ISO downloadable liner patterns for Ferret Nation 182

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows of any free sources of patterns I could download online specifically for the MidWest Deluxe Ferret Nation Double Unit Cage (Model 182).

To be clear, I'm not looking for a how-to YouTube tutorial or similar, just the patterns with exact dimensions - as if I was buying a pattern to make a dress from Jo-Ann fabrics, lol. So perhaps a PDF I could download?

Would like to be able to include for all bottom& ledge trays, and ramps of both levels.

A close...

ISO downloadable liner patterns for Ferret Nation 182

Water types

Is water from a natural spring okay for a chin? We have a flowing spring that we get water from as our city water is filled with chemicals. Would the spring water be okay to give to my chin?

80% hay, moi?

That's what my chin says and I wonder: Am I the only one to have a hay hater? And it is not the quality of the hay, I must say, because I have tried everything, including a box that woudl have paid for a romantic weekend in the Orient Express. It is not how it is served, either: tried racks, hand made bags, dishes (included a little Sèvres number, just in case he had délires de grandeur) and his response has always been the same Hay? Yuck!!! Only way he gets close to it, is to tie it...

80% hay, moi?

what style of feeders do you use in your runs?

I have been trying to get proper metal feeders for my breeding run cages and just like metal dusters they seem impossible to find anymore! I also can't seem to find decent pictures of the different styles people use? I see Shoots has one pictured called a Valentine feeder that looks similar to a flush rabbit feeder but doesn't list the size or anything and they haven't responded to my emails about them, I was wondering if anyone could post pictures of what styles they use and sizes of them...

what style of feeders do you use in your runs?

Potential new owner questions

Hi everyone, I have been looking into adopting a hedgehog so before I do I've been doing a lot of research. I've learned a lot about their particular needs, but I had a few specific questions.

1) I hate to be dumb, but to keep the temp consistent, what do you do with your hedgie when you clean the cage? I mean if you rely on heat lamps for a cage that's at the right temp? Do you use another cage and just temporarily move the lamp or something more like a box with a heating pad in it...

Potential new owner questions

Has anyone ever received timothy hay this thin?

I just received this timothy hay from American Pet Diner. It is very thin and doesn't smell like timothy but they told me it was timothy hay. It is very thin, in the photos it looks a bit thicker. Has anyone purchased hay like this before.

Fleece cage liners

How often do y’all change your fleece liners?
I just got fleece pillowcases from Etsy (that I’ve seen shut) for Linus and I’m confused on how often I should be completely cleaning his cage/changing out everything with them as bedding?
I spot clean daily

baby chins wont eat alfalfa

Ok so fairly new baby owner but i know they are supposed to have unlimited alfalfa for calcium etc and timothy hay but when i fill their 'bowl' they chuck the alfalfa out to get to the timothy hay. The bottom of their cage is always full of alfalfa where they throw it out to get to the timothy hay, i have tried mixing it together, hiding the timothy hay under the alfalfa or just giving alfalfa in the morning and timothy in the evening but they just will not eat it. I am worried they are not...

baby chins wont eat alfalfa

Sleep well Susu

I lost my Susu unexpectedly last Monday. She was just about 13 but was looking so healthy I was just planning a big cage remodel to get ready for her older years.

My first sign something was wrong was very decreased appetite on Saturday, so I started her on baby gas drops and critical care that same night, planning to take her to the vet first thing on Monday. She ate the critical care with gusto so I was encouraged.

Sunday she started looking less and less well and by Sunday night she...

Sleep well Susu

First playtime!

I chin-proofed my room and let my boys roam a little bit, Viktor seems very keen on it (especially since he already escaped out of the cage twice xD) and is in and out, exploring, he seems to enjoy it!

However - Jayce is kind of just.. a sitting duck. A loaf in his usual spot. He moves less than Viktor in general and I wonder if its just a difference in personality or if he's simply not comfortable enough in his new home yet.

Is this good hay for chinchilla?

Hi, I have a five month chinchilla. In our local pet store there is a mountain grass hay they sell for chinchillas (photo attached).

Is hay supposed to look like this?(Dry, yellow)

I am looking through the hays people recommend and it seems to me they’re green so I am unsure if this is a good hay for my chincilla or should I find a fresh, green one?

