help high humidity levels!

The humidity level in my chin room is reading at 75 rh right now. I bought three tubs of damp rid at home depot but it does not seem to be doing much. The temperature in my room ranges from 64 degrees to 68 within the day. Is this okay with the high humidity or do I need to buy a dehumidifier? My ac unit currently takes up so much electricity because it has no econ mode so I literally just run it all day and night. The bill is about 200 more than it was before I got the unit monthly. This is why I am hesitant to buy a dehumidifier because I am worried it will cost even more money which is hard for me to afford at the moment but I will if I have to for my chins. Any advice? I'm worried that its to humid for them and I don't want them to be stressed or uncomfortable that's why I bought a unit to keep my room under 70 degrees.

watery eye

Hi,
One of my chinchillas, Belle, has been having slightly wet fur around her eyes. I'm not sure if it's normal or not, but I've been noticing it looks like it pretty much every night. The other night, there was a very small amount of white discharge in one eye that was gone when I went to look again (maybe she blinked it out?)
What could be causing this? How can I fix it?
I'd prefer not to take her to a vet if it's an easy fix, but I will take her if I need to. (On a side note, is there a vet quote for around NH? I've never taken a small animal to the vet and I'd like to know around how much to expect to pay.)

They dusted every night, (I switched it to every other in case that's the problem) since it doesn't seem to bother them. I don't know if this could make her eyes water?
The only thing I have changed from their original owner was aspen shavings, which I have taken out for the time being. I don't know if she could be allergic? But her eyes didn't get watery till weeks after I put the shavings in.

Getting a 2nd Chinchilla - General Questions

Hello,

I am thinking about getting a second chinchilla in addition to my 8 year old, Gizmo. However, I'm a bit conflicted on a couple different issues. I wanted to get a girl, but I am in college and do not want to nor do I know anything about breeding, whether intentional or unintentional. Another thing is the age of the chinchilla that I should get. Gizmo is 8, so I thought about rescuing an older one vs buying a kit from a breeder. However, I wanted to buy a kit from a breeder because then I know a little bit about the quality and past of the chinchilla. My final problem would be bonding. Gizmo has been in contact with other chinchillas and he has been fine, but I'm worried about jealousy. I know I won't know how he reacts until he meets his potential new friend. Also, would you recommend having two separate cages, or combining them into one? I have a Ferret Nation 182, so it is completely possible to have it to where they can go into each other's part of the cage, but I might just have it blocked off so they have their own space.

Can anyone help me out at all?

Thank you

Hello from Georgia!

Hello, I'm Natalie from Georgia, and I joined the forum because I have recently bought my second chinchilla. However my first chinchilla was from when I was very young, so I'm considering myself a "first time" owner ;)

I have already posted quite a bit, but I suppose I haven't actually introduced myself!

I love chinchillas, they are a great pet for someone like me. They may be messy and hyperactive but I love them ;)

I found Olive a couple days ago, at a pet shop. Seeing the Chins made me want to get one, but I really wanted a baby. But after visiting Olive a couple of times in the store, I knew we were meant to be. She is relatively young, I would guess under a year, but she has so much spunk. Although I'm not a fan of "pet store" pets, as they are not handled frequently, if at all, I feel as if Olive will be easy to tame! She's very vocal as well ;)

I will be on here frequently I imagine, as I learn more and more about chins! Since Olive is still getting used to her environment I will have to satisfy my need for chinchillas through the forums ;)

I've put two pics on this post, one before a dust bath and one after. She is black velvet but she almost looks standard after a bath xD

Attached Images

	image1.jpg (91.8 KB)
	image2.jpg (92.7 KB)

Questions

So of course, this is all hypothetical, but I've suddenly become very interested in showing over night ;)

Mostly because it seems fun, and the chinchilla community has proven sparse in my area so far.

I understand you can bring any sort of chinchilla. No pedigree or lineage, just pick one up from "Chins-R-Us" and attend.

My problem is age. I understand it is hard to age a chinchilla, so if I had this "Chins-R-Us" chinchilla (which I do, in this case), what would be a good way to go about that? I know they all age differently, but I have a small but "mature" looking Chin, would it be appropriate to call her a year old?

Like I said this is all hypothetical, but I'm suddenly very interested in showing, or at least knowing more about showing!

Thanks in Advanced!

YOUR Brand?

So before I begin, let me be clear. I understand there is no "number one" brand of food. Chinchillas are individual and the best food for them depends on them.

However, I would love to know which brand *you* prefer! I bought some "Sunburst" Brand, which has a lot of pellets and whole grain, but after reading up it seems pure pellets is the way to go.

So I'm going to switch as soon as I can, but I'm not sure which brand I want to try, or where to find the top 3 brands. It seems those would be Oxbow, Mazuri, and Tradition.

I'm leaning towards Oxbow, it seems to be the most popular, Mazuri coming second. I am a little skeptical about tradition. The nutrition analysis weirds me out I guess. But nevertheless, please, give me your opinion. What is your favorite brand? What do you use?

I've also heard using certain rabbit food brands works as well. So tell me your secret!

This goes for treats, hay, whatever nutrition you like to give your chin! Tell me what's up ;)

Olive!

Hello guys,

I got my second chinchilla last night. However, my first chinchilla I had when I was younger, and I barely remember anything about her, so I'm definitely considering myself a new chin owner!

So as I was reading some threads, I decided to name this cutie Olive. She's black velvet, I believe. She's not full grown, but I bought her at a pet store, so I don't really know how old she is. I'm just going to assume a year, although she's probably a bit younger.


So I'm posting to a.) gush about this cutie pie, and b.) find out a little more about her behaviors.

I was instantly attracted to Olive because she is young and curious, and not shy to my hand. I wanted a baby chinchilla, but I fell in love with Olive, and I feel as if she will be easy to tame (fingers crossed!).

A few things she did really peaked my interest. Any time my hand would enter the cage, she would stand up on her feet and click, which I thought she might bite or spray me so I shied away. But then when I didnt, she would make this interesting sound like a click and a grunt? And she would approach me, still standing, and sort of "hug" my hand. So then I thought she was a lonely male, but she's definitely female. Is that a sign of dominance, maybe? I hope not because it's adorable and I want to encourage it xD.

She is in a feisty ferret 485, and loving it because she was locked to one story with 2 other chins. Her diet is sort of odd, I've never heard of anything like it before, but they mix sunseed chinchilla food with some of their seeded bird food. I can't imagine it being dangerous but I'm sure all that seed is bound to wind her up. So slowly I'm changing her over to just chinchilla food of a different brand.


So, any tips on taming? Like I said very curious little one, and I feel she's at a good age to shape her behaviors. So any advice would be great. I just got her yesterday so I'm mostly letting her be for now!

Thanks in advanced for advice

Wire Mesh Bottom Cages?

I'm wondering if wire mesh bottom cages are safe for chins. I haven't had any issues yet, but are there any risks of them breaking their legs or feet on wire mesh that is 1/2" by 1" spacing?

Male chins weird Bonding issues

I bought Toby after a year from now to be a partner for Kai so he wouldn't be lonely, and it's always the same issue with Kai and Toby. Here's how they go on every day.

I put Toby in bigger cage with Kai when I wake up in the morning. Toby and Kai greet each other usually when Kai is in the cozy bed. Toby goes in the bed and they start nibble on each others face and fur. They do like each other, because they always groom each other and when they play in the bathroom with each other they never fight.

If I am home they never have fights during the day time, when I am at work they do get into fights (But I do come home either 10 or 12am). But nothing terrible, never was ever terrible. No bite marks, no blood, just arguments with a messy cage.

I stay awake until usually 2 or 3am. When I am about to go to sleep I put Toby in his cage which is right next to the bigger cage so they can interact and not feel lonely. They can touch each others nose at least. Sometimes Kai when I put Toby away in other cage he starts acting up. He starts to continuously bite the bars on the cage. Like how a child would get annoyed if you took their toy away. I usually try to take his mind off of Toby leaving by giving him something to chew on.

