Chinchilla Squabbles

Hello,

I have a question regarding my two chinchillas who I introduced in Feb 2017. They were quarantined, given play time, introduced slowly etc. They were doing great up until this point.

Momo is an approximately 5 year old female mosaic and Cocoa came from Petco, unsure of age, she is a tan female. I adopted Momo from craigslist and she lived a solitary life previously. Cocoa is very interested in Momo and wants to be near her and cuddle a lot. Recently, Momo has been nipping Cocoa's tail. She does not latch on but a quick nip enough to make Cocoa bark. Cocoa does not retaliate or chase. Momo appears to act like a bratty older sibling; like "Get out of my way, No I get the treat first, I want that..." and so forth.

I know Chinchillas can just decide they no longer like each other but I'm wondering does this action on Momo's part warrant a separation?

FYI- A little background info: No blood has been shed, thank goodness. They still sleep together on an occasion in the same shelter. They are in a double ferret nation and have: 2 food dishes, 2 hay dishes, 2 water bottles, 2 fiddle stick shelters, 1 chinspin, chew sticks, lots of leaping wooden ledges ...basically living the chin life. :thumbsup:

Thanks for any input, I am prepared to separate if I have to.

Male chinchillas settling into a cage upgrade

I have had my 2 male chins for about 9 months now. I recently upgraded their cage to a Savic Royale Suite (German version of the Critter/Ferret nation). They race about it and seem to really enjoy the extra space, but of course the change is bringing about some behavioral changes that I just wanted some more experienced opinions on.

First off, they were fairly good about peeing in one corner in their last cage. Granted, it had a lot less floor space, so they had a bit less choice. But since they've moved into their new cage they are peeing *everywhere*. They get the occasional pee in one of their pyrex litter dishes, but I feel like that's mostly chance more so than them making an actual connection. They also seem oddly adverse to getting into the litter dish. We use the same dishes (without litter) when they come out at playtime in the corners to keep the cardboard pen up, and they're happy to hop in and pee in them then, but oddly *not* in their cage. Are they just marking their territory all over their cage to make it smell like them, and establish its theirs? I'm not expecting them to get it overnight by any means, but I'm just wondering if this is usual chin behavior in a new cage...? I'm not used to them peeing in the middle of things; they usually at least find a corner...

Secondly, we're having some issues with them insisting on climbing behind their wheel. They have a metal TicTac Wheel. It's huge - 16 inches in diameter and 5 inches running width. We've put a shelf above the wheel so they can't jump on it when the other one is running. But the problem is the sides: the mounting hardware on the back means the wheel sits about 2 inches or so away from the cage bars. They both seem to enjoy squeezing themselves behind the wheel and climbing the cage bars. I'm just worried one of them is going to get hurt (especially if another one is running) because it looks uncomfortable. Is this just a normal chin thing to do and should I not be too concerned? I know they love smooshing themselves into confined spaces... We even built them a tight crawl space to allow them to do this. Besides building vertical shelves to completely enclose the wheel – which would take up a lot of space, and just seems impractical – I am not sure how else I could solve this...

Fleece

I'm a guineapig momma and have become a huge fan of fleece liners for cages. So far, I've only sewn one cage liner for the bottom of the chin cage, but I've been placing pee pads on the shelves they seem to prefer to urinate on. I think it's worth it, and I can't be the only person using fleece with chins. DOES anybody else use fleece liners for chinchillas?

Oh, and they LOVE fleece cubes!!!

New chin owner - longish, sorry

A bio teacher put out an SOS after a sudden decision to retire: five chinchillas needed homes, a female and four males. I've got skinnypigs I'm in love with, so I already have an affinity for sensitive South American rodents. I decided to go for it.

I only wanted two, but in the end I decided to take all three of the boys. They had spent their entire lives together in a multi-level Critter Nation cage in the corner of a high school science lab. I'm still not sure of their ages, but they average a year apart, and they're all full-grown. I ordered and set up a Quality Cage Chinchilla Mansion (I wanted something that was fully open for them to leap about), and a couple of weeks ago I took the boys home.