Thanks!

New chin mommy here

Hi! I'm owned by a sassy feisty and cuddly chin named moshi she is about 3 months old and we found this forum right when I got her. I wanna be as informed as possible to make sure I do everything right. Only the best for my spoiled little girl haha

Heathy chin passed

What can cause a chin to go from being healthy and happy to lethargic to death in a matter of 8 hours?
I had a male 5 month old chin who was happy and healthy yesterday he was a little more grumpy and sleepy than usual but I did not think much of it. And in the wee early hours of this morning he passed away in my hands.

My new chin has mess on her bottom

I noticed that my new chin, Chinzia, still is not using her litter pan. She must have sat in her urine because now her bottom is full of matted hairs. What do I do?

Boy??? Girl??? help needed asap

Ok so i just got my 2 baby chins
and i was hoping to introduce them to my adult rescue girl over time. I was supposed to have gotten 2 girls but i am pretty sure i got one of each. I dont want the bro/sis combo to breed nor do i want my old girl to get pregnant so looking to verify that i have bought me a boy and a girl. if so i will have to have the boy neutered. Any help greatly appreciated. here are the pics (sorry about the poop in the one
[ATTACH...

Boy??? Girl??? help needed asap

URGENT horrible diarrhea!!

I have had my chinchilla two weeks now and I got him from a previous owner who took care of him well (as far as I can tell…oxbow pellets, hay, correct cage furniture, etc). A couple days of having him I noticed he wasn’t eating well and his poops were soft. I thought it could have been stress but I took him to the vet to be sure.

Btw— ever since I’ve had him he has only eaten hay and pellets. No treats.

They said he looks healthy and did a fecal analysis and tested for parasites — test...

URGENT horrible diarrhea!!

Viktor.. sleeps a little strange..

So I've had Viktor and Jayce for about two weeks now and I can't help but notice that Viktor.. is a little odd? when it comes to sitting on his favorite platform and sleeping up there?


He's had me worried at points because I've heard that sometimes Chinchillas sit like this because theyre in pain but he really only does it when napping and hes perfectly active, eating and pooping the rest of the time.
He seems to be a little more on the skinny side and...

Viktor.. sleeps a little strange..

Cleaning Help? :)

Hey there! I have two chinchillas, Talulah and Mochi, and I love them so so much But they are MESSSYYYYY. I'm very busy and struggle with mental health, and sometimes that makes it hard for me to keep up with cleaning for them very often. My biggest struggle is the poop going all over my room. And the fur/dust that just kind of sticks to EVERYTHING. Plus the hay is always going everywhere, and that's not good for the vacuum. I would just love any tips on those, or anything else that has...

Cleaning Help?

Gizzie is gone.

I don't usually post when I loose one but Gizzie was special. He was my first and I've had him since he was a baby. His teeth problems started before he was even a year old. We fought that for 9 long years and he was such a good sport about it. Today the fight is over and I will miss him greatly. I will miss our feeding times and the long snuggles afterwards. Goodbye my sweet boy.

Moving- what car ride with chins

Hi all, so we are making a huge move from california to idaho in a few months. Itll either be a 3 day trip with one night in a hotel or a 2 day trip straight shooting it. The current carrier my chins have is really small and i dont want them to be in that carrier for 2-3 days. Fitting 2 of them and a food bowl with chews would be very tight. I was planning on putting them in one level of their cage during stops to let them stretch out, but im concerned if i just leave them in the car someone...

Moving- what car ride with chins

Do Chinchillas get bored of toys easily?

My Chinchy gets excited when she gets a new toy or chew but after a few days they are "dead to her". We have a corner of the basement I call the land of dead toys. She wants nothing to do with them.

Hanging toys? She'll chew them for a while then they're dead to her, or she'll eat her favorite parts then? Nope dead to her
Pumice cubes? Best things since sliced bread first 2 days...now? dead to her
Pine cones? Loved them...now? Dead to her
Lava Ledge? Coolest thing ever. Now? Dead to her

I...

Do Chinchillas get bored of toys easily?

Scooting close to my hand?

