Looking for affordable (Canadian) chinchilla supplies

I am based in Ontario, Canada, expecting to be a first time chinchilla owner and am currently doing a tonne of research, trying to get my chinchilla cage set up before homing one in the near future. I’ve come across many quality American vendors, luckily some that ship internationally, but not as many Canadian based vendors. Would any Canadian chinchilla owners be able to recommend some vendors they often shop at that are cost effective in terms of shipping in the long run (whether it is Canadian/American)? I assume shipments from the states to Canada may incur duty fees as well depending on the items ordered...

I have already purchased basic necessities like pellets, hay, dust, bedding from amazon/pet stores and would likely continue to do so as the prices are reasonable. I’ve decided to make my own wooden shelves to replace the plastic levels in my All Things Living animal condo.

Currently I’m still looking for affordable chinchilla treats (rosehips/apple sticks/other) and chew toys. Also always looking for interesting wood work pieces from locals (like hidey houses/hay feeders/novel perches). Etsy has some really nice wooden cage accessories but I cannot justify the price of shipping (as they’re sometimes even more than the product itself).

Thank you Chins n hedgies community in advance!

My chinchilla has a brown spot

My little 10 month old chinchilla has a brown spot between her anus and genitalia. (Note she is a girl if that has anything to do with this.) I don’t know what it is, could it be pee in her fur or should I not be worried?

What are safe chew toys?

Hi, I usually order 500g of apple sticks for my chinchilla but I'm worried that he's eventually going to grow bored of them. It's always necessary to have these sticks around since they last longer. Every other toy I've gotten him he destroys after one day; it's beginning to get expensive. I've read on some websites that magnolia trees are safe (prepared), but other websites say otherwise. Is it safe to give him some baked and prepared branches?
Are there any other homemade chew toy ideas?

I've seen others give chinchillas bird and rabbit chew toys, are they safe as well? I'm currently looking at Kaytee Perfect Chews for Rabbits, Bunny Blast Yucca Chew Toy, AUOKER Bunny Chew Toys, BWOGUE Small Animal and Bird Chew Sticks, Sweet Bamboo Chew toys, and Niteangel Natural Wooden Hamster Mouse Tunnel tube. A friend of mine gave me a few timothy hay sticks and my chin loves them, is this a safe treat to give daily?
Thanks

Chinchilla nibbles

So I adopted my chinchilla a few weeks ago and so far she’s been great. As I let her get acclimated to her new home I noticed that she’s pretty social. When I would go to feed her/clean her cage she’d always come to me and wasn’t afraid. I’ve recently started petting her a little bit in the evening before I go to sleep. If she’s sleepy she’ll usually turn away from me and I leave her alone. Usually though she seems like getting scratched by her ears. The past few days that I’ve given her some scratches, she will nibble a little bit around my hand. It doesn’t hurt or anything but I was just wondering why she does this. Is it a way for them to show affection?

Chinchilla Store

Does anyone have a favorite online store to order their supplies and toys from? I've found a few online that look good and would like to check out. Just looking to see if there are more out there. I live in the U.S. by the way.

Chinchilla Toys

Hi, I was just wondering how often you guys give your chinchillas new toys? My chinchilla loves to chew the bark off the sticks I give her and some other small things I give regularly. I have 3 large, hanging chew toys in her cage as well that she only chews rarely. I add new, small toys every other day or so to her cage so she has variety. I guess I'm just wondering if I should switch out the old toys with new ones after a few weeks if she isn't paying much attention to them.
I've gotten her a variety of toys as well to figure out what she likes. So far its been hard to tell cause I thought she loved mineral chews and those lava ledges but its been a few days since she's touched them. I have loofa, those finger traps, wood chews, etc. in her cage but she doesn't seem too enthused by any of it except she still loves chewing the bark off of wood.

Should I worry

A few days ago, I was playing with Sunshine and she did the following. Since I am a new owner, I was wondering if I should be worried.

She shook her head (thought she had something in ear) and then jump vertically in the air and spun around.

