How long should I wait?

I recently purchased a 4 month old chin male and he is getting adjusted to our home and was wondering how long before I introduce a female to him and should I look for a older or younger than him female I want them to bond and know to introduce slowly and all about breeding from being a CVT but was curious with other chin owners have dealt with and what their experiences were. I want to have the intro go as smoothly as possible. I have had 2 male and 2 females all coexist but they were close in age and already bonded. Thanks in advance

Chinchilla head tilt and walking in circles

I have a 4 month old chinchilla. He was born premature with a twin by almost a month and is about half the size he should be. He survived and everything was fine. He has the most active personality and was always bouncing around the cage. Yesterday night I went to check on him and he wasn’t hopping around and he was laying on him side. He got up and his head was very tilted to the side. And he was walking and circles around the head tilt. I picked him up and his head just kind of floped with little control over it. I can’t tell if he is in pain. He is eating but I haven’t seen him drink. I gave him antibiotics last night for an ear infection but he looks the same this morning. Should I have him put down? Any ideas? I stayed home from work today to see if I could get him into a vet but usually when I take my chins to the vet they are not very helpful and don’t give me clear courses of action or even really tell me what’s wrong. They use words like “it may be ...” any help would be great!

Chinchilla Mother Swollen vagina enlarged, with pus at times....

Hello all,

My first chinchilla, Kogi, (who is now a proud mother)gave birth to 3 kits! They all have the same birthday as me, haha which is pretty cool!

They are all quite healthy and Kogi is a very diligent and caring mother. Its so sweet seeing her care for her babies.

Fast forward now its closer to 2 months since Kogi has had the kits and I notice her vagina is swollen and the "hole" enlarged. Previously, I thought that this is probably normal and she just needs time for her to get back to her normal state.

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this situation. Is this normal? Can I buy my own medicine and clean her up?

Here are some pics. Thank you in advance.

https://ibb.co/esF82U
https://ibb.co/jAKwp9

Not jumping

I am a new chinchilla owner and my baby girl Winnie won't jump and I don't know how to teach her how to jump from ledge to ledge in her cage all she really does is climb she might hop but she doesn't jump.

Reusing old cage for new chin

Our chinchilla died several months ago (we had her for over 19 years, so it wasn't a surprise). I think we're ready now to get another chinchilla and I plan to use the old cage. I was planning to clean it really well, but not sure I can really clean the wooden ledges. Are chinchillas sensitive to other chins smells such that the old wooden ledges would be a problem? I was originally going to purchase new ones but my husband doesn't think it's necessary and doesn't want me to spend the money on it. Thoughts?

How many treats?

Hello all!
I have a few types of treats I give my 6 mo. female chin. Does anyone know how much a day is a healthy amount to give her of each? I currently give her these three types of treats:

-crimped oats
-dried chamomile flowers
-dried marigold leaves

thanks!

9 YO male has started divebombing and nipping partner's feet

Hi there! I'm usually quite good at understanding chinnie language and cues, but I'm completely stumped on this one, plus, I've never had a biter!

The issue: For some reason, every month or so, my puff Stitch will have a day where he'll dart after my partner's feet and bite them, usually when they're walking. Not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to hurt. It's definitely not a grooming nibble, and he's never done this to me or anyone else that I know of. He's extremely persistent with it, we have to put him back in his house to stop it because he will not be distracted! We can't figure out anything different on the days he does this. Most frustrating of all, we also can't figure out what feeling is behind it, even if it's playful or aggressive! He likes to play chase with me, but never chases me back. He's started doing this since I moved back in with my partner 8 months ago after Stitch and I were out of state for a few months.

Background info: My partner and I have had Stitch for around 3 years, we're his third home. He's very human social, and as far as we know, he's never been abused (though the family we adopted him from didn't know much about his original home). My partner and I have lived together since before we got him, with one aforementioned time. He's much closer to me, and I interact with him the most. He has a Flying Saucer wheel, tons of toys, a 2 story FN, and gets around 8 hours of out of cage time hanging out in our room with us. My partner and Stitch have never had any real negative interactions; he's ran into both of our feet while we've been walking a few times before and got a bump to his side, but we both have bumped him only once or twice. They're less confident with animals than I am.