My new little boys were nameless, so I chose the names Roland (Deschain), Rory (Williams), and Rob (Anybody), because of course I love Stephen King, Doctor Who, and Terry Pratchett. It took me a couple of days to be able to tell Rob and Roland apart (and now I feel silly, they're VERY different), and each chin has his own distinct personality!

As a first-time owner, I've got the usual questions, I'm sure! I was worried the move caused stress, but Rob is merely priming (had to research that). He has a nick in one ear at the top, and a facial fur pattern that gives him a perpetually angry expression, so the scruffy fur sort of fits his look.

Roland is either majestic like a lion, or cuddly like a teddy bear, or both. He and Rob are both "standard" color chins, though Roland has a striped tail, is larger, and has a lionesque fur pattern on his face. Roland also seems to be the lowest in rank, which seems strange to me because he LOOKS like he should be an alpha male.

Rory has a coal-black face that looks innocent with no expression. The parents were a standard female and an ebony male, and Rory looks the most like dad. He almost always hangs out at the very top of the cage on a tiny shelf, and was the last of the chins to figure out how the wheel works.

I'm probably going to post the standard newbie questions for awhile, but I'm glad there's an active forum for me to use as a resource! Thank you all for being here.

Sticks!!!!

Where is it safe to buy bulk apple sticks???

Few questions about my 11 weeks old chin

Hi,

I finally got my little cutie from the breeder, he's turned 11 weeks today. I named him NoteBook (I know, it's strange eh lol). Given this is my first time owning a chin, I thought I'd ask if the behavior I observe is quite normal.

Although he's 11 weeks old, I do let him out to play since his cage is still not fully decorated and he (I think) gets bored sometimes. I've had him for 5 days now and I think we're bonding well. When I let him out he runs and jumps around, he'll do that for 15 minutes or so and then retrieves back to his bed and fall asleep or sometimes will fall asleep on the lava ledge or wood shelf in his cage. Do you think his just tired from all the bouncing around? But could he over exhaust himself to the point it gets him sick or something? He naps for few minutes and then begin the bouncy journey all over again, lol. The reason why I let him out is because the breeder said I can for 10 minutes, but he rattle his cage or try to squeeze through the bars as asking to be let out. Do you guys think I should ignore this behavior? I was told on this forum not to let him out until his 6 months old, but I worry about him getting bored since his toys will arrive in mid June. I'd appreciate your thought on this.

He's more than adorable, he's got me hooked already haha. I think we're bonding well, but he's still nervous and a little anxious. The signs I notice is that he comes to me when I hand him a hay/pellet as a treat. He either takes it and eat it close to me or retrieves with it back to his shelf. When I call out his name or talk to him he comes out (this mostly happens when his active at night). He still doesn't let me scratch his or reach to grab him, yet. I always back off if he wince. He likes to use me as a tower or elevator at night. He's mostly engaging with me at night, during the day however I have to tip toe around him.

I also noticed when he's out playing, he'll come and nibble my feet or hands, climb on top of me. He bit my toe it pierced the skin and blood came out lol when he was playing, luckily he went back to playing and didn't bit that hard again.

If you guys think I shouldn't let him out, what are other ways to keep him interested until his toys arrive?

I apologize for writing too long.

Chinchilla with diarrhea?

Hi, I went to the vet today with my chinchilla Dusty, because he's been having diarrhea for the past...LONG while, maybe 4-6 days. (Today was the soonest they could see him).

He went in, they checked him, said he weighed 468 grams, and said that you can feel his bones a bit. They looked at his bum, noticed he's still got a bit of diarrhea on his feet (he steps in it, and he will not let me wipe his feet, he's very sensitive).

They swabbed his bum and got some poop, looked at it, and said "Well he may have some bad bacteria, what kind of chinchilla food are you feeding him?" And I said "just some alfalfa pellets and timothy hay, and water" They told me to buy oxbow instead of my generic brand stuff, told me to get the pellets out of the cage and only feed him hay until the diarrhea goes away, and to watch for any sort of lethargy or weight loss.

