



last thing i would want to do is hurt the little guys, any input at all would help. Thanks!

Better Pan Cleaning Liquid

Hi All,

I have a quick question. Up until now I've been using a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water to clean my chinchilla's pans. The cleaning solution works well, but what I really don't like about it is the smell. The vinegar smell is so strong and pungent, which makes it extremely unpleasant to use in cleaning (the vinegar/water also seems to leave a white coating on the trays, but maybe that's because I'm not drying the pans off well enough). So anyway, I was just wondering if anybody else has any suggestions for a better cleaning mixture that works the same or better than the vinegar/water, and which preferably doesn't smell too bad. I was also wondering if maybe I could use lemon juice or something else to scent my mixture to make it more pleasant to clean with? Has anybody tried that before? Thank you all!

What do I get a shredder who likes to go under fleece?

I've been looking to get more fleece items for my chinchilla's cage, but I'm never sure what to get!



I want to get him a cuddle cup, but I'm always afraid he just won't use it and it'll end up gathering hay and just being a nuisance in his cage.



Chillermo likes to dig/burrow, shred, and when he's able, he'll pull an extra layer of fleece back (from what I have wrapped around the pans; looking to buy liners to avoid this) and hide under it. He's slept that way, too.



He loves his hammock, sleeps in it quite a lot. He doesn't use the interior of his home very much -- I've always gotten the impression that he's not looking to hide, really? This makes me think he wouldn't want a tube and may not care about a hanging hidey home (especially when he loves his hammock).



What would be best to satisfy his digging urges and his occasional desire to sleep under fleece?



Right now, I've secured some fleece scraps (and the fleece that comes with the FN) along his hammock and the cage so he can go under it if he wants to, but they're not very wide, and so far I haven't really seen him deliberately go under any of them. He likes to burrow under his fleece lining in his carrier, but that may also be because he's grumpy about being in his carrier. Would a snuggle bag like this maybe be good?



In short: I wanna buy him something new that he'll love and satisfy his burrowing urges!

Water help.

Ive always given my chin filtered water but as of right now I can not give him that water and are local water has so much crap added to it its unfit for any animal to drink. We are getting a reserved osmosis filter placed in are house but until then is there a type of bottled water I can give my little guy?

Help! Crazy chin that has gotten over gate once and is now a fearless plunging jumper

I need help finding new ways to confine chin to play area. It's about 2.5 feet tall and he has conquered it twice. But in between those, he has fearlessly plunged himself into the side of it, and I fear he's going to hurt himself. Little stinker! I just want him away from the potential yuck under the toilet and away from chewing my cabinets.... Darn smarty butt. I made it 2 months before he went all camicaze jumper chin.....

New Website Banner

I would like everyone's opinion on my new website banner. I'm sorry the picture isn't to good (my computer died). It's a few of my chins photoshopped together. Lol I was just fiddling around and this is what I can up with.





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Hello from Newmarket, ON - Canada

Hello C n H members



Wanted to thank you for all great information that we have here!

I am a foster mom of a gray standard chin called Eros... He's been with us for few weeks only and I must admit that my challenge here is not to be a foster failure. :0)



Eros is from the Canadian Chinchilla Rescue and although I have extensive experience with dogs and cats, Eros is my first chin, so the forum has be sooo helpful, you have no idea!



Thank you and I look forward to learning more from you.

Cheers

Daniela

Spring Sales List - Hendryx Chinchillas

This is my current sales list, I have a few pictures on my website at http://ift.tt/1jEHm9f but not all animals are pictured. Please be aware that they have for the most part just returned from being shown at Nationals and I am trying to leave them alone as much as possible in order to alleviate additional stress on the animals. Delivery is possible to the Atlantic Chapter Show in PA as well as the Ohio Field Day in May.



Males

RYX C42 - Standard Male, dob: 5/3/13 - Nice herd improvement male, out of Poppy & Buckeye, First Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Great size male, great neck, good belly, good flow of fur, good amount of fur, very nice animal, classified as MD. asking $200



RYX C55 - Standard Male, dob: 6/7/13 - one of my favorite standard males, out of Esme" & Crash, Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Great size male, veiling a little down in neck but could fill in, good belly, fur a little messed up on back, can't tell if from tail or bad combing, classified as Dk, asking $150



RYX C57 - Black Velvet Male, dob: 6/23/13 - very nice Black male out of Arwen & Crash, Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Very nice size black male, good belly, good amount of fur, slightly down in clarity from 1st place animals but still a very nice animal, classified as XD. asking $175



RYX C58 - Pinkwhite Male, dob: 6/24/13 - out of Bonus & Stuart, Third Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Looks a little creamy compared to top animals (his older sister showed comparably at same age and took Reserve Color Section at Nationals, I think he will improve with age) asking $175



RYX C59 - Beige Male, dob: 6/24/13 - Nice herd improvement male, beautiful beige male out of Bonus & Stuart, First Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Great size, good color, good belly, good flow of fur, good amount of fur, very nice animal (older sister took Reserve White Section Champion at Nationals), asking $225



RYX C61 - White Male, dob: 7/11/13 - nicely marked white mosaic out of Piper & Big Daddy, Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Nice clarity & conformation, a little down in size but perfectly acceptable for a male, not in show shape compared to First place animals today, Asking $150



RYX C62 - Standard Male, dob: 7/11/13 - Nice herd improvement male, very smooth standard male out of Piper & Big Daddy, First Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Very nice blue color and great clarity, a very smooth animal with good flow to fur, good neck and good belly, Asking $175



RYX C63 - Beige Male, dob: 7/17/13 - Very sweet beige boy out of Daphne & Stuart, full brother and littermate to White Section Champion Female at MCBA Nationals, received Third Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Down in size, Asking $175



RYX C70 - Standard Male, dob: 7/20/13 - very dark standard male out of Savannah & Buckeye, not shown yet, Asking $125



RYX C72 - Black Velvet Male, dob: 7/20/13 - out of Phoebe & Big Daddy, Phoebe was Black Section Champion at last year's National, C72 received Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: nice black male, a little down in size, slightly down in clarity from 1st place animals, classified as XD. asking $150