Thing I've learned from them both is I can't leave them both in the same cage at night or fighting will happen (Nothing serious, just some loose fur from Kai and no blood, etc). But I do think it's just Toby wanting to play and it's not even fighting. And Kai is a grouchy young man that doesn't want to play in the cage. Lol. Toby is aggressive to my female chins. If the female chins happen to be by the males big cage (or small one) he will start to claw at them, and he almost had bite one of the girls but my husband got his finger bite by Toby as he was trying to get one of my females from escaping the playpen. Toby used to claw/scratching and Jump around at Kai in the small carrier when I first introduced them both. And it took them weeks to get introduced properly. Mainly because I am too worried on what will happen, and don't want any of them hurt.

I am sometimes on the verge of giving up Toby. But I have realized they do in fact like each other very much, and I can't give up Toby because Kai has already been separated from his mother and sister. I wouldn't want to upset Kai or Toby.

And it's been over a year now doing what I do with them, and separating them almost every night. I can put up with this as I don't see them ever hurting each other. I've learned about both of their personalities.

Right now they are together sleeping in bed :)

Anyone else have any stories like this?

Too much treats...

Hi all,

I thought I'd let you all know something most of you possibly know already, if you give your Chinchilla alot of treats it builds enamel on their teeth which makes it harder to grind down and can cause overgrown teeth aswell as many other long term issues.

Jed 2nd Operation. Worried?!?

So my oldest fella Jed had an Operation for overgrown teeth last month which had caused an absess, the vet stated this WAS NOT Malo so I assumed the drooling would go away. Jed is drooling again and I've got him booked in to see the vet next week to have the same Op again. If this isn't Malo then what could it be? What's the cause? I've stopped giving him treats as they build enamel on the teeth quicker which makes it harder for them to grind down. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Tile?

I've been considering switching one of my chins from fleece to tile. This one in particular is good about going in his litter pan, while my other chin will pee in other corners on occasion(so he'll stay on fleece for the time being).

I LOVE the fleece and I find it really brightens up the room, but this chin really shreds his sticks and the pieces get stuck in it. It's just a mess, so obviously tile will make cleaning much easier.

What kind of tile would be safe to use? I know that some actually absorb the urine, so I don't really want that in the event that he does pee on it. Can someone post links? I find most tiles to be a bit boring so if anyone has found some with neat patterns, that would be awesome.

Also, how do you avoid them stepping in their pee and getting it on them? I know you can just wipe it up but don't they get it on them between spot cleans?

I found these, are these suitable to cover the cage with?
http://ift.tt/1gUAZSV

Weight Chart

Hi, I'd like to know if any of you find this chart to be useful or interesting. I weigh my chinchillas every week in order to detect pregnancy. I weigh my males too for comparative purposes. My females are Kiyari, Taruka, and Chaska. My males are Aldo and Xeldon. Aldo is the son of Xeldon; and I no longer have Aldo's mother. I know that Xeldon had mated with Chaska on June 24. Aldo mated with Taruka on an unknown date, but I suspect it was sometime in early August. Kiyari seems to be avoiding Aldo's mating attempts; perhaps because she's too much bigger than him. Any thoughts? :hmm:

Attached Images

ChinWeights.jpg (21.5 KB)

Behavioral Problems.

So I have a 6 month old chin, well almost come the beginning of October. Now, my issue, I have no idea what I did to terrify him so much. I honestly thought he fell and got hurt. Because he was acting injured two days ago and some yesterday.I heard a clicking sound, but it sounded more like it was his heart or hurt bone, he's clumsy, and falls a lot. He also was hardly moving, eating, or drinking. I think he is drinking, but I am not sure. His water bottle is large so it takes a bit. But he is eating okay, and playing fine again. He is a bit skittish when I approach the cage or him. He has tried to bite me in the very beginning, but I thought it was a chewing issue. We have given him some lava chews, and toys. And he doesn't bite anymore.Someone had told me to not retreat my hand when he bites and to pick him, up which of course he hated. Another person told me to keep doing it to get him used to me, and it hasn't helped one bit. And he was just a baby then.. like 2 months, when we first brought him home... I have only owned Chinchillas for a year now. I had one die of heat stroke due loss of power the one weekend I was gone over the summer. So I have been protective of all my babies, especially since then.

I know I have to start over. Since he is scared. But how do I proceed from here. I hate that I messed up and he is so scared.

I also wanted to mention when I thought he was injured, he was taken to an exotic vet, and they x-rayed him, and he was fine.

I truly feel awful about this. I don't have this relationship with my other two chinchillas.

I had 4 but I had to get rid of one. Two of the females I had gotten were cage mates, and one was very selfish and aggressive, and wouldn't let the other have any chew toys, and when the other would try to chew on the toy the more aggressive one(Luna) would steal it and get aggressive. There was fight once in the cage, no blood or injuries thank god, since then I had to get rid of the other. I would rather get rid of Chinchilla than risk its life. I gave it to dear friend, who could have one on one time with owner. They had a cage, and I sent her with food.

Now on to Blossom, she is very skittish, I feel due the aggressive behavior from her prior cage mate. It is taking her a good while to warm up to me. But it is progressing, she does come up to the cage bars now for me, and willing takes food from my hands. Although today she nibbled me, looking for oats. She never has ate oats from my palms until today. And once she found them, she looked for them again. She bit skin, but lightly so thats alright.

Now, my relationship with Felix is amazing! He likes to test nibble, but nothing more. He is spoiled, and loves to play. He was my SIL, he was loved even though he wasn't taken the best care of. He was on Newspapers, and in a medium sized bird cage.

All three each have their own blocked off level of FN


Sirius, my 6 month old is my greatest concern. I know it will take rebuilding and trust, but where do I go from here?

My cutie Chins (vids)

http://ift.tt/1VdzZqB

Say Hello to kai, he loves sleeping under his blanket (aka a hot water bottle cover).

http://ift.tt/1VdzZqD

These are my girls, Bella on the left of the cage, and Kisses (1 year old) her baby on the right with the white belly. Moxxi somewhere hidden in the darkness at the bottom of the cage.

Their cages might be a bit dirty, waiting to move to give them a good clean out on Tuesday.

Me and my 5 chinchillas

I am new here, and I have 5 chinchillas. Aldo, Chaska, Kiyari, Taruka, and Xeldon. Xeldon is the father of Aldo.

Attached Images

	Aldo6.jpg (92.6 KB)
	Chaska2.jpg (95.3 KB)
	Kiyari5.jpg (90.5 KB)
	Taruka1.jpg (91.7 KB)
	Xeldon5.jpg (87.3 KB)

Buying Chin Food in Bulk

I have 5 chinchillas, and those little 3-pound bags of chinchilla food I get from a feed supply store don't last very long. Is there any chinchilla food I can order online that is in a bulk size, like maybe 10, 20 or even 50 pounds? Thank you!

Hi from Corvallis!!

Hi!
I actually joined a couple months ago, and have been super busy with moving that I have lost touch with all sorts of social media. I just moved recently to Corvallis OR from Ellensburg WA. I am an Animal Science major, who originally intended on being a vet, but have recently altered my plans slightly to be more involved in humane animal management!
I have one chin and a cat:) Robbin and Dash. They are both very curious about each other when I let them near one another, but I am also too nervous to leave Dash around Robbin for too long in case something were to go wrong.
I am still on the hunt for an exotics vet down here (which I am hoping won't be too hard since OSU has a great vet school) so if anyone has names, I am all ears!
Robbin is my second chin, my first was a female named Girlie! He is much different from her and I have learned so much.
I can't wait to be able to devote some time here to learn even more about the chin life and everyone else involved in it:)

Best location for chins?

Hi, I'm sarah. I've had my chinchillas Aurora and Belle for about 3 1/2 months. To beat the summer heat, they've been living in the basement. However, now that it's getting colder out, the basement is now the warmest place in the house. I need some opinions from experienced chinchilla owners! I can keep them in the basement or my room. Here are the good and bad of each location:

Basement: cool in summer. Roomy play area to run around. No other animals and no people bugging them. Easier to clean.
Warm in the winter (about 70 right now). Belle had a small red spot on her ear, does that mean she's too warm? Furnace kicks on and off and scares them sometimes. People walking around upstairs sounds noisy from the basement. Sometimes people paint down here and it smells a little. Not super fumey, but you can smell it.