Has anyone ever dealt with this? I'm so lost, I don't want to make him feel punished by putting him back in his house if it's a fear/insecurity rooted stuff, but my partner literally has to wrap themselves in a blanket to protect themselves if we don't put him in his cage when he's like this!

Any advice on what this could be and tips on discouraging it?

Litter Trained during the day, but not at night?

Its ben a month since I'm trying to swap from bedding to fleece, not fleece liners, just covering the bottom of the cage with fleece, but have a litter box.
Untill he is properly litter trained he is barebottom in case he has "accidents" and if he starts peeing on fleece, he might just start peeing on everything fleece. Maybe? I hope not.
The thing is, I only find urine outside the litterbox in the morning. The rest of the day, he goes inside the litterbox and pees there.
Its only when Im sleeping he rebels.

Now here is the tricky part, he doesnt just pee on a "night corner" he pees anywhere on the bottom part of the cage.
In any of the 3 corners as wel as the middle. I cannot predict where he is gonna pee at night, but again, he only pees in his litterbox when Im awake it seems.

Everyday for the past 2 weeks Ive ben taking paper to clean it and leaving it inside the litterbox, cleaning the spot with vinegar.

Im considering getting him a second litterbox in the meantime, but I just dont know where to put it.

Anyone else with a similar experience?

Oh btw, he is 6 years old now, but I believe old dogs can learn new tricks.

how to potty train a doggy with a bell

It in fact Works. Here’s How. If you’re working on the ring a potty bell education your canine, then ring a potty bell can be a suitable lifesaver. Teaching a puppy or grownup canine to ring a potty bell,” is extraordinarily convenient and without a doubt handy. In educating your dog to ring a potty bell to let you understand even as she desires to go outside, you ought to dispose of accidents (or, in the case of my stoic pups, the frightening silent potty stare).

For more info about how to potty train a puppy with a bell click the link below. :rofl::rofl:

http://dogstrainingtools.com/2018/09...y-with-a-bell/

:vomit:

Chinchilla kit help!!!

Hello, so I am a momma to 6 lovely chinchillas!! Yes 6! I need some help with my 2 baby kits. I recently got 2 baby kits today on 9/14/18 with both parents mom and dad ( I was originally supposed to be buying just a boy kit however the girl selling them couldn’t manage having time for them anymore so she gave me all 4. However I have noticed since I’ve moved the mom and babies out of the container they were transported in to a ferret nation cage with their mom they have not nursed any milk from the mom at all! They are only about 1.5/2 weeks old and it worries me because I know they needs moms milk till about 8 weeks. The 2 baby kits 1 boy & 1 girl get along very well and stay close with each other however the mom has not nurses either of them since being in the cage! The mom does sit near them however isn’t nursing them.
Question 1: How do I know if the mom isn’t producing any milk?
2: what’s a formula I can feed the baby kits?
3: how much can I feed them and when should I be feeding? Is it every 2-3 he’s?

A rather weird question

Will it be okay for the chin if i were to throw him in the air and catch him? Like an inch off my hand of airtime before i catch him.

Does My Chinchilla Have Bumblefoot?

Hi! I'm new to this forum but have been a chin owner for soon to be 10 years! Maybe I'm being paranoid, but ever since I found out what bumblefoot was, I'm worried my chin, Sesamee, may be developing it? Maybe they're just normal calluses, but on the top pads of her paws, the skin/calluses there are starting to peel a bit and I'm not too sure about her feet either, esp her left foot. It just seems worse than the right and I'm getting worried. Just need some advice/feedback. Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/ios6ld5

Baby got out

Two weeks ago my chin had a baby, she hasn’t had one in about 5 yearss and never with this male so I was shocked when she had a single kit. I thought the cage was pretty baby proof but somehow he got out while I was at work and I have tore my house apart looking for him to no avail. ☹️ Guess my question is how long could he survive without moms milk/warmth? As I mentioned I was at work so not sure exactly how long he has been out but I’ve been home for almost 4 hours looking for him and haven’t found him ☹️ Is there a possibility he could be alive? Sucks so bad, I feel terrible

Unexplained Weight loss

I was wondering if anyone has experienced a heavier chin loosing weight on their own without illness? My vet said my chin seems healthy, but she keeps loosing weight. She is a little on the heavier side so it could be a good thing. My concern is why is she loosing weight? There have been no diet changes. She is down to 800g. This time last month (8/13) she was 829g and the month before that (7/9) she was 866g. She has no other symptoms and actually seems to have more energy and bigger poops. Should I bring her to another vet or let her be and just keep an eye on her for other symptoms? Has anymore experienced unexplained weight loss without an underlying illness?

