Which Cage Would You Recommend?

Hi everyone,

Our baby chinchilla Tay Tay is now 8 months old and when we got her she was 3 months old and small. Because of blessed lockdown, we bought a cage that was for a guinea pig but fairly tall. Now that she’s grown quite a lot, we’re going to get her a new cage better suited for a chinchilla.

We’re looking at both the Critter Nation and Ferret Nation Double Cages.

From what I’ve gathered by looking at the two, the Ferret Nation Cage’s bars are vertical and spaced 1” apart...

Which Cage Would You Recommend?

Chinchilla noises randomly

I’m not exactly sure why, but sometimes at random moments my chinchilla makes sounds whenever no one’s present or in a different room. Is it because she’s bored or something? She does have another friend to hang out so I’m not sure why she does that. I know it’s not threatening and she perfectly fine when I check up on her. I really appreciate it if anyone could help me out on what it could mean.

ISO Male Chinchillas in Long Island NY area

Hello, I have a 7 year old male chinchilla and I’d love to bond him with a friend or two! I will consider any male chins within 3 hours of Suffolk County but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to travel that far. Please let me know if you know of any good breeders around this area or of any chins that need to be rehomed!

What is normal weight fluctuation in a chinchillla?

Disclaimer: I know I am likely overthinking/overinterpreting things since I just lost my other chin, but just want to make sure.

Hello again!

I've been weighing Susu every couple of days this past month just to monitor how she's doing with the loss of her buddy. She's a big girl (has been above 700g for as long as I've had her). When I weighted her in late November she was around 750g. Since then she's mostly weighted in the 760s range, but the...

What is normal weight fluctuation in a chinchillla?

Sugar free cool aid and food coloring

Making some toys and ledges for my babies of course since they are only 3 months I won't be using the ledges just yet but wanted to start making my own cause they can be a bit pricey.I have ordered some awesome ledges and stuff from Etsy and I can't wait to set their FN cage up .So with that being said I wanted to color some and I heard cool aid(sugar free of course) and food coloring are good for coloring. I wasn't sure if the food coloring I have is best to use or not so any thoughts on...

Sugar free cool aid and food coloring

Chin may have eaten metal

We bought a new hanging chew toy that said it was ok for chins and had decent reviews but clearly was not. We should have known better. Our girls snapped the wire and we can only find one chewed end that keeps the blocks in. We think they likely ate the other one. They are acting fine and energetic and we will contact a vet but wondering if anyone has experience with this. Picture of an unused toy end like the one they likely ate attached.

New chin mom from Pa

Hello my name is Tina I live in Tyrone Pennsylvania and recently became mom to 2 adorable 3 month old girlies who I have named Lilo and Nani(huge Lilo and stitch fan) I have had them for about 2 weeks now and we are still going through the introduction phase so any input on experience with these lovely girls would be appreciated
Thanks
Tina

is she pregnant?

Yaklaşık 2 ay önce oğluma bir kız kardeş getirdim, I've seen them mate many times.
Hamile misin emin değilim, what are you thinking?

What colour is my chin?

Hi everyone

A couple months new to chinchilla owning here, i have a gorgeous lil girl, and I was wondering how to find out for sure what colour she is? I'm not planning on breeding or anything, but I was just wondering, and I've searched the internet, and nothing seems confirming? Just wondering if anyone could help me out here? I've attached one of the best lighting photo i have of her in the daytime for review- if this one isn't enough i can try and get a couple more of her [ATTACH...

What colour is my chin?

Chinchilla playtime and getting them back in?

Hi everyone, I brought home two beautiful male chinchilla kits last Sunday. They are called Onyx and Dio! I am a new Chinchilla owner but have had much experience with various rodents and rabbits in the past. Already I can see the vast differences in their care regime and how wonderful pets they are! I am, naturally, really worried about their welfare and if my care is 'good enough' for them.

I have seen online that chinchillas require playtime and exercise outside of their enclosure, but...

Chinchilla playtime and getting them back in?

Chinchilla Not Eating Hay (Non-Emergency )

Hi,

I'll start this with saying he is currently eating pellets and critical care. He has a substitute diet, but getting him back to normal, or something easier to find would be nice.