RYX C87 - Standard (Eb C) Male, dob: 9/20/13 - very cute little boy out of Inertia & Feramir, Third Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Acceptable clarity and good fur but question use of such a light ebony in a breeding program, would make a very nice pet, asking $75



RYX C88 - Dark Ebony Male, dob: 9/20/13 - very cute little boy out of Inertia & Feramir, Third Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: down in size, would make a very nice pet, asking $75





Females

RYX C71 - Standard Female, dob: 7/20/13 - standard female out of Savannah & Buckeye, Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Nice color, belly okay, needs to fill in at neck, Asking $150



RYX C77 - Pinkwhite Female, dob: 8/25/13 - very nice pinkwhite female out of Rumour & Stuart, First Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Nice color, great density, a little down in size but still young, Asking $225



RYX C78 - Standard (Eb C) Female, dob: 8/26/13 - standard ebony carrier female out of Elvira & Max, Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: down in size and lacking a little in neck, still young, Asking $100



RYX C81 - Ebony Female, dob: 8/27/13 - ebony female out of Sophie & Solo, Solo was Ebony Reserve Section Champion at 2012 Nationals, C81 placed Second Place at MCBA Nationals, Comments: Nice color, decent fur, down in size and rough today, Asking $100





Retired Breeders (*possibly pregnant females will only be sold to experienced breeders until after their 111 day observation period)

Charlotte - Standard Female, dob: 3/8/09 -bred by Hummel, absolutely gorgeous large, sweet female, she has been proven at previous breeders but has not produced since being here, I am very sorry to pull her from breeding but I do not have the space to keep trying with her (she has been exposed to male so chance that she is pregnant), she would make a great pet, asking $150

Traveling with your Chin...

I've read tons of posts on here and I'm still confused about taking Chinnies with you to visit someone. Some posts say that they are highly stressed by traveling and the shock could kill them and others say they take them visiting with them rather frequently. Does this vary by chin temperament or what? Any insight helpful :)

For Sale

Brand new from a Ferret Nation 182 -- 2 pans, 2 shelves (plastic), 3 ramps (wire) & 3 fleece ramp covers. $50.00 OBO.

For Sale...

Brand new from a Ferret Nation 182 -- 2 pans, 2 shelves (plastic), 3 ramps (wire) & 3 fleece ramp covers. $50.00 OBO.

Molding Apple Sticks?

I got some apple sticks not too long ago from one of the sellers on here for the chins. I opened the package and gave one or two to the boys, and then I just put it back to where all my supplies were. I didn't touch them again for 2 weeks. Yesterday, I went to find them and they were all moldy with green stuff =( I ended up just tossing all of them. I also ordered mulberry twigs and they were fine. Has anyone else had this happen? Everything else in the container was fine and not moldy at all

My chinchilla potty trained herself

Does anyone else's chinchilla do this? My chin Bella will only poop inside of her cage, when I let her out, she never poops anywhere, and if she needs to, she just runs back in her cage, it's great lol





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New member

Hey my name is Celeste. Finally decided to join this site, it's always helping me when I have any worry about my chinchilla, Bella. 😊

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sprained leg?

This morning Alfred was playing a little too hard in the bathroom, and when he went back in his cage, I noticed he wasn't walking on his back leg. We brought him to the vet, and he did x-rays, and didn't see anything so he is guessing that it is a sprain. Alfred is now supposed to take 15 cc of metacam every 12 hours and isn't allowed to come out and play for 2 weeks.



However, Alfred seems perfectly fine, now 8 hours after his vet visit. I was just wondering, is the metecam really that strong and he just doesn't feel any pain because of it? Or is he just a big expensive wimp and is actually fine after a little rest? I feel so bad for not being able to let him out. He is the worst when it comes to begging.

Need opinions

I've seen people use these things for chew toys for their chinchilla's I was wondering if it was safe?







I seen these at Walmart and wanted to see if anyone has used these? Are they safe for chinchilla's?





Has anyone ever used the brand of Kaytee hay?



And last question. .where does everyone buy their oxbow chinchilla food from?

Sorry for all the questions!





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Chinnies fur

Hello! We just got our chinnie back from a family member and her fur looks bad in the back. Almost matty looking. Could there be something wrong with her?. I attached a pic of her.





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FN wire ramps and plastic shelves???

I was just wondering....I got my new FN last night and it's all put together but not sure what to do with the ramps and plastic shelves that I'm not using... Can I sell them? Just wondering what ya'll did with yours...



Thanks

Bumblefoot

I posted yesterday in the emergency thread about a potential eye infection in my chinchilla (he is okay, no infection, just irritation, I have eye drops in case it flares up or appears to take a turn in any way, but the vet told me he should be fine).



The vet additionally mentioned to me that my chinchilla's back feet look red and irritated. I checked them and the very balls of the heels on them look red, but they aren't in any way actually bumblefoot. The vet told me to keep an eye on them and do everything I can to make sure they calm back down.



I have a number of ideas that may have caused this (I was gone for a week and I don't think cleaning was done as well as it should have been, but he also got reckless when I was trying to clean yesterday and he attempted several times to walk on the bars of the cage), but I want to run down my cage set up and be certain that I have everything done properly and what else I can do to ensure this doesn't potentially get worse and then *actually become* bumblefoot.



-- I have a two-story ferret nation. I currently wrap fleece around the plastic liners that came with the cage. Should I use something else? Should I get thicker fleece or padding? Or should this be just fine?



-- I change the fleece once a week (for each story) and sweep up wood chips and poop as necessary. Should this be done more regularly?



-- He has wooden pine shelves throughout both stories, all of which he chews on frequently. Should I sand down the edges every now and again? None of them are splintered or anything, but they are rough around the edges where he chews. I don't know if this could be a contributing factor.



-- He has pine wood hidey home and a bendable log bridge. Should either of these be sanded as he chews or treated in any way?