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Help! His fur is yellow.

Hello Everyone!
Recently I changed my chinchilla's litter. (This is only in his litter box, the rest of the cage is fleece) I don't remember the exact brand of his old litter but it was the litter from Petsmart that is made of a clay-like material and shaped in small little round balls. I changed his litter recently to care fresh after I noticed him trying to take "baths" on those balls. He still uses his litter box with the care fresh perfectly fine but now he doesn't sleep in it or roll around in it.

Recently though, I noticed some different behaviors in him. He will sleep outside of his litter box in the middle of the open. He also has been scratching his fur a lot more. (My hedgehog had the beginning stages of mites but was treated very early on, so I'm thinking of taking Chinzi to the vet to get checked.) Also, his fur near his mouth, chest, and hands are yellow. His fur is not soft here AT ALL. It feels like clumpy hair. I don't know what to do to get it out. I tried using a very small damp cloth but I feel like it made it worse.

Are there any suggestions to what I can do about his fur?

Hepatic lipidosis

Hi all,
I have recently acquired 4 "second hand" chins. The two brothers were 11 and 6 months old when I got them. Their parents came to me a few months later and according to the previous owner they are about 4 years old.
When I got the parents they also gave me all the food they had. When I opened the bucket I nearly died as the amount of nuts (cashew, almond & peanuts) mixed into the food was alarming. Needless to say I tossed that out and although I know you should transition to a new food slowly, I just started them on my food straight away. They have been fine on it.
What I would like to know is how much damage would have been done to their livers on this terrible diet before they came to me.
I have been told that due to the diet I will be lucky if the parents live for another 3 or 4 years.
Also would like to know if this would have affected the life span of the two brothers seeing as they had a shorter period of bad diet.
Although I haven't had them for very long, I am VERY attached to them.
Thank you in advance for your replies.

How to Post Pictures?

How do you post pictures here?

Blood All Over Cage?!

I have two females, Violet and Diamond. Please read my other posts for their full description including diet, etc. To cut down to the chase, I walked into my chinchillas cage this morning and there was blood all over the top shelf. I have pictures of Violet's hind foot, which is the injured chinchilla. I want to take the chinchillas to the vet, but my mom says its just a scratch and that there's nothing we can do. I need the following information: Is it because Violet's feet looks dry, how could she have gotten hurt (theories), what to do, is a vet needed, what we can do to help her, any diet changes, and any other information that you can possibly give. Cage is cleaned daily, I came in to clean, so please don't mind mess. Thanks! :wacko::swoon::sick1:

FULL CAGE
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/6B747E70-99D4-4DAC-8C65-4AE94D41AACB/IMG_0058.JPG[/IMG]

BLOOD ON SHELF
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/DEF3DD55-12D4-4370-947B-48D8F663BD77/IMG_0059.JPG[/IMG]

BOTH CHINNIES (V= VIOLET D=DIAMOND)
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/765D2C16-2825-4085-BB50-C1B4D9EFBA40/IMG_0060.jpg[/IMG]

ANOTHER CAGE PIC
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/A9A116BB-0C63-49BE-B15E-7B66CE670412/IMG_0061.JPG[/IMG]

BOTTOM OF CAGE
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/C2D36DA0-F746-45B5-A274-434A66920A4B/IMG_0062.JPG[/IMG]

BLOODY HIND FEET VIOLET
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/3ABADFF4-6C5B-4C5A-B546-F2F990D63D1C/IMG_0064.JPG[/IMG]

FRONT PAWS VIOLET [IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/70A3D6EE-2E14-4B4D-BB7C-AD6F8582B530/IMG_0065.JPG[/IMG]

