What do I do?

Hey all,
I have a chin suffering from malocclusion, or something similar. Apparently her incisors are not the problem, which are easy to trim. She's chewing funny; her molars may be overgrown, or there's another problem. I need some advice. I have taken her to 3 different vets and every vet tells me something different, usually manages to sneak in a charge to charge me twice as much as what I excepted (like an examination fee on top of the tooth filing when all I scheduled was a tooth filing).
The only vet so far that has managed to stop Belle's drooling for a good couple months and made her look better is one that charges me $300 each visit and has me come back every 3-4 months. I can't afford to do that. I tried somewhere that charges $50 each time, but that was the one who was just expecting to file her incisors.
I don't know what to do. This latest vet wants MORE x-rays and visits to figure this problem out, but I've already spent so much money on this one problem for nobody to fix. I'm worried it's only fixable at a cost higher than I can afford.
I love Belle. But I don't know at what point I need to stop spending on her. I only have one job with not many hours. Is this problem even fixable at all?

Hive mind feedback: new, young chin drinks very little

I wanted to pose these details to the forum to see if anyone thinks our new young female has any problems.

In short: 5 month old female barely drinks any water, and I don't see any urine in the cage bedding, and only some poop. She is eating hay, and shows an interest in shredded wheat. However, she is not interested in pellets, and tends to bury her food dish in bedding.

More details: I've never had a chin this young before, as I have a tendency to get chinchillas from people who realize they can't take care of them after several years. This little girl came from some college kids who, I think, didn't understand the level of interaction she needed. They got her a couple weeks after she was born, from some pet store.

She smelled like cucumbers when we got her home. I have no idea what else they may have been feeding her.

She is pretty active, and is a bit moody when it comes to being pet or handled. It's clear she's still acclimating to the new cage, and she's testing the strength of the cage bars and chewing on almost everything.

One of my prior chins was barely a water drinker, and she was always extremely healthy. Perhaps this girl is the same? Do young ones drink less than older chins? For example, my older 7-year old female went through an entire water bottle in the time it took the younger one to drink only about a centimeter of water from her bottle.

Note: they are not sharing a cage yet.

What mostly concerns me is that I can see no evidence that she's peeing.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

Annabelle is looking for a new home

Hello everyone,

I've had two chinchillas for about 10 years. They've looked after me very well.

Unfortunately, one of them passed away this weekend - either from the sudden temperature change, old age or both. Her sister is extremely lonely - literally following around her own shadow.

Attachment 22563
Annabelle is the one on top.

I'm looking for someone with one or more chinchillas in NYC to take her in. I don't know her exact age, but she is over 11 years old. She has a very sweet personality. Kind of shy, and very gentle. She is missing an arm, which was removed in surgery after she broke it about 5 years ago. She does fine without it.

I'm very worried about her and would really love it if someone with chinchillas in NYC could give her a new home with friends.

Attached Images

chins.jpg (157 Bytes)

Vacuum?

Hey all,
I was wondering if you all have any insight or experience on the best vacuum to use. I'm going to be moving in the fall and bringing the chins with me, and I need a good vacuum to keep the shelves in the cage and area where they are nice and clean. (I just sweep up really well right now, and vacuum every couple weeks with my moms vacuum 😊)
I can't spend more than $150 at the most. I'm asking because my moms vacuum that I use currently always gets clogged and broken when I try to clean the cages... I guess I need a heavy duty one.
I was wondering if anyone uses like a really big dust buster. This would be cheaper if it works, so I'm looking into it. Does anyone use something like that? Thanks!

Chin Wanted in VA area

I'm located in Northern Virginia and am looking for a male chinchilla not standard or beige. Preferably young, max 2-3 years. Thanks.

Chinchilla very angry when I remove wheel

I know it's bad, but we gave our chinchilla a plastic wheel to run on. We've only had her for like, 2 weeks now maybe, so she couldn't come out of her cage and run. Anyway, I decided that if I saw any bite marks or saw her biting the wheel I'd take it out. And I saw quite a few bite marks on her wheel. now keep in mind, I didn't see huge chunks out of her wheel, or any chunks at all for that matter. just scrape marks from her teeth. when I took the wheel out, she started running around like crazy and making a soft squeaking noise. I got scared and put the wheel back in. An hour or two later I saw her bite the wheel again so I took it out and placed it on the counter. I also fed her a raisin so she wouldn't think I hate her???
since this all happened at 4 am, I left a note on the counter for my family and went to sleep. when I woke up, I was told that they put the wheel back in her cage because she started moving her house like she was trying to leave and was still pissed as all he||

Basically, I don't know if we keep the plastic wheel in there until we get a wooden or metal one, or take the wheel out until then.

Custom Tray/Pans

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I've been on the forum, but I had a quick question.

I have the Prevue 495 Small Critter Cage, and I love it. However, it has a bottom plastic pan that slips in/out that has gotten pretty worn (not to mention my chinchilla can bite through it which I do not like one bit). I was wondering if anyone knew a site that does custom metal pans? I'd get one from Bass but they only make the FN cage pans.

Let me know!

http://ift.tt/1Z1qGNP

Guess what Bentley did!

I finally got a way to play instrumental music in my bedroom where I keep my chin, Bentley.

I was lying down listening and heard Bentley make three sounds in exact imitation of the musical notes being played! He did it twice and I haven't heard it since. I was thrilled and tickled to death thinking that my smart boy can 'sing' LOL

What do you guys think, was it just a coincidence or maybe was he trying to 'sing' with the music?

Chin sound while playing in new habitat

I can't tell if she's hurting herself or having fun. It's a very loud squeak like I would assume something would make if it fell and said "ouch". Like a dog yelping. She's running around banking up the sides of the cage and she's made this sound about 10 times now. She keeps going even after she's made it (she doesn't stop and act injured). The closest thing I could find was on Youtube. It's very similar to this but it's only when she hits the sides of the cage as she's flying around. She just missed a jump up to her shelf (about 6" up) and made it when she landed. I'll try to catch it if I can and post a followup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nht8x-egV7Y

Moving across county

Moving from New York to Nevada. I'm not sure where to start. I have my 3 girls and a cat. I'm thinking flying somehow would be better because I can't imagine finding hotels that will accept all my animals would be easy.

Because why catch a break.... What is this?

I came home today to find this on my babies tail. I did not notice it yesterday and I'm positive it wasn't there the day before.

He's e/d fine, and his bathroom habits are normal.

Is this worth bringing him to work? Or could he have chewed it himself or snagged it on something. He's not a fur chewer aside from the inside of his legs when he was sick, but that was the first and only time he's chewed fur. This broke skin and it doesn't look super irritated but I don't like taking chances with him.

He has one lava ledge, and a wooden house in his cage(haven't gotten around to hanging new shelves yet). He's on fleece bedding with three tiles to hold it in place. Many nights, I have to reposition his house because he pulls it onto the tile and it wakes me up. I do this in the dark, could I have pinched his tail between the house and the edge of a tile maybe?

Let me know what you guys think, what I should do about it, etc... Sooner rather than later would be comforting. In this heat, I won't bring him to work unless absolutely necessary.

Questions from a paranoid new owner

Hi,

I have two new chinchillas that I bought from a reputable ranch in Ohio and got them transported here to California.

I've had my chins for a month now and my chins are both males, and both born in November of 2015.