She didn't say if something was wrong, but said "he might have a little bit of bad bacteria in his GI tract". They gave me a little container of "Oxbow Natural Science Digestive Support Small Animal Supplement"

He's still active, loves taking his dust baths, and is eating and drinking, but he does seem a little more tired than usual. (Could be that I woke him up at 7AM to bring him to the vet that's over an hour away, and got him back home at 11AM though).

I'm not sure what else to do for him, I gave him some burnt toast, and I make sure to clean his cage every few days (So he isn't sitting in diarrhea), other than feeding him timothy hay and watching him, Idk what there is left to do?

I also mentioned that my chinchilla has a very obvious hunchback, and she disagreed with me and argued that it was probably just that he was "thin and that I could see his back bone." ..It's definitely a hunch though so I'm not sure if she might just not have much experience with chinchillas?

I've had him for 3 years and loved him every second of the way, I'd be so depressed if he passed away. He's currently in a smaller cage (like the guinea pig sized ones) to keep everything more sanitary and easier to monitor. I have no clue what to do :( Help?

Shelves using recycled kd pine

While cleaning out our shed today, my dad found some 2×4s of kiln dried pine. I dont know how long they've been there, but I'm sure it's been a while. Are they ok to use? Should I clean them somehow? Also, any tips on how to actually make the shelves?

Tree fell on coop - chin got out - dog killed it ...now what?

So, I came across this craigslist post: http://ift.tt/2r57UeQ

I'm not yet a chin owner but I've done my reading and everything about this screems "wrong wrong wrong".

I don't have the means of taking her in (at least not yet), but there is one lonely neutered male sitting at the humane society waiting to be adopted (and as far as I know he was with a female, before, but the female already got adopted a while ago). I wonder if I should "rescue" the female from the post and take her to the shelter ...who knows who answers on those kind of craigslist posts and whether even the right people will see it, but if she's still being kept outside I feel one should act sooner rather than later (this is Hawaii, it's HOT during the day - and friggin humid, that area is prone to be rainy)

Any thoughts?

Boredom Busters

Hi everyone!

I'm not technically a new chin owner since I've had my girls (Oakley **standard grey** and Nimbus **black velvet**) for 1 yr and 6 mo. However I am new to this website and would love some input on good toys, boredom busters, treats I can put in their cages to keep them entertained! Thanks in advance!

:wave3:

maybe moving to san antonio tx

I have 7 chins does anyone know any good chin vets down there?

How often should you clean and scrub the cage?

Hi all, I'm wondering how often you should clean the cages. Right now, I sweep off their poos 1-2 times a day, depending on how busy I was. I scrub their ledges and poo catcher pan thing with dish or laundry detergent weekly. And I haven't scrubbed their cage frame since March.

Should I correct their cleaning schedule? Their cage does get a little smelly after day 4 of ledge-scrubbing. And the ledges do get some pee residue.

Also, does anyone know a good strong cleaner? Dish and Landry detergent cleans pretty good but there's some white stuff left. I spent 2 hours trying to get it off last week but it doesn't want to come off. I do rinse everything clean after scrubbing too.

Thanks!

Blood, ouchies, and skinned mouth?

Today approx 20 minutes into playtime, my sister(who was watching my the chins) notified me that one of the chins had a bloody mouth and paw after she itches her moth. I checked her out right after, and found the crack of her two cheeks or lips and some of the skin around it seemed to be skinned and bleeding. From running around, maybe?? Her paw fur was covered in blood. The blood stopped bleeding and clotted itself a bit after. My chinchilla herself acted like normal. I read some articles online about it, and they said that i shouldn't clean the wound, give dust baths. I did clean the place to prevent infections, and to give her plenty of rest. I cleaned the cage the best I could at 11pm, gave them new hay, water, pellets, chew toys, hiding place, and bedding. Is there anything else I should do? Anyone know how long it might take to heal? I've included some pictures I took.