My room: would have to give them a slightly smaller play area for out of cage playtime. Dog would be around only at night under supervision, so i'd have to teach him to leave them alone. Harder to keep carpet clean. Warm in the summer: I'm going to get a little ac but I'm not allowed to run it to keep the room cooler than 73ish.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I just don't know which of these pros and cons and more serious: I was hoping you experienced owners would!

Alternate source for grapevine.

Just got an order of vine from this guy. I ordered 50' cut to roughly a foot for $8, and ended up getting closer to 70. The shipping was the rough part at $7, but he also does huge bulk orders as well. His stuff is air-dried, so I'm baking it for good measure. That said, it looks great and was well packed. It's organic and pesticide-free, and as a bonus the sticks are packed with the little swirly bits intact. I can't wait to see what Dessy thinks of this stuff. :)

http://ift.tt/1KQrQXP

Possible incorrect diagnosis and medication given to my Chinchilla by the vet?

Hi. My name Jade - I live in South Africa.
My 5 year old male chinchilla, Peppers, has just died and i am convinced the Vet diagnosed and treated him incorrectly.
The Vet openly admitted to me that she does not know much about chinchillas.
His symptoms included;
Lethargic and no energy
Unresponsive and not moving
Not eating - not even his favourite treats
Not drinking
Not pooping
Weight loss
Not social to other chinchillas
Hard little clumps in his tummy
Little spurts of breath
Hunched over

I noticed he was not himself on Thursday the 17th of September. Friday morning I was convinced he was ill as he looked a bit worse. I fed him about 2mls of full cream yogurt with a syringe and left for work. I was reluctant to take him to the vet as our vets here where I live are a bit uneducated in exotic critters and animals. I continued to feed Peppers when I got home with full cream yogurt every 2 hours and then increased it to 4mls at a time along with water – as I was hoping to help him gain weight and I know plain yogurt is really good for bacteria and is a natural into-biotic.
Saturday morning (the 19th of September) I could not take it any longer so I fed him more yogurt and I went to vet. The vet openly admitted to me that she does not know much about chinchillas so it will be difficult for her. I was really doubtful and extremely worried after that.
After feeling his tummy and also noticed that he has small clumps, she took a tiny blood sample to examine under the microscope and said his white blood cells have enlarged and his body was fighting something, but she was still uncertain. After doing an x-ray, she said his lining of his lungs were irregular and he looked constipated. She diagnosed him with a lung infection and slightly constipated. I strongly believe that he had a case of Gostrointenstinal dilation/tummy ulcer/kidney infection as I could feel hard little clumps in his stomach and it was uncomfortable for him when I felt them – and I told her that, yet she said it was his lungs. He was not eating and grinding his teeth a little. He did not pass any stools for a really long time. He also lost about 50grams of body weight (he was a small chinchilla to begin with – his weight was about 480-500 grams). She checked him temperature and it was average. Then she said she will give him 0.04mls of Baytril (which I was not happy about) 0.04mls of Catosol (vitamin B) and 0.04ml of Lacson Syrup (animal laxative). She also gave me an animal electrolyte sachet and said it will be safe for him. She advised that I give him 0.01ml every 2 hours. Off we went home and I nursed him every 2 hours and gave him copious amounts of love and snuggles as I already feared the worst.
Sunday the 20th of September I took him for a follow up appointment. I told the vet he was a bit bouncy this morning and that was the only bit of good news I had, other than that, I said I didn’t notice any deterioration or great increase. So overall – I felt he was the same. I told her he still hasn’t passed any poops and he still has hard clumps in his tummy and I’m not happy that. As she was examining him again, he passed a tiny (under average size) poop. It was really smelly, hard on the one end and really squishy and slimy on the other. I told her that he has a problem with his tummy. It seemed as though she did not acknowledge what I was trying to tell her as she proceeded to tell me that she will continue with the Baytril treatment. She gave him another dose of Baytril, Lacson Syrup and Catosol.
I took home the Baytril injections to administer at home (to save the cost of the vet bills) and also because I have a huge passion for animals and rescuing them etc – I wanted to become a vet but did not have the opportunity to study. I had had a lot of experience first had in this particular situation, so I was very confident in this.
I continued my nursing skills and gave Peppers a lot of attention and continued with all his medication and feeding.
Monday morning the 21st of September – I woke up at 4am. Spent a lot time with Peppers and fed him and kept him warm close to my chest with a blanket over him and rubbing his head softly and kissing his nose bridge and ears and talking softly to him. I gave him his Baytril injection (in his groin just under the skin) and I knew it did properly and was confident after I did it. I was due for work at 8am and I knew I could not leave him at home as I needed to continue feeding him. My office is very quiet and I see no customers so I knew he would be fine and not stressed out. I packed up my cat carrier with blankets and hot water bottles (not too hot at all – just enough to keep him warm) and wrapped them in blankets etc and he snug and safe and packed a cooler bag for all his little yogurts and electrolytes and vitamin c paste. I got to work at 8 am. Did some work and I was due to feed him at about 9.30am.
I prepped him syringes took him out the carrier with a blanket and held him and examined him. He was not well. In fact he was deteriorating. His breathing pattern was very short and his pulse was down. That’s when I knew… I felt his pulse and it had decreased to about 60pulses a minute. And after about every 5 breaths, he would gasp for air. At this point I knew there was nothing I could do except blow air towards his mouth. I called my husband and told him Peppers did not have long to go. I was crying so much. I was holding him and rubbing his ribs and talking to him. I knew I could not feed him anything as he was battling to breathe. So I gave him a drop of water instead. His eyes were changing shape and I could see the pain and suffering in his eyes. I knew he was waiting for his dad to say good-bye. I was rocking him like a baby wrapped up in a blanket and crying because I never imagined he would go so soon.
My husband arrived. He stood opposite me and kissed Peppers and rubbed him while I was holding him. Peppers was very limb at this stage. My husband held me and kissed my forehead and we said good-bye to Peppers and told him we love him and will see you soon. I was holding his chest with my fingers and slowly felt his pulse fade away. I closed his eyes, held him close to my face and sobbed like a child…
I’ll never hear him squeak and chirp again, watch him dust bath and see him wag his tail out excitement or fell him nibble my fingers excitedly when I pick him up. I’ll never be able to pick him up! My heart is shattered to say the least.
Later that day when we buried him, I noticed he didn’t pass any poop or liquid. I know that rodents or animals pass something when they die. This is alarming and making me realise more and more that there was definitely something wrong inside his tummy.
Do you think the Vet did diagnose him incorrectly and do you think she gave him the correct medication?
P.S: I have previously had 4 x gerbils and 2 x dumbo rats – all of them have died after been given Baytril by the Vets an antibiotic following having been diagnosed with a ‘respiratory infection’. The pattern I am seeing here is uncanny and really frustrating for me as I have gone through the same heart ache 7 times.
I just need peace of mind so my husband and I can have closure.
I miss you Peppers and I will always be your mom. I love you more than life itself <3

First time Chinchilla owner trying to do everything right :)

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca. I am 22 years old and I purchased my first chinchilla this year. Her name is Rosie and I love her very much. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right for her AND I would like some advice on introducing a second chinchilla.

So first, on Rosie and my care of her. All suggestions on how I could do better/questions on her care are welcome!

Rosie is in a 4 level critternation cage. It's the largest I could find. I use fleece covers on the cage liners and clean her cage weekly. She eats Oxbow fortified pellets and Kaytee natural Timothy hay. She is let out usually 4-5 times a week for an hour or more of out of cage exercise. I don't give her too many treats but usually I stick to tiny raisin pieces. I give her dust baths as needed, usually every other day. The air quality in her room and the temperature is monitored.

I've never owned a chinchilla before and I've only had Rosie about a year. I want to try to bring in a companion for her though because as much as I try to interact with her, I'm not a chinchilla.

I have one in mind from a rescue that I can pick up as soon as within the next couple of days. I am currently planning to follow this protocol for their introduction:
http://ift.tt/1JpVcXv

they have the same cage, so my plan is to take out the side panels and put the two cages together to make them doubly as wide. This is only after proper introductions, of course.