I imagine that all of this is fine, but I really want to be sure. I've been anxious and scared about my little baby since I got home and am just generally concerned and don't want anything to get serious. I've never heard of anyone sanding their stuff, but I hate the idea of his little feet hurting, even if they are only mildly irritated right now. I don't want anything to make the mild problem into a serious one.



Thank you for understanding.

Bin cage and heat pad?

My set up is 2 sterilite bins without the lids, connected by a 4" pvc pipe. The bins are 66qt each and each measure 20 by 14". I live where it doesn't really rain or snow much, and we're approaching summer and it gets hot! My house really doesn't get cold either, and we always put the heater on if it does get chilly. The breeder that I'm getting my baby from only uses water bottles filled with hot liquid, wrapped inside a sock. She uses a space heater for when its cold, but not all the time. I think I'm going to use heating pads. I'm thinking of using two of these : Amazon.com: MILLIARD Pet Bed Warmer 20"x12": Pet Supplies Amazon.com: MILLIARD Pet Bed Warmer 20"x12": Pet Supplies

My bins are 20 by 14 so this will cover enough area so the hedgie won't feel temperature shock if one side is cooler right? Or should it be a smaller pad? Do I use these all day long, or just at night? How do I use a thermostat/thermometer with this method?

Also, should I use it under the bin on my carper floor, wrapped in fleece? Or should I wrap it in fleece and set it under my fleece liners (which are uhaul pads + fleece)?

Please help!

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PLEASE help me!

Earlier today around 5:30 / 6 PM (it is now 9:30 PM) I cleaned out my chinchillas old cage and moved them into a newer cage. In this process, my chins managed to get out the cage and roam around my room. Chin 1 ran around my room for about an hour and I managed to get him into the new cage. Chin 2, on the other hand, won't come out from under the bed. He's been under there since 6 PM and nothing's working. I tried calmly sitting and waiting for about 20 minutes. Then I attempted to bribe him with a dust bath and hay, neither worked. I ended up getting the broom out and pushing at him with the stick under the bed and he still wouldn't come out. I even tried laying chin food on my floor and he hasn't come out for that, either. He just sits and stares at me and if I shake the bed, he just moves a couple steps. HELP! :banghead:

How to deal with giving away your chinchilla

I have to move and can't take my chinchilla with me. It would be way to hard on her. How can I deal with not having her around anymore. How can I find a good owner to take her? Is there some questions I can ask to make sure she goes to a good home? :(

2014 SEC MCBA Field Day

Hello fellow chin lovers just letting everyone know that we are having a field day on Saturday April 12th at 3030 Lake Shore Drive in Orlando Fl. If you would like to attend please let me know either through the thread or a PM. Dave Woods will be our "Chin Evaluator". There will be a small admission fee to cover travel and lunch for Dave. Hope to see you there!!





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Fleece on floor pans

Is it safe to just put a fleece blanket over the plastic floor pans to keep my chins from chewing on them?

I think my new chin is preggers...help!

I recently rescued two chins from a not so hot situation and it turns out one is male (Stitch) and the other is female (Bella). I suspect Bells is pregnant - she's pretty firm around the mid section and she's been lying on her side quite a bit. These are my first chins and I'm not sure how to approach the whole pregnancy situation :/ I know I probably shouldn't have gotten a male/female pair, but I really didn't like the situation they were in. What do I do if she does have kits?

New Chinchilla Help Please!

Hi, I'm a brand new owner of a 2-month old female Chin.



I have a few questions if any of you guys don't mind answering.







1. I know chinchillas typically don't like being held, but I seen people with chins that do, is there a way to train mine to enjoy being held?



2. She`s more active in the evening, so when I hold her in the evening she tends to not stay still and sometimes jumps out of my arms but I feel as though it`s not safe for her. Is there a way to prevent this?



3. How do I teach my chin to recognize her own name? And come if I called her?



4. How do I teach my chinchilla tricks? At what age is appropriate to start learning tricks?



5. I don't let my chinchilla run around outside of the cage yet, what age is appropriate to do so?



6. She doesn't seem to like getting scratches anywhere. When my dog was young he didn't like scratches or belly rubs but started to enjoy them when he got older. Do you think this could be the case for my chin?



7. My chinchilla only jumps onto my hand in the evening and will not come during the day time. Should I never grab her and just let her come to my hand everytime? Will this make her feel more comfortable to come to my hand in the daytime?



8. Any other tips for bonding and/or good behaviour training?



Thanks

Hello! Newbie...

Hello! I recently bought 2 ebony female babies from a GREAT breeder in Crystal Lake, IL. We lost our 2 Guinea pigs of 5 years in the last 6 months, and after a lot of research thought we would try chinchillas. We couldn't love them more!! We have a triple critter nation cage for them, and we're thinking of adding a 3rd chin to help them

fill it :-) Thanks for all the info on here - great resource! We also have a darling corgi and 2 ridiculous Maine coon-ish kitties.

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Been gone a week - eye looks bad!

Okay, I just got home this evening from a week off. I left my chinchilla in the care of a good friend/sort of adopted little brother, who reported to me very dutifully, pictures and all. My most recent picture had been from Thursday and my chinchilla looked totally fine. The only off thing my friend reported was that my chinchilla (Chillermo, like Guillermo del Toro) seemed a bit nippy, but he was also checking in on him in the early afternoon, so it's possible he interrupted Chillermo's sleep (he gets very grumpy).



Some basic info: he's 1 year and 3 months on this coming Thursday, he's a mosaic, I've had him since February of 2013, I've never had any issues with him other than the usual puberty business, he's a fairly outgoing guy, very active, very adventurous, a wee cuddly. He's housed in a two-story Ferret Nation with all sorts of wonderful things (coconut shell holder for hay, a wood house, a bendy bridge for a house, a cuddle buddy, a hammock, two other strips of fleece since he likes to go under fleece sometimes, a variety of sticks and toys, though mostly poplar since he's picky).