Recently I'm been noticing that they're sleeping a lot more and was wondering if that was normal. I feel like a butt, but because they have both their eyes shut I sometimes worry so I go over there sometimes and stick my knuckles near their noses. They respond to me just fine and they also eat and drink just fine. They also perk up to some noises, but goes right back to sleep. They just sleep a whole bunch.

I also notice they eat their poops a lot when they're half asleep, they would have their eyes closed, wait for a poop to come straight out of their anus and eats it and then sleep-chew all while their eyes are closed.

As these are my first chinchillas, I try to research as much as I could and they seem "normal" to me, it might not be the case. So I just wanted some confirmation from long time chinchilla owners to maybe educate me a little.

I also haven't gotten to the point where I can pick them up yet. They both have curious personalities but are still skittish and hate to be petted or touched. So I don't know how I can weigh them but I can see their teeth, see the ears, and touch their noses. Teeth is a good coloring of yellow orange-ish, ears are not red, and noses are not wet. I live in an area where temperatures are at a constant 64-68 degrees Fahrenheit (17.78 - 20 degree Celsius). I have a digital thermometer and humidifier reading that is on all day.

I have them both housed in a midwest critter nation cage with klin-dried pine bedding.

I just realized I typed a whole essay to prove that I'm not incompetent and trying to make these babies as comfortable as they can be, but I'm still new to this and therefore will be incompetent because of the lack of experience.

TL;DR Chinchillas are sleeping a lot should I be worried? What else should I check for and note in behavior to catch illnesses?

Thank you! Any replies will be appreciated!:wacko:

Chinchilla sudden change and behaviour and poop size?

I recently rehomed a 6 year old chinchilla, she loves her play time and she's starting to look a lot better since I upgraded her cage to a ferret nation(previously in a small rabbit cage with only a log house. She has a bunch of toys and gets a good amount of excercise. Iv had her for about 3 months now

Also concerned about possible bloat, she loves hiding under the hammock I made, but I'm not sure if she's just trying to get comfy or her stomach hurts. She's been lying down and she squishes herself against the floor when she's under the hammock. She started hiding there since her behaviour changed towards me.

Recently her behaviour has changed towards me suddenly, she loved her neck rubs but now hardly lets me touch her before she pushes me away or jumps back. She use to like me most out of everyone in my family. She has no problem with my parents. Her poop seems to keep changing as well, she has oxbow pellets with timothy hay in her cage, and I change the water every other day. They range from small little drops to long and sometime I find a oval/pointed one. She is eating and drinking fine as well but does not seem to want to play when in her cage. Any tips on getting her poop back to normal? She enjoys timothy cubes more than loose grass.

Any tips on keeping her healthy and happy? I live on an island in Canada, there is very little supplies I can get my hands on here such as medicines or anything for chinchillas other than some toys.

I looked her over for any outer indictions for problems and she seems fine, and happy when she's out of her cage. Sorry for the huge post but justcparanoid and concerned for my new first chin.

one chin or two?

Hey everyone, I have a sweet male chin, he's around 6 or 7 years old. I give him love and attention but I do work full time and have a child also, and am wondering, should I get another male chin to pair him up with?

I've been reading lately, wondering if I should get another and have seen people very adamant about chin pairs as opposed to single chins because they're so social. Someone said that they sleep cuddled up and that no matter how much attention you give they will never be as happy alone as they would be as a pair? How worried should I be about this? I want him to be as happy as he can be.

Also I'm a little worried, what happens if you do get another and the introduction just never works and they don't get along?

Thanks.

Baby chin

My baby chin is 2 days old and walks around with his back sticking up. His butt is high up off the ground as well. He wasn't eating even when under mom. He would lay with her but have his face out. After awhile I found him by himself laying around. I started to hand feed him and some energy seems to have returned. He still won't nurse with mom but his sibling is and is doing fine. I'm worried bc his back sticks up and he looks like he is in pain. Is this likely due to an illness, or maybe an injury? I don't see any signs of injury but I'm not sure what else it could be. He is only 2 days old and didnt seem to struggle at all until he was a full day old. His sibling did nip at him quite a bit as well.

Seizures/Vertigo?

Yesterday I was packing up my dorm room for the summer while my boys were in their cage as usual. At one point I think I heard someone fall because I remember looking over at the cage in response to a noise. I saw Mojo lying on the ground (it isn't abnormal for the boys to get rambunctious and take a small tumble-they have a ferret nation cage with various wooden ledges to jump from) so I wasn't overly concerned until I saw Mojo wasn't able to walk well at all. He was pushing his front legs forward with his back legs and not using his front.

Initially I thought he hurt his leg but none of his legs appeared out of sorts and he made no noise of pain when I gently touched any of them and stretched them out. He was having real trouble walking and keeping his balance, he would stumble and/or fall over every few steps.

I immediately moved him into his travel cage, which I actually had prepped and ready as I leave Florida tomorrow to drive up north for the summer. It's one level with no ledges or anything so he can't hurt himself further. In addition to the Wobblieness and what I now believe is vertigo (and not an injured leg as originally suspected) he had multiple seizures (for lack of a better word, not sure that's what they were) basically he would conture his face (pull his lip back, almost grimacing) and curl his body up, and stay frozen like that for a few seconds then go back to normal. I saw him do this a number of times, maybe 6-8, and he may have had more I didn't see in the medical cage he's in now.

This happened late last night, around 10pm, and so I couldn't get him to a veterinarian right away, plus it's finals week and I have no car until today, so I doubt anyone would have been able to take me through studying and needing to sleep. He seems better this morning, he's taking food (he wasn't interested prior) and is balancing better, but he's still very lethargic. I'm honestly just very concerned this is a head injury, and if it is, is there anything a vet can do? Unfortunately I don't know if I'll be able to bring him to a vet in Florida, although if he gets any worse I'll find a way. Otherwise I may go up north with him and if he's still having issues, he'll be going to his original vet upon arrival.

Anyways, I'm really just interested to see if anyone has experienced anything like this before, and if you have, what would be the best thing to do for him in the interim before I can get him to a vet?

Chinchilla has started eating rapidly and hardly chewing

Holmes, a nearly 8-month old chin (sex is unknown - called the pet shop and they admitted they had no clue after they told us he was a boy when we purchased him), has begun to eat more and more quickly.

There is no competition for food, our two chins have a big bowl with plenty of pellets for dinner time, they don't get crowded around it or ever seemed to have a problem with it. They get treats at the same time and amount, so neither of them has to wait. Holmes is the dominant of the two as well.

However Holmes has begun to eat more quickly then ever. He used to hold his pellets, taking decent bites and finish each one about the same time as Watson (our other chin). He now eats 3-4 in the time Watson eats one, and doesn't chew properly either. His dropping are, as you'd expect, getting much larger and rounder. They have the right moisture and consistency, but I feel like this may cause problems.

His hay eating is the same, he is chewing but seems to want to eat as much as possible as quickly as possible. Has anyone else come across this? Should I train this out of him, will it go as he gets older?

Hopefully it doesn't cause any stomach or digestive problems, just checking to see if it's a natural behavior and that he's not doing any harm to himself. He's got a very assertive and fearless personality, and possibly is a girl so until we get them checked properly (and our local vets don't get any chinchillas really) we're unsure of this.

Coccidia day three of treatment

Hi there. I have two 3-year-old boys, Alfred and Howard who were cage mates up until last week when I noticed Alfred had very loose poo.
We separated Alfred and Howard and took Alfred to our trusted exotic vet on Friday. They did a fecal test and found coccidia so we were prescribed Albon and sent on our way home.
Yesterday, I noticed Howard now has green, loose poo. I took him to the vet yesterday and, without testing him, my vet prescribed Albon.
Today, he doesn't appear to be feeling good.