Does anyone have any suggestions or questions for me at all? I am new at being a chinchilla owner, but I genuinely want to do what is best for Rosie and her new companion. Money is pretty much not an object, I just want them both to be happy and healthy. Thanks for any help!!

Dry ears but needs dust bath

My chin's ears are a little dry and she really needs a dustbath (it's a few days past when she should've had one). Should I let her have a bath or should I keep waiting for her ears to look better?

2016 Calendar?

This echos the previous thread, but I was just thinking that we only have a few months left of 2015- so that means new calendars!

Does anyone know if there will a 2016 CNH calendar contest and resulting product?

If the mods need help- I'd be happy to volunteer with the editing/product creation once the results are in.

Anyone traveling from the Seattle/Renton area to Montana?

Is anyone traveling from the Seattle Renton area to Kalispell or Missoula MT That could bring a chin back. My pickup plans fell thru. Thanks!

Here I am - From South Africa. I hope my inspiration for being here will inspire you.

Hey!
My name is Jade Gerber. I’m from East London in South Africa. I am 25 years old and have a devoted husband and we are incredibly passionate about animals.
I have owned chinchillas for 5 years. I currently have 2 females; Lilly who is 4 years and 8 months and Neela who is Peppers and Lilly’s daughter - she is 3 years and 6 months. Unfortunately my male chinchilla, Peppers (Lilly's husband and Neela's dad) passed away suddenly yesterday. He was 2 months away from turning 5 years old. He was my first chinchilla - the apple of my eye!
Animals mean more to me than life itself and I find a huge sense of peace and serenity when I surround myself with them.
Having all this heart ache inside me and having my Peppers as my inspiration, I decided to do some research and find closure and support for my husband and myself during this time of after our baby has passed.
I came across CnH and was reading the forums and getting a feel of what it would be like to apart of a public group. Then I decided to register because, even though we are all many miles/kilometres apart, you all seem so supportive and so helpful in any situation – and I could use the support right now!
I’d like to get to know this page and get involved with people who need support and advice – like me.
Your support and advice will mean a whole bunch to me!
Jade xoxo

Hello from the UK

Hi everyone. About six months ago my partner and I adopted a lone Chin, Zeus. We just got a possible friend (or maybe lifetime nemesis :S ?) for him called Hades and we're trying to introduce them at the moment. So much fluff, so little time!

Help with introductions

Hi all, I hope you guys don't mind me gatecrashing your forum for some advice. I've read practically everything I can find on introducing chins and chin behaviour and although I think I've got the basics there is a lot of conflicting and counter-intuitive advice out there. I'd appreciate it if someone a bit more experienced was able to take the time to read this and offer their thoughts:

My first chin, Zeus, was an adoption from a chain petstore - his cagemate died and the shop couldn't sell him after quite a few months so they put him up for adoption. The staff definitely cared but didn't handle him perfectly and didn't have enough time for him so he was a bit neglected. We take on rescue animals from time to time so we're used to odd behaviour (odder than neglected chainstore pets) but he is our first Chin.

We got him home and got a bit of trust going with him. We spent time in the day with him and although he still hates being picked up he is happy to sit on my head and groom me and seemed happy and pleased with his new home. We can't be with him all the time so we always hoped to get him a partner. He always seemed a bit lonely: we took the cat in once to try and remove some of the mystery from the room (to stop him trying to get in all the time) and Zeus just sat up, grabbed some food and tried to feed the cat through the bars of his cage!

So after about six months alone with us step forward Chin 2, Hades, who is about 14 weeks old. We got him from a registered breeder who advised just shoving them both in a neutral cage and letting them work it out themselves while staying on hand in case it went wrong. We decided not to do that. They both have their own cage currently at either end of their bedroom.

At playtime we let them both out in a room together and they were pretty much ok. They ignored each other for a bit, bathed and bounced around - then they started paying a bit of attention to each other. We had expected Zeus to be dominant and no surprises - he was although it was Hades who approached first. Zeus was very affectionate and followed Hades around a bit, groomed him and of course tried mounting. Hades was a little overwhelmed and (rather understandably) hid and squeaked disapproval. We gently steered Zeus away when we could see Hades getting crowded and then popped Hades back in his cage and let Zeus make his own way home.

Day 2 was the same again except with quicker contact, more grooming and more failed attempts at mounting with Hades shooting off like a bullet every time Zeus tried it. He would always happily come back though. After a while there was a loud protest a very brief scuffle and mutual grumbling - there was no blood or slipped fur but it looked to us like there had been an attempted bite. It was so quick we couldn't work out who it was but we separated them immediately.

Day 3 we let one out at a time. Zeus first and he did his usual tour of the room. then went to the other cage. The sniffed through the wire and made contact sounds at each other but after a while Hades became a bit restless and defensive of his area. We moved Zeus back from him and despite a few clever tries to get back to the cage he finished his runabout and went home.

Next we let Hades out. I made sure I paid loads of attention to Zeus when he was coming out and carried on talking to him. Zeus got a bit frustrated and was jumping around a lot. There was a bit of teeth chattering at me but mostly just bouncing, scrabbling at the cage door and contact noises.

Now here's the dodgy bit: my interpretation. I think that Zeus is actually very friendly but just a bit overwhelming. I don't know Hades well enough yet to say more than 'he doesn't like being pestered too much'.

Our plan, such as it is, is to let them out separately for another night or two in the hope that Hades gets a bit more confidence and Zeus calms down and then try joint playtime again. What worries me is that I might be completely misreading the situation or even actually turning them against each other by making them jealous. Does anyone have any thoughts they are able to share?

Thank you so much and sorry for the long post.

Chin wants to sleep in bed with me?

Hi all. I was just wondering if this is normal. I got my first Chinchilla (Jed) a little under a year ago and sometimes when I let both Jed & BoB out in the morning for a bath etc Jed likes to jump into bed (only when I'm in) and runs in between my legs, he can even fall asleep like this which I think is cute. I'm just wondering if there is any reason why I shouldn't continue this or if it's okay. Thank you in advance.

Chinchilla Urinated on Fur

I have a 8 month old Chinchilla called BoB and it looks as though he has urinated on himself. I've checked his bits and there isn't a hair ring. Does anyone know how I can clean this up properly without rotting his fur? Thankyou in advance.

Chins in Idaho?

I have been searching for a breeder near Boise Idaho but I haven't had much luck. I found a breeder in Pocatello and I'm waiting for them to get back with me. Does anyone know of a Breeder in Idaho?

How to Check for replys

How do you check if someone wrote you a reply on a new post you made OR a reply you made on someone else's post? I always go to search and just look up my name to check, but I never know if I have an actual reply by an alert or notice.

Thanks!

No more blue cloud

Hey, everyone. I just heard that the Blue Cloud mine has closed down. Does anyone know anything about this?

hey there from california

hey guys, im alix.
I have two boy chins. their names are ben and jerry (like the icecream)

Theyre almost a year in a half, my friend was the original owner and couldnt take them where she was moving, so she gave the boys to me. I had a chin before the boys, her name was dottie and i miss her very much. My friend saw how bad i took it when dottie passed. anyway im not trying to make this post sad, anyway im new here and this forum is super helpful and answers alot of questions i have also awesome there is a chinchilla community!
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Ebay wood

I have bought from this seller in the past, she was a member here, she has really nice wood on ebay, twig size stuff that is really tasty to chins. I have bought enough to refill me hoard so I thought I would share.

http://ift.tt/1iBOGYI

Picking chin up

My first chinchilla was given to me by my brother as a 'present'. What really happened was he purchased the little guy for his twins... Who were like 5 or 6 at the time. They were WAY too rough with him and would chase him around. Clearly it wasn't going to work out like they wanted, so he tossed him at me as a backup plan... Though he did tell me that he could be returned to Petco if I did not want him. I wasn't returning him somewhere that I knew did not care for him properly, so I kept him. He was about 6 months old then, and I got him back on Thanksgiving of 2013.