I got home and I thought his eye was MISSING. I did not take any pictures of it at this immediate state because I started freaking out. Naturally, I called my mom to calm me down as I cleaned EVERYTHING. I swept his entire cage, changed his blankets (which are now in the wash with Dreft [baby detergent] just to be safe), took out any of his more interesting toys and left him with only simple poplar sticks at the moment (and his houses), restocked all of his food and water, blasted his water bottle with very, very hot water, etc.



His eye started to look better very quickly as I did this. He was behaving completely normally, if a bit grumpy at me for being gone (he took one small nip at me after I tried to look at his eye and bumped his behind). He's running around, standing on his hind legs, eating and drinking, etc. But his eye looked crusty initially, it was mostly closed, the rims around it were pink. However, now, after about an hour, you can hardly tell the difference. The pictures I took show nothing and looking at him from my desk here (which is about five feet away), I can hardly tell.



When I take a closer look, the rim around his eye is kind of red, the fur looks a little wet? maybe? but when I touch it, it seems dry. He let me look at it and touch it a little bit, but then he catches on to my motherly ways and tries to get away. I thought I felt a bump, but he got away. Looking even closer, there may be a bit of fur or something hanging over the rim but not into the eye, if that makes sense. It was not actively bothering him, but looked like from his rubbing could have caused fur to make the irritation worse? I'm going to continue to examine him as he let's me and update as necessary.



I'm mostly out of my panic, but I'm imagining he did something reckless out of his anxiety for me to get home and got something in his eye. I can't imagine this is an infection, but I am incredibly concerned regardless. Mondays are my least busy days and I will take him to a vet if anyone thinks that it's necessary (I wanted to take him immediately when I got home but there's no 24/7 exotics out here of course!), but as I see him progressing and behaving normally, I'm wondering if I should just keep a very close watch on him? Or if there's something I can do from home? If it was any other animal, I would probably get a hot compress to his eye, but I'm not sure how to go about that with a chinchilla.



He's staring at me now with the eye that looked poor, and again, I can't tell from here that anything's wrong with it now.

pee on fur

I noticed my 8 month female chin has pee in her fur where her pee comes out. how can i clean her? will dust baths work?

Kits Born Weeks Apart??

My female chinchilla, Zoey, had a gray kit on March 5. About a week later, I had to separate her from her older daughters because she attacked one. Today, I came home and she'd given birth to a white kit! Has anyone had anything like this happen before?!?!?!

How much food?

I think might be tiring you all but once more i need to ask.

Astrid is eating all her pellets now.

I have noticed she has a pattern(might be my idea) but she wakes up at about 15:00 my time and is on the look out for food and after she eats she goes back to sleep and then she eats again at night when she is fully awake.

The thing is she devours all her food.

i give her 1 tbl spoon the first time and 1 at night and she has plenty of hay which she chews on also.

Are the 2 tbls spoons and the hay enough?

(her poop is twice the size they were from the first 3 days when she got home)

should i give her more pellets?

Iso male chinchilla

Located in Yamhill County Oregon. Willing to travel within Oregon possibly.



Must be healthy and male. I am also looking for a chin that is around two or three months old, but might reconsider for the right chinchilla. Hoping for another color besides standard grey as that's what I have now, but might accept a standard grey if it's young.

foot problem?

so Astrid is being a happy chin these last days...



she eats her food and her grass ,poops all over the world and gets her 45 min to 1 hour play time.(though she ingores her toys and seems content to run up and down the stairs.)

Yesterday i noticed though she was sleeping funny...her one leg was tucked close to her body and she was actually sleeping on her shoulder.

i kept a close watch on her and i saw that all day she had the one front foot tucked close to her body.

She used it though to eat and when she came out for her play time she was a happy critter running around and jumping around like crazy.when back in the cage the foot was back tucked in close to her body.

Should a visit to the doc tomorrow be a good thing? or am i once again over reacting?

Chinchilla attitudes?

I feel like my chinchilla has a major diva complex. She loves attention but she needs it first. If I even acknowledge my other girl she seems to glare at me. If I then try to talk to her she turns her back to me and ignores my presence. She's even done a dramatic back turn with a tail flick.

Does anyone else's chinchillas do this?

I did get a good picture of the glare during cage cleaning. I had blocked her in the top portion of the FN while I cleaned the bottom portion so excuse the stray poo.

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So my Penny is actually a boy!

So we took penny to the vet today for her first check up and we found out she is indeed a he! We have decided to keep the name as he seems to respond it and I don't want to confuse him. Pretty annoyed at pets at home for giving us the wrong info about her gender. Luckily he wasn't put in with another chin. Other than that he got a clean bill of health which makes me very happy :-)

Shelves made...My FN is on it's way. Extra wood question....

Soooo excited I had to share..My FN 182 will be here on Monday. I spent today buying the KD pine and we made 10 shelves for the new cage. I power sanded off all the corners of them so there are no sharp edges on the shelves. I have a leftover piece of pine about 28" long and was wondering if I can just cut that into 2" pieces for my new chin to gnaw on????



PS.. Bonus! They gave me a free 23" slab of granite at Home Depot that they had laying around..Free Chinchiller! :)

Midwest Critter Nation 3 level cage (Austin, TX)

Hi everyone, I'm new here and the owner of 2 female chins.



I'm trying to sell my Critter Nation 3-level cage (162 two-level plus an add-on) for cheap to a good home. I'm relocating to Oregon next week due to my mother's health and my Civic can't fit all the cage parts with my other junk, so I'm selling this and having Amazon ship a Prevue 485 cage there, which is pretty affordable.



If you're anywhere near me and interested, please let me know and we can work out pick up of delivery. I'm flexible on the price - I just want it to go to someone who can use it.



Thanks!



-Tim

Ohio Field Day Show Date?

When is the Ohio Field Day Show date at Ryersons?

Emergency!

I have two chinchillas they are probably 2-3 months old. One is two weeks older than the other. The youngest one very rarely gets out of the nest box and I just discovered this evening he has mild diarrhoea. I have removed the pellets from the cage. I'm not sure what the cause is. Stress? I have not changed their food, they have filtered water, fresh hay, and the other is completely healthy and lively. I'm very worried. The oldest one keeps running to the youngest one in the box, which tells me something is wrong. Ive only had these guys for a week and they were bought from a very reputable breeder. Please help.