Thanks everyone!

PS... If possible, please let me know how to get rid of old blood on paw fur please 😊

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Female or male.

I know its not the best pic but can you tell me if its male or female...
It looks female to me.

http://ift.tt/2qU5ZJN

Momma and two babies

Last August I took in a chinchilla from a family who could no longer care for it. The breeder had told them that it was a boy so I did not even bother to check because I was inexperienced with it and thought that a breeder would have a better idea than I would. So I decided to get my new baby and friend. Well I bought a boy (sexed him myself and was correct). So about 9 weeks ago, I was surprised with three kits. I would keep all of them but I am going to college and can only take two. So I decided to take the daddy and his only son because I did not want to separate the girls from their momma.

I am trying to find someone who is willing to take in all three of my girls and care for them. I am willing to take them back if anything ever comes up. I am located in New York between Syracuse and Watertown.

after two years, i finally got my chinnies back! c:

hi everyone (:

it's been a long time since i took care of chinchillas and even longer since i last posted on here (though i had been lurking on and off).

anyway, as stated in the title, i finally got my furries back after two years and although i know all the essentials about proper diet, bathing, temperature, and exercise, i feel as if i'm starting from scratch again. mostly, i'm at a loss for where i can order things like chew toys and hay at a decently low price and i really wouldn't mind getting a "refresher course" on chinnie care. any and all help is greatly appreciated. thank you! (:

edit: i did check out the master sales list and some things are pretty outdated - i would really appreciate any new links for where i can buy pumice rocks, ledges, wood chews, hay (alfalfa), and sticks c:

edit two: if it helps, i live in Kennesaw, GA. if anyone knows of places nearby that sells things in bulk - i have six little kekkers, please let me know c: thanks again! (:

New Hedgie Grandma Here

Hello there. I am new here and in the world of hedgehogs altogether. :thumbsup:

So I have a question, I currently house our hedge in this cage: You & Me Living The Dream Small Animal Habitat, (40" L X 17.5" W X 21" H) and I am currently looking for a heating mat that we can put under the cage. We want it under the cage to avoid hedge from getting in contact with the heating elements. We would like to avoid using heat lamps in fear of fire if at all possible. Some of the reviews for the lamps in amazon are just down right scary...

Well, thanks in advance. I know this might be a shot in the dark since I noticed this forum hasn't been active for a while now so cheers to all and thank you for some wonderful info that are available on this forum. It helped a lot especially the one about what to do with a choking hedgehog. <3 kind regards and more power.:bump1:

Chin's stool is loose

Hello Everyone,
I am a new chinchilla owner, after intensive research. We just got our male chinchilla (Chilli) about a week ago. We got our chinchilla from a petstore, I tried to adopt but there were none available in our area. I kept the food pellets the same as they were using in the store, according to the sales rep. We were feeding him treats, such as dandelion drops (fed him two and after reading about them gave them to a hamster owner), cheerios, a bag with mixed nuts and fruits, and oats to have him warm up to us. He seems to be a young chinchilla, based on what I can tell and the store rep. Now a week later he has loose stool, they are sticky and sticking to his fur on the bottom. We did get him a larger cage, so he was moved (not sure if this could be a factor) I am not sure what to do and what is the best options for him. We have discontinued the treats (as of today, we just noticed this) but are there other options and suggestions to try to ensure he stays healthy. Any responses and suggestion will be greatly appreciated for the new addition to our family.
Thank you.

Chinchilla suddenly died :(

Hi everyone,

I'm so sad to be posting this, but I've just gone in to clean my chinchilla cage out and found one of my babies, Hiccup, dead. I just can't figure out what happened to her. We've had her for 7 years, though we don't know for certain how old she is. She wasn't bleeding so I don't think she's suffered any trauma, and she seemed to be eating and drinking and running around perfectly fine this morning. She was just lying on the floor when I went in, not moving at all. It's only been a couple of hours but she's just gone so unexpectedly. Is it common for them to just die like this without any warning?