While he obviously adores me and loves pets and to snuggle my face when I'm poking in the cage, holding him is still impossible. He begs for my attention and enjoys climbing on me during playtime, but like most chins, he just hates being picked up. Recently, I read something about how someone makes sure that their chins are able to be held. I was wondering if you had any tips? I've had him for nearly two years now and though he will occasionally hop into my arms, all I'm able to do is support him. I can't really move him or he freaks.

If I do try to pick him up(and if I catch him, he's very flighty when you reach for him like that), he shakes uncontrollably like he's terrified. Sometimes he is less loving towards me after I attempt to handle him, as if he's upset with me for picking him up.

I'm content with our relationship right now but if anything happens that I NEED to handle him, I don't want to be in a situation where I can't. My fear is that attempting to do this will make him avoid me all together and make it even harder to do anything with him. My other chin doesn't care what I do to him, he just takes it. Sometimes he might complain but usually he just sits there. I know all chins are different and most hate being picked up, but I was curious if you guys had any opinions?

So since I typed a lot... Here is a quick review. My chin is terrified of being grabbed at. I don't know if this was because of him getting chased by my brothers children or because he wasn't handled. On the rare occasion that he does hop into my arms, I always give him a treat. He will let me carry him around for a little, but I never push it. All he allows is for me to support him, I can't move him while holding him. When I do grab him or even attempt to, he will keck at me and start shaking. He gets upset with me after I try to handle him and he avoids me for a while. How can I overcome this?

A whole lot of shaking going on!

Have any of you been watching the news about the Chilean earthquake? The town nearest to the epicenter is Illapel which is the closest town to the Chinchilla Preserve. I wonder what the chins think about all the shaking. It has been pretty much non-stop for over 24 hours now.

Body Parts

Hello everyone, I need a bit of help on a project. In my animal science class we are making animal cut-outs from plywood and labeling the external body parts and, of course, I chose to do a chinchilla.

What I need help with is the body parts that I can label on it. Does anyone know of some parts that I can label besides the obvious ones (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, whiskers, tail, paws, claws) that I could label?

Bumblefoot

Took the whole herd of chins to the vet yesterday and two have bumblefoot for having lived on wire bottomed cages for their whole lives. From what I can tell, they are not horrible cases of bumblefoot, at least not from some of the pics I've seen online. Also, the feet aren't hot, scabby, or anything, more like they have cracks and my girl's feet are pink on the "heels" if that makes sense.

Dr. prescribed GenOne spray for their feet and the dosage is 2x/day for 7 days.....but when I look it up in the books and online, it seems like it is much more of a process to deal with than just spray a bit of medicine on it twice a day for a week. Is there anything else that I ought to be doing? Dr. didn't prescribe soaks or antibiotics or anything, which is fine if it's not needed, but for some reason it seems like those things are generally brought up as treatment, and I've found nothing about using GenOne for chins for bumblefoot or otherwise.

I'm new to chins, and I don't mean to question those that have studied vet medicine longer than I have, I am just wanting to learn. TIA!

Chin from old cage to new cage

How should I go about introducing him to his new cage? His old one is small it was the kind that is basically a rabbit cage with two Ramps (it's what his at the time owner gave him to me in) I've been searching for months on getting him the right cage and got it today. It is handmade out of nontoxic wood and A LOT more room for him it's about 5'4". I want him to get use to it on his own time and terms but is there anything I can do to make it less stressful for him? I just have both cage doors open for him right now where I keep him (spare bedroom)

types of hay and when to switch

I have a 3 month old chin and I was told only alfalfa and pellets no timothy or other untill he's an adult.. but now I heard other wise. So my question is... what hay should I be feeding him right now.
Only one type, two, or more different kinds. And how much of each
What finds of hays are there
Once he's an adult what hay do I give him and how much of each.
And when is he considered and adult.
And how to wean him from one to the other onces he's old enough to go to different hay.
Thank u in advance for your input

alfalfa cubes for kit?

I have these all natural alfalfa cubes. And have a 3 month chin and since he eats alfalfa hay I don't no if these are considered treats or not. Can he have one a day or none till he's older.

Anyone tried these for hay holders?

I saw these suet wire box style feeders at TSC and it struck me that they might make good hay holders to attach inside the cages.Has anyone tried them with good results. Are they safe for chinchillas. The wire squares measure 1x1.

Help!

Please help. My chin had her second litter of kits in two years last Thursday, the litters being two years apart. The first litter, she had diarrhea but came through all right, she had 4 babies!
This litter, she had three. They are all doing okay. Suddenly today, she was lying on her side, is listless, ears drooping, passive...seems like she may be having some loose stool, but nothing like last time. She is not looking well at all. She is so bad, she is just positioning herself to nurse as she can, otherwise, she is falling over!
Help! It's night here, we are panicked. She is also teeth grinding like she is in pain.
Brooke
What can I do?

hay

I buy hay from small pet select, but have recently found canfields pet and farm, which sells hay and is down the street from work. My question is what should i look for before buying hay from a new place. I have never bought from a place that doesn't advertise towards chinchillas. Are there any questions that should be asked? Is there a different process hay must go through before being okay for chinchilla's?

Need assistance ASAP!

I was cleaning out my Chinchillas cage and noticed one of my Chins foot was bloody red. I can't tell what exactly this is but I'm thinking ringworm. What is the best thing to treat this?

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Carriers?

I feel like I'm spamming because I keep posting Lol.

I'm buying a travel carrier for the chins and I'm torn. I currently have two chins and I don't know if I want a double carrier or a single. It's unlikely that I would need to transport them both at the same time, however I feel that the double may be useful in that situation?

I'm looking at the quality cage carriers. It it worth an additional $40 for a double carrier?

3 chins vs. a pair?

Now, this is all highly theoretical. And it probably won't happen. But there's currently a female chinchilla in a nearby shelter... and I hate to see sad animals. ):
I have two chinchillas right now, Aurora and belle. Get this... the one in the shelter's name is Jasmine! It's the disney princess theme!
Now, I know you can't just throw 3 chinchillas together. Would 3 ever get along?
I do actually have 2 cages. I'd like for my 2 to keep living in them (they're connected with a pipe so it's like one big cage) but I could block off the pipe and let the new chinchilla live in one and Aurora and Belle live in the other until they get used to each other. I would like to eventually un-block the pipe and let all 3 roam. Would this ever work?
As I said, it may never happen. I don't even know if my mom would let me get another, haha. But I would love to rescue Jasmine if I can! <3

Kit and Mom fighting?

So two days ago we had 2 surprise kits, because when we bought two males, we apparently got a male and a female.. And because they were from a pet store we haven't been able to hold them long enough to gender our two, we didn't know. Now one of our kits it seemingly fighting with the mother? They both kind of chirp at eachother whenever they get close, and I'm assuming one of them is biting... I'm unsure if I should seperate them or what, but momma and one of the kits does not seem to be getting along..

TL;DR I'm not looking to be berated for everything I'm probably doing wrong, and have anxiety about posting about this situation because of how often that seemingly happens, but I need some help.

Small poop

So one of my chins has been having smaller poops lately.
He's eating, drinking and peeing all normally. His behavior has not changed, nor has his weight. I thought that it might have been from giving him too many 50/50 alfalfa Timothy cubes, so I thought nothing of it. None of his habits have changed aside from his poop, and I know he's eating fine since I measure his food.

The only change was switching over to Manna Pro Pro. Both chins were on Sho but I found that the bags at my local TSC were not the freshest and with only two chins, I hardly made a dent in it so a lot went to waste. I changed their food slowly a few months ago, so I'm assuming food isn't the issue.

He has not chewed nor ingested anything out of the norm. All he has to chew are apple twigs, mulberry twigs, and pumice. Treat wise, he only gets a piece of crushed rosehip per night. He gets bottled water as well.

What are your thoughts?
Should I be concerned? If so, what should I do?
I would like to avoid bringing him to the vet unless I have to. Should I get a fecal done?

How important is time of day for playtime?