Mabel will be a year old on the 23rd :D

Yep, it's true :) Mabel will have her first birthday on Sunday. Her birthday present is a new wheel (Silver surfer, as the ChinSpin was much larger, and Mabel is a very small Chinchilla.).

I am so excited, and I can't wait to see her reaction to the new wheel. Love you Mabel! :thumbsup:

Hay?

I just got some Oxbow hay and I was wondering how long the bag lasts?

They're 15oz bags.

I can't find a date on them anywhere.

Treats help

Help please. I need to get treats for my chinnie cause he needs some in hand. i have chinchilla cookies he's almost done with. I need to order some good treats. Recommendations? I always used to order the forever feisty chinchilla herb mix but after he got bloated, i am honestly scared to. Any good herbs with NO oats and flax seeds? also one that is a herb mix?

Any young hedgies near MN?

Hi,



My name is Anna. I graduated with an animal science, pre-vet degree. I'm interested in getting a young hedgie, baby if possible. I've been a recent owner of chin chins. I miss them dearly, but I think I would love to care for a hedgie now to enjoy their love. If anybody has any available, I'm very interested. Thanks!

Complaining at Petstores about Chinchilla Care?

I'm sure you have all complained at a Petsmart or Petco, or at least under your breath.

From the plastic toys, to the lack of hideouts from store traffic...



I’m just curious because, while I do usually bite my tongue, this one store I walked into - - > had a male and female chinchilla huddled up.

I took one look at them and felt like I needed to bring them to a rescue!



Never mind, the clerk thought I’d want to see them…. by opening the cage and stepping back!

Frantic about the dangers of chins loose in a store I immediately scooped them up and almost cried how weak they felt, letting a stranger hold them. Additionally, my hands being coated in grease, and seeing just how severely matted they were.



I just want to know would you complain and undermine these “pet specialists”?



(This store is in Central Jersey, for anyone interested – they are still there, and have been for the past 5 weeks – standard male, and beige female)

Making fleece liners- not skilled in sewing

Anyone know if there is a certain way that these liners need to be sewed, as far as safety to the chin? I think I could figure out how to set up the sewing machine for basic stitching, would I need to do a few layers of stitches to keep it strong and safe?



Also if anyone has a pattern?... It would be awesome too! I believe it's going to be a critter nation(the person I'm buying from has both cn and fn cages so I'm just trying to remember which I'm purchasing)



Thanks for any help!

How to get chinchilla food in Dubai

Hi, I'm moving to Dubai in a couple months and i'm trying to bring my chinchilla. Does anyone know if I can get oxbow chinchilla food and hay there? I looked online and they don't have any good quality chinchilla food that I know of. Is there a good website I can ship some food, hay, toys, etc: from?

Please let me know.



:)

chinnie weight?

Hey guys, dunno if I'm posting in the right place sorry if not

Just a curious question!

What is the average weight for a male chinchilla?

My lad is a year next week and I'm just curious as everywhere seems different weights, thought I'd come and ask the ChinMommas! :)

You are a chinchilla slave when....

I posted this on my FB page and it was to cute not to share here!

I bet a few of you can agree!

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Mouth Problem

Hello,



Just wanted to friendly advice in the wee hours of the morning. We have maneuvered out baby fuzz successfully through bloat two years ago but are now faced with a problem I do not know how to take care of. My chin was out playing today (supervised of course) She randomly began barking and hid from us. We coaxed her into her cage and then noticed her pawing at her mouth. We have been supervising her for the past few hours. She keeps trying to eat. Putting food in her mouth then taking it out again only to give up. Seeming to be in pain. She has drank water. I have checked her mouth as much as possible. I have poked and prodded her jawline with no wincing or anything like that.



I am trying to find out what could have happened and if this is something I need to go to a vet right away. She seems to be moving about fine and is very spry.



Thank you in advance for your help!

HELP Moving international!! :(

Ok, I'm really sad right now. I don't know what to do. My parents told me were moving to Dubai in a few months. I need some advice!

Can my one year old female chinchilla have a safe trip?

Is it selfish of me to take her with me as its hot there?

If I can take her what will I need to bring?

Any vets in Dubai?

Anyone live in Dubai that can help me out?

If it's not a good idea to take her how will I find her the best home ever!?

None of my friends can take her and i'm 14, so I don't have adult friends.

Can someone just HELP me and crying really bad! :( :tantrum:

Oh ya! Is there quarantine? I don't really understand it.

"Special Needs" chins

I wanted to start a thread for those of us who have "special needs" chinnies to discuss them. if your chin a little different? maybe an ongoing health or behavior issue? discuss it here, and share some ideas and opinions of others who might know what you're going through.



i got this idea because i recently adopted 2 special needs chins and would love to have some conversations with others!



one of my chins is a tripod. the breeder told me that there was an injury at her birth, and she is missing her left front paw. I was concerned that she would be able to jump around her cage as well as a normal chin. she seems to be very cautious when i put a new ledge in, when she explores it. once she tries it a couple times, she seems alright. if i watch her closely when she's jumping around or stretching out, it seems like i can see like her shoulder bone moving where her missing paw should be. it makes me sad because it reminds me of what she's missing! who else has a tripod? do you do anything different for them, or set up their environment differently?



i also brought home a pair of brothers, one of which has a balance issue. the breeder had him FULLY checked out by a vet, no problems found. he flops over sometimes, wobbles a little when he walks, and can't jump like a normal chin. I tried to alter his cage by putting a lot of things on the floor of the cage, as well as tubes and ledges up higher for his "normal" brother to jump to. this little guy seems so curious, and jumps on his twig house (which is about as talk as he is). i'm thinking of adding a big ledge (like the level the FN comes with, altering it to make chin-proof) so he has more room to explore. i put lots of hanging toys at his level and a fleece tube right on the floor (which he LOVES!). any other suggestions?