So i haven't had my chins for very long (only for 1,5 weeks now) - I got them from the shelter and they are somewhat used to humans but of course still a little skittish. So I am spending time with them every day to get them used to me, talking to them and handing them little snacks and letting them sniff me. The smaller one, Viktor, has been a lot more trusting compared to when I first got him (and its also made him brave enough to hop out of the cage twice already lol absolute escape...

Scooting close to my hand?

Meet Viktor and Jayce!

Heyo!
My name is Kyle and I am a completely new chinchilla owner
I adopted these two handsome boys a week ago from our local shelter, theyre 6 and 7 years old! Because I couldnt keep their original names apart (Danzer and Daimon) I ended up renaming them to Viktor and Jayce.

This is the first time that I am owning chinchillas but I am pretty excited about it. Jayce sadly is quite a bit overweight (picked him up at 820g) but with the larger enclosure he has now and a strict hay and herb...

Meet Viktor and Jayce!

Heart Murmur Advice

My chinchilla (18 years) has a heart murmur that went from a stage 2 to a stage 4. When I counted his breaths, it appears as though he has 108 breaths/min. (I'm not sure if that's good or concerning).

I would be grateful to hear any suggestions and advice about how to treat a heart murmur. I'm open to both medications and supplements.

Thank you!

Oxbow hay alternative?

Hey! So my chin loves Oxbow Timothy Hay, but recently the packaging of the hay has changed. By the packaging, I man the way the hay is compressed into the bag. The hay is now just a bunch of short pieces and pretty dusty, so I'm not sure what to do...Does anyone know a Timothy hay brand that sells hay that is packages with long pieces? Like--when you pick up a bunch it stays together in long pieces really well (and doesn't fall into a million pieces)?
Also, I've been wanting to start growing...

Oxbow hay alternative?

Im new to this site and need help chinchillas world

So can anyone please help me. I got a pair of " female " chinchillas about 3-4 months ago, the lady had 2 lil girls qnd said the girls never payed attention to them ,she said 1 was 6 yrs old the other 7 yrs old. I brought them home it's just me and my 3 dogs which the chinchillas love my dogs , so it's not noisy or hectic but I swear they are NOT social I spoil them ,buy toys treats ,talk to tjem bath them but they won't let me hold them or put them in their play room to have exercise and...

Im new to this site and need help chinchillas world

Tail Wound

I let my chinnies out to play today around the office, but one of them, Gus Gus, knocked over a cement tile and I think it fell on his tail unfortunately. There's blood/bleeding on either side of the tail. This is closer to the tip, probably about 3 inches from the tip.
I tried to lessen the bleeding with a napkin, and then dabbed it with a chlorhexidine/water solution to disinfect, and then tried to apply some neosporin type antibiotic to the wound.

Is there any way I can check to make...

Tail Wound

Gabapentin dose for chins?

Does anyone know the standard dosing of gabapentin for chinchillas for pain? My vet prescribed my 570 g chin 0.35 mL 2-3 times per day.. but this seems high. I'm not trying to sedate him!

Human food for chinchillas??

Hi I am a very new chinchilla owner and I am very confused. I found all kinds of information on line that seems to be wrong. Here everyone says don't give your chinchillas any human food? On line I found stuff like this:
Fresh Vegetables and Fruits
In moderation, fresh vegetables and fruits can be healthful and occasional chinchilla treats -- though no more than 10 percent of his diet. Consider giving treats between two and four times weekly, for example. Some...

Human food for chinchillas??

Chin coming home Saturday!

About to be a chin mom on Saturday when I go to pickup Kit. Hoping to learn so much from everybody here, want to spoil this guy and give him everything he needs. 3yrs old and I will be third (FINAL!) owner. Original one was going to let him loose and 2nd didn’t plan for taking him along on a move.

Tips on adjusting chin to new cage?

Hello!

So I am getting my chinchilla, Zero, a wider cage so that he has more room to climb and run, and I just want some outside ideas on how to make him more comfortable in the new cage.
I have new platform covers, so that he doesn't hurt his feet when he jumps up and down from ledges, but they are brand new and letting them sit ontop of his cage so they sort of smell like his area, I don't plan on putting them in immediately so that he doesn't get overwhelmed.

I am planning on moving all...

Tips on adjusting chin to new cage?

Playtime

What time of day can your chinchilla(s) best interact with you?