I wanted to know from those who have experienced coccidia- what else can I do? Is there anything I can give to both of my boys to help clear up the diarrhea?

I'm so tremendously worried. I can't even sleep at night.

Thank you.

Poor Nibbler...

So after recent events(go read "Unexpected Surprise!" in the breeding forum) I've now finally managed to separate Nibbler from Shadow, Smoky & Kali.

I feel awful doing it as he was so good with the kits, cleaning them and interacting with them. Sometimes better than Shadow was! The only thing he didn't do for them was feed them, and that's got a pretty obvious reason why.

Anyway, now he's in his own cage and he's pacing frantically looking for his kits. Non-stop since going in, food everywhere already, etc.. I'm obviously going to keep him separated as it needs to happen, but I'm worried he's going to hurt himself. He keeps bouncing so fast to try and find them he's falling from his shelves and stuff, he's chewing and pulling at the cage bars. He's panting too so I don't want him to overheat himself.
It's clear he's very distressed about being separated whereas Shadow and kits don't seem to have even noticed he's gone.

Is there anything I can do to help him "transition" or will he just have to settle on his own?

Weirdest thing they've run off with?

What is the weirdest thing your chinchilla has snatched up and ran off with?
I've gotten glasses stolen off my face and my phone dragged away. Tonight took the cake, I was getting some grooms(my eye lashes/brows) from my youngest chinchilla Sage after cage cleaning when all of a sudden she started to sniff and lick my nose. I didn't really mind, her whiskers tickled, but she all of a sudden started yank out my nose stud. She didn't get, nor could she really it's got a hook on the end so it's really hard to get out.
I just laughed because for the almost two years I've had her she's never acknowledged it.

Advice on bonding

Hey guys, I recently adopted chinchillas and I was just wondering if you had any advice on how to build up a good bond and trust with them.

Sick baby chin

My baby chin started acting funny and I am not sure what could be wrong. He is only 2 days old and seemed to be nursing just fine. He started laying around a lot not with mom and he walks with his back hunched. However, he does try to move around and I started feeding him bc he wasn't eating. He has become more active but I'm concerned bc of his hunched back. His butt is up of the ground pretty high and his back sticks up. When he is by mom he doesn't nurse. Could he have an illness or is it likely he is injured? His sibling is quite violent at times but I see no signs of injury otherwise. His sibling is active and looks normal. And he has no access to high levels.

Two males and a female?

I have a male in one cage and 3 females in a another cage. I was wondering if I get a male for the male I have currently living alone will they fight when the females go into heat since they will be in the same room but different cages.

Feed pellets and hay together??

I'm feeding Vitacraft Vitasmart Chinchilla food. My only other option locally is National Geographic Daily Diet Chinchilla food. Both are pellets with a tiny amount of hay mixed in. Does anyone have experience with either one or both of these foods? Are they okay?

For hay my options are: Kaytee Timothy Hay, All Living Things Natural Timothy Hay, National Geographic Nutritious Topping Timothy Hay, Vitacraft Timothy Sweet Grass Hay, and Oxbow Western Timothy Hay.

How do I feed the hay? Does it get mixed with her food? Do I just toss some in everday? Install a little hay feeder? Do you feed it daily in addtion to pellet food?

Thank you!!!

peeing on fleece

Hello everyone, I recently upgraded to FN cages. I have 2 separate double units. I use aspen bedding. Since switching to the FN all but one of them are peeing on the fleece instead of the bedding. It is causing them to get fur stained bottoms and they're butts are wet when they pee on fleece. I've read a lot of people prefer using fleece instead of bedding. I don't understand. Am I missing something? Can someone explain the alure of fleece for some owners? Is it a special fleece? Or does anyone have suggestions on preventing my girls from peeing on the fleece?

Calcium and pregnant chins.

I had a female that has off white teeth for awhile maybe 5 months. She delivered a baby that was very weak that passed away today. The last 2 months she was given more alfalfa hay, once a week tums, then this week I asked the vet for calcium supplement. My chins are on Purina Chow Show and timothy, unless pregnant or babies. She will go back into breeding maybe 2 to 3 months as long as her teeth get orange/yellowish color.

Someone suggested osterocare (calcium with Vitamin D). She said that Vitamin "D absorbs calcium. I know to much calcium isn't good.

Just want more information about white teeth.

Chins and dogs and cats

Is it possible for chins to interact with dogs and cats? Adopted chin two days ago. My dog makes little pig-like snorts when she's excited and she's been looking up at the cage making those sounds. One cat is really interested in the new family member and sits underneath the cage (temporary housing is up a dresser, she gets her new big chin condo next week). He's been meowing at her and she's been making little grunting noises at him. Other cat has absolutely no idea she's here. How and when do you start making introductions and can they ever be allowed to play together or be on the floor together?

Eating aspen bedding--is this safe?

My new rescue chin tries to chew on everything. I started her on shredded paper bedding but she just wanted to eat it so I immediately switched to aspen. Per the message boards aspen or pine are the best. She has several wood toys and a wood house to chew on but it seems her favorite pasttime is to pick up her bedding and eat it. Is she actually eating it like food or is she just chewing it down? Is this common? Okay?? It's like her bedding is an additional toy.

She also itches a lot. How common are allergies in chins? I'm allergic to pine so I hope she's not allergic to aspen.

She has some small scabs around her neck; the rest of her body seems fine, no marks. I don't have her history and adopted her two days ago. She's been scratching her neck the most. Is this a sign of allergies or could she have scratched herself from itching?

Sudden full body "twitch" and scabs on neck

My new chinchilla will be scratching her neck and then all of a sudden have a fit and she shakes like a dog (but about a million times faster). It' just for a second but she jumps right after she does it (jump is also a lighting speed). Is this a common behavior?

She seems to be scratching around her neck more than anywhere else. She let me pet her and I felt some small scabs around her neck. Not very many, about the size of a pin head. The rest of her body looks/feels fine, she's eating, drinking, pooing, and peeing just fine. They are on both sides of her neck. Could she have scratched herself when itching?? Allergies? Has anyone else seen this?

I have her on aspen bedding. Her owner passed away two days ago and I took her in. Don't know anything about her past, her age, etc.

Thanks!

@myanimalol Created an Instagram for my Chins!

My friend and I decided it was time to create an instagram for our pets which are 3 bunnies (one dwarf), 2 chickens & 4 hedges... Please follow us if you like :) :)

Indent of Hay in Chins foot

I recently brought home two chins from the local pet shop as they were being treated so badly, so i thought i'd add them to my family.

My new male chinchilla Milk when I checked him before I put him in his cage had an a tiny stone stuck inside his foot with mouldy hay/bedding indented within it, I managed to take it out with some tweezers (he didn't seem bothered by it at all)

Today, checking if it was ok I found bedding stuck in the indent again, this time I couldn't remove it as it seemed to be now attached to his skin, it moved with it when I tried to carefully pull it out, So I decided to leave it as obviously I'm not a vet... - Regardless, it did look healthier, so i guess it's healing...

What should I do next?

New chinchilla sad story led to adoption--now lots of questions!!

