My chinchilla is making a sound when breathing in. This started yesterday. I took her to the vet this morning, and the doctor said his lung did not sound fine and put him on Baytril. He is not eating anything this afternoon, and when I tried to hand feed him critical care, he completed resisted. He had taken critical care 4-5 years ago, he was fine it. But this time, I cannot get a bit into him. The way he struggles when wrapped or controlled made me worry that he was already not breathing ok and I was making him feel suffocated. Can someone who is experienced tell me, are there conditions when hand feeding just would not work? Or should I try harder?
mercredi 28 août 2019
mardi 27 août 2019
Chinchilla with glaucoma?! ANY SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED
Hello!!
My 6-year-old chinchilla just got diagnosed with glaucoma. He is totally blind in his left eye and will require eyedrops/ an eye lubricant for the rest of his life. Does anyone have any experience with a chinchilla with glaucoma? I know it is extremely rare, my vet has never seen it before in a chinchilla and she sees chins fairly often. She said there isn't much medical research on it either. Has anyone had to give their chins eyedrops? I feel SO bad every time I do it, he runs away from me when he sees me come with a shirt (to wrap him up in) :( Any suggestions on ways to give them eyedrops without making it too stressful or should I just accept that it'll stress him out regardless?
My 6-year-old chinchilla just got diagnosed with glaucoma. He is totally blind in his left eye and will require eyedrops/ an eye lubricant for the rest of his life. Does anyone have any experience with a chinchilla with glaucoma? I know it is extremely rare, my vet has never seen it before in a chinchilla and she sees chins fairly often. She said there isn't much medical research on it either. Has anyone had to give their chins eyedrops? I feel SO bad every time I do it, he runs away from me when he sees me come with a shirt (to wrap him up in) :( Any suggestions on ways to give them eyedrops without making it too stressful or should I just accept that it'll stress him out regardless?
lundi 26 août 2019
Substitute for cardboard when covering walls
Hi, recently I’ve placed cardboard at the bottom of the door (where my chinchilla likes to try and bite the paint). However, now he tries to chew and eat the cardboard during playtime. It upsets him whenever I have to shoo him away from it (which is a lot). Does anybody know of any other cheap ways to cover the wall? Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
dimanche 25 août 2019
Gluten in chinchilla food making me ill
I have Celiacs Disease and recently discovered that I am reacting to all the food dust in the air from the pellets I feed my chins. I’ve fed them the same brand for years (Nutrina) and they do well on it. They also get Timothy Hay and occasional oats or rosebuds. I’m going to stop with the oats since they are typically heavily cross contaminated with wheat.
Can anyone give me recommendations for what to switch my chinchillas over to? I was searching through old posts and saw one person write that you can find 100% Timothy hay pellets and then feed some alfalfa hay? I’ve never seen that in stores or online, however, so don’t know where to look. I would transition slowly of course but I don’t want their food quality to go down. In the meantime I can wear a mask around them, but it’s impacting my health enough that I can’t really interact with them without wearing the mask. This whole thing is making being a chinchilla owner not very fun/rewarding at the moment, and I want to fix it!
Can anyone give me recommendations for what to switch my chinchillas over to? I was searching through old posts and saw one person write that you can find 100% Timothy hay pellets and then feed some alfalfa hay? I’ve never seen that in stores or online, however, so don’t know where to look. I would transition slowly of course but I don’t want their food quality to go down. In the meantime I can wear a mask around them, but it’s impacting my health enough that I can’t really interact with them without wearing the mask. This whole thing is making being a chinchilla owner not very fun/rewarding at the moment, and I want to fix it!
jeudi 22 août 2019
chinchilla has yellow spot on fur?
a few days ago my chinchilla had a yellowish spot near his chin when i touched it kind of smelled like pee so i gave him a dust bath, i have been giving him dust baths only once every two weeks because his feet and ears were very dry but that problem was solved with balm anyway when he used the dust bath the dirty spot seemed to be fading away today i saw a NEW spot but near his armpit/lower chest he lives alone so how is he getting these spots at first i thought it was a dental/health problem but he's normal like he's energetic eating/drinking he's fine and when i touched the dirty yellow "spot" it felt greasy like it didn't feel soft like his fur usually does what could it be and how can i fix this?
lundi 19 août 2019
Hello from CA
Hello everyone. My name is Mond and I've been taking care of 2 hedgies since April. Glad I found this community.