Hi everybody,
I'm a fairy new chinchilla owner (got my first 2 in June and had minimal experience with them before from classroom chins). I was just wondering how important it is to play with chinchillas at night. I'm homeschooled, so I think it would be great if I could move their playtime to the middle of the day so I could read or something while they play. Would this throw them off too much? Is night time better? I usually let them out for about an hour around 7 or 8.

sqeaking out of no where

So iwas just sitting on the couch and out of no where I heard this consistant sqeeking noice almost like my dogs sqeaky toy so I get up look to the kitches n dog is sleeping I go sit back down on couch, my chin is right beside the couch, and I start hearing it again. I look over and its my chin, super. Doing it. He didn't look distressed, scared, nothing he was just sitting there sqeeking away and it was really high pitch, he has no problems, eating, pooping, playing, everything he should be doing. The sounds wasn't like an alarming loud cry, just a loud very loud sqeak... any ideas on why he was doing this after I jumped up to check on him he looked at me like I'm the crazy one, ate a bite of hay then went to bed

Chin/Degu interaction?

So, my sister, after seeing how cute and fluffy my chinchillas were, decided to get a pair of Degus. Both my chinchillas are male and so are her Degus. She really wants to have a joint playtime and see how they interact with each other, but I'm reluctant. I saw a post on the hedgehog forum asking about a hedgehog and chinchilla interacting, and it wasn't advised. But would it be any better since chinchillas and Degus are so closely related and Degus are difficult to scare?

chin agression

Does anyone know how to deal with chin agression or biting?

how to treat branches

I was thinking of making my chinchilla a perch type branch thing that goes from one side to the other side of the cage, but i dont no how to treat it as it will be so long.. its going to be 3 ft long and 2 inch thick. how would I do so... and I heard mountain ash is ok for chinchillas can I get input on that as well, thats whatt i was going to use for the branch, Any input in greatly appreciated

Vaginal Bleeding

I'm just learning how to do head-to-toe checkups on my chins and I've just discovered that one of my girls is bleeding from her vagina. I noticed it a couple of days ago, but the blood was dry so I cleaned her off and figured I'd watch her for a few days. Today, the blood was fresh. She doesn't seem to be an different than usual, but she has been timid since I adopted her (mid-July). She is eating and playing fine and basically just being herself.

I have read that the only reasons they would bleed would be due to mating or giving birth (or miscarrying), or if there is some internal thing wrong. There has been no breeding going on here, and I don't believe there was before she came to live with me.

I'm planning on taking her into the vet this week, but I thought I would see if anyone here as ever dealt with this and what kind of questions I should be asking at the vet. Thanks in advance.

What do you all do for water?

I've read that chins' water should be changed and their bottle washed daily to ward off bacteria and algea growth. I've also read that we should be using some type of reverse osmosis/bottled water for the chins. With 5, that would be a lot of waste of water to dump and fill 5 16 oz water bottles daily. It's not that the expense is so bad, but not having a built in reverse osmosis system it becomes a little more tricky to make sure their water bottles are cleaned and refilled daily. I have been washing weekly and filling with bottled water (walmart's brand).

Can you all share what you do as far as (1) how often you wash water bottles, and (2) what kind of water you use?

Thanks!

Fur problem

Hello everyone, I'm having a problem with one of my chinchillas (the girl, Sentenza). It's been a while since I noticed that her fur is longer in some areas of her back (picture related). They eat pellets and hay, we also feed them with some vegetables once every day or two, we change their water daily. They still live in a quite small cage (I had a ferret years ago, the cage is the one we used for her -even though after the first months she lived freely in our house-) but we ordered a bigger one (79 x 52 x 140 cm, that is 31 x 20 x 55 inches more or less) and it should arrive on Wednesday. We let them free for 7/8 hours every day. Despite this problem of her fur they seem pretty happy and playful, they keep running and jumping (and chewing almost everything they can) when we let them free.
Now I have some questions: first of all, what could it be? May it be a matter of stress (the whole in-and-out of the cage)? How many hours should we let them free? Is their diet good or shall we correct it somehow?

Additional informations: they are 5 months old; they bath daily in their sand; when I pinch those fur locks to see if she's losing her fur I only detatch literally 5 or 6 hairs, is that a symptom of hair loss?

Thanks in advance for the help!

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New owner - looks like eczema on the tail. Thoughts?

Hi;
We've had our chin for about 3 weeks now and he's super active, curious, and social. Things have been going great, but tonight when taking him out for his nightly exercise we noticed a patch on the tail of pretty red, scaly skin. Additionally there is a small area of broken skin. I had noticed about a week ago that the fur in that area looked a little different, but after checking it out I couldn't identify any problems. Even tonight he is actually as active as I've ever seen him, pooping regularly, and eating/drinking like a champ. I've attached 2 photos. I'd like to know if this is something that can be treated at home or if I need to take him to the vet. Thanks.

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Boy/girl?

2 month ago I buy 3 month baby boy chinchilla. But today I try see his genitals, and it looks like a girl to me. I need your opinion too just to be sure.

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Vestibular disease? Need help and advice!

I have a 3 year old chinchilla that hit her head and or ear. It was a very scary experience as immediately after she was racing around in circles. I picked her up and her eyes seemed to repeatedly rotate to the right which is the same direction she moves in. I set her on the couch and age seemed to move in a forward direction while something was pushed against her right side.

I looked her over and found some bleeding in the right ear. She found a comfortable place on the couch as I was calling for a vet. She whined a little on the couch. Once at the vet I realized she couldn't hardly even stand up without falling and it appeared as if she had a head tilt. This was hard to tell due to her continuing to rotate her head as well. She appeared drunk dizzy but still very mobile. Just unable to do much without my hand or something slightly supporting her.

The vet looked her over this was about an hour? After the trauma. Most of the blood on the ear from what I saw dried. He said he didn't feel it was brain damage due to no blood being under either eye lid and I don't recall what else he checked but no xrays or anything more like a physical.

He gave her a shot to help with inflammation and said he would look her over in 48 hours but to help her drink water and adjust housing. I took her home and house adjusting was a mess but we figured something out very small walking space and mostly dark. The water thing didn't work out at first either until another day.

Next day her eyes rotated less as did her head but still not much balance and the head tilt was more noticeable due to her head not moving as much. She was still pooping okay and appears she was able to eat somehow while her world was spinning. She has been very cuddly and trying to look into short distances. We worked on drinking water more her poop appeared runny from this point with sizes fluctuating and runny-ness also fluctuating. She was okay with taking food from us and still very curious and mobile while outside of her housing area.

While she is in the housing area she mostly sleeps the second day it appeared as if she had diarrhea which hasn't happened since.

Today she is much better with taking water but I'm not sure how much to give. It's a small syringe maybe 1 ml? He said one full once every couple hours but she kind of just keeps going? Around 3 she gets fussy and I stop. She accepts food but drops it from her mouth. It appears she is still eating from her housing at least but not used to her not eating from me.

I tried to let her walk. She seemed very confused on where she was and how to get to where she was going. Sometimes doing circles or looking in multiple directions walking a little and looking again. Once to her location she just kind of walked around it (the spot is a popular destination that she goes to normally). I picked her up and moved her twice. She went back to the spot but she was very confused on her location. She took a very similar path but would sometimes go the wrong way pause backtracking and adjust. Eventually making it, anything involving heights or turning too fast and she would stumble.

Also when I pick her up and carry her she tilts her head so much she is almost looking upside-down. Even when I go to set her down. Her head would be on the floor if I didn't adjust her before setting her down. Also note her eyes and head don't rotate at all but her head movements are kind of dramatic and balance is way off.

Any thoughts on what this could be?

Should I consider trying another vet for a second opinion? (He wasn't able to check up on her until Saturday 3.5 days due to scheduling)(I'm not sure of many vets that handle chins near des moines both of the ones I found didn't sound sure if themselves)

Any thoughts advice or concerns on how I can be more supportive of her symptoms?

What are the chances she will make it and what to look out for?

How close to a full recovery will she be if she does make it? Will the head tilt be permanent? The balance issues? Will they at least get a little better? Or halfway?

HELP! Chin might have chewed up a staple!

Please, I already feel like a terrible pet owner as it is. Do not make me feel any worse.

I was look over my daughter's school papers when I looked away for literally a minute and I heard a crunching sound coming from Scrat, my chin. I look around to see what she could have gotten into and I noticed the paper that was already ripped didn't have the corner with the staple in any longer. It could be that she didn't even get it because it was already ripped before. But that's the only thing I can think of.