Before I ask my questions, I want to give a brief history which may help in your answers. If you don't feel like reading all this, my questions are below.
--------
Yesterday a very elderly neighbor of ours passed away (he was 102!!). When his granddaughter showed up to check on him she found him laying on the bed--he had passed peacefully in his sleep. I don't have the specifics/background but at some point he either rescued or purchased a young chinchilla and when she found her grandfather, the chinchilla (named Isabeau after his late wife) was sound asleep on his chest. His granddaughter called me because I work with animals but I work with birds of prey, not small mammals. With her permission I checked his house but couldn't find any documents on "Bo". The only information I have is that she was adopted about a year ago and her name. The granddaughter didn't want to take responsibility and he didn't have any other family so she asked me to take her, which, of course, I agreed to. It was really difficult to get her off of him. I sat with her just talking to her until the paramedics came and then I had to pick her up. She was not happy and was making a high pitch grunting sound. She settled down after about twenty minutes and I brought her back to my house. Obviously, my family was not prepared for this so we're doing the best we can. Right now she's in a large cat carrier (about 18"Wx20"Hx25"L) which is temporary until her new habitat arrives. While the granddaughter asked me to take Bo, she would not let me have her habitat (which was awesome and huge). I ordered a cage from Quality Cage Crafters (http://qualitycage.com). It's looks really nice, wide and tall, had wooden shelves, no plastic, safe metal. It was about $300 with shipping but I'd rather spend that much once than have to keep buying new enclosures. Plus it's her home, so I want her to have a nice one. Her temporary home has aspen bedding, a large wheel, a wooden hide (chin-safe wood), a lava ledge, two hanging wood toys, a lava block, and her water bottle and food dish. For food, I got her Vitacraft Vitasmart Chinchilla food. She seems to be eating it but I'm used to seeing dogs and cats eat so not emptying your bowl by the end of the day seems strange to me. Her new enclosure will be here next week (hopefully early). I've also ordered her a "chin-chiller" to go in her new place. I hope to give her the best life I can.
----------------
That's the story, here are my questions:

1. I'm going to assume that like dogs and cats, chinchillas grieve for the loss of a loved one. She kept making this sound last night which I believe is called a 'bark'. I listened to example sounds. Would I be correct in guessing she is probably doing this for several reasons (new home, new people, doesn't have her stuff/her setup, and she's missing her owner)? I hope this will improve a little bit when she gets the new setup and can bounce around as much as she likes.

2. Her food bowl is a very small one, maybe 3 or 4" in diameter. I have it filled with the food mentioned above. Her lava shelf is right next to it attached to the front of the carrier. I see her sitting on it hanging down over her food bowl so I know she's eating. The food is mostly litting pellets with a little bit of Timothy grass mixed in. Using a teaspoon or tablespoon, something like that, could someone give me a rough estimate of how much of that type of food she should be eating daily? Does anyone have a better food selection? She just doesn't seem that interested in it. I can't tell if I'm rushing things and she just needs to get used to it or if I need to try something else.

3. I've gone up to the carrier door a number of times and talked to her, telling her she's a good chinchilla and I hope she likes it here...that she's going to get a brand new decked out home, etc. I'm trying to get her used to my voice. I put my hands inside the carrier and she immediately hopped down and started gently nibbling on the tips of my fingers. Then she climbed up into my hand and up my wrist. We stayed that way for a few minutes so I thought she must want to come out. The second I put my other hand around her and lifted her up she made a grunty/squealy noise and jumped to the back. I quickly put my hands back down the way they were, and she jumped back down and climbed back into my hand and on my wrist. What is she doing? She doesn't want to be picked but she seems to want to come out? I have to pick her up in order to take her out?

4. I know dust baths are important for chins but I don't want to overwhelm her with 100 things in the first few days. I ordered the new enclosure today and it said 5 business days for delivery so I'm hoping it will go out tomorrow and get here between Wed-Friday of next week (hopefully sooner). Can we wait with the dust bath until she gets her new cage or do I need to start that now?

5. Her temporary carrier is sitting on my dresser just to the right of a window with mini blinds. During the day should I open the blinds for her to look out the window and get some sunlight or since she sleeps during the day, should I keep the blinds closed? Do they like sunlight? Need it?

6. I'd like to be able to keep an eye on her at night until I get used to the noises (or sudden quiet). I read that some small nocturnal mammals cannot see certain light wavelengths and that a blacklight can be used to light the cage without bothering the animal (who supposedly will not notice any light). Is this true? Is it okay to have an external blacklight? Is there something else you recommend?

7. Lastly, I know they poo a lot--should I try to clean up the poo's fairly regularly (several times a day) or do you just change the whole bedding once a day, a few times a week...??

Thank you (in advance) so much for anyone who read through this whole thing and provided answers. This little chin just lost a lot and I want to try and make this as gentle a transition as possible. (Isabeau says "thanks", too!!!) :hug2:

Chin Licking Surgery Wound

My Chin, Scout, had one of her toes amputated last night after my other chin bit it nearly off. The vet used sutures that will dissolve, and she is on pain meds and antibiotics. When checking on her today I noticed that she was intently licking her wound. I was unable to distract her from it, but after my repeated moving of her paw away from her mouth she gave up. I called the vet and they said that her licking (or possible chewing) could pull out the stitches or cause infection, but did not have any solution to make her stop chewing. They did not have any cones that would be small enough. She suggested fashioning a cone or covering the wound in some way until it has been able to heal. Any ideas on how to do that? I can't figure out anything that she would not be able to get out of.

Thanks for any ideas.

Hi from London

Hi, my names Jules and I have four Chinchillas.
I've been following this site for a while collecting advise and I thought it was finally time to get registered.

So, I have two females who are roughly a bit older than a year - Polly, Polystyrene (named after the lead singer in X-Ray Specs) and Nebula named after an interstellar space cloud. I've owned them since June last year and got them from Pets at Home. (which after buying chins I found out is probably not the best place to buy chins!)
Two males who are also roughly the same age as Polly & Nebs- Milk (named after Harvey Milk, the first openly gay American politician) and Barry - who has no name reference (he was named by my very imaginative partner). I've only owned them for 4/5 days. They're from a Pet Shop down my road which I had to buy them as they were living in such horrible conditions. (Being fed rabbit pellets, no available water, hay and bedding mixed together, sand bath constantly left in and worst of all in a tiny glass cage that i watched many kids constantly tap on to awake them during the day.)

Due to the spontaneousness of buying Milk & Barry there still not in the most spacious cage, but I promise they're being treated how they deserve to be and will eventually have a big cage.

The boys are currently kept at the bottom of my girls cage (I put up a divider). I do plan to expand the cage. The first night I brought them home my girls were curiously scratching at the bottom of the cage all night long being extremely loud. The second night, I decided to jump into the deep end and give them a run together as I think they were all frustrated that they could only smell each other and were being so loud in their cage all day, all night.
So they had their first run together and it was actually completely tame they were all sniffing each other curiously and by what i could tell happily... the second night the boys became a lot more confident in their new home and they're a lot louder.. a bit of play fighting and some hair pull.. now they all had their third run together last night and there was quite a lot of fighting... (no blood or injuring) but they spent a lot of their time 'barking' at each other... there was less hair pull than the previous night. but I'm worried I've maybe introduced them too soon and what I should do next? Or if these are just as they say teething problems and I should carry on.

The boys have about 30 mins play time as they're just getting used to it (at the shop the pet keeper told me he didn't know they needed play time, so i'm guessing they've never been able to run about.. they don't even jump yet! which is sad) and my girls have 2 hours depending on the day.