Last year Ozzy had stopped eating due to dental problems. He was able to get dental work done and nursed back with critical care. However I was never able to wean him off of it, and he will not eat hay (at least in the quantity he should), or chew on sticks. He will however eat standard chinchilla pellets.

I...

Chinchilla Not Eating Hay (Non-Emergency )

Tips for introducing a chinny buddy?

Hello everyone.

As I posted recently, my Kumo passed 2 weeks ago now.

One of my biggest concerns in all of this was Susu, my other chin, as they had been together basically her entire life. Even though Susu always seemed to be more of an independent little chin, she and Kumo often cuddled and he often sought her out so I was worried she'd be lonely and I ordered a chinny buddy in hopes it might help.

I was super excited when it arrived and once she woke up and was more active, I brought...

Tips for introducing a chinny buddy?

Rocky & Bogart

I have 2 beautiful Standard Grey Chin's, Rocky has a black band I'd beautiful, Bogart is a beautiful grey.
Rocky is 7, Bogart is 14, I got Bogey first, they are also Bonded males

Urination on the couch

Hi guys!
My chin which has been adopted a month or so, although he has a specific urination spot where I have put a toilet tray, the past few days he is peeing also on the couch. He is still using the tray so it does not seem as a change of spot generally. Why is he doing that; Is it territorial thing. Because he is about 4-5 months old.

Fur and weight problems

Hello first
he is a man and 1 years old
my son is constantly itching and his fur is very sparse
He's very active during the day and I can see him scratching his hands, feet and hips
I feed him pellets and hay but he doesn't gain weight, on the contrary, I feel that he is losing weight.

Small Pet Select Chews

I've been getting these for the chinchillas, they both super love the meadow grass chews. Mr. B loves the buckwheat, Rye, and Cattail chews too. Altho Small Pet Select says these are safe for Chinchillas, I just wanted to double check if they really are? Natural Toys and Chews for Chinchillas

(Question) Chinchilla water bottle leak?

My chinchilla (Toby), in all of his greatness, started drooling a while ago, we took him to the vet and they trimmed his teeth, which had been the problem. Then it came back, same procedure. But now a third time! This time I'm a little suspicious because it might not be drooling. While my chinchilla drinks water, in all of his greatness, the water seems to drip down his mouth, eventually leading to his chest area. I have had my chinchilla, in all of his greatness, for 5 years and have never...

(Question) Chinchilla water bottle leak?

Diabolical Chin Behavior

My chin has started a new behavior that I wanted to know if anybody else has experienced. It seems like my chin will make random noises in the morning if he feels that I am sleeping too long (the cage is in my room). He started off with little, yet noticeable squeaks, but this morning he sounded like he was getting stabbed to death (I have never heard such a horrific sound from him before). I jumped out of bed and ran to the cage. He was just sitting there pretty as you please. Then he...

Diabolical Chin Behavior

Can someone tell the meaning of this sound ?

Hello guys,
I'm new here and new to the chin world. My girlfriend and I got a chinchilla at the beginning of October. Now he is 5 months! He's a cutie and although not really active when in his cage, when it's time to get him out, he zooms everywhere.
He doesn't know when to stop so we allow him 15/20min out of his cage.

Since a few days, he has been acting really weird towards me (main caretaker). He nibbles on my hand a LOT, it's not hurting but i've notice that he just nibbles and sit on...

Can someone tell the meaning of this sound ?

Chinchilla with URI

Hi guys,

So my poor Luna who is about to turn 3 at the end of this month has had the last couple months of what I can only assume is hell.

To start she had some slight elongation in her molars which was dealt with. This was followed by a sore in her mouth from the procedure, I assume from the contraption they used to keep her mouth open during surgery. She was doing well, gaining weight steadily but was still being syringe fed mushed pellets.

Her breathing seemed a little fast last...

Chinchilla with URI

Not chewing - and other newbie questions/concerns

Hello Everyone,
I just adopted my first chin a week and a half ago. He is a standard gray 8 month old male. He has not shown any interest or chewed on any of his woods, loofa, pumice, bay cubes,or straw we have given him. He only chews on the seagrass occasionally that I used to make one of his toys. I've tried hanging them up and taking them apart to spike some interest but he couldn't care less. He also eats less than 1 tablespoon of Oxbow pellets and about half his size in Oxbow hay...

Not chewing - and other newbie questions/concerns

Increased aggression after puberty?