Baby Color Help?
Hello! I just joined this forum, so please excuse me if this is the wrong place to post.
I own a pair of Chinchillas that have recently had their first baby! The weird thing is, I don't know if the color looks different to me because it is so small, or if it is actually a different color than either parent. During my move across country, much of my household paperwork was damaged due to my shipping company leaving our cardboard boxes in the rain then on a dock mildewing for over a month, and it included everything on my chinchillas that I didn't ship them with. So beyond what I can remember from the breeders I purchased them from, I really don't know much about their genetics, as I hadn't memorized it, just relying on the paperwork I had. The female is a solid medium gray color that the breeder called a medium ebony, I believe? The male I know his breeder said is black velvet and a carrier for another color that I can't recall. The baby is similar to the female in that it is a solid color, but it is so much lighter in color to her that I don't know what color it would be called.
Any help from people more familiar with chinchilla genetics/colors would be greatly appreciated. It isn't too important as the baby is promised to my sister as a pet, but we're both curious that it is a little different than the parents.
I'm also sorry about the low picture quality, my husband is terrible at taking photos.
Thanks!
I own a pair of Chinchillas that have recently had their first baby! The weird thing is, I don't know if the color looks different to me because it is so small, or if it is actually a different color than either parent. During my move across country, much of my household paperwork was damaged due to my shipping company leaving our cardboard boxes in the rain then on a dock mildewing for over a month, and it included everything on my chinchillas that I didn't ship them with. So beyond what I can remember from the breeders I purchased them from, I really don't know much about their genetics, as I hadn't memorized it, just relying on the paperwork I had. The female is a solid medium gray color that the breeder called a medium ebony, I believe? The male I know his breeder said is black velvet and a carrier for another color that I can't recall. The baby is similar to the female in that it is a solid color, but it is so much lighter in color to her that I don't know what color it would be called.
Any help from people more familiar with chinchilla genetics/colors would be greatly appreciated. It isn't too important as the baby is promised to my sister as a pet, but we're both curious that it is a little different than the parents.
I'm also sorry about the low picture quality, my husband is terrible at taking photos.
Thanks!
dimanche 18 août 2019
Future Chinchilla Owner
Hello! I'm Zahrii. I will be adopting two chinchillas in the next year or so, but I'm starting my research early. I've been interested in owning chinnies ever since I was a child. I found this website by looking up chinchilla forums, and this place looked the best! I'll probably be posting questions.
Cage For Two Chinchillas
Hello! I'm a future chinchilla owner and I'll be adopting two chinchillas. Can I get cage recommendations big enough for two chinchillas? Preferably available on Amazon? Thanks!:)
vendredi 16 août 2019
Hi!
Hello! i am a chin newbie.
My 2 boys and I live in northern Vermont. We have 1 dog, 1 fish, 1 rabbit, 24 chickens, and 1 chinchilla. She is about 4 months old (we were told), and my son named her “Moon”.
I homeschool my younger son- my older son is starting 7th grade at our little public school in a week (yikes!).
I teach English to children in China so am awake by 3 or so each morning. I am so happy to have furry company during the night! It gets awfully quiet in the house otherwise.
We are vegetarians, and our chickens seem to know this since they are VERY VERY fat. We have two 6 year old retired ladies and 22 teenagers!
We seek wonder and magic in the world around us.
My 2 boys and I live in northern Vermont. We have 1 dog, 1 fish, 1 rabbit, 24 chickens, and 1 chinchilla. She is about 4 months old (we were told), and my son named her “Moon”.
I homeschool my younger son- my older son is starting 7th grade at our little public school in a week (yikes!).
I teach English to children in China so am awake by 3 or so each morning. I am so happy to have furry company during the night! It gets awfully quiet in the house otherwise.
We are vegetarians, and our chickens seem to know this since they are VERY VERY fat. We have two 6 year old retired ladies and 22 teenagers!
We seek wonder and magic in the world around us.