I think the main problem unfortunately lies in my more timid chinchilla, Polly - a couple of months ago she had a jumping accident and hurt her leg.. which actually bonded me and her a lot as she used to HATE being held and during the period where i had to give her medication and hold her instead of giving her a run (whilst nebula had a run) she actually became quite tame. Since the new chins have arrived she is extremely aggressive towards me and my partner which I understand may be because of change, but I'm wondering if our relationship will ever go back to what it was? Nebula seems content with the new boys - a bit skeptical but not too bothered where as Polly is constantly the one starting the 'play fights'

Anyway, sorry for the long post!
Really hope someone can give me some advise!

~~ Jules

New chins started fur biting

So I got two sister chinchillas from the pet store and neither showed signs of fur biting when I got them, but a few days after they came home I noticed some minor patches of clipped fur towards their hind legs. It hasn't gotten bad yet and I want to try and fix whatever is causing them to fur bite before it becomes a problem... could it be because I'm not time oriented and they don't have specific times for feeding and when I give them attention? I usually do feeding and cleaning their cage in the morning, and play with them periodically throughout the day while they're in their cage if they look awake and alert.. I also have the tv on until between 12-1:30am with a lamp on, would the light be irritating them? They'll come up and sniff me, and Teemo even let me pick her up yesterday. They seem to be eating, drinking, and playing normally too.

Injured back foot?? Advice!

Before I begin to talk about it, Pip is scheduled to see the vet as the first patient in the morning. Sadly, even though the clinic is open 24 hours, his vet isn't in til morning.

This, to my knowledge has just happened tonight. I've had him out before and he was fine. My boyfriend said Pip was scaling the side of his cage. It sounds like his foot got stuck between the bars, which are already very small. I got him out and set him down and he won't put his foot down and walk on it and it looks a little crooked. I know that Chins normally don't show any signs of pain or illness until it's REALLY bad, so I'm scared that I might lose him in the middle of the night. Has anyone had this happen before? If so, how did them? Not looking for a way to treat it myself, as I said he has an appointment in the morning. I just want to know if he's in jeopardy of dying before morning. And I want to know what to expect for the treatment, like if they want to put a cast or amputate. I'm a very paranoid pet owner and take my fur babies in for every little thing!

Stopped using wheel

Hi

My hedgehog has recently stopped using her wheel and I am looking for tips to try to encourage her to use it again?

She is 2 and was using her wheel regularly each night until roughly a month or so ago. I thought at first my chinchilla's may be disturbing her as their wheel is quite loud so I moved her to a quieter room,however this hasn't seemed to work. I have also tried slight changes in temp to see if that triggered anything but again no such luck.

Anyone had a similar issue??

Sent from my KIW-L21 using Tapatalk

Unexpected Surprise!

**I apologise in advance for the long winded thread!**

Well we had a rather unexpected surprise yesterday morning.

Nibbler and Shadow our two "male" chinchillas became parents!
Nibbler is a 5-6 year old Standard Grey male, no pedigree. Bred by my fiancé when he had his pair of Standard Greys.
Shadow is a young female, no exact age on her but we suspect between 1-2 years old. She's a TOV(Black Velvet) from what we can gather and, unfortunately, a pet shop chin. Bought as a male in April 2015 along with another male, we're both now kicking ourselves for not noticing that Shadow was actually female. The other TOV we bought, Midnight, was actually male(saw the nads myself!) and had to be separated due to fighting with Nibbler(that's all explained now!!!). We no longer have him.
I've counted back and Midnight was separated way longer than 120 days(I know gestation is 111 but just to be sure) ago so the kits are definitely Nibblers.

Sadly we do not have a spare cage at the moment and so Nibbler is, unfortunately, having to continue living with Shadow. We have a cage on order which should be here ASAP so he can be separated from mum and kits.

Mum and kits seem to be good, both decent weights(43g & 48g). Dad is even helping keep the kits clean and safe for now, which is a good sign. Still going to separate him ASAP though, there's a chance he's already bred back to Shadow and one more litter is going to be tough on her. Luckily I have vets that will care for and operate on small rodents(I checked, chin specific) should she have any complications, and she is a big girl.

I have been dealt with an unexpected surprise, but honestly it's come at a decent time. I've been doing lots, and lots, and lots of research breeding chinchillas as I had planned to buy some pedigreed chins in future and start breeding- Yes, I have red every single horror story thread on this forum and looked at all the pictures, I am prepared to deal with that. So I have an idea of what to do, what not to do, what to look out for, etc... Of course due to these having unknown history, etc. they will be pet only and the parents will, as mentioned, be split ASAP.
So far all is good. They are both suckling well and regularly, both parents are cleaning them and watching them. I have handled them, checked their eyes, ears, etc. for any issues or illnesses. All looks good, I'll have a look at them in a few days to see what genders they are as I'm aware they could be swollen for the first day or so.
I will be weighing them daily to track any weight loss/gain and make sure both are growing well as one is smaller than the other, once I'm sure they are both gaining steadily I'll move to weekly weighing.

With regards to checking her for more babies, I've done the best I can and can't feel anything else but she's not handleable and really doesn't like being touched. She will bark at me for touching her and getting her out of the cage by hand for cleaning can be a nightmare. I've done my best to calm her down while we've had her but she's not taken to any of it. I've let her come to me, offered treats, etc.. Nothing. Luckily she's really good about me handling and checking her babies, no issues with that at all. As long as she can see them and hear them she seems to be fine.

So now the only thing I have left to say is.... What colours are they?! Research tells me that Standard Grey x Black Velvet would yield approx. 50% SG and 50% BV. Looking at these two, my best guess has been one Standard Grey(slightly larger) and one Black Velvet(smaller). Anyone agree or have other ideas?

Larger, suspected first born. Weighs 48g. Standard Grey(I'm 99% certain).


Smaller, suspected second born. Weighs 43g. Black Velvet? Or dark Standard grey?


Both together.


Excuse the not so good photo's, they really don't like staying still lol.

Parents:
Nibbler- Standard grey from two Standard Grey parents.


Shadow- Black Velvet. At least from what we can see and research. This is why neither of these were ever intended as breeders. No history, no pedigrees...

Beth my new girl :)

She is sooooo so sweet and around 6 months old......
I hope the picture works.....

Attached Images

girl.jpg (63.8 KB)

Breeding Must Knows/Tips for Breeding

Hi all!

I'm currently curious about breeding and looking into the possibility of breeding in the future (at the earliest, once I am out of college, which won't be for 2 years yet but I feel that the more time I spend learning about this the better prepared I will be for if/when I decide to breed).

Is there anything imperative one must know before delving into breeding chinchillas?

So far my knowledge is really limited in that I should only breed pedigreed animals that I know the genetic history of, and that age and weight (at least in the case of the female) are important in ensuring their safety when breeding. (Knowing this I have no intentions of breeding my current two chinchillas at any point. They are companion animals only!) I also know when you breed you want to get the highest quality animal possible, which should always be the goal. With chinchillas you're breeding for an ideal coat, but I don't know much more than that. I have experience in judging horses so I understand basic concepts about the importance of judging animals and how certain aspects are vital to their looks/health/productivity/etc. but obviously chinchillas are not horses and thus are being bred for very different qualities.

As I mentioned, I have a lot of time to explore this possibility and learn as much as I can, which I fully intend to do before potentially trying my hand at breeding, but I would love to hear from some experienced breeders to possibly help me expand my currently very limited knowledge base!

Breeders local to Winston Salem, NC?