Are chinchillas like human teenagers? Do they become more aggressive once they reach puberty? Does this affect males only or both male and females?

Oddly energetic after anesthesia - is this okay?

Sir chewsiph rodontus had to be knocked out so they could do his first ever xrays and dental check up. I was hoping to get some opinions here on what’s good, bad, things to look for, tips...etc ( I trust the vet but I want any information I can get )
Everyone has their own ways of handling being drunk but he’s oddly energetic ; He’s spunky anyways but he’s acting a bit wigged out and won’t let me help get the gunk ( eye lube ) wiped away from his eye. Plus he’s just “off” a bit mentally...

Oddly energetic after anesthesia - is this okay?

What's new?

With the new software and lots of old members coming back, thought it might be fun to see what everyone has been up to.

Travels? New pets? What's new?

Old girl doesn't jump like she used to 🥺

I have a chin that absolutely loves to run on the wheel but is very timid when it comes to hopping from ledges. She's at least 15yrs and I'm thinking of buying a pet ramp so she can comfortably come out for playtimes.

Have you experienced anything similar with your aging chinchillas? Could she just be scared and need to be "trained" to hop again? She seems physically comfortable/happy when running on the wheel & taking dust baths.

REHOMING TEO FEMALE CHINCHILLAS, NEW ENGLAND AREA

Hello everyone,

Sadly I have to rehome my two girls Nyx and Nova. Being a working student at my local barn as well as having lots of schoolwork has made it very difficult to give them the time and attention they need.
Nova is 2 and Nyx is 2 1/2. Just like many chinnes they love to run around and climb, and they need lots of space to do so. They have a 2 story ferret nation cage with lots of ledges and hides to climb around on. I let them out around 4 hours a day to run around my room. They...

REHOMING TEO FEMALE CHINCHILLAS, NEW ENGLAND AREA

Who takes Chins?

I have a chin that will be 3 yrs old in March. My son got it but he has moved in August for school and I don’t have the time or dedication to put into an animal. Is there a place that takes/buys Chins?

How to help a chinchilla in mourning?

As I posted recently, my boy Kumo passed away this week. Susu and him have been cagemates since their days at the rescue almost 10 years ago.

Susu is hard to read because she's always been a pretty passive and somewhat lazy chin (she's always been the type that would rather watch TV or watch others run rather than run a ton herself). She's also naturally more aloof, likes attention but on her time and on her terms.

However, I am a bit concerned about her being on her own for the first...

How to help a chinchilla in mourning?

Kumo the chinchilla. Good-bye, buddy.

Kumo passed away December 1st, in my arms.

I knew that morning he was too weak to continue fighting. I take some solace that even in his disease, he was well enough for 3 weeks of his last month to play and be mostly himself, but I wish there had been more I could do. I wish I had caught something was off earlier. Rest in peace, buddy. I already miss you so much.

Finding a Vet

Not sure if I’m posting this in the right place, but does anyone have any advice for finding a chinchilla-savvy vet? Or even better, does anyone happen to know of one in eastern Iowa? Probably a long shot lol. Thanks!

Shedding? Fur slipping? :/

Hi
I've had two chinchillas for around three years now, and there's been a weird development with one of them. She appears to be shedding, but its gone on for too long at this point. My instant thought was fur pulling/fur slipping, but it's happening around her head too, where she can't reach. She's not losing fur, the fur regrows, she just seems to be eternally shedding. I'm so confused...

Chew-safe bridges/enrichment.

Hello! I'm doing some Christmas shopping for my chinchillas and thought it would be a good idea to add some more enrichment to their cages w/ a bridge, playground, or tunnel. I found several ADORABLE bridges but none of them listed the type of wood they were made with! I did find a couple made with chew-safe apple wood, but they all seemed mostly geared towards hamsters :/
I'm looking for help on how to contact manufacturers/find safe toys.
Any ideas?

Advice?

I just bought 3 Chinchillas, advertised as 2 females and 1 male. The 2 females are 6 years old and 3 years old (apparently). Male is apparently 1 years old. The 6 year old is very blind, both eyes are completely filmed over with a milky look and the other looks like she has a moon in her eyes? It’s only covering half, but she seems to see more than the other.
Should I take the male out? I don’t want them pregnant considering their obvious health concerns/issues?