Strange noises, change of behavior. Cautious chin mom

A little background: Hi, my name's Rain, I'm 19, I have two chinchillas. One chinchilla, Pikachu I've had for nearly a year now. The other, Moogle I got about two months ago. Both happy active little females. Currently integrating them, but very very slowly. I work at a pet store, and just instantly fell in love with Pikachu. She came a little younger than we're used to, and I played/handled her every day like I do all our chinchillas. so we just bonded immediately. Almost like I was her surrogate mother. :P I'd like to say I'm a fairly decent pet mom. I take them out for at least an hour each day, clean their cages once a week, water changed every two days, fresh hay and pellets every day, and then dust baths every other day. I check their ears, their teeth, fur health, skin under their feet, and their tails/bottom/genitals once a week. Their personalities are so fascinating and it's just amazing how unique and special every one of them can be.



Now, Pikachu has never been very vocal. The only time I hear her make noises is usually at night when she is lonely. Or when she is sleeping and having a bad dream. This noise is the typical barking noise that I (funnily enough) didn't expect at first. But I realize she was just trying to get me to give her attention, comfort her, and love her whenever she made this noise. :) It's like a high pitched vocal bark. Almost like a puppy whimpering. Sometimes Pikachu and Moogle bark angrily at eachother, which I've found typical of introducing them. Sometimes I hear them using that high pitched bark to vocalize and check if the other is around.



The issue I'm having: Pikachu had a sudden change of behavior a few days ago. She's become much more sleepy even at night. She bites at her fur, but I've not seen any spots missing so I think it might be intense grooming. Sometimes she sleeps huddled (she always has done this) but this seems more like curled over I suppose. The thing that worries me is that she's making these squeaking noises I've never heard her make before. And they're quite frequent! They're squeaks like a dog toy almost. She makes them a lot when she's awake not so much when she's sleeping. And I've become so scared that somethings wrong with my young girl that I've no idea where to turn.



Her stool is fine, not clumped, little oval-like black drops. She's been drinking and eating. She'll run around like she always has, take dust baths, let me pet her. And overall everything seems fine. but I just have this gut feeling whenever she makes this new noise that something may be wrong. And if I can't figure it out maybe someone can tell me more about it.



I don't know if these noises are typical and maybe she just picked them up or if something may actually be wrong with her. I've not found anything about this particular noise so it worries me. I'm hoping that someone who's heard/experienced these noises can help either calm my over-cautious nerves. OR tell me it's something serious and to seek vet help.



I've had a lot of other questions answered in the past by coming here but this is my first day making an account and actually posting. Either way I appreciate the help.



Luckily I have a video of her grooming herself and the noises she keeps making! So I hope it helps.



http://ift.tt/1qWX2ty



If you don't feel like watching the whole five minutes, there are time stamps in the description that lead directly to the noises. She's not usually in such a loud room lol but I wanted to keep an eye on her and get some videos of the new behavior.



Thanks for reading! And hopefully I'm just being an over-paranoid mommy. <3

Hi

I have been using this forum for so long and now I make my own account. lol ;)

Bald patch on tail

My chinchilla has developed a bald patch on the base of his tail. At first I thought this was a fur slip but it has progressed. I don't think he's fur biting as he has a tremendously large cage with lots of toys and does get time out of his cage each week. The skin appears to be in perfect condition, not flaky, inflamed, or sore... It has been gradually getting bigger over the last few months, I've made a vet appointment just wondered if anyone has any ideas what it could be? Nutritional deficiency of some kind???

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HELP Moving international!! :(

My parents told me that were moving to Dubai in a few months.

I am crying like crazy because I don't know what to do with my one year old female chinchilla I had since she was a baby. :cry3:

Well, I really really want to take her with me, but am I doing it for her or me?

I need some advice and help!

I am a 14 year old girl, so I don't have any responsible adult friends. None of my friend can take her.

Will my chinchilla be able to live in Dubai?

Is there anyone else on here you live in Dubai who can help me out?!

Should I take her or how will I find a responsible living forever home?

If I can take her what will I need? Travel cage: etc

I just need help I can't even think im so sad. :tantrum:

Strange little chirping/climbing/humping ritual

Hi all,



We got our boy Lil Bubs a little over a month ago and things have been going great. He's really warmed up to my bf and me and will let both of us hold/pet him. He loves playing and is very chatty most of the time. There's one thing he does that I haven't been able to find any answers on, despite reading a lot about chinchilla noises/behaviors. Apologies if this gets asked a lot!



Basically, he'll grab one of our wrists with his front paws and plant himself up against our hand like he's going to hump, but then he starts to "climb" up the wrist by shimmying his paws up and keeping purchase with little love bites. The whole time he is making this funny aggressive chittering noise, like a sped up version of his normal happy chirping. He doesn't actually hump in the same way that he occasionally humps his toys (we call him "hummingbird hips" lol), but it does seem like it may be related to humping/dominance in some way.



Is this normal? It usually happens when he is otherwise happy (i.e. popcorning around the play room, jumping on other toys and racing around) or when we're giving him skritches (just now I was rubbing his chin/chest which he loves, and suddenly his chirps changed to chitters and he started climbing up my hand out of his tunnel). Occasionally I'll try to scratch his belly when he does this because it almost seems like he's asking for a belly rub, and when I do that he just sits still and looks at me like I'm crazy. :laughitup:



Any ideas? Thanks!

WI ECBC Spring Show

Wisconsin Branch Show - April 12, 2014

Legion Hall

Barenveld, WI



Judges: Bob Merritt & Dan Jensen

6:00 - 10:00 - Set up, registration, grooming

9:00 - Talk with UW vet/professor Christoph Mans

Judging begins at 10am



Registration: $6 per animal ECBC/MCBA members - $8 per animal non-members

Lunch - $5 per person



Special Events: Raffle, Pick the winner contest, Live animal silent auction, Supreme Grand Show



Silent Auction: $75 minimum, $10 minimum bid increase, Seller places bottom dollar on animal by 10am



Contact: Wendy, wksdesignerchins@gmail.com

Brenda, bbchinchillas@gmail.com

Cleaning up...and a bit of this and that.