I called the shelter where I got her and the lady thought this sounded like pop corning. What do you think?

Why is my chinchilla shedding so much?

I got my chinchilla 4 or 5 days ago and he came home with some uneven rough spots on his fur (the previous owners said his fur was messed up because he had a fight with other chinchillas). I didnt think much of it until now because he is still shedding. Their is sometimes just small clumps of hair laying around the cage which im very worried about. Is this normal behavior? Should I be worried?

Why is my chinchilla eating cardboard?

So I got my chinchilla 4 or 5 days ago and we brought him home in a carboard box. I put him and his cardboard box and in the cage and decided to use the cardboard box as a hideout and started to realize that he was eating it. I quickly took it out and now his cage is cardboard free. Now im just curious about why he is eating cardboard, is he hungry? Is it a habit?

Natural environment cage.

Howdy all. I just got a one year old bratty chinchilla for my daughter. Everything is fine, both are adjusting to each other, well as good as a seven year old and a hyper rodent can get.

I'm just wondering if any one has tried building a zoo like type habitat for the little fur balls. Let's put aside the hassle it could turn into. I've been playing the idea of making a four by eight mini garden in my apartment. Since we've gotten her I thought two birds with one stone. Inside garden and chin habitat.

Are dandelion drops healthy?

I have these treats by Vitakraft called Drops with Dandelion. Feeding instructions include offering your chinchilla 1-2 treats per day. Per day? The first ingredient it lists is sugar. How healthy is this treat really? Can this truly be a daily treat?
Thanks

Natural environment cage.

Howdy all. I just got a one year old bratty chinchilla for my daughter. Everything is fine, both are adjusting to each other, well as good as a seven year old and a hyper rodent can get.

I'm just wondering if any one has tried building a zoo like type habitat for the little fur balls. Let's put aside the hassle it could turn into. I've been playing the idea of making a four by eight mini garden in my apartment. Since we've gotten her I thought two birds with one stone. Inside garden and chin habitat.

why is my chinchilla crumbling his food?

I've had my chinchilla for 4 or 5 days now, and I realized that he had been crumbling his food. The first 3 days he wasn't crumbling it but now he is, and I'm very worried. He isn't showing signs of sickness such as discharge from eyes and nose (I'm not sure for other symptoms cause I don't really know his habits yet). I'm really worried about him because I think it might be GI stasis because he has been stressed lately because he is still a new pet.

Chinchilla food crumbling

I'm a new chinchilla owner and I'm wondering if my chinchilla is ok. I've had him for about 4-5 days and the first 2 days he was eating his pellets just fine, then I just noticed yesterday that his pellets were being crumbled. He isn't discharging from his eyes or nose and is acting quite usual (either than the fact that he is crumbling his food). can someone tell me if this is normal?

Help Please!! We did not know we had a male chin

About a year ago we bought a pregnant chinchilla, her name is Lulu. She gave birth to what we thought were 2 female chins. Fast forward to 15 days ago when we came home and saw that Lulu gave birth to 3 babies! That's when we realized that the 2 chins she gave birth to a year ago were not 2 females, but a female, Marbles and a male, Jack. We now know that Marbles is also pregnant and going to give birth at any point. We have a 2-floor cage so we sectioned it off and left Lulu in the bottom floor with her newborns and Jack and Marbles are on the top floor. We are very attached to all of them but we have 6 chinchillas now due to the newborns and more are coming since Marbles is pregnant. We can not keep all of them. As very emotionally invested parents we can't seem to make a decision on who to keep and who to give away, especially since we love them all and we are worried about giving them away to unfit people that may not love them as much as we do. We considered neutering Jack so if we do give them away new owners won't have this problem. However, after doing research, neutering seems very dangerous and invasive and we do not know if we should go through with it. They are all bonded, especially Marbles and Jack since they live without Lulu now, to prevent her from getting pregnant again. We do not want to neuter Jack but if we don't we have to separate them and potentially cause them to get depressed. We want to get a new cage and leave Jack by himself and let Lulu and Marbles have the 2-floor cage with all their babies.