My Chinchillas Still Sprays Pee After Two Years HELP
I’ve had my rescue chinchillas for two years, both are females and approximately 3 to 4 years old. My one girl Chynna has always sprayed Urine, however I expected after two years that she would stop spraying me. I am so extremely frustrated because I play with them every single day, I handle them so gently and never force my attention on them, and I do not do anything to provoke her except for pushing her off of my feet when she chews on my toenails during playtime. I don’t even take them out of their cage, I carry it to the playroom and open the door so they don’t feel cornered in the cage by my hands. I know she was mistreated before I rescued her and that’s why she sprays, I know it’s a defensive maneuver but she has absolutely zero reason to be defensive towards me. I swear she’s just nasty and I don’t know why. She’s completely healthy, and probably just needs an attitude adjustment. I’m just curious if anyone else has this problem because I don’t know what to do anymore I love her to death, But I’m sick and tired of getting peed on for no reason. Please give me any advice you can💕
jeudi 8 août 2019
Any advice would be appreciated
My chins fur has looked like this for a while. She seems completely fine otherwise, and I believe it might be the humidity.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
mercredi 7 août 2019
Crystals in urine sample
Hi All, I would greatly appreciate some advice/opinions of people with more experience: our beloved little chinnie started to have blood in his pee on Saturday. Took him to the emergency vet who prescribed Bactrim in case it was a UTI. Urinalysis showed crystals, red blood cells, but little white blood cells and no bacteria. Waiting to hear back again from the specialist, but likely to recommend an x-ray.
We had been initially pleased that he had been passing more urine over the past day and a half and that it had become clearer, but it seems like it is more serious than we thought. Does anyone have experience with chins with kidney stones? Is surgery to remove them the only way to treat? Could this be something else entirely?
He is currently on a diet of timothy hay, Science Selective pellets, some Beaphar Care+, and used to get a small handful of alfalfa hay once a week (since been cut). Is there another tried-and-tested pellet out there that has less calcium and is not alfalfa/lucerne based? Many thanks for reading.
We had been initially pleased that he had been passing more urine over the past day and a half and that it had become clearer, but it seems like it is more serious than we thought. Does anyone have experience with chins with kidney stones? Is surgery to remove them the only way to treat? Could this be something else entirely?
He is currently on a diet of timothy hay, Science Selective pellets, some Beaphar Care+, and used to get a small handful of alfalfa hay once a week (since been cut). Is there another tried-and-tested pellet out there that has less calcium and is not alfalfa/lucerne based? Many thanks for reading.
Housing Size
I am going to upgrade the size of my cage for my hedgehog. I keep reading "get as big as you can" but I havent found anything on height. I currently go without the lid since it's a foot tall plastic wall she has never tried to climb.
I currently have a bin that is 34l x 18w x 12h about. And it has worked fine for the first year but I want to get her more room. I have searched and found the two largest options possible. One is 39.75l x 21.5w x 18h. The other is 44.7l x 19.9w x 6.3h. The overall footprint is slightly larger with option 2 (885.8sq inches) however a height of only 6.3 inches concerns me as I usually use 2 inches of bedding. While having a slightly smaller footprint than option 2, option 1 (854.6sq inches) is quite a bit taller than what I have now. Either way I am adding or subtracting about 6 inches in height.
If I went with option 1 I could cut the height down though and get it to about 12. If I made the switch from bedding to fleece I could gain at least an inch on option 2. But i am not convinced that 5 to 5.5 inches is tall enough. One other thing to consider is heating. I currently use one 150w CHE bulb with a 10 inch dome on a stand which keeps it centered over the cage (obviously with a termostat). I feel like in gaining only 5 inches in length and 3.5 in width shouldnt change how well that one light warms the area. However gaining over 10 inches in length makes me think I would need a 2nd light and therefore another stand and bulb.
While option 2 is slightly larger it is all in length with only an extra nearly 2 inches in width. While option 1 is still nearly 6 inches longer than what I have now but also Gaines nearly double what option 2 does in width adding 3.5 inches instead of only 1.9.
I am thinking it makes more sense to get option 1 and cut it down a bit in height, but I was hoping to get someone else's opinion on this and my thought process.
Would you go longer at the expense of width, or try to grow everything equally and get a taller cage. The main thing holding me up is the height and the fact that width really seems to be what she needs over length. Yes she runs the length of her cage frequently but she also doesnt have much room width wise with her bed and food next to each other and how wide her wheel is.