I've asked a couple of people and said i should change the pellets that are in my chins cage once a week.

That creates two questions...

is truly once a week?

and if it is how do i get her out of her cage to clean it up?

:hmm:



she has stopped barking at nights and we finally spending time together...its mainly me talking to her and she ignoring me or hiding for a lil while and then coming out again to eat her grass or just hung out.

I can sit next to her cage without her being scared and hiding and i even tried to feed her some of her food with my hand(which she sniffed and ignored..both the food and the hand) :hair:



Another issue is that she does love the grass but ignores the food!

How long do i leave it in her feeding bowl?

I had the food in her bowl for 2 days before i managed to buy grass and nothing...since i bought grass and gave her some she has eaten all the grass but not the food!

do i add to it or remove it?throw it and put more?

Has anyone used this?

Hey ya'll. So I went online to buy hanging chew toys and the ones they had specifically labeled for Chins were sold out so I got this one, labeled for Guinea Pigs, which the seller promises are safe for Chins. Has anyone tried this particular toy? I liked them because they have loofah for the "rinds" of the oranges.



I know I've been on here a ton lately and being a pest but I'm a very soon-to-be first time Chin owner and I don't want to do anything to harm the precious little one :)

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Urine

I keep noticing that my chins urine looks very dark and when dry becomes flaky? Is this normal? First pic is the dried urine on her fleece, second is on her ledge.

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CN Bass Pans?

Hi Everyone!



I'm trying to figure out if the FN metal pans from Bass Equipment Company will fit in the CN as well? I don't want to buy them if they won't fit. Thanks!

Ways of Dust Bathing?

So much like the 'Ways of Sleeping' thread, I decided to post another one about dust bathing and I would love to see other pictures of how Chinchillas take their baths. For Chester, I put him in the tub with a glass bowl of his dust and he just goes nuts every time! It's great to watch and sometimes when I put him and the bowl in the tub and haven't gotten the dust in yet, he still rolls around the empty bowl!



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Cages UK and bedding questions

Hi guys I know there are a lot of threads on cages but a lot of them are for USA sites. I am a new chin owner and bought a wire mesh cage from the pet store where I bought her. We have had penny just over a month and I don't find the cage to be big enough or that easy to clean. What I am looking for is suggestions on good 2/3 tier cages on stands with doors that open out (like the critter nation but we don't sell them here). I've seem john hope wells site but I'd rather something a bit more sturdy with a frame. Can any UK folk recommend a good cage? I'd prefer it to have a pull out tray at the bottom for easy cleaning which leads on to my next question. Do I need a wire bottom cage or can Penny (my chin) walk on the carefresh bedding? I want to try litter box training her but struggling to get a non plastic litter tray with a mesh grating over. If she can walk on the carefresh that would make this much easier. Any help would be much appreciated.



Oh one other thing. In her house where she sleeps I put her hay as that's how they had it in the pet store. Is this correct? If not what should I put in her house for sleeping on?

Hello from Maryland!

Hello, my name is Shelby! I am 24 years old and a chin mom of two males! My boyfriend and I first got our first chinchilla about six months ago and our second one about a month later, rescued. Thackery Binx (Binx for short) is about a year old and is standard grey. Dr. Finkelstein (Fink for short) is about 8 months old and beige. We love our little guys and are currently looking into buying them a new cage which led us to this site! I'm very excited to explore this site more and find out more information on raising chins and which cages everyone on here prefers!

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Where to buy cage accessories?

does anyone know a good and reliable page i can buy cage accessories for my ferret nation cage so my chin doesn't get bored and spice up the cage a bit? hut at a reasonable price? i really like the page chincessories but the owner has many things out of stock since January.



thanks :):)

Whrer to buy supplies?

okay so I'm a new chin owner and I'm 14. i have a ferret nation and I've has my chin for a month or so but i need to get cage accessories soon because she only has an old plastic wheel, water bottle, old food dish, and a house but I need to get her stuff like a new metal wheel, ledges, a house etc. so she doesn't get bored but I don know a good website to shop for her supplies and I'm not planning

to do petsmart. I really like the page chincessories but the owner has many items out of stock and its been since January since he's been out of stock. so does anyone know a good and reliable website to buy accessories at a reasonable price?

meet Savannah♡

Meet my 8th month chin from Texas . Her name is savannah :) she's my best friend♡

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Awesome Chin w/ Everything! (SoCal)

His name is Davy, and he is a rare colored pink white chinchilla. Personality wise my boy is a sweetheart although he does get energetic and enjoys 1 hour of playtime in the evenings. He is missing an eye due to an accident as a baby that happened before he came into my care, but this doesn't affect him in any way. He is male, barely turned 2 years old, and weighs around 545 grams. He is fed Purina Rabbit Chow Show (good for chins) and fed a mix of Oxbow oat hay and meadow hay. He is sanded 1-2 times weekly in Blue Sparkle Dust. For treats, he gets 3 pieces of Calf Manna supplement either daily or a few times weekly. He is super friendly and loves being cuddled in his cage. He is easy to hold and catch outside his cage as well, and he'll snuggle up and stay calm in my arms for a bit.



You will not need to buy anything for him in a long while because I am including ALOT with him:



1 Multi-story cage

2 Sets of fleece liners

4 Wooden ledges

1 Silver Surfer wheel

1 Fleece hay pouch

1 Water bottle

1 Food dish

1 Extra hay rack/dish combo

1 Extra hay rack

1 Extra water bottle

1 Hammock

1 Tube

2 Tile slabs

4 Hanging toys

1 Perch w/toy bits

1 Fleece chinchilla buddy

1 Box of mixed hay

1 Bag of hay cubes

1 Box of assorted toys and chews

1 Container of supplement pellets

1 Container of food pellets

1 Jar of dust



Go on my youtube channel to see his videos:

http://ift.tt/Pm0P5E



I need to rehome him ASAP because my apartments found him and are making me get rid of him. I am asking a rehoming fee of $275 for my special little Davy to go to a really good home.