Hi guys, I'm new to this site and looking to get my first Chinchilla. I've done some reading and am now looking for some breeder options locally. I've found it difficult to find through just a google search, so any help in this matter is greatly appreciated!

Heat, and Out of Cage Exercise.

Just out of curiosity, at what temperature does everyone halt their chin's out of cage exercise? It's un-seasonably hot here today at 23 degrees, but this does not occur often enough here to warrant air con. Anything over 19 degrees outside and my chins are in till the temperature cools.

Chin has a patch of dry, flaky skin under penis.

Hi there, new owner of 2 chinchillas, had them just over 4 weeks now.

I have just noticed Holmes, the bigger of our 2 chins, has developed a small patch of dry, almost flaky skin underneath his penis. It doesn't circle around it, rather it starts at the base of his penis and extends to just above his anus, and its width goes out to nearly where his fur begins to grow.

It's roughly rectangular shaped, and has a solid crease line where it folds slightly in the middle. The rest of his skin underneath there is fine.

He has a dust bath every 2-3 days, eats a mixture of Timothy Hay with a little Alfafa Timothy Hay mixed in, good quality Selective Chinchilla pellets and his treats (one type a day, given sparingly) are either organic oats, or bits of raisin. I haven't noticed him grooming himself too much, nor does it seem to bother him. I was examining him as best I could, he shed a lot and he wasn't happy about it, but the moments he was calm I got a really good look and it didn't hurt him when I touched it, and didn't react at all when I did touch it.

His brother Watson is fine I think, I saw underneath when I was playing with him yesterday, thought I can't currently examine him as he recently got extremely frightened and won't move (it wasn't anything too bad, but it got me upset and I'm concerned so I'll be posting in the behavior bit for some help about that, if any one can help with that too)

Is this anything to be concerned about, or anything I can do to help? Should I bathe them less regularly, such as making it every 3 days? They are both 7 months old, active and otherwise healthy.

Need help repairing trust/bond - Chin not eating & whimpering after bad scare.

My poor chinchilla Watson, 7 months old and had him for just over a month, has recently got extremely frightened and I'm worried sick about him. Sorry for the long post, I just feel awful and it helps I guess.

We've got our two new chins into a good routine, they have a set dinner time, play time, a little treat, and another little run out of the cage before we go to bed.

Watson is a very happy and affectionate chinchilla, he has always been the more timid, submissive, and skittish of the two, but has been progressing well with getting used to people, getting better at being handled (to be taken for play time) and even began coming out of the cage by himself to explore a little.

Unfortunately, he recently had a big shock and he hasn't been the same since.We got him out for a little run, and took him to the living room as usual. We have a big couch, and he likes running up and down it and climbing over us, we've done it 5-6 times before.

However, quite out of character (we hadn't made a sudden move or loud noises), he jumped down onto the floor (he's usually too scared to jump down), and then immediately darted underneath the couch. He instantly started squeaking and seemed extremely frightened. He completely avoided us, so we gave him some space and tried to let him come out on his own before chasing him. He is already cautious by nature, but even being on the floor seemed to agitate him even more, we even watched from a distance and lay down flat on the floor so not to seem a threat and calm him down.

He just got more and more frightened, there wasn't any noise or chasing, but he kept cowering and squeaking. We decided to get him out, as he was panicking and extending didn't seem fair - leaving him alone for a while hadn't helped and he refused to leave the underneath of the couch.

We reached in to coral him out of the side, took a couple of tries but we managed to get him. My girlfriend didn't push him hard, but he'd run away from her hand and then stop before he came completely out - then he seemed more frightened of coming out and refused to budge when she gently pushed him.

Needless to say we were mortified, and worst of all he felt limp in my hands and was trembling. I offered him an oat which he took, reassured him and took him straight back to his cage. But now he's completely terrified of me.

He switches from frozen in what i can only assume is fear, to freaking out and darting all over the cage if he think we're getting close to him. I put their food bowl in and he instantly backed up as much as he could, even though I wasn't going near him.

He periodically breaks out into whimpering, and refuses any and all food. He usually goes crazy for little bits of raisin, or these little seeds we get them - he likes to stand on his lava ledge, stand up for a belly scratch and then get a little treat. But now all he does is sit in the corner of the cage. I'm really upset, I can't bear the thought of him being so frightened all the time now, he can't seem to relax. They have 2 hutches in their cage, they would be much better to hide in, but they've always never bothered and always slept on a ledge together (even though both hutches are big enough for both of them).

Any and all help or advice would be truly appreciated. I don't want to try too hard and scare him even more, so unless advised otherwise, I am going to leave him alone for the next few days to a week, and let him start coming to me again.

Before giving up trying for the moment, I was softly speaking to him from afar, apologizing and slowly extending my arm so he could see it approaching with a treat for him. I am willing to give him all the time he needs to feel better again, but any help on beginning to rebuild our bond and trust would be appreciated. We were doing so well, we hadn't had them long but it was going well, it's heartbreaking to think an incident like this can cause such trauma for our boys.

Need to rant!

As most of you probably know, I rescue as well as breed. About 2 weeks ago, I arranged to pick up 7 chins from a guy named Cody. When we arrived at his place it looked like it belonged on Hoarders. The place smelled horrible - my son said a combination of filth and crack house. I could not wait to get out of there. He had the chins in 2 small, filthy cages, supposedly separated by gender. When they went to fill out my paperwork, he could only remember the name of 1 chinchilla which he said is a 10 year old male named Doc. While we were there he started bragging about his operation. He told us that they got a few animals from breeders in the area (and started bad mouthing a couple of good breeders I know). The rest of his breeding animals were acquired from Craig's List. He talked about how they paired them by temperament and how his girlfriend know what colors should not be bred because you would get dead babies. He also mentioned his website which I had seen about 18 months ago. On there he had made comments like "we breed only the best", "we breed for the right head, most breeders breed for the wrong head", "we sell only as pets and do not give pedigrees because we are not ready to share our bloodlines" and a few others of that type. I really wanted to deck this guy but behaved myself for the sake of the chins. Doc proved to be a female - God only knows how old she is. He mentioned one had a cater act - none do. He also never mentioned the large lump on the shoulder of one of the females. It was huge and you could not miss it. You did not need to feel for it. I got these poor babies home. They were sticky and smelled like pee. 2 were fur chewed. 2 of them could not stand up for a week, they were so weak. At least half were severely underweight. by the way, he made the comment that they had lost quite a few because "you know, they just die."

I am glad to say that they are all clean, lively and doing well. All of the females are on pregnancy watch and the the little girl with the lump saw the vet as soon as I felt she was strong enough. It was a massive cyst. They removed 11 ml of fluid from her poor shoulder. Now she bounces around like a normal chin and it makes me smile to see it.

Well, sorry for the long post, but I had to get this off of my chest. Luckily, they were being evicted for trashing the house and are living in a bus that he said they could not find a place to legally park. I guess he is getting what he deserves. No breeding for him in the near future!

Introducing chinchillas that don't get on

Hello All, I'm having some problems with a new chinchilla and I'm looking for some advice.

It's a bit of a long story. I adopted 2 chinchillas about 18 months ago from an owner who found she didn't have the time to look after them any more. Chilli, a neutered male about 2 years old and a potato a female about 4 years old. Things went well for about a year when one day I woke up to find Chilli unconcious on the floor of their cage, I rushed him to the vet but he'd died before I got this there, vet thought it was a heart attack.