To make matters worse, we're going to have to put down our youngest, Baby, very soon. She's had dental problems for years, and has recently started getting chest infections and eye infections, and was diagnosed with an abscess behind her eye last week. The vet says that her teeth are in too bad of a state to do anything more with, and with how much weight she has lost recently due to infections and difficulty eating she probably would not survive the anaesthetic to remove the abscess and do any more dental work.

So that means that after seven very happy years, we're going to lose two of our three chins in less than a week. Even sadder, Baby was Hiccup's baby (long story short, Hiccup was pregnant when we got her and Baby unexpectedly arrived a few days later). Now I'm really concerned about our final chin. Will she be okay alone after losing two of her cage mates? They've all three been best friends for seven years, and I'm just concerned that she won't cope.

Any advice on how to support our final chin would be much appreciated.

New cage question

Hello! This may be a silly question but I just purchased a critter nation cage for my chinchilla Milo. Its still in shipping so I dont have it here with me quite yet, but I was curious if I should introduce it to him slowly so he can get used to it or if I could move him over to it immidiately. He's currently in an All Living Things chinchilla/ferret cage. I also wondered if anyone had the measurements for the ramps, pans, and ledges so I could go ahead and sew up some fleece lining so it's ready for when it gets here. :)

Hair issue

I need your help and knowledge.
Astrid has a huge patch of hair missing that looks like someone shaved it off.
I know its almost summer time here in Greece and that she has started chancing her coat but i am not sure that this patch of missing hair is just Astrid getting her summer coat.
Any ideas?
Should i take her to the vet?
I have noticed that she doesn't like me touching that spot much....it tickles her too much.Pic is in the link below.

http://ift.tt/2qSYdCZ

Advise for helping wean off critical care....

Our little Sebaschin, who's 10, took a turn last week and stopped eating and drinking and was pretty lethargic. We took him to the vet on Wednesday. He's pretty sure it is a GI issue. He's not ruling out dental issues, but from what he could see and feel during the exam, nothing jumped out. (However, I can tell you he stopped chewing his lava stuff a few months ago). He put him on CC feedings.... 5 days of gas drops, 5 days of antibiotic (last day was yesterday am dose), 7 days of motility something and 7 days of pain meds. Sebaschin seems to be feeling much better. He really enjys his dust baths when he's out.. he's pooping more, but not as much as he use too and we let him out, after his feedings for like 15 minutes, 3x a day. He's gotten a lot stronger and is running around and jumping more when he's out. When he's in his cage not so much, he stays in his tube and that's it. He shows no interest in food or water or hay, and not even treats. Any thoughts and ideas would be appreciated.

Chinchilla with tumor - how do you know it's time?

Our five-year-old female chinchilla has a tumor between her lungs and heart. The vet doesn't know if it's cancerous or not, but it is growing. She said surgery isn't a feasible option and that it's just a matter of time until the tumor causes her to not be able to eat and/or breathe.

We've been seeing the vet regularly for the last five months. Our chin has lost more than half of her body weight, but she is still eating and pooping, running on her wheel and acting like herself. She doesn't seem like she's in pain.

She has had wet fur beneath her chin for a long time (that was the first symptom that caused us to seek vet care). But recently it's gotten worse and there is what looks like vomit or diarrhea on the shelves in her cage.

I don't want her to suffer, but I don't want to euthanize her too soon, either. Any advice?

Viscachas at Machu Picchu

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Machu Picchu. I knew that viscachas (chinchillas' Peruvian cousins) were rumored to live there, and I was desperately hoping to see them. After searching all day for them with no luck, I finally asked a park ranger about them. He told me they lived in the rocks in the lower part of the site, and came out later in the day when most of the crowds had left.

Around 4:00pm, a rainbow appeared and a viscacha bounded onto a rock wall in front of me. I can't make this stuff up! It was magical.

Chins in NJ?

Looking for a chinchilla in the NJ area, specifically central NJ (but willing to travel a bit). Not very picky, but preferably a chin that is not just a standard grey. I have contacted a few breeders, but still struggling to find a new little friend!