Is leaving Jack by himself in a new cage going to cause depression? Should we get Jack neutered and let him live with Marbles again? Will putting Marble and Lulu together in the same cage cause conflict since they will both have babies? Should we give them away in pairs, since we're incapable of taking care of this many chinchillas? We can keep between2-4 maximum. Please, can someone more experienced help us? How do we find people that will be fit parents to our babies? We have no idea how to make sure our loved babies are happy and we make the best decision for them. Please someone help us, all replies are greatly appreciated!

New Baby Chin RELENTLESSLY Trying to Escape Cage at Night

Hi all, my girlfriend and I recently adopted a 2 month old baby chin girl. I keep her in my room and I'm having a bit of a problem.

At night while I'm trying to sleep, she tries nonstop to escape her cage. The bars are to small for her to fit through so she just chews and pulls on them all night. Since the cage is metal, it's extremely loud and I'm not able to sleep.

I've had many nocturnal animals before in my room and I've never had an issue. I'm a very heavy sleeper, but the noise she makes in VERY loud.

Some points:

- There's plenty of things for her to do/chew. There's about 4 chew toys and some tunnels, hideaways, and ledges.

- I put up a 4 inch tall border of pine wood around the entire cage to encourage her to chew that instead of the bars, but she just climbs on top of her house and chews the bars from there.

- I'm mostly worried about her hurting herself while I'm sleeping. She is really aggressive about getting out.

- I know a solution could be more playtime, but I read that I shouldn't play with her until shes 6 months old. I've only been taking her out and holding her for 5-10 minutes a day as recommended online.

Any comments or suggestions would help, thanks!

Chins weight loss/diet

Good morning. Need a little help if possible and forgive the long post as we have been dealing with a situation since late December, early January. So we noticed our little guy was starting to drop weight. He was always in the 520 range and my daughter (it's her chin) was noticing he was feeling a little lighter so we started weighing him daily to keep track. It started with we noticed he would leave little urine puddles here and there while out playing and then she noticed little red marks on his fleece in the cage. She figured it may be a uti so we took him to the vet right away. They didn't test his urine but put him on baytril "just in case". After 2 days on Baytril, he pretty much stopped eating and his poo was less and less and really hard. We rushed him back to the vet and they did an xray to make sure there was no blockage. There was not so they told us to quit the baytril. Well his weight kept dropping fast so of course, call the vet. We ended up being referred to a more chin knowledgeable vet. Got him in right away and he did a mouth xray (so we thought) and saw a sharp tooth that was rubbing against his tongue. He filed it down and we thought all was good. Well the weight kept falling and so they took him in overnight to monitor him and found nothing. We were beyond frustrated and was able to find a highly recommended exotic vet about an hour away from us. They luckily got him in fast. They did every test available. Xray, blood test, teeth check. His teeth are perfectly fine. No malo, xrays were good. Blood test came back with his blood cell count being really really low. They sent us home with Baytril (a strong but easier dose for him than the first) and a second med which I can't remember the name. We were to do the second med for 5 days 1 time a day and the baytril for 7 days 2 times a day. We went back about 12 days later and his red blood cell count more than doubled which is great, but still not where it needed to be. They are seeing if his blood cells recoop on their own without meds and we go back this Friday to have another blood test done to see hows hes done.

Since the last visit he has started eating more on his own and not taking the cc or essentials for life as much as he was before. While he was on the meds, he would easily eat 50-60 ml of essentials for life. He started not eating it as willingly but we noticed he was drinking out of his bottle again and eating pellets/hay more. And he was starting to gain a little weight at a time on his own. His lowest weight was 417 while on the second round of baytril. Since then, he has climbed up and was able to get him in the 450's while hand feeding him. Once he started eating on his own, he had been maintaining the 445 range. A couple of days ago though, he dropped down to 430 and is back to not eating as much. I'm really praying that his blood cell count hasn't dropped back down. Has anyone had this similar situation?