Obviously I was very upset, but potato was devastated. She wouldn't come out of her cage to play in the evening and when she did come out she'd just follow me round the room rather than do her usual scampering about. This went on for a month or so before I decided that she must be lonely and needed a new friend. As chilli and Potato were rescues I decided to get another rescue chinchilla to be her friend, so I contacted all my local animal shelters and one of them had a 7 year old female, Anni, looking for a new home who seemed ideal.

When I went to pick up Anni it was clear she was very stressed in her temporary cage at the shelter. She was hiding in the corner of her cage and wasn't eating or drinking. The shelter had her checked out by a vet who gave the all clear so I took her home. At home I'd set up 2 cages next to each other (actually one very large cage with a dividing wire screen down the middle) one for potato and one for Anni.

After I'd had Anni for couple of days it was clear she still wasn't eating or drinking so I took her to the vet, who gave me some critical care to hand feed her and some medicine to increase her appetite. After a week of hand feeding Anni two times a day she started eating but still wouldn't drink from her bottle. She was clearly thirsty though because when I offered her a small bowl of water during playtime she went nuts for it. In the end I bought her a bowl that can be attached to the inside of her cage and set it up in such a way that she can't spill it over herself or go to the toilet in it. Not ideal, but it got her drinking. All in all, it took the best part of two weeks to get her eating and drinking.

So, that's all the background, the problem I have is that when I try to introduce potato and Anni they don't get on at all. For the last few weeks I've been swapping their toys and food bowls, and they've been sharing sandbaths to try to get them used to each others smell. They're in cages right next to each other so they can see and smell each other a lot during the day. The first time I tried to introduce them Potato chased Anni around the room, Anni ran terrified back to her cage and hid. I've tried a couple of times since then but the patterns's the same, potato flips out and Anni ends up terrified. I came home from work the other day and found spots of blood in Anni's cage, it looks like she and Potato had some kind of fight through the bars and she got a bite on her front paw. I've changed their cages round so they can't get at each other any more now.

So that's my problem. I just can't see how to get them to get along. They're both very sweet natured by themselves. I know this story makes potato sound horrible but she's sitting happily on my knee being stroked as I write this, when Anni's not involved she's very chilled. I really like Anni, but if she and Potato can't be in the same room without bloodshed I don't see how this could work out. I don't want to give her back to the shelter, particularly as she had so much trouble adapting the first time round, but if I can't figure out a way of getting her and Potato to bond i don't see any other option.

Apologies for the very long post! Any ideas will be gratefully received!

Introducing chinchillas that don't get on

Hello All, I'm having some problems with a new chinchilla and I'm looking for some advice.

It's a bit of a long story. I adopted 2 chinchillas about 18 months ago from an owner who found she didn't have the time to look after them any more. Chilli, a neutered male about 2 years old and a potato a female about 4 years old. Things went well for about a year when one day I woke up to find Chilli unconcious on the floor of their cage, I rushed him to the vet but he'd died before I got this there, vet thought it was a heart attack.

Obviously I was very upset, but potato was devastated. She wouldn't come out of her cage to play in the evening and when she did come out she'd just follow me round the room rather than do her usual scampering about. This went on for a month or so before I decided that she must be lonely and needed a new friend. As chilli and Potato were rescues I decided to get another rescue chinchilla to be her friend, so I contacted all my local animal shelters and one of them had a 7 year old female, Anni, looking for a new home who seemed ideal.

When I went to pick up Anni it was clear she was very stressed in her temporary cage at the shelter. She was hiding in the corner of her cage and wasn't eating or drinking. The shelter had her checked out by a vet who gave the all clear so I took her home. At home I'd set up 2 cages next to each other (actually one very large cage with a dividing wire screen down the middle) one for potato and one for Anni.

After I'd had Anni for couple of days it was clear she still wasn't eating or drinking so I took her to the vet, who gave me some critical care to hand feed her and some medicine to increase her appetite. After a week of hand feeding Anni two times a day she started eating but still wouldn't drink from her bottle. She was clearly thirsty though because when I offered her a small bowl of water during playtime she went nuts for it. In the end I bought her a bowl that can be attached to the inside of her cage and set it up in such a way that she can't spill it over herself or go to the toilet in it. Not ideal, but it got her drinking. All in all, it took the best part of two weeks to get her eating and drinking.

So, that's all the background, the problem I have is that when I try to introduce potato and Anni they don't get on at all. For the last few weeks I've been swapping their toys and food bowls, and they've been sharing sandbaths to try to get them used to each others smell. They're in cages right next to each other so they can see and smell each other a lot during the day. The first time I tried to introduce them Potato chased Anni around the room, Anni ran terrified back to her cage and hid. I've tried a couple of times since then but the patterns's the same, potato flips out and Anni ends up terrified. I came home from work the other day and found spots of blood in Anni's cage, it looks like she and Potato had some kind of fight through the bars and she got a bite on her front paw. I've changed their cages round so they can't get at each other any more now.

So that's my problem. I just can't see how to get them to get along. They're both very sweet natured by themselves. I know this story makes potato sound horrible but she's sitting happily on my knee being stroked as I write this, when Anni's not involved she's very chilled. I really like Anni, but if she and Potato can't be in the same room without bloodshed I don't see how this could work out. I don't want to give her back to the shelter, particularly as she had so much trouble adapting the first time round, but if I can't figure out a way of getting her and Potato to bond i don't see any other option.

Apologies for the very long post! Any ideas will be gratefully received!

Help! New hedgehog owner and babies

Hi! So my husband and I just got a hedgehog yesterday. She seemed grumpy yesterday when we were playing with her but figured it was because she was just getting used to us. After a while, she was really bonding with my husband. Anyways, my husband went to check on her today and noticed she had 3 babies (from what he could quickly see). We don't know much about hedgie babies, but we knew not to 1) stress mom out and 2) touch the babies.

We have taken the wheel out of her cage, added wet kitten food to her dry food, moved our chinchilla out of the room, and making sure the room stays between 72-80 degrees. We have read to only go in for feeding and changing water once a day for the first 2 weeks to decrease the stress on mom. As hard as it was, we only went in to change food once after finding out she had babies. Babies seem to be doing great and mom seems to be feeding them.

However, we didn't have a nest in the cage as we didn't know we would need one. Should I add something to her cage? Will a new thing in the cage stress her out?

Anything else we need to know about hedgie babies? We aren't getting our hopes up that they will survive as we know they eat them, especially first time moms. Just trying to do whatever we can to prevent it!

My chinchilla is sick , what am I doing wrong ?