Conditions to consider; I live in a very cold (winter) and very humid (summer) environment, so drafts and humidity build up can be a thing. I feel as though 12 inches is the perfect height but everything else seems too small for her. I have considered C&C options, but they need more heating and are harder to clean (with bedding), I thought about two bins and pvc, but don't have that much room. I will post pictures of both options to help you picture my height concerns. Although gaining nearly a foot in length has its appeals as well.
I currently have a bin that is 34l x 18w x 12h about. And it has worked fine for the first year but I want to get her more room. I have searched and found the two largest options possible. One is 39.75l x 21.5w x 18h. The other is 44.7l x 19.9w x 6.3h. The overall footprint is slightly larger with option 2 (885.8sq inches) however a height of only 6.3 inches concerns me as I usually use 2 inches of bedding. While having a slightly smaller footprint than option 2, option 1 (854.6sq inches) is quite a bit taller than what I have now. Either way I am adding or subtracting about 6 inches in height.
If I went with option 1 I could cut the height down though and get it to about 12. If I made the switch from bedding to fleece I could gain at least an inch on option 2. But i am not convinced that 5 to 5.5 inches is tall enough. One other thing to consider is heating. I currently use one 150w CHE bulb with a 10 inch dome on a stand which keeps it centered over the cage (obviously with a termostat). I feel like in gaining only 5 inches in length and 3.5 in width shouldnt change how well that one light warms the area. However gaining over 10 inches in length makes me think I would need a 2nd light and therefore another stand and bulb.
While option 2 is slightly larger it is all in length with only an extra nearly 2 inches in width. While option 1 is still nearly 6 inches longer than what I have now but also Gaines nearly double what option 2 does in width adding 3.5 inches instead of only 1.9.
I am thinking it makes more sense to get option 1 and cut it down a bit in height, but I was hoping to get someone else's opinion on this and my thought process.
Would you go longer at the expense of width, or try to grow everything equally and get a taller cage. The main thing holding me up is the height and the fact that width really seems to be what she needs over length. Yes she runs the length of her cage frequently but she also doesnt have much room width wise with her bed and food next to each other and how wide her wheel is.
Conditions to consider; I live in a very cold (winter) and very humid (summer) environment, so drafts and humidity build up can be a thing. I feel as though 12 inches is the perfect height but everything else seems too small for her. I have considered C&C options, but they need more heating and are harder to clean (with bedding), I thought about two bins and pvc, but don't have that much room. I will post pictures of both options to help you picture my height concerns. Although gaining nearly a foot in length has its appeals as well.
lundi 5 août 2019
Please help I think my chin is sick
About a week or two ago I took my chinchilla to the vet because I thought he was constipated they checked his poop they checked his teeth and they took his temperature and he said he was fine but they told us to change his hay and give him different pellets so I did my chinchilla didn’t really eat his pellets but he ate some hay after that he was fine But today I got him out of his cage he just sat there on my desk and pooped The poop look different than usual and he was kind of shaky and whenever I press on his stomach his teeth with chatter he and keeps breathing fast. My friend said it could be because of a sudden change in diet i’m not sure what to do please help I’m so worried
dimanche 4 août 2019
Chinchilla matted fur??
Hi all, I really need some help here. This is my female chinchilla who’s I’ve been told is around 4 years old. I’ve had her since she was 1 and she was rescued by a lady who found her left in a carrier somewhere. Her fur was kinda gross but her owner said it was because she hadn’t had a bath in a while. So after giving her baths she got nice and fluffy and healthy looking.
Starting a couple months ago I noticed her fur slowly turn mated and almost chewed down? But I’m NEVER seen her chew it in my life and she takes dust baths.. she doesn’t seem to do anytning to it but as the days go on it keeps getting worse. I thought maybe she was depressed and I got her a lot of toys recently and also let her play in my room so it’s a new environment and stuff.
I got her to be friends with my other female chinchilla named Chia but sadly chia hated her and hates all chinchillas and then being friends never worked. I still try but they get mad. So I was left with 2 separate ones, they
can still see each other when they play because I seperated the ferret nation cage into two. When one goes out the other can see and so she isn’t completely alone... it’s weird because she was totally fine for so long. Any guidance on what could be wrong or if I should go to the vet?