Anyway I tried to see in her mouth and being the only one home I could only fit my finger in her mouth to feel but didn't feel anything. Thinking she dropped it I put her down and heard her crunching something again. So I tried to feed her oats so she would drop it to eat it but again she started crunching after. Soon after that I grabbed her again and seen her swallow it. My family and I love her to death and we're worried sick. My husband stayed up all night with her to make sure she was alright.

Anyone have any suggestions until I can bring her to the vet? And anyone know how much xrays for this stuff will end up being?

Dumping food ._.

One of my chinchillas has been dumping his food.
I have one of those bowls that fit in the hoop and attach to the side of the cage.

He dumps regular bowls to and when I bought the one I currently have, the behavior stopped. It's started again and it's driving me crazy. I always toss food out but now he will go and dump a brand new bowl. Some days he leaves it alone, others he is determined to toss it.

Does anyone have any opinions on what I can do to stop this?

Calcium and Vitamin C supplements?

Can anyone make suggestions for safe and effective supplements for our chins?

cage supplies

Is there anyone who is able to sell me items for my chin cage.. chew sticks, wood shelves, toys, things like that, I've tried to purchase these things off the internet but my bank card won't let me for some reason so if someone is able to ill directly pay them and once they receive the payment send me the items ill even pay for the delivery that it costs

Fur around eyes slightly matted?

I've noticed on two of my girls that there is a small amount of slightly matted fur around one of both chins' eyes. They are not housed together. They dust bathe in Blue Cloud dust 2-3x per week. There is no wetness or anything, and actually I think it's not all that noticeable, only I'm always looking at them so I notice I guess.

I'm planning a vet visit (check up) soon for these guys, but I'm wondering if there is something I can do in the interim for them, or if this is just something that happens with some chins or something.

Thanks in advance.

Peeing in hay and food

I have an almost 3 month old male and he uses his litter pan all the time but also does his business in his hay all the time as well I swear he goes in the hay as much as he does in the litter pan but he will not pee anywhere else but those two places.. and sometimes randomly in his food dish.. Why is he doing this.. is there something wrong with his hay or other reasons... please help he will go pee with in an hour or two after I put new hay in so im constantly changing his hay all day I go through a bag of hay 3x faster than I should be .. please help me any suggestion on why and how i can get him to stop would be greatly appreciated

cardboard hut. or other

so my chin out grew his hut and I cant make it to the store to get him an other one for a week or so... I was wondering can I just give him a cardboard box.... does it have to be straight cardboard can it be a shoe box diaper box.. or is having that paper on top of the cardboard a bad idea and just get him straight cardboard with nothing on it... hes in desperate need of a hiddey hut... or is there any suggestions of at home objects I can use until the time comes where im able to get him one

Chin's and paint

I'll probably sound like a terrible owner in the next paragraph or so, I know.

I have two chinchillas and they love to come out for play time, but one of them is starting to concern me with paint. He has started chewing the paint off my shelf and baseboards. I was told by a chinchilla owner at my local pet store that this was completely fine as long as it was nontoxic paint, but I just can't imagine that being true. Wouldn't it get stuck in their intestines and clog it and stuff, just like plastic? I try my best to stop him every time, but I'm still worried this is dangerous for him despite what the people at the petstore said. Do I need to cover my baseboards? I can definitely do that. I'm not sure how to cover my shelves, but I'll find a way if it is actually neccesary. I really have no clue whether it's a real problem or not, which I know I probably should. I just trusted my local pet store owner and didn't cover the baseboards before I got the chinchilla. Please respond ASAP, I wanna know whether I need to cover it as soon as possible. (The paint is definitely nontoxic, by the way, but I really don't know if that actually makes a difference).

Puffy Spots Under Eyes

I know this isn't a dire emergency since my chin is still very active, eating well and pooping up a storm but I'm worried.

He sees the vet on Friday because he has developed puffy circles under both eyes that are a bit larger than a nickle. His eyes are clear and bright with no drainage, crustiness, or wateriness.The bumps are pretty noticeable and I'm worried what it could be.

I don't have a pic to show. I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with this before or has any ideas?

Thanks

Chinchilla fur loss

One of my two chins , Chico has been losing more fur than is usual. I found clumps of it around his cage and it's worrying me, he hasn't been distressed as far as I'm concerned, no barking, he's friendly with me. Should I take him to the vets? It's hard to take a picture of it, he's not very helpful.

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Greetings from Italy

Hello everyone!
As said in the title I'm a guy from Italy and I own two chins (Tuco and Sentenza). Hope to find here the right place for suggestions and advices for the right way of breeding them :)

Still drooling after the teeth filing

Hey all, my chinchilla Gwen recently got her teeth filed. About two days after the filing, I took her to the vet again because she still wasn't eating the critical care and she was still drooling. The vet checked her out and said that she had an ulcer on her tongue so she probably wasn't eating because it was painful for her. So to combat this he told me to force feed her critical care and keep up with the pain meds...but that was three days ago from the second visit to the vet- five days from her original tooth filing visit. I just don't know what is causing the drooling? She's also pawing at her mouth, is she still in pain despite the pain meds, or is it the pain meds that's making her drool? She is taking Meloxidyl (meloxicam) oral susp 1.5. She takes one 0.07 mL syringe once a day. To this date she has had 6 doses. Does anyone have any insight for me on this?!?

Chin is terrified of being held

Hello!
I got a chinchilla, Thor, about two weeks ago. He was very jumpy and terrified when I brought him home. I've spent time just sitting by his cage and what not, and he has gotten fairly comfortable with me. He'll come up to the cage and let me scratch him, climb on my hands, ect.

However, he is terrified of being picked up. He will tremble when you hold him and bite. I've been trying to let him come out of the cage and into my lap once a day so I can pick him up for a few seconds, but he will still fur slip each time. I've been giving him treats and talking to him and he just is terrified still!

I feel horrible that he is so scared. But I feel worse that he cannot come out of his cage in the meantime. The one time I let him out we had the situation where I couldn't handle him to get him back in the cage and it was a disaster. I've been wanting to let him get more familiar before I try it again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do?
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Chinchilla has dry/stuff on ears

My chinchilla has dryness on her ear, but it's not really flaky it looks more like stuck dirt or something that just wont rub off, she doesn't seem to be bothered and I know it's not fungus. Could this possibly be from bathin?

She also scratches frequently, I don't know what's the normal amount to scratching, but she bites on her back (looks like fur biting, but doesn't rip no fur off) and then uses her back legs to scratch her belly alot alot.
Is this still from bathing?

Help with chinchilla aggression!

Background: I got my chinchilla at 6-7 weeks old and now my chinchilla is over 3 months now. She warmed up to me very fast, from being scared and skittish to now coming to me when I call her name and say the command come. She was in a small cage for a little while so I was constantly taking her out everyday in the evening for 30-45 mins until I was able to get her a huge cage, but then the bar space was too big and she could squeeze right though it, so she was back in her little cage again until I purchased a brand new huge cage again, which she was super happy and content about.

How the aggression built up: it seems to me that from the very beginning when I first got her, I let her out for freedom a couple of times, and then she was hooked and that's all she wants now. It was like she got a taste of freedom and constantly bites on the cage non stop.
I figured it was because she was in such a small cage that once I got her a big one it would stop, (I am still letting her out daily) it did for a couple of days and then continued again. I figured the next option was maybe she was bored so I have tons and tons of toys and things for her to chew on, shes super spoiled and she jumps around happily when she recieves new things or when she plays in her cage at night.
Unfortunately, when it comes to me though... when I get near the cage or call her over to pet her, she lets me sometimes (if not most of the time) for a few seconds, sometimes even tilts her head and then scratches herself like if I was bothering her LOL or made her itch. But now it just seems like I cannot go near the cage or she'll bite on it to let her out, I cannot hold her or she tries and wiggles her way out to freedom, and now it's to the point where I'm fighting her off to feed her and I'm lightly pushing her away so I can add her food to the cage, but she just uses both her paws to push my hands back away and now sometimes even bites them firmly (never enough to bleed though) and I never yell or jerk my hand away when she bites I just continue to do what I have to do.