Contact 6263921259 or email if interested. I am located in the Monrovia area.

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Weight Loss?

We have had our chinchilla for about four years. Just recently we lost our older chinchilla, who was his best friend. He has seemed very sad since her death. He seems to be eating well and he is still pooping but he is losing weight. He seems much more fragile and we put him on the scale to see that he has definitely shed some weight. Could depression be affecting him by weight loss? If anyone could help that would be great. We have never had this happen before and don't know what it could be.

What is the closest chinchilla rescue in Columbus, Ohio

What is the closest chinchilla rescue in Columbus, Ohio?

Advice on cages.

So, I've been looking into a Ferret Nation for my chin. But the only place I can think of that sells them is Petco, but they are too over priced. I'm from LA and was wondering if anyone knew a few place where I can buy the cages at a reasonable price?

Critter Nation Cage

Hey all!



I just bought my lil fuzzbutt Fergie a little over a week ago at Petsmart.



I had wanted a chin since I was a teenager , but never had the room to keep her away from my doggies.



Just bought my first house and Fergie has a room all to herself.



Ive read bonding can take months but she already jumps right into my hands when I put them in the cage.



As soon as I set up the cage they sold me , I immediatley felt it was too small (she was the biggest chin of the 4 they had)

http://ift.tt/1lLNsWB



thats the one I bought , they will take it back and I ordered the critter nation from Amazon , with the ramp covers as I read they can get their feet stuck in the rungs of the ramps (I did like that the original one I got that the ramps were solid metal)



Any recomendations for the critternation cage besides ramp covers to keep my lil girl safe??



heres my girl :)



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Chin Behavior

Hello! I just adopted two male chinchillas a few days ago. My beige male (Albus) is 2 weeks older than my ebony male (Kingsley). The reason I'm posting is because my ebony male is acting odd. He stays in his house all the time and if I go near him he "tsk" at me. I can tell it's a warning. What can I do to help him become more sociable, relaxed, and friendly?

Ringworm: Sulphur or Athletes Powder

I have a pet owner asking me about Ringworm treatment. She was told by another breeder that only sulphur powder will kill the infection and that Tinactin powder will only send it into remission. I myself use minconazole cream on any affected areas and Tinactin in the dust bath. Then disenfect the cage and all accessories. This is what has worked for me and I haven't ever had an animal get reinfected. Thoughts?

Organic Apple Wood twigs for kit?

So I've read ALL the FAQ'S and newbie boards and I'm a tad confused. I know for sure, NO TREATS until 6 months of age, but is an Apple Wood twig considered a treat ( I don't think so ) and are they safe for weaned kits?

Bedding Container?

Hi! So soon I will be moving into an apartment with my chinchilla's (4). I am switching them back to bedding as my boys decided to start eating their fleece :impatient:



I was wondering how everyone stores their bedding? I would like to place it in a rolling container so I can move it easily to each cage (I have 2 critter nations).



I have two bins already for hay and food but I need something bigger for the bedding!



Thank you :)

Meet my new baby Jasper

Hey guys! I just had to share the first pic of my new baby. I get him in about 8 days and can't wait... :tease:

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Ferret Nation Sale

For anyone that's been looking to get a FN on sale.

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new noise

So finally getting my boy settled in with only one set back transferring to his new cage. The last few days we have heard an odd noise that we are 90% sure was the chinchilla. It sounded like an old creepy door squeaking open. I actually got out of bed to make sure it wasn't any of the doors. The only thing out of the ordinary was Darwin sitting quietly at the front of his cage. I talked to him and he quickly smelled my nose before going back to bed. And my fiance heard the same thing the night before.

Does anyone know what this noise means? It's not a bark and it's not a sharp noise. He doesn't seem to want anything when we check on him. I'm just concerned it might be pain. He looks fine but he has such a sad past.

Thanks for any input.

Weird poop; super scared for my chin!

My chinchilla Emi is sick, and I don't know what to do. I got her from a rescue in November, and she has been doing so well up until the past two days. On Saturday I noticed her poop was squishy and rounder than her usual stool (which has always been normal). I took away all treats and pellets and started giving her just timothy hay (oxbow). Yesterday, her poop was the same. I gave her a probiotic cookie from whimsey menagerie (a chinchilla rescue) and watered down apple juice (no sugar added, no preservatives, etc) along with her water. She has not been drinking as normal. Her poop still is greasy looking and soft.



Yesterday and Saturday her energy level looked normal (and at play time she was hopping and running around as usual). Today she's been more lethargic although granted she could just still be sleepy. Should I continue doing her play time? It's usual once or twice a day for one hour (sometimes an hour and a half).



Also, her weights normally in the 660s and now it's in the 640s. (grams)



What should I do? Should I continue with the probiotic cookie and apple juice?



We also recently switched her to kiln-dried pine bedding in her litter pan (everything else is polar fleece) from the carefresh natural. She started eating that, I freaked out and switched her to the pine (that was three weeks ago). She does nibble on that although I have no idea how to stop her (I've put toys by her litter pan in case she's just bored there). Could that be it?



Please any advise would be helpful. I'm so scared for my sweet girl; she's my first chin and I love her so much. Also, if anyone has any exotic vets they recommend in the Fredericksburg/DC area that would be amazing. Thank you so much!



Karen

Allergy to pine shavings? Small crust at corners of eye.

I very recently was at the vet with my other chin, however they both were examined and she made no mention on his eyes. It is just a very small crust in the front corner of his eyes, similar to when humans wake up with "sleep" in our eyes. There are no other symptoms, his fur surrounding his eyes is not wet. It does not worsen at all or change.



This is why I'm wondering if he has allergies to his bedding. He had fleece prior to when I adopted them, but Alena told me pine shavings are good for the type of cage I have.



Thoughts? His teeth are great. Eats and drinks regularly. Wonderful large poop, active, no changes at all. Any help much much appreciated :)