Rose hip consumption

Hi, I was just wondering if I should limit how many rose hips I feed my chinchilla. I currently give them about 5-6 of the small, crushed rose hips per day. I know that their digestive systems are sensitive and I don’t want to overdo anything. Rose hips are also the only treat my chinchilla receives at the moment. I want to introduce goji berries eventually and I know you have to limit those due to the sugar.

Chinchilla Introduction

Hello all, I currently have two chinchillas Nubbz and Dusti. I have had Nubbz for almost a year and I have recently adopted Dusti. I'm trying to figure out the best way to introduce them. Right now they are in separate cages, Nubbz is in the main cage and Dusti is in a temporary cage that I borrowed from a friend. They can smell and see each other through their separate cages. Nubbz seems interested in making friends with Dusti but Dusti doesn't seem like she likes Nubbz. Every time Dusti sees Nubbz looking at her she runs over and aggressively make a sounds. I don't believe it's a bark, it's more like a low growl/grunt. But whatever it is it doesn't sound friendly. They haven't tried to spray each other with urine so I don't believe they see each other as a threat. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make them be friends and able to sleep and eat in the same cage or should I buy another cage and keep them separated at all times?

Chinchilla has no desire to leave cage?

So, I've posted before about my nervous boy, Nimbus, and things have gotten better, he's warmed up to me a little more, but he has no desire whatsoever to explore outside his cage. Free-roaming time terrifies him and he just hides under the nearest thing he can get under. I bought him a harness to get him out of the cage more, walk him in other places around the house that he shouldn't necessarily free roam in... he barked the whole time I tried to put it on him, and once in it, he ran a little, but then just sat stationary looking zoned out and tried very hard to get it off him. I've done this twice now, and he's just a very unhappy boy and I feel like the worst chin mom ever. He just runs away from me now when I open the cage and is very skittish about pets cause he thinks I'm gonna pick him up.

Is it fine that he doesn't want to leave the cage? He lives in a ferret/critter nation 142 (the old, clanky version). It's double one so he has two floors. I provide new chews and things for him when I have the money, and always throw him a toilet paper tube to chew on. It's probably his favourite.

What can I do to help regain trust and make him comfortable?

I'm definitely feeling frustrated and frazzled. :/

Chinchilla Cage Help?

Hello,
I am brand new to this site and was hoping to get some advice from some seasoned chin owners. I am going to be getting my very first chinchilla in the next 4-6 weeks. The chinchilla is going to be about two-two and a half months old then. I am looking at cages on Amazon and I came across this Yaheetech 52” Metal Ferret Cage Indoor Outdoor Small Animals Hutch with 3 Front Doors/Feeder/Wheels for Guinea Pig Chinchilla Large Rat Black https://www.amazon.com/Yaheetech-Ind...gateway&sr=8-4
I have heard really good things about this cage, but I have heard good things about the Ferret Nation/Critter Nation cages as well. I do know that chinchillas can have NO PLASTIC whatsoever, so I would be replacing the ledges with wood and getting rid of the stairs. I also do know that I will have to get some type of either cardboard or wood for the bottom of that cage or even a marble type slab for them to cool off on since it is just wires(which is not good for them to walk on) I'm not really concerned with the price difference, just wanted to know if this was a good cage or if it's worth the extra $$ for the Critter Nation/Ferret Nation cage. Thank you!

Gas - eating too fast?

Hello,

This is for the chin owners who have been on critical care for an extended period of time. I've been fighting a recurring gas problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

I mix up Critical Care in a very small sauce dish and Einstein eats it up extremely fast. I also put the dish on the floor of the cage so he has to bend over to eat it. I just realized that's not the normal position for him when he eats other food. When he's eating hay or pellets, he's always standing on two feet upright and using his hand to bring the food up to his mouth. I am wondering if this combination of him eating too fast and eating in an unnatural position for their body shape is a potential cause of the gas.