What should I do regarding this situation or how can I fix it?

Introducing Dandy!

I was asked to take in a chin the other day. His name is Dandelion! Dont ask because i dont know. But they just usually called him Dandy. He came from a breeder in PA. He is about 9 years old. They have his papers somewhere but they are currently in the process of moving so they wernt sure exactly where they were at the time. But they are supposed to let me know when they find them.

He was living in a pretty small cage. He used to have another chin in the cage next to him. But that one had passed away a little while back. So hes been alone in that sense since then.

They were told he was a Beige-Mosiac. It actually took me a little while to notice the beige ears with the spots because he looked so white at first.

I went to meet him yesterday and brought him home with me!

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Wood shelves

I just re-made my chinchilla's cage's shelves with white raw pine because the old ones were made of plastic, but I read somewhere that pine can be toxic if the chin chew on it :unsure:
Is this true? :\

Which hay!?! About to pull my hair out

Fuzzies Kingdom is my chinnies favorite hay. At the moment they are out of stock. I have tried Small Pet Select-timothy and orchard, and Sweet Meadow Farm-timothy with herbs. I bought a small bag of Oxbow which they seem to eat a little more but no where near as much as Fuzzies Kingdom hay. The shipping costs are killing me trying to find a hay. Any suggestions??

Hello from Chicago :)

Hey friends!

I'm FINALLY posting here, after doing so much reading on the forum over the past year. So much wonderful knowledge. I've learned a lot!!

My husband and I live in Evanston, IL, (just north of Chicago) with one chin, Chloe. She's a super sweet, sociable girl. She's two years old, and quite a chunky chin!

We adopted her about a year ago from a friend of ours, who had to give her up. (Her loss, our gain!!!!). We have been able to improve her quality of life since then by giving her a bigger cage, bigger wheel, larger variety of chew/shred toys, healthier diet/treats, and lots of attention. (Thanks in large part to all the experience and insights shared here, seriously.)

Glad to have this wonderful resource.

--Karen

Help with medications?

Hi, so earlier this afternoon my 6 year old chinchilla,Tiller (I an say 6 now because it's after midnight and now it's her birthday!) had dental surgery for a potential root disease.
She ended up just having her molars trimmed but the vet noted that she had what's known as "wave mouth" and did what she could to trim and remove points.

Anyway, she prescribed 3 medications, and I forgot to ask about possible side effects and whether or not they can be used together:

*Baytril .43ml 2x daily
*Metronidazole .09ml 2x daily
*Meloxicam .28ml once daily

Anyone have experience with any of this? Thank you in advance!

dandelions

so i heard chins can have dried dandelions and i have a whole bunch at my place 9not dried still in the ground) and i was wondering how do i treat them.. is that what people are talking about the ones from outside in the yard.
Do you have to cook them.
Do you have to pick them right when they are yellow or wait till they go to the fuzzy when they turn to seeds.
And can kits have them. Also what kind of treats do you give babys mine is just under 3 months old...
Also sorry for the numerous questions.. i got this pack at the pet store with a salt stone wheel and pumice stone... can he have either of those
or should i just throw them away.

Dust baths

I've read that a good rule of thumb for dust baths is once every other day, but that it varies by chin. I've also read that if you blow on their fur and it doesn't immediately go back in place that they need a dust bath. Is this true? I've also heard that if you gently run your fingers over their fur and if a lot of fur comes off that they need a bath. Are either/both of these somewhat reliable or should they just be taken with a grain of salt?

Dried rose hips and salt

Okay, I'm trying to figure out some last minute stuff and I keep coming up with more questions so I'm sorry if I've gotten annoying with all of my posts.
How many dried rose hips can an adult chin have?
Dried rose hips are fine just sealed up in a container, right? (no refrigeration or anything like that)
Salt and mineral wheels/blocks? I keep seeing some sites say that chins need these and some sites say that they are extremely harmful. Since I don't know if the people who made those sites are large scale breeders or a little kid who's never even seen a chinchilla, I thought I'd see what all of you chin lovers have to say about the salt and minerals.
Thank you everyone for sharing your seemingly infinite chin wisdom with me :heart5:

Do Chinchillas need shots?

I have been attempting to rehome 3 chinchillas and this one person has been scolding me for not getting my Chinchillas vaccination shots. In fact she thinks ALL animals, including smaller rodents need vaccines . do they need them? first I've ever heard of it! my Exotics vet never mentioned it that's for sure!

Hodwyy! Ciao :)

Hello everyone!
My name's Veronica and I'm a 23yrs old girl from Italy. Soon I'll take care of two chinchillas (they are still in their mommy's tummy :P) and I decided to join you all on this forum to learn more about these adorable animals ^^

Introductions and Safety

Im getting a 2 year old female chin next week. How long should I wait before I start introducing her to the rest of my family? (There's no one under the age of 17)

Also the room that she's being kept in has a few electrical outlets, and I was wondering if I should put outlet plugs in them. I don't know if chinchillas get curious and try touching the outlets or not and I thought it would be better to ask here than find out later that I should've.

Bonding two males possibly

I want to get another chinchilla. I have had my chinchilla for almost 6 years now. He is a standard grey male. I want him to have a buddy. I am going back to school so I won't have a lot of time to get him out of his cage like I do in the summer. He will still get interaction everyday just not be let out everyday. I also have a job so after school I usually work to 8:30. So he won't see me from 6:00 in the morning to 8:30 at night. I want him to have a friend so he doesn't have to be alone all the time. I have enough time for two of them now. I was just wondering if it is possible to bond males and is it easier if Gizmo (My Chinchilla) is neutered? I want to get either a ebony or a Mosaic. I just don't want to get a standard again because then I won't know who is who. lol. Also leave in the comments your experiences from bonding either male and a male or a male and a female. I have thought about getting a female but I would deifinitly need to get Gizmo neutered. All I have to do is convince my parents which won't be to hard.
Thanks!
~Marcus :D

Goodbye Missy (Unexpected Death)

Last night Missy, one of my two chinchillas, unexpectedly passed away. The two years I've had her went by way too fast and I will miss her. She was between the ages 3-4, very young. This was my first time having pets, as I had none as a kid, so the loss is hitting more than I thought it would today.

As mentioned, this was very sudden, as she seemed fine the day before, nothing unusual yesterday night. I was just out side of a cracked door working and heard nothing unusual. No squeaks, no loud falls, no running and jumping, nothing that caught my attention.

At 11:30pm, I found her laying on her side, tail straight, legs and arms together and outward, eyes open. She was still warm and limp, so it must of been very recent. A few hours later, stiffness set in. A quick inspection showed no visible signs of external injuries, no blood from the nose, but I haven't checked deep in the ears if that's a place I should look. With her being a White Mosaic, any blood should be easy to spot.

The other chin, a beige named Mable, seems fine for the most part. I figure she knows what happened, though, she stayed at the lower level during all this. So I can't say for certain she knows Missy passed away before removing her. Either way, it's probably going to be tough on her :(

Missy was always the outgoing and curious one, while Mable is generally more reserved, cautious and keeps to herself. They got along perfectly as far back as when they were together at times at the breeder.

Missy seemed healthy and lively most her live. She did come down with a mysterious illness she once battled not long ago. I found her on her side in a corner making lots of squeaks and not moving or eating. An X-Ray and exam never revealed the cause. After a week of hand feeding and antibiotics, she recovered. Though, shortly after I found her with an eye swollen shut, which I then treated for another week. Since then she had been fine. Mable never got sick despite being in the same cage the whole time. I always feared there was an undiagnosed condition that could return at any moment, especially would I heard unusual squeaks.

I called my vet this morning to discuss necropsy and he seemed to not really push doing one, and that he felt they are usually inconclusive. He himself use to own Chinchillas and knows how fragile they are. With the death so sudden, plus no symptoms to work off of, he didn't have high hopes a necropsy would reveal much for the effort/cost. I don't really need to know the exact cause, but the other chin's safety was a concern, which he didn't feel the other chin was too much at rick, but recommended cleaning the cage to be on the safe side.

Some goodbye photos of Missy (White Mosaic)

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