Pregnant Chinchilla Questions!

I just got my second chinchilla around a week ago! When I was getting her the person said there might be a possibility of her being pregnant. Which I am pretty excited about! I’m almost 100% certain that she is pregnant because when she lays down you can see her tummy moving, like little kicks. I was just wondering how far along they usually are when you can see the kits moving? just so I can kinda figure out when she will give birth, so I can move her into a kit proof cage! Also Is there anything extra I should get for them?

Picking up a chin

Hello,
I have a 5 month old hetro beige chinchilla, and he is very social he loves to jump on my arms when I interact with him while he is in his cage but I haven't been able to pick him up on my own, and when he jumps on my arms I can't hold him because he jumps off when I try it and I cant let him sit on just my hands without holding him because he can jump of at a bad time and get hurt or escape. I really want to be able to pick him up for emergencies and to let him out for playtime, but I tried scooping him up but he jumps away then and I've tried to get him to get used to the feeling of a hand on his belly while petting him and he is okay when I pet his belly but when I try to pick him up like that so I can also support his bottom legs he makes a noice and jumps away. I am really clueless as what I can try because I do want to be able to pick him up if needed. Thank you in advance!

Cages for sale

I have 4 cages for sale...

Large cage, originally 3 floors, but we have adapted it to make the stand an extra floor and put in a half floor so in total it is four and a half floors.

The bar flooring is covered tiles which you are free to have or throw away.

It is on wheels so easy to move.

82 x 54 x 158cm are the measurements when on the stand.

You can get rid of the stand extension as it’s held on by a few nails and cable ties.

Collection from Kidderminster, Worcestershire UK

£85 ONO

And

I have 3 Aventura cages I need to sell in the next few weeks. They are all less than 8 months old.

The frames etc are all in good conditions and the cages will be cleaned thoroughly.

The pans do have stains as to be expected.

£100 ONO per one. So please feel free to message me an offer.

They are 92x64x160cm

I will take them down for you ready for collection from Kidderminster.


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Behavioral change?

Hi!
I'm new to being a chinchilla pet parent. Used to be a pet parent of dumbo rats for a long time.
I've only had my chinchilla for a handful of weeks, but pretty much as soon as she got home she was friendly with me and not afraid of anyone, not afraid to sit out in the open and eat her food & watch me. She's six months old.

The past few days she's not been allowed to have playtime per the advice of her breeder due to diahrrea from an attempt to slowly transition her food. She wasn't very happy with me about that.

For about a day now I've noticed her behavior has changed and I'm not sure why. Suddenly she's behaving skittishly and when someone walks in the room, when the TV makes a noise or the dog walks in, she sits really still and then darts into her hidey hole. She always comes back to me pretty quickly after that but I don't know why she started out so comfortable and turned so flighty.

She seems to have had a TON of energy lately too and now that she's allowed playtime again she'll come out and bolt around so fast she's pooped out in 10 minutes. She runs her wheel all night and ping pong's off all her ledges at a million miles an hour.

I don't know her full personality yet since I've only been with her a little while but she does seem unusually frisky, skittish, sassy, and has been nibbling quite a bit harder too. I was wondering if she might be in heat? Has anyone experienced changes like this before?

Does this Baytril dose seems correct? New vet.

My 14 yr old chin has a bad infection in her nether regions. I've moved and went to a new vet who seemed knowledgeable when i spoke with him, but when i was paying, the secretary said she had never seen a chinchilla before mine so I now have some mild doubts....

He gave me betadine to swab the area 3 time daily, plus 5 50mg baytril tablets to crush up in 125ml (half cup) water and give 1ml once per day for 14 days.

Chinchilla is only 400g.

Mathing a bit: 5*50mg = 250mg in 125ml water, aka 2mg in 1ml water.

Is that how you'd math that? And does that seem right?

I read on baytril's site for small exotics dosage is 5-10mg/kg, but only for 5 days...
At 5/kg, for a 400g chin that's 2mg, which matches above...IFFFF I'm mathing correctly.. i don't trust my math abilities....

And what's with the 14 days vs 5 on their site?? Is 14 days too long? I know the dangers of stopping antibiotics too early, but I also know baytril is a big gun and overdosing is lethal.

Any reassurance would be greatly appreciated!

Alone for 2 days

Hello,
I am having a stressful situation at the moment. Next year I am going to college and I would go home in the weekends (a 45 minute train ride) from friday or saturday morning until sunday afternoon. But I since my chin would be living with me, I am struggeling to figure out what to do, should I take him home with me in the weekends where he would also have a big cage or should I provide everything he needs for those days and leave him at my place there. Can anyone help me out?

Open plan kitchen/lounge - not suitable for my chin?

Hello fellow Chin lovers.

I am new to this site but have always looked here for advice, for the three years that we’ve had Pebbles ❤️ So thank you for all the advice so far!

We are moving to a new apartment soon which has an open plan kitchen/lounge area. Its a big room so she would be a fair few metres away (maybe 6?) from the kitchen, but I’m assuming that this still isn’t ok (due to cooking fumes, heat and humidity from boiling water)??

She is in our lounge at the moment as she loves being with us and the TV, but our kitchen is currently separate from the lounge. I want to make sure that she has that time with us as she does now, as she is our only Chin.

If we were to keep her in a separate room during the day, and bring her cage in to the lounge at night when the cooking fumes etc have ventilated out, would this be ok do you think?

Thank you in advance x

Please help chinchilla was attacked

Okay I am seriously trying to figure out this website, I just made an account today. My chinchillas were accidentally put together, I have had them for years and knew they didn’t like each other but 2 nights ago they got to each other and joy beat up pippi. She is missing almost all of her fur and has a bunch of bite marks over her skin. I didn’t think it was that bad and now she isn’t on painkillers and antibiotics but she isn’t normally really hyper and she is not moving a lot, she is breathing pretty heavy, has a wet belly, shivers every time she breaths, avoids opening her eyes, and looks fairly uncomfortable, and won’t go to the water bottle or food dish herself, however if I bring them to her she will take a little bitty drink and eat a small piece of oat or apple, not near enough though. I am really scared, what should I do?

Chinchilla won’t drink water?

My 3 year old chinchilla stopped drinking water, what should I do?

Help my chinchilla was attacked

I have had over 30 chinchillas in my life, I breed them, and I have always followed the rule if they didn’t immediately get along the I would just always keep them away from each other. But 2 nights ago 2 of my females that don’t get along got to each other and they attacked, I didn’t find them until morning. Anyways the one who got hurt, and obviously lost the fight, is on vet prescribed painkillers, antibiotics, and cream. All of her fur on her bac’ is gone and she has a lot of little bites over her but I didn’t think it was that bad. But she does not like to move and she isn’t usually very energetic, she has a wet stomach, she is breathing pretty heavy, and won’t eat or drink on her own, however she will eat a little bit of oats or apples if I hold them for her to eat, she won’t hold them for herself. I am very scared, she is not one of my breeding chinchilla she isn’t one of the 3 that I keep for myself and I love her very much. Please help if there are any ideas or anything I can do to make her more comfortable.

Help my chinchilla was attacked by other chinchilla

I have a critter nation 2 story cage. The little hole in the corner that connects them I have always blocked off with a firm fitting litter pan. I have had the same 2 groups of 2 chinchillas (4 in total) for the last couple years. I have always know they don’t like each other so I keep them separated and nothing ever happened but 2 nights ago one of them Chewed through the litter pan and got to the other ones. The one she attacked has almost no fur left on her back and has a bunch of minor cuts and bite marks. I got prescribed cream, painkillers, and antibiotics from my vet and I didn’t think it was that bad (I have had worst cuts on my other chin by far and he was fine 2 months later) but Pippi (who was the one that got attacked) is being very slow, low energy, and is keeping her eyes shut most of the time. He face is scrunched in and she does not move a lot and he entire chin to underbelly is wet. Worst of all she is breathing pretty heavy. She is not eating or drinking by herself but if I hand her and apple or some oats she eats it. What should I do, she has always been my sweetest and most energized chinchilla and I would hate for her to die because I was not careful of the plastic litter pan. Please help!

Red eye itchy chin

Hello, i have a 8 months old Chin. Got him about 5 6 months ago. A few weeks ago his eye became red then a week after that he started losing hair around his eye. He started scratching more than normal. I took him to the vet she gave me eye drops (ofloxacin ophthalmic .3%) and said otherwise he looks healthy teeth good coat is good. I did the drops for a week but no change his hair did start growing back slowly but his itchyness had gotten worse and eye is still slightly red. So i took him to a different vet who has worked w Chinns...He said continue drops and also gave me tetracaine eye drops to help open his eye. He was slightly closing it vet did say he had a small scratch on his cornea. But he never resolved his itchyness and eye is still not getting better could it be ringworm or does he just have dry skin and should i do a humidifier in his room??...he gets a dust bath once a week...sorry for the long thread Thank you!!

Which do I choose?

Hi all!

I’m from the degu world forum, and I’m looking for some advice re my male rescue chin!

He’s 4 years old approximately and neutered.

We are building new enclosures for my degus and my chinchilla and these will take the whole second bedroom so I’m very excited!

I’ve decided now is a good time to get Alfie my chinchilla a friend.


My options are:

1 year old female who’s missing a front leg. (Meet half way with the lady, 1 hr on the train)

13 week old Male who has a head tilt (he’s the closest to me and I don’t drive).

18 week old female who’s in London or a 13-18 week old Male she has (2hr 30 on train each way).

Who would you pick? I can’t decide!!!

Thank you :)




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Boy or Girl?

I was told a boy by the breeder but I'm pretty sure its a girl please help!

Attached Images

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Not Sure of Gender!? KINDA URGENT!

I got my chinchilla about a year ago and the woman I got him from said it was a boy so I just assumed he was, But now I'm looking into getting him a friend and just wanted to know if its a boy or girl. I tried looking myself but he don't really like to be picked up. I do have a picture from when I first got him laying down I'm not sure if you can tell from it.

Attached Images

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Feed dish

I'm getting together all the pieces for my little guys cage. Im debating between a prevue marble 14 ounce crock or the prevue 10 ounce marble hooded crock. Do chins have a habit of pooping in their food dish? Would the hooded feeder be a better option so he couldn't sit in his food dish? Thanks in advance.

Newb Qs- shelves, bedding, smell control

I have a deposit down on a kit that will be ready to come home in roughly a month. I just placed an order for the Ferret Nation double cage. I'm planning on getting the mesh covering for the cage since it's a young kit, getting the deep bass pans, and blocking off the top level until he gets older.

I'm a bit concerned with odors. I was told and read that chins don't have any odors. But today I read some threads discussing bad odors. What is the best bedding to use that can be changed weekly or last at least 4 days? I don't want to do fleece since I can't sew and I don't want to be doing laundry every couple of days. I want as low maintenance and odor controlling as possible.

I would like to make some custom shelving since I'm handy. I researched the types of wood to use, but what thickness is recommended? Also, are there issues with chins urinating on wood? Will the wood begin to smell quickly? Or do chins typically use the lower levels/ bedding to relieve themselves?

I thought about the bass pans for the shelves as well, but I think that looks a little ugly. Plus I think I can make a more fun house for my little buddy if I custom make the shelves.


Thanks from a soon to be new owner!

Is my breeder reputable?

I have a deposit down on a kit that the breeder says will be ready for pickup in mid March. The breeder says it will be ready to go home around 8 weeks.

I visited the home to look around at the chinchillas first. Is it common for newborns to be housed with their mothers in very small cages? The cages were roughly 16" x 16". The other adults were caged in larger ferret nation cages and seemed to be active, friendly, and looking healthy.

Also, when handled by the breeder the kit was shaking. Is that any indication that it's not being handled daily or a possible temperament issue? The little guy was just under 4 weeks old. He was ok with being held but I noticed he was shaking since I saw his tail shaking a mile a minute when the breeder was holding him.

The breeder seemed knowledgeable, however she recommended PVC joints for hiding tunnels and had one in almost all of their cages. From the book I purchased I believe it says PVC is a no go?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Fleece cage liner to soundproof

Hello,
I currenty use normal bedding in a pan and then a ?wired? panel over it, but since the panel is slightly bended It makes a lot of noice everytime he moves, so I was wondering it I make a liner to put over the panel that aalso cover the bottom and then maybe close it with grommets so that the liner is well fitted and maybe it will help reduce the noice a bit? Does anyone else have experience with this? Also how often do you wash the liners and do you have a litter/pee tray on your liner?

Please help

So my boyfriend and I recently took in his co-workers 10 year old chinchilla back in October and everything's been great. Just recently (last week) he started biting our pant legs and biting at our feet at first I thought he just started biting me because I scared him when I got off of my bed but then he started to do it when I was sitting on the floor by him. My aunt told me that he could be testing his boundaries so we started clapping our hands and telling him no every time he would start chewing on something he's not supposed to or biting. It hasn't helped much and his teeth look good so I don't think they're bothering him. He has plenty of wooden chew toys, we just went out and bought him more to make sure that wasn't the issue. Does anyone have any ideas as to what we can try or what we can do differently to get this behavior to stop?

Can anyone tell me what colour my chin is?

More out of curiosity than anything! Mum is ebony white and dad is (I believe hetero) beige.



Thanks!

How can I bond with my chinchilla?

Hi all :)
A few months ago, I bought a second chinchilla (Jazz) from an 'experienced' breeder to introduce to my other female, Remy, who has since suddenly passed away.
Unbeknownst to me, Jazz was pregnant when I got her- two cages being too close together was apparently the culprit. In the two weeks before she gave birth, she wasn't exactly eager to have cuddles, but she was docile and seemed content to be held. I still feel awful that I handled her as I did with Remy, not knowing I could have been causing Jazz and her kits serious damage, and put her in a cage that was not suitable for a pregnant chin. She was only about a year old when she gave birth. She had one live birth, and a stillborn that came out in pieces. It was awful. A day later, she delivered another stillborn- a tiny, pure white baby. Her only surviving kit was small too, just 28 grams, but Jazz's maternal instincts thankfully kicked in straight away and she was a wonderful mother to Theo, who is now my chunky monkey!

Since then, Jazz wants absolutely nothing to do with me. I can feel her glaring at me from across the room, she barks a lot, and makes that angry spitting sort of noise when I come near, even just to change the feed or water.
I've tried sitting near the cage for hours at a time, slowly getting closer so that she can get used to me. Then I started putting my arm in the cage for a little while, but she stays as far away as she possibly can, and will slip her fur even if I'm not touching her. Sometimes she seems to be improving, but the next day she'll be back at square one.
This had made looking after her properly very difficult. She won't come out for playtime as Theo will, and when I clean the cage out I have to urge her to the other half of the cage and block off the entrance to keep her out of harms way. She has the correct size cage with plenty of toys for stimulation, a solid metal wheel, food, hay, clean water, but no playtime, which I feel so guilty about. I have taken her to the vets, and healthwise she's absolutely fine, but she doesn't play with toys as much as Theo does. She also always seems to be malting fur, and it gets everywhere!

I'm at a complete loss for what to do. The room they live in is quiet, with minimal disturbance, and I can't think of what else (other than me) might be stressful for her.
Is it possible that her traumatic start to living with me has triggered her dislike of people? I tried to do everything I could, but being a first time chin owner, I'm bound to have gotten some things wrong. I don't want to rehome them as I love them both dearly, but I'm starting to think a fresh start might be Jazz's only chance to bond properly with someone, and I can't stand the thought of her spending her whole life trapped in her cage.

I'd be grateful for any and all help. I really want to do better for her, and most of all I just want to be friends with her.

One red Ear

I'm not an extremely new owner, but I've only had my chinchilla since this past summer. My chin is 6 years old and recently has had only one of his ears go red when he exercises, or if he is just sitting. This is quite new and I am significantly nervous for him. Should I be too worried?

Coal died! 😭😭😭 just 2 weeks after Squirt dying!!!

Our beloved chinchilla Coal who was 9 years old died Feb 2, 2018. He had been sick since early to mid December with and enlarged heart. But he was on medicine for that and was doing good!

Then somehow he ended up getting streptococcus/MRSA on his hind legs. He was put on Cipro for that. The Cipro made him stop eating and drinking though so my husband and I made the decision to stop that med. As soon as the vet opened the next day I let the vet know we stopped the med and he said that was the right decision and that I needed to feed Coal critical care food every 15 minutes to jump start him again. So I did that, I fed him every 15 minutes day and night. And it worked!! Coal started showing interest in food again and started eating on his own and started being active again! In fact on Wed Jan 31 he ran in his wheel multiple times during the day and had a very active 1hr playtime at night. But then on Thurs Feb 1st it was a complete 180. He was really tired and not moving much unless I held him in my arms, then he got perkier. And that night during playtime he climbed over my legs and gave me kisses. But I noticed him having deeper breaths and doing this weird stretch thing. So I rushed him to the pet emergency room where they put him on oxygen and kept him overnight until the exotic vet opened the next morning. When I called the pet emergency room Friday Feb 2nd to check on Coal they said he was very active hopping around and even eating in his own.

So they transferred him over to our exotic vet. And when we got to the exotic vet they said that he was doing very good, very active and hopping around. The vet came into the room and said that she wanted to do X-rays to see what was going on, and we said okay. But while in the table having the X-ray done Coal died!!!!! We asked the vet what caused him to die and she said that she didn’t really know, but she would guess his enlarged heart.

How could Coal go from being so good and active to dying the next minute!?!?!? My husband doesn’t trust that exotic vet anymore and says we will never take another animal there, because we don’t understand what happened!!! It doesn’t make sense!!!

We have lost both of our Chinchillas within 2 weeks of each other now!! Squirt 10 yrs old died Jan 31 2018 due to a GI track infection. Coal 9 yrs old died Feb 2 2018 supposedly due to his heart. We are heartbroken!!!! They were our babies!!

Urgent! Please help!

I have had my chinchilla for 3 years and recently she has decided to chew on the metal bars of her cage instead of her toys or sticks that she used to enjoy. She will grab it in her teeth and rapidly shake the bar back and forth. It's very loud and will wake me up when I sleep. Is there a purpose for this? Is there something I can do to get her to stop? Please help!

Hi from Britain

Hi, I'm Rebecca and am new to the site, with my seven and a half year old chinchin Pedro. We live in Warwickshire, England.
Also had my girl Poppy until 2nd Feb but tooth problems got her :(

I've read prob hundreds of threads over the years on the site and think it's brilliant, should have joined sooner!

I've loved chins since I first saw them when I was probably around five. Thought they were so beautiful. Was never allowed to keep them as a child so when asked if I could rehome some babies I jumped at the chance as an adult!!

They're hilarious, lovely and very mad!! And very, very clever! Outsmart me all the time! And blooming gorgeous!

Sister left me after 7 years, will I be ok?

Hi, new to forum but have read loads on the site over the years!

I've got a beautiful 7 and a half year old male chin called Pedro (or Pederoni as I like to sing at him!). He was rehomed with his sister by me as kits through a lady I used to work with. So have been with me since Oct 1st 2010.

They were both supposed to be males but hadn't been sexed correctly and it turned out his brother Pablo was actually a sister called Poppy! I noticed although my first chins so thankfully were separated pretty quickly! Pedro went on to be neutered and although it took a while they got back together and have always been happy cage mates. Sleep together constantly and if ones doing something the others not far behind!
Poppy's always been the boss though, definitely deciding stuff and telling him off which he's never done much to her!! He's always been more people friendly, liking lots of belly rubs and to groom my face, then try and pinch my glasses!

Poppy had tooth problems for over 4 years, has done really well until a few months ago when you could see becoming miserable. Had a dental 5 weeks ago and another tooth had become wobbly and had to come out, her second in 3months.
Had to make the horrible decision on Friday 2nd to put her to sleep. Really not enjoying life anymore, she'd been on highest dose of pain relief and still not coping well. Absolutely heartbreaking but the right thing to do (do keep questioning myself of course!).

Pedro seems to be doing ok, giving him lots of extra love and got a new batch of chewy things coming in the post! But did spend all of Friday looking for her!
I'm just wondering what other people that have been through similar things think?! At his age would he appreciate a bit of peace for a while after being told off from his sister for years?! Or is it likely he'll get depressed and like a friend?

I know every chin is very different but as these are the only chins I've had and would just appreciate a bit of advice! Thanks!

Ferret Nation liner questions (part 2)

I figured I'd start a new thread to my questions thread.

I did successfully make a pattern for the Bass pans and made liners that are just a tiny bit over-sized - maybe a half inch total, but that's okay. They're even, and one side of each liner is not a lot different than the other. And the top is the same size as the bottom :-)

So, I washed the liners after I made them with the rest of the week's dirty liners. I used about a cup of vinegar like I usually do, but I had a bigger load this time with the extra set. Maybe I needed more? Of course, no fabric softener in the washer, and no dryer sheet in the dryer.

I put them to use on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday evening when I was scooping the poop, I noticed that both liners were wet! WTH? Why is it not absorbing?

This was the first set that I used batting rather than an third layer of the fleece that I'm using for the outside of the liners, but I can't see how that would make a difference.

I haven't had this happen before. What can I do to make it absorb? More vinegar? Air dry?

Thanks!
Trish

Bass Pan Question-Ferret Nation

Hey everybody,

So I am finally upgrading my chin's cage, and I decided to go with the Bass pans. I am unsure if the $39.95 stainless steel ones are necessary or if the $19.95 prime galvanized ones will suffice. They are both 2.5 inches deep, which will be enough for my pooper. I've got a Ferret Nation and am planing on using fleece to cover it.

Thanks,

Chinderella

2 Males need a home in Georgia

Through a series of very unfortunate and sad events I have 2 male chinchillas that need to be rehomed. I have been put into a position where I can no longer care for them.

I'm located in north Georgia and would really like to try to find someone local - either a rescue or a person who would like to bring these 2 sweet boys into their family. I refuse to put them on Craigslist or any sites like that, as too many people don't know how to take care of these great creatures.

I will give everything that I have for them along with them to the right person. That includes the Ferret Nation/Critter Nation 182 cage that they are in, the top and bottom of the cage have the nice pans from Bass that fit perfectly. I have a ton of fleeces that fit the pans, water bottles, apple sticks, 2 chin spin 15" wheels, etc.

The only down side to these boys is that they don't get along. They have to be kept separate, I never had the time to truly introduce them the right way.

If anyone in the area can help me, I would really appreciate it. I need to get these poor guys in to a new home as soon as possible.