The misalignment of his teeth are apparently atypical but in a good way because there's no abnormal root side growth or cheek lacerations. He's never even drooled. My vet believes it should be manageable and I have gotten him back to eating hay a few times but the recurring gas problem always sets us back medically speaking. I've mistakenly assumed more teeth problems a few times only to find out the real issue is gas.

I'm using simethicone to manage but really need to solve the root cause. We've gone through tests for parasites or other issues that would show up with a chem panel blood test.

Thanks in advance.

Need some help...

My wife and I have three harnesses for our dogs. our dogs can easily slip out because the staps loosen easily. Please let me know how we can resolve this. We choose the right size.

Green Poop

Hi I have noticed earlier today that her poop has been green. But it isn't runny or diarrhea. It looks and feels the same, but its green. It looks as if she ate a bunch of hay and pooped it out. Just want to make sure she isnt dying or anything XD

If you can use dog harness on a pig?

Hi, just a quick question/concern. I bought a rabbitgoo dog harness. Yeah, I have a pet pig~ He looks enjoying it. Anyone who do this like me? I don't even know if it fits my pet or does it do harm to my pig? Need advice!!

Chin Keeps Kicking Up her Bedding...On Purpose!

Over the last couple of days, my chin has been acting out. It might have been because we had guests staying for a couple days, although we were barely there to bug her and we’ve had people stay before and she doesn’t care.

But she’s been staring at me through the cage and I have let her out to run around a bit then put her back when she tries to escape under the couch/bed. She keeps staring. I try to give her her favorite sticks but she has been taking them, nibbling one nibble the literally throwing them behind her in anger. The past couple night she did that with four sticks in a row before one of the sticks was acceptable.

I though maybe she was mad because it was time to clean her cage. So i cleaned her cage, put NEW hay in there (meaning hay she has not had before - a mix of alfalfa and orchard grass- she normally has timothy but has become bored of it) bought her TWO new toys (which she definitely showed interest in) then after i put her carefresh bedding down, she started KICKING IT BACK and DIGGING IT UP so it went EVERYWHERE. Then three more times it would repeat where I would smooth it out then she would dig it up. It was definitely on purpose. BTW this was a normal routine of me putting care fresh down and she didn’t do this before.

Then i try to give her some sticks because maybe that’s what she wants and she does the thing where she throws them behind her. So i get pissed and take the sticks i have her out and leave her be. The next morning it seems she stopped trying to dig up her bedding. i don’t know if she wants attention, is pissed for some reason, or has gotten entitled or spoiled.

For clarification - no I do not use any harmful cleaning chemicals on her cage, just a mix of water and white vinegar. I give her spring water. I make sure her cage is cleaned once a week (this week I got busy so it was a week and a half) and I make sure her food and hay is fresh every day and make sure she has new sticks to chew and doesn’t get too bored of her toys. Her cage is a double decker ferret cage and she has two extra lava ledges and a hammock and a wheel and an additional hideout. I give her a dust bath every few days. So she is definitely not lacking at least for a caged pet.

Flagyl Tasting Good?

My chin, Murphy, was just prescribed flagyl for giardia. I noticed that he was licking the syringe willingly, which I found odd. The vet's office told me that the taste is bitter and Murph would hate it. After I noticed he was licking it, I decided to put a drop on my finger to see if he would lick it up. He did, and he acted like he wanted more. I offered him a treat right after, and all he was interested in was the finger that had the drop on it. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced it? Also would it be okay to let him lick his dosage off of me instead of squirting it into his mouth?

Chinchillas in Hot Climates

Hey all!

As spring time comes around, the weather has been getting increasingly warmer. I live in Los Angeles, CA, where we’re known for the very warm weather for most months of the year. I got my chin, Momo in December so I haven’t been exposed to this issue yet:

What is the best way to keep Momo cool?

I have AC in my apartment and I’ve been using that, along with keeping the windows open throughout the place. If anyone has any tips/insight to Spring and Summer with chinchillas, it would be greatly appreciated :)

Question for bottom of cage..