Starting a couple months ago I noticed her fur slowly turn mated and almost chewed down? But I’m NEVER seen her chew it in my life and she takes dust baths.. she doesn’t seem to do anytning to it but as the days go on it keeps getting worse. I thought maybe she was depressed and I got her a lot of toys recently and also let her play in my room so it’s a new environment and stuff.
I got her to be friends with my other female chinchilla named Chia but sadly chia hated her and hates all chinchillas and then being friends never worked. I still try but they get mad. So I was left with 2 separate ones, they
can still see each other when they play because I seperated the ferret nation cage into two. When one goes out the other can see and so she isn’t completely alone... it’s weird because she was totally fine for so long. Any guidance on what could be wrong or if I should go to the vet?samedi 3 août 2019
Vet check ups
How often should you take a chin to get a routine check-up. I just read a short article stating a chin should be taken to the vet once a year. How many of you do this?
Running Wheel Poop
I've had my chinchilla for a few months now, and I got him a new wheel recently. The new wheel is one of the silent wheels from Kaylee I believe. These wheels have no holes or slots for poop to come out from, so my chinchilla keeps getting it in his fur. Every time he runs I can hear the poop clattering around in there, and it eventually bounces onto his fur. It's not like a ridiculous mess or anything, I just pick the piece or two that gets in it. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this problem. It's consistent, every time he runs for any length of time he ends up getting some on him.
Incidentally, I do clean the wheel daily, but he poops often enough that, even if there's none in there when he starts running, he usually gets at least one in it.
Has anyone else experienced this and have a good way to deal with it. His cage is otherwise clean, I clean it out daily when I let him out. It's just that **** wheel that's the problem.
Incidentally, I do clean the wheel daily, but he poops often enough that, even if there's none in there when he starts running, he usually gets at least one in it.
Has anyone else experienced this and have a good way to deal with it. His cage is otherwise clean, I clean it out daily when I let him out. It's just that **** wheel that's the problem.
vendredi 2 août 2019
Safe bath houses
Hi, I'm searching for a safe, durable bath house that can prevent most of the dust from flying out. I'm currently using a cardboard box but it's difficult for the chinchillas to have full contact with the dust on the flat surface. The Kaytee Chinchilla Bath House seems to be a popular choice, but I usually avoid Kaytee products (since most of the time they aren't safe.) Is this dust bath safe and if not what do you recommend?
Any response is helpful,
Thanks.
Any response is helpful,
Thanks.
Ivory and Gray Males in Texas Bonded
I have one ivory and one gray male for sale. They are bonded and have to go together. My daughter is going to college so we have to get relocate them. Very social and tame. We also have all the supplies including a multilevel cage if needed. We are asking $150 each but are willing to negotiate for the right home.
What should I do.
About 3 or 4 days ago my chinchilla stopped pooping a lot like normal chins do and then he stopped eating his hay and pellets but he ate his treats, this worried me so I watched him for a few hours and he had diarrhea once it worried me and I took him to the vet in the morning, they examined his poop and looked at his teeth and took his temperature and said he’s fine but said to change his pellets and hay so I did I changed it to oxbow chinchilla food and his hay is oat hay. he ate some pellets and some hay but not as much as he usually does, he runs on his wheel occasionally. My sister told me to give it a few days and he will be okay but I can’t help but think there’s something wrong with him he also bites on his fur a lot not sure if that’s really normal. I’m so worried about him I’m not sure if I should try finding another one and take him or wait a few days to see if he’s better.
Sick chinchilla?
About 3 or 4 days ago my chinchilla stopped pooping a lot like normal chins do and then he stopped eating his hay and pellets but he ate his treats, this worried me so I watched him for a few hours and he had diarrhea once it worried me and I took him to the vet in the morning, they examined his poop and looked at his teeth and took his temperature and said he’s fine but said to change his pellets and hay so I did I changed it to oxbow chinchilla food and his hay is oat hay. he ate some pellets and some hay but not as much as he usually does, he runs on his wheel occasionally. My sister told me to give it a few days and he will be okay but I can’t help but think there’s something wrong with him he also bites on his fur a lot not sure if that’s really normal. I’m so worried about him I’m not sure if I should try finding another one and take him or wait a few days to see if he’s better.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)