Is my chinchilla okay?

I recently got my first chinchilla. He is a few months old and has pretty much gotten used to his new home. Over the last few days, he has had a sudden change in behavior. He is far more skittish and does not allow physical contact. He also has started jumping on to my arm and biting repeatedly. This was all very sudden, like he was fine one day and different the next. Should I take him to the vet? Is this behavior normal?

2 Chins - Placement of food, water, and hay

I was just wondering if people had opinions on the best set up location-wise of food and water for 2 bonded chins?

I recently got them a new cage, so they will be able to spread out a lot more once everything is set up. Right now they have 2 food dishes, 2 hay dispensers, and 2 water bottles – and all of these items are located at the bottom level of their cage. They're used to this set up. But I was just wondering if in their new cage it makes sense to either a) keep this set up, or b) put 1 of each food dish, water bottle, and hay dispenser on each level? I just want to make sure that the transition is as easy as possible for them. I'll be using the same food dishes, water bottles, and hay dispensers, so those things will be familiar. And I also want to ensure that I am helping them continue to get along well [as far as I am able to, anyway!].

Any opinions would be much appreciated!

Playtime advice for a first time chin owner

Hi all,

My name is Heath, I joined this website to get information on how to properly care for a chinchilla. I have never owned or took care of one before, I did research about them though. I was hoping to get some information from experienced previous kit owners on how to tame and bond well when you meet your chin.

I'm getting one from a breeder, they are rare in New Zealand and the breeder doesn't sell them to anyone. I have ordered a suitable cage, wood chewing toys (natural wood), apple and kiwi fruit sticks, 12" exercise wheel, dust bath, tunnel, bed house, hideout hut, bedding, corner litter, water bottle, hay and pellets. Basically all the necessities they need. I also placed the floor with a fleece, many has recommended it. Given the cage spacing is 0.5", should I also be placing a cover on the ledges and ladder? The spacing for the ladder is close to an inch (0.7-0.8").

I have read that chinchillas are mostly active at night, which is a good thing since I sleep late and I'm free at night. I wasn't able to find an answer on when to start letting your chin out, is it from day 1 or it's better to let her/him out after we've bonded? Many say it's best to let them out for 1-2 hours and others for 45 minutes. Given that I'm free at night, should I be aiming for the 1-2 hour+ or is that too extreme? I know the little cuties are smart and follow a routine, which is why I thought I'd ask about their playtime schedule.

Another thing I had in mind is how to introduce an exercise wheel to your kit. The breeder will notify me when to collect once the kit is weaned (approx. 8-10 weeks old). Should I wait until s/he is a little older to let him/her run on it?

The place I intend for my chin to play in will of course be chin proofed. It's very safe, no holes or anything like that. Quite spacey as well. I thought I'd decorate the place with few chew toys, tunnel, exercise wheel and have his/her cage in the room for food and water purposes. Is there anything I should keep in mind or have missed?

I'd appreciate any information, advice or an informative link.

Thanks :)

First time chinchilla owner...feeding guide

Hi,

I'm getting a chinchilla (hopefully real soon). I'm waiting for the breeder to text me for pick up once he/she is weaned, so when s/he is 8-10 weeks old (maybe wee older). I was hoping if you lovely expert folks could help a newbie out with feeding questions. I've done some research (still researching), these little cuties are have a very delicate digestive system, so I don't plan on feeding mine foods with high sugar intake. However, I read that dried rosehips are considered a daily safe treat (max. 3 per day), they're rich in vitamin C & fiber and dried chamomile flowers are safe too, they make them relaxed and de-stressed. Does the rosehip has to be whole? or cut (powder-like) should be fine too?

I also have Alfalfa and Western Timothy hay on the way. I'm a suppose to feed the little one Alfalfa hay daily then switch to Timothy at a specific age? Also, can I mix a little bit of both hay, maybe more of Alfalfa since it's beneficial to kit.

I appreciate you answering my questions. Just want to provide a suitable care for my new pet, given I haven't owned one before :-)

Thanks,
Heath

FAO anyone using Natures Touch treats

Hi guys. I thought it would be a good idea to mention I found red elastic thread in a sealed packet of Natures Touch hamster/ gerbil snacks (the rose feast (I remove the seeds first before feeding & just give my chins the rose petals and flowers which are chinsafe). If you use the brand I'd suggest checking the pack before feeding.

I have emailed the manufacturers so they can recheck their batches, but thought it might be advisable to mention it. It could be a bad thing from a critter to swallow! Feel free to move as appropriate or pass on. It's always worth checking treats carefully- I found a large stone in a sealed named brand hay pack once!

LL xxx

Taking a difficult chinchilla to the vet

Hi everyone.

One of my chinchillas can't open one of her eyes, there doesn't seem to be much discharge or anything so I think she might have scratched it or something so she's going to the vets tomorrow.

However my chinchilla hates being handled and has bitten me a couple of times before for trying (she's a feisty one but I love her xD). So i'm worried about how i'm going to get her to be examined at the vet without biting me or him. Anyone have any tips for taking chinchillas who hate being handled to the vet? And i'm probably going to have to hold her to give her any treatments he prescribes, any tips for that too?

Thank you!

Chin recently passed from Dental Surgery

I have three Chins, previously four... they used to be housed males together, females together..

now my male is alone... and I am unwilling to house my male and females together due to unwanted pregnancies (not knowing their backgrounds as they were all rescues) I am also unwilling to castrate my male Chinchilla due to the possible risks...

I'm looking for advise on how to keep the boy who is now housed alone happy, healthy and entertained... He's been in high spirits surprisingly over the last few days, I just want to be precautionary really... incase he declines..

His home is full of boredom breakers and he gets 30-1hr play time outside his cage a day

Any advise? or has anyone had a similar situation?

Thanks,

J

Chinchilla ate plastic

The bag I keep my chinchillas treats in is on the top of his cage something moved it just enough to get it in his reach he ate off the corner of the ziploc bag to get to his treats...will this small amount of plastic bag harm him...should I take him to the vet or wait it out

Chin not doing so well after Dental

My rescue male Chinchilla, Milk who is roughly 3 years old recently underwent some Dental Work.

When my partner and I brought him home (last Sunday) he was eating, drinking and relatively active, since then he has slowly declined... We have been giving him his pain relief twice a day and a laxative provided by the Vets - which should be stopped within two days... his check up appointment is next Saturday.

In the last few days he has completely stopped eating, drinking, and very rarely moving... we have started syringe feeding him, due to research of forums (Pellets mixed with warm water) and are awaiting 'Oxbow Critical Care for Herbivores' to arrive so we can move him onto that.. (none of this was suggested to us by our vet)

Something noticeable about him is weight loss, luckily he was on the heavier side of a Chin, but now he's only slightly larger than my other 3.

I intend to call the vet tomorrow morning, to organise a sooner appointment, ultimately I just want to ask for advise on how to keep him as comfortable as possible and get him recovering. Or if anyone's been in the same situation - what are the best options?

Thanks,

Jules

Sprained foot? Please help this new owner!

Hi all,

It's my first time posting here so please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong.

Anyways, I have 3 chins, Nike(1.5 years old, male), Mama(4 years old, female), and Oliver(1.5 years old, female). A lady gave them to me off craigslist about 2 months ago. They were fed the supplement pellets(Charlie Chinchilla brand thing from PetCo) and treats(the yogi drops) before, but when I got them, I switched them to rabbit pellets, timothy hay, and fruit like apples/pears once a week. (Rabbit pellets since it's cheaper and they're the same thing as chin pellets, just cut differently.)

We put the 3 chinnies playtime in a separated area in our basement. Usually they stay in the area but yesterday Nike got out and we had to chase him to get him back in.

After playtime, I noticed lots of loud odd squeaking from the cage. It was Nike, hiding in his house. I removed the house to check on him but he didn't budge much. I (very gently) pushed him around to see what was the matter, and he gingerly and lethargically crawled to another corner of the cage. His left leg seemed to be limping, but he could put his weight on both legs and even stood up. He didn't eat any hay or pellets, but he gladly ate 2 cubes of pear.

Today at about 24 hours after yesterday's playtime, I saw him sitting on the rim of his pellet bowl, eating pellets and picking out the best ones, like usual. He looked much better and his ears were perky like Mama and Olivers. I put him out in the playground for a bit and he was definitely more active. Walking, climbing, and occasionally jumping. His limp looked much less visible but you could see that he was being careful.

The leg itself looks fine and nothing looks swollen or out of place. So I'm wondering if it's a sprained foot or leg, and if it is, would it heal itself? Is there anything I do to help him feel better? Or could it just be overuse/exhaustion on his leg.

Please let me know. Thanks!

Wood Shelving Query

I've done a lot of searching about wood shelving in chinchilla cages as it is very difficult in the UK to get the right type of pine etc. I know that spruce is very much debated but I've heard that when kiln dried it is perfectly fine to use as shelving. My question is whether this type is acceptable http://ift.tt/2pnQs3h. The title says whitewood but the description lists it as spruce. It is untreated and kiln dried!

Another question I have is about the hole between the two sections of my Liberta Explorer second edition. The ridge surrounding it is quite deep and I was wondering if this could be a problem for the chinchillas? Also (I'll attempt to attach pictures) but where the ladder would attach are two holes and I'm worried the chinchillas could catch their legs when they jump down the hole. Any thoughts about how I could cover this up?

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I'm so excited to get them into their new cage but think it's gonna take me ages to get them there! As a side note if anyone in the UK knows of a good place to get cheap fleece please let me know!

Hello all!

Hi,

Joined the forum with some issues with new chins. My girl friend has two chins a standard grey(Mika) and A tan (Rosie) she moved them in with me and I've have bonded with them. I like them so much I researched them and found various colors one in which I liked pink white and mosaic white. I happened to come upon two unloved chins for sale off face book a pink white(renamed, Floki) and a standard grey(Ginger). They quickly bonded with me after a few weeks had the vet checked them out and are healthy. We moved them in same room as Mika and Rosie, I let Floki and Ginger run around the room to get to know the new location. This make Rosie jealous, my girl friend decided to let her out and hold her(that didn't last long), she met Floki which they seemed to be ok with, Ginger on the other hand not so much got chased and several hairs pulled. Since then we do not let them play together. We have moved the cages near one another and Rosie and Ginger try attacking through the cages and pee. So I attempted to bond all four of them with a long drive through back roads. All seemed ok once they got home. About a half hour later they are at it again but Mika joined in the taunting of Ginger. Floki has no part of this.

This has been a problem since introducing the new chins, floki is afraid of the other two Ginger try's to fight. Is there any other ways of making play time safe for all four at once? Or am I stuck with four chins that will hate one another for their life's?

Thanks, Matthew

Just got a chinchilla

So I got this little guy from a buddy to watch for a while.

He's adorable and he's not afraid to show it. Whenever I seem to let him out, he can't handle himself with biting **** around my room, floorboard, chair, cardboard.

I think he's swallowing this **** too, which isn't good obviously.... Are chinchillas smart enough to learn from their mistakes if he gets sick from eating something stupid? Or do they rinse and repeat till the death!


Also, when he's in his cage, he's all about me scratching his neck and what not, but once I try to pet him out of the cage, he doesn't want anything to do with me!

I think he has a bad history of getting picked up wrong from my buddy, he used to throw a t-shirt over the chinchilla and pick it up that way...

Should I chase him until he runs into his cage like he usually does when playtime is over, usually ends early because he keeps biting ****...

I don't wanna grab him then he tries to bite me... I think he's traumatized by this experience but its what I gotta doooo..

I can't find much TBH on YouTube about these problems, so any advice is appreciated!