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:
--------
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:
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire