Hello

Hi! I’m Hannah. I’m from Arkansas and just brought my first chinchilla home! I found this website by googling information I thought I needed!

Problems at playtime

Hi everyone,

I am a first time chinchilla owner. I have two females, one friendly and outgoing, and the other much more shy and timid. I've had them for two weeks now and the friendlier chin will come when called and let me pat her. She still won't let me pick her up but I feel like I'm making good progress with her.

The problem is with the more timid chinchilla. After playtime when I try to get her back in the cage she will hide and run away and I spend a half hour chasing her. She's clearly still afraid of me and I feel like I'm doing more damage than good by giving her playtime. Should I stop letting her out of the cage until she warms up to me more? If not, how long do you guys think it will take her to warm up to me?

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Douglas fir

Is Douglas fir okay to use as shelving? My Home Depot only has "Select pine" that costs $30 a board, and Doug fir.

I'm going to lower tomorrow to see if they have any regular old untreated kd pine, but if not, I just want to know if it's okay. I haven't been able to find a clear answer, and I don't want to harm my future chin! Thanks!

Looking for breeders in/near KCMO

Hello! My name is Nicole. I’ve been saying I’d get a chinchilla since 2015 but either living arrangements or money has gotten in the way. Things are smooth now, and the wife and I have agreed on June 24th I can get my baby. Are there any breeders in or near Kansas City Missouri who anticipate available chins? Even if it takes until then to let me know, simply let me know. Thank you!!

(Missouri) wanted June 24th

Any breeders in or near Kansas City Missouri? I’m looking to get a chinchilla (something I’ve been wanting to do since 2015) on June 24th. If anyone breeds or knows of breeders feel free to give me information (such as a website or direct information). Thank you! If you don’t want to put the information out here e-mail me at fa1thl1kedav1d@gmail.com.


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Need to know

Ive just barely got 2 one year old chinchillas. Completely clueless. Been looking up as much as i can. But one thing i haven't seen amy info on is..if chinchillas are okay to be outside? Not always but for playtime if the temperatures are right. Someone please let me know. If you have any other things that you can tell me that is important to know that would be great too. Thank you...Crystal:hmm:

Newbie

I'm Crystal. I just got to chinchillas for my 2 boys. Didn't realize how much info you need to know. Found this site by searching up things that i thought i should research. I want to make sure these 2 sweet chinchillas are taken care of properly. Looking forward to find out more information. Thanks.:)

Male and Female?

I have a one year old chin male named Milo. He is a black velvet and has one his way into my heart after only a month. I bought him alone, the old owners didn't take very good care of him. They placed him in a small cage all by himself and I'm currently trying to find him a friend before he gets depressed. If I got a neutered female do you think it would be possible to bond them? I'm to young and inexperienced with chins to breed yet but whenever I'm looking I can only find females. I haven't got him a friend yet I was just wondering if it could be possible. Also is there any way of seeing if a male has been neuteured? The previous owner said she didn't know if he was.

Thank you!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi all. There’s so much knowledge on here I’m looking for any advice or help with my little guy. I had posted a couple months back about chalupa. He ended having a tooth trim but never ended up going back to his pellets and hay. He remained on critical care but took to it very well where I didn’t have to force him. The vet thought maybe he had gotten picky because he would eat treats as well and gained all his weight back plus some. Fast forward 3 months.. 2 weeks ago chalupa got a nasty eye infection and the vet gave us oral antibiotics, eye drops and pain meds. The eye cleared up great. At the end of the medication chalupa appetite for the critical decreased. We went back to the vet. We were given gut mobility meds, probiotics, vitamin b shot and told to do tummy rubs. The first 3 days he did great picked up his appetite but now it’s went away again. He has had droppings. Today is day 4 of not eating the critical care. Last night I called the vet and we made a game plan to bring him in today for another vitamin b shot and if he’s not better by Thursday to do blood work, X-rays ect. Last night I was desperate to get something in him and could only manage to force 8 ml in with a one ml syringe. I feel so defeated. Today he keeps coming up to the cage to me as if he wants something but will no take any food when I try to offer it. Please help me help my little love! He means so much to me! Any advice Is appreciated! Thank you all.

Bonding issues?

I have a new male chin named Milo. Up until yesterday he was relatively friendly considering how new he is (I had him for 3 weeks) but just yesterday he randomly got super scared of me and started to run away from my hand. I never picked him up or scared him in anyway. This upsets me alot since we had made so much progress and all of that was taken away. Can anyone suggest what to do? Does anyone know how this could have happened?

Combing critter nation cages

I plan on combining two critter nation cages side by side but what are some ways to cover up the gap that is formed when they are pushed together. Thank you.

Chinchilla baby and all supplies Phila, PA

I have up for sale a baby chinchilla. He was born January 2018 and purchased from a respectable local breeder. He is a light ebony (darker than standard grey but not super dark) and very sweet. He loves chin rubs and loves attention. He has no bad manors and is very friendly.

EVERYTHING needed is included:

Ferret nation double cage
Custom made ledges (by me) using kiln dried pine
Extra kiln dried pine to make more ledges in the future
Bass stainless steel pans for upper and lower cage
Scatter guards for upper and lower cages
Hand made (purchased) washable fleece hanging toys
Chin spin 15" metal silent wheel
Kiln dried pine hiding house

Mazuri chinchilla food (two bags)
Food bowl
Two types of hay racks
Two no drip water bottles
Timothy hay (main staple) and alfalfa hay (smaller portion)
Oats for treats
Two lava ledges
Toys
Aspen bedding
Dust bath bowl
Large Blue Dust chinchilla dust bath
Cleaning supplies
Digital thermometer and humidity display

All food and hay is stored in plastic airtight tubs for freshness. He only has access to the upper level of the cage at this time since he is a kit (baby). The upper level has wire mesh around it that can be taken down when he is 6 months old to prevent him from escaping through the bar spacing of the cage.

Chinchillas are easy to care for, but have very specific requirements. They require to be kept in temperatures below 75F with no direct sunlight or breezes. They can only have certain woods (kiln dried pine not regular pine), certain types of bedding (aspen, no cedar, kiln dried pine, etc nothing scented). They can't be given many treats (a few oats or ONE raisen a week). Their food can't have treats in it (oxbow or mazuri only). No tap water either filtered or distilled. Absolutely NO plastic in their cage!! They will chew this and if they digest plastic they will die. This is why the lower pans have been replaced with stainless steel pans and why I custom made the ledges. Originally included plastic ledges and pans might be ok for other animals but not chinchillas.

I've taken ALL of the guesswork out of what to purchase. Every single item needed is included and heavily researched. Every item is also the highest end you can get and there's well over $1,000 worth of items.

Only reason for selling is there's a change in jobs. I'll be going away unexpectedly for two months and don't have anyone to take care of him for me. I will ONLY sell to a good home and I will be asking questions to ensure you're an educated buyer to give him a good and safe home. He has a great temperament and would be great with kids. He has never bitten anyone.

Asking for less than half invested for a good home. $475

Tail degloving

My chinchilla got his tail stepped on and now it's bleeding and the tip is gone. What do I do?

Chinchilla Setup

Hello! I figured I would just write out the general setup I'm planning on using if I get a chinchilla. It would be awesome if you guys had any advice, or could critic it!

Room: I live in Arizona. The lack of humidity is nice, but it makes it hard to keep the room cold enough. To fix that, I will have the cage inside a big indoor greenhouse I have for our rabbit that has a separate air conditioner hooked up to it.

Cage: I have a single critter nation cage with one of the metal Bass pans, so I'm planning on using that. I am probably going to get a wheel, a bunch of wooden shelves and lava ledges, at least two hides, and a hammock or two if he likes them. I also plan on sewing a few double layered fleece mats for the cage floor that I can alternate and wash every week.

Play pen: Since I don't have a huge cage, I would prefer to have a free range area. I am hoping I could use the walls of the greenhouse as one side of the play pen, and some connected plastic panels as the other. It won't be the most secure thing in the world, but since I'll be out there the entire time, and even if he got out it'd still be contained, I think it will work.

Playtime: I am home most of the time, so I will be able to spend at least an hour with him a day. Free ranging will be a big part of that, but I also want to teach him some easy tricks. Of course, only if he enjoys trick training, but I have found that my pets have been a lot happier when they are learning.

Food: My rabbits have always done incredible on Sherwood, and they have Chinchilla food, so I figured I would try it.
Here's the link: https://store.sherwoodpethealth.com/...inchilla-food/

That's pretty much my plan!

Willow chews?

I have been reading up on safe treats, and so we decided to give our new chin a willow chew. But...... we think he ATE it! Is that normal/ok? Any advice??

Chinchilla Chewing on Hammock?

I just got a hammock from Petsmart for my chinchilla today during a quick trip. At first he wasn’t interested in it that much, but now it seems he’s trying to chew on it a lot. I have plenty of things in the cage for him to chew on but he seems more interested in chewing on the hammock now. The hammock is an $8 hammock by the Petsmart brand.

I’ve been looking at the hammock where he’s chewed on it but it doesn’t seem like he’s making any progress in it. I can’t find any bite marks or tears in the fabric. He doesn’t chew the fleece I have as a liner in the cage at all, so it confuses me as to why he is chewing this.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do about this? I know it can be dangerous if he ingests part of the hammock but it doesn’t seem like he’s doing much to it. I’m just not too sure if I should take it out of the cage or not since it’s one of the best places for him to climb.

Hello!

Hello! I have been researching chinchillas lately, and am pretty interested in getting one or two at some point, providing I am capable of caring for them correctly.

I have had fish, rabbits, rats, and a fox in the past. After my rats, I decided it would be nice to have a pet with a longer lifespan, leading me to chinchillas.

I'm super excited to learn more about these little guys!

Chinchilla scared not eating

Hi! So yesterday at 5pm I came into the room and my niece was shaking my chinchillas cage. I let him out a little later and he went into the corner and wouldn't come out for 4 hours. I went near him and realized he must be scared because i could smell and feel the pee. He wnt under the bed eventually for an other 5 hours and now is back in his cage. He ate a couple treats and drank some water but thats it. Ive never seen him so still when he was out, would look under the bed hours later and hes awake in the same position just staring off into space. Im worried his right eye might be bothering him the vet said it was fine in January but it is 70% clouded now. I can't get any appointment until Monday and am waiting to see if **** eat today to make it because its been almost 24 hours now with only 3 treats. All this behavior is very out of character. He is 3 years old and stays in my room with me we chill / play all the time but now he seems to ignore/ be scared of me. please help

Wierd chinchilla behavior?

Hi,

I just adopted a new black velvet chinchilla named Milo less then a week ago. He is about a year old according to the last owners. I have starter to put my hand in the cage and he like to bite at my sweaters and sniff me.

He is more active at night which doesn't bother me at all but he can sometimes be inactive and likes to sit right in the middle of the two levels of his critter nation cage. He will sit there for hours and won't move. Is this normal behavior? Is it just a sign of stress or just trying to get used to his new environment?

My other question is his pee. He has a litter box he will pee in but he will also pee right outside his food bowl and it kinda smells. I heard that it's not normal for chins pee to smell bad so again I ask could this be because of stress or is it something I should have the vet check out? I'm afraid il just stress him out more with a visit to the vet and find out it's nothing.

Thank you!

Tile vs. Fleece

Hey everyone!

I have had my chinchillas now for just over a year, they started out in a smaller ferret cage that was mainly plastic but just over 8 months ago they upgraded to a ferret nation cage. The issue I have had has been suitable liners. My mosaic will chew right through them before the week is even up. I was wondering if anyone has tried using tile as I have been consider using that as an alternative.

Thanks
Ally

First time chin mom

I just got my first chin, Millie, and I am absolutely in love with her. I’ve only had her about 3 weeks now. I noticed on of her front paws is missing some hair and is red. I plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow. Does anyone have any idea if she is just nervous still due to the new environment or what?

Should I pick my chinchilla up yet?

Hi all! I am a new chinchilla owner and I love my little Tuck already! He is a sweet, spunky guy! I am actually kind of afraid to pet or hold him too soon, though, because I have read so much about how I need to "let them come to you." I am definitely patient enough and totally get that! But... I need to change his bedding out pretty badly; I'm using Carefresh and I am wanting to switch to Aspen asap because of all of the scares I've read about impaction. I don't want to go in after him and pick him up, but I also don't want to give him "free roaming play time" in a safe space until he appropriately acclimates to his new home, either! I don't want to upset or frighten him. He isn't comfortable with being petted yet, also. I have had him for 4 days, from a local pet store. (He was also very very comfortable with me holding him in the pet store, and the workers carried him gently around a lot. He was so friendly there! Now he's just adjusting I think.) Please help!!! :)

First time Chinchilla owner...a little nervous

Hi so I am brand new Chinchilla pet owner and have already fallen head over heels for our new pet.... So I am a little nervous because as of this afternoon my chinchilla has softer poops...they are still normal size and normal looking but are just soft and squishy when I pick them up....should I be concerned?