FRONT PIC VIOLET
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/32899031-4D8A-4EDC-8F9C-D6BCD63B303D/IMG_0066.JPG[/IMG]

SIDE PIC VIOLET
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/DA00CB44-08EA-4FBC-8106-238DCE964CA6/IMG_0067.JPG[/IMG]

OTHER SIDE PIC VIOLET
[IMG]/Users/rebeccadebroglio/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/15870AD4-86DB-4BF1-9FEC-C9B25099BA12/IMG_0068.JPG[/IMG]

Re-home needed for standard grey male, about 4 years old, Chicago south suburbs.

Re-home needed for standard grey male, about 4 years old, Chicago south suburbs.

I am looking for a forever home for Cloud. I really would like him to go to someone who already has chinchillas and is knowledgeable.

Cloud is healthy but he does have one specific need, and that is to be checked for hair rings. I know a lot of males are self-cleaning, but he is apparently bad at it. I check him every 2-4 weeks, and only once ever has he not had hair stuck in there. I assume it is at least partly due to his relentless shedding.

Cloud is active and likes to move fast. He loves his scratches but does not like to be picked up. The right person might be able to teach him to tolerate it with time and effort. He loves his Flying Saucer and enjoys playtime. He is a big fan of plastic as a chew item, so wood and metal items only for him.

I am asking a $50 rehoming fee for Cloud. He will come with everything he owns except his Ferret Nation cage, which I am however willing to sell.

Cloud's personal possessions include:
-His remaining Mazuri food and Timothy hay
-Remaining bath dust and dust house
-Wood sticks, various chew items, a brand new willow tunnel, and several "kabobs"
-Assorted treats
-2 wood hidey houses, his food bowls, hay rack, water bottle
-Flying Saucer wheel
-Various handmade hammocks and cuddle buddy balls
-Chiller tile
-Travel carrier
-Travel cage (a "home away from home", good enough for a week while you're on vacation and your best friend is chin-sitting, but not big enough for permanent residence.)
-Whatever else I've forgotten to mention.

Please let me know if you are interested in giving Cloud a forever home. I would prefer someone with chin experience and knowledge, I'm just not comfortable giving him up otherwise.

We are located in Steger, about an hour south of Chicago.

Thanks,
Danielle

Chinchilla and a dog?

So, I'm thinking about getting a chinchilla (it's not for sure yet) and I've read that chinchillas don't get along well with other animals. But my dog sleeps in my room every night and I'd rather not make her sleep elsewhere. Would a chinchilla be ok with that? My dog wouldn't play with it or anything like that. The only interaction there would be is my dog coming into the room, maybe smelling the cage, and leaving. Would that stress a chinchilla out too much it would it be okay?

HELP!! My girl has skin/fur loss problem

Hi All,

My girl is 6-month old and I just took her home a month ago. Two weeks ago, I found her left hand (near the paw) is getting bald and I thought maybe she chew her fur loss or something else. But then I found out her chin has a human finger tip range fur loss when she raised her head up to drink water. I was shocked cause that area usually is covered by fur and is not easy to see. I am now giving her taking dust bath every day and add in anti-fungal power spray to see if any improvement. But I'm still worried about her. Is anyone know it looks like fungus? Mite? Water? Pee infection? Any suggestion and solution?

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Potty Training - A Stinky Business

Hi again! Its Rebecca back with Violet and Diamond. I am trying to potty train my two females, Violet and Diamond, and it seems to be working! At least, for one. Violet is the more intelligent one, and has caught on with the potty training, and keeps coming back to the scent. Diamond, the clumsier and less intelligent one, pees all over the place. Next to her food, in the middle of the cage, on the shleves... this potty training has only been going on for about two weeks. How can I help get Diamond with the program?:hmm:

Introduction!

Hi everyone! I'm Rebecca, a fourteen year old who loves her chinnies and resides in the beautiful state of Washington. I have two female chinchillas, Violet and Diamond. Violet is a violet wrap carrier, a fur biter, but an intelligent one! Diamond is a standard gray, fat, and dumb but sweet. And this post will be as short and as sweet as both my chinchillas are!

Thanks!