On April 13 my boyfriend got me a chinchilla when for my birthday , I've never had a chinchilla before only bunnies and hamsters. I read online that they have to stay from 60-70, I ordered an ac online portable, but it was going to come for a week and I checked the whether and figuer it was okay since it wasn't going to pass 73 . She was fine up until the 17 when when it got up to 80 and I was freaking out I was putting ice in Tupperware and kept changing her chinchiller, we finally got pass it and the same night I when to get a another ac at the store though. She was acting weird after that day and it sounded like she couldn't breath up to that point I immediately call to make an appointment with an exotic vet , he told she had an upper respiratory infection, my poor little baby got 2 shot and 7 days of medicine after 2 days later I went for a check up again and they told me whatever your doing keep it up because she much better (p.s the vet told me to keep her at 75 ) she was so much better up until yesterday, however she did have matted fur around her eyes . So yesterday she was fine she took a dust bath and I let out in my living room and she was just trying to get out of the playpen and it was 72 down stair I took her up stair because I felt like it was too hot and went up stairs I cleaned (vinegar/50 and completely dried it) and her cage all of it fixed it and she never wants to go under her house and I figured it's plastic and she feels hot ( I ordered a wooden house waiting for it ) and keep sleeping on top where her food and water were . I would cover up her cage when I would put the ac on but I felt like she was hot since it was 70 and I only left one cover but I think at night she knocked it down, (ac is not directly pointed at her) have her cage connected to her play pen and it's over and chinchilla proofed , I noticed that she didn't get out as much and I just thought she was tried because my mom has a day care center and I feels like she can't sleep that much , but I woke up to being in the corner of her cage and whimpering, I'm going to take her to the vet today but what am I doing wrong , I feel like my poor baby violet is suffering because of me ;(? What temp am I suppose to keep her at ? (By the way the temp on ac last night was 68)I love her so much can stop to think about how she suffering? Please help me out I don't want anything to happen to my poor baby ?:(

Respiratory infection?

I'm worried Templeton might have a respiratory infection, he has been making a sound like someone with a stuffy nose. He isn't breathing heavy and is eating fine, this just started and besides the noise he seems fine. I've been sick with a nasty flu but wash my hands before feeding the boys and haven't been handling them.

Should I take him to the vet? I'm concerned about a car ride with me being sick (as well as concerned I wouldn't make the distance very well either, but obviously will if I need to). Is there something I can do otherwise or in the meantime?

Looking for a white, beige, or tan female near St. Louis, MO

I would prefer her to be from a new litter. Thanks to anyone who can help!

Weaning from critical care

Looking for some advice on weaning a chinny off of critical care food.

A little background: Cotton is about 8 years old and has recently developed some teeth problems. :( He stopped eating and we saw the vet on April 2nd. He got a trimming and was in a lot of pain and lost some weight so we've been feeding CC since then. Went back to the vet last Wednesday for a follow up and another trimming (had a couple of points again, so they were trimmed). From now on, he'll be needing regular trimmings (vet said probably every 4-6 weeks). It's been almost a week now since that trimming and over the last couple of days, he's been nibbling on some hay, herbs, and even a shredded wheat. So, the last couple of feedings he's been fighting the CC feedings and eating less of it.

On average, he's been eating about 80-120cc of CC every day split between 3 feedings (every 8 hours) and that's been going really well. He's gained weight back so he's back to his normal/average weight (around 545g) and has kept steady.

So, with that of all, I have a couple of questions:

1) If he's eating less CC on his own, can I trust that he's probably eating enough solid foods and let him guide the transition back into all hay/pellets/etc.?

2) How do I know that he's eating enough? Is it just keeping track of his weight? Or is there something else I need to be checking?

3) If he doesn't completely wean himself, what's the best way to go about weaning him off of the CC completely?

Any advice would be appreciated! :)
Thanks!

Need some clarification on Alfafa hay, normal hay/pellets and oats

Hi, just looking for some advice on chinchilla foods, I'm a new owner and had my two 7 month-old boys for a month.

My two chinchillas have as their diet - Timothy Hay for Chinchillas, Supreme Science pellets - Selective for Chinchillas, and I use organic oats as a treat as well as the occasional tiny bit of raisin.

We picked up the Timothy Alfafa Hay instead of the normal one last week thinking quite naively that mostly all hays would all be similar, as also I had read previously it was good for chinchillas. However when I got home, I had second thoughts and decided I should do more research - I read up more but decided to get the regular Timothy Hay the next day and just mixed a little in (don't worry, they were fed the Alfafa til we got more, and they loved it)

I've read several different views/opinions on Alfafa, so some advice from experienced people would be greatly appreciated. I read things such as; it shouldn't be given after 6 months, it can be given as normal hay but isn't necessary to, can be given as a 'treat' hay almost, or can just be mixed in with normal hay. Obviously there are always many different opinions on these things, so some advice would be helpful.

What made me indecisive is when I read their pellet composition and it's a high quality product, and reading it I found out it actually contains Alfafa, as the Lucerne Meal. It's a 16% Protein/19% Crude Fibre/3% Fats pellet with good vitamin and mineral nutritional values.

My question overall is - since the pellets are high in Alfafa, is it better to just give them the straight normal hay, or continue to mix in the Alfafa too? Or would that be bad/have no benefit/be too much? Or because they are processed pellets, does the Alfafa content not matter? Only want to do the best I can for my boys, they eat and drink well I just want to make sure I'm doing thing properly.

Thanks for any advice.

Chin with no filter or fear, and hates being in his cage.

I am new to chinchillas, I've had 2 male chinchillas that are 7 months old, Holmes and Watson, for about a month now. Everything's been great, a few stumbles but we're building bonds and getting to know each other well.

However Holmes seems to long to be outside, he absolutely frantically tries to escape every time I open the door, and he even seems to longingly stare out at his favourite play spots when he's inside.

I have to say, he has absolutely no fear either. Has anyone else encountered this? I'm sure it's not uncommon, but I never expected such fearlessness from a chin, especially after all my reading about them before getting them. He'll take risky jumps, dive at things, have no concern about what something is before running up to it and just general seems to not care which is quite cute really. We keep him safe but given the chance he'd try anything once.

He takes risky jumps (although he has the confidence to go with it, skill, and power to do so, I've been told he's quite big for his age) and has done since about 3 days of bringing him home. He isn't frightened by anyone, he was jumping on to me almost immediately and leaping very far to unknown places (as in he wouldn't of known how stable what he was jumping on to was going to be) by the end of the first week.

He's the dominant of the two, gets a little jealous if he notices Watson is receiving attention (although after pushing him away he doesn't want the attention, he doesn't like to be stroked or scratched unless out the cage), and is developing bad habit of biting if I am changing something in the cage and not being let out which I'm hoping to solve.

He sometimes grips the door with his teeth and hands and shakes it violently if I sit by the cage too long doing something else, like giving Watson a little affection (I know when he wants it as he comes to his lava ledge for it, he comes up to have his head scratched and under his chin). I feel bad, I would let him out more but he needs to learn when play time is so he can't come out/play all the time. He gets a little affectionate and really playful when he is out though, he looks so sad in the cage as he'll press his head against the mesh looking out at things.

We love him though, a pain as he can be he's a wonderful character. Complete opposite of his timid brother Watson, who questions everything and is super cautious and affectionate. Watson gets bullied a little (a poor word really, it's not violent or harmful), like being pushed past, ran past and bumped in to on purpose, and sometimes stealing having his spot taken for no reason (Holmes will just barge on, make him move, then move immediately).

Really enjoying the experience and looking forward to watching them grow up and mature, such unique personalities and wonderful additions to the family.

Happy Birthday Elijah

Yesterday, we celebrated him turning 2 years old :heart:
I thought it'd be fun to make a little party hate out of paper and snap a couple pictures hehe.




:HB13:

Help! New hedgehog babies (didn't know pregnant)

Hi!

So, we got a hedgehog yesterday and checked on her today and she had 3 babies (from what we could tell).

When i checked on her this morning, her cage was a complete mess! After doing some research it seems that she was probably nesting.

Since we didn't know she was pregnant, we didn't prepare a nest for her. Should I introduce one to her as an option? Should I leave it be since she already had the babies?

I know the probability of them surviving is slim, but we want to do everything we can to ensure that they survive. We are leaving mom alone, keeping the room quiet, and only going in to feed and give water.

Anything else we should know?

Thanks!!