I bought the following playpen which now allows Sunshine to come out of her cage, explore, and remained confined so I don't have to chase her. When she goes back in her cage, I can close it without stressing her out.

The playpen goes around the back of my Ferret Nation cage and to the front (I need to order another to give her further reign.

My questions are:
1) I have fleece on the 2 trays in my cage but the bottom wire bottom is bare. She likes to hop on it so I want to cover it with something to avoid harm to her feet. Can someone recommend me something to buy or put there?

2) I do not know what to do to play with her. I bring out a chew toy and move it like a stick which holds her interest for a minute; she usually likes to explore while I sit there watching her. Oh yea! I am quite happy that she feels comfortable enough to sit on my lap for a minute as well.

Any help, would be appreciated.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

One of my boys has malo - how advanced?

I took him to the vet because his eyes looked a bit weepy. I adopted him two months ago and noticed he doesn't really eat hay, so I suspected teeth issues. He was diagnosed with an abscess. A few days later he stopped eating and drinking. Took him to emergency vet, given painkillers and Critical Care, booked in for an xray. He had his xrays done yesterday and unfortunately he has malocclusion. However the vet wanted to speak to another vet with more experience in this area, but he isn't back until Monday.
I know malo is basically a death sentence. But I could really use some more experienced advice regarding how far along it is, and if Charlie could have a while longer with treatment, or if it's kinder to let him go. None of my chins have had this before so I really don't know.

Images are here (they're too big to attach)

https://i.imgur.com/syUqqo0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ly9HWKw.jpg

I'd just like to ease my mind either way. Thank you.

Chin prefers pellets over hay

Hey guys, I'm a relatively new chinchilla owner so I just wanna make sure I'm doing things right. So basically my chinchilla seems to be just favoring eating her pellets way more than the hay. I read the hay makes up like 70% of their diet so I've always made sure she has plenty of hay in her cage and I change it daily so it stays fresh. I try not to give her more than 2 TBSP of pellets each day either. I just wanna check and make sure I'm doing what I should be doing and if anyone has any advice.

Getting My Chinchilla a Mate

Hey guys,

I have a male (6 years old) chinchilla named Bean. Over these years I have really grown to love him and I don't want to think of a future without him (I know that sounds cheesy). I got him by himself and then I introduced him to another male (2 years older) chinchilla and Bean was usually aggressive to him in the cage and I ended up separating them sometimes. They were fine running outside the cage though. Bean's brother unfortunately passed away almost 2 years ago, but I was wondering if in the future (maybe 2-4 years down the line?) if you guys would think introducing Bean to a rescued female chinchilla would be okay? I would want them to have babies so then I always have little Beans running around. Afterwards I would get Bean neutered so then he wouldn't be able to have any other babies and if his offspring are males I would get them neutered too. Do you think that this would be okay to do? My concern is that Bean and the female (and possibly the kids) would fight and I wouldn't want to separate them. Thank you for any information you give me!!

Liner for Cage Ledges

Hey guys, so I just adopted a chinchilla from someone who was moving and they gave me her cage as well. Her cage as three built in ledges which is great but they're metal wire so I need to cover them with fleece so that they're not too hard on her feet. I know you can buy fleece liners from etsy but all the ones I've seen slip on over the cage or whatever. My ledges are built into the cage and only have one side exposed so it'd be impossible to slip anything over them. Does anyone have recommendations for what to do?
Right now all I can think of is to buy some fleece and place to over the ledges and just secure it with a safety pin to the outside of the cage. I am worried about my chin trying to get at the safety pin though.
I attached a picture of what the ledges look like so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Not sure if he is acting out or just bored.

We've had Jacks for about 3 months now, and he is about 6 months old. He is very friendly, runs up to the cage doors to greet us, climbs all over us, even "grooming" us with little nips and such. We will spend some time with him every evening, usually leave the TV on for him in the mornings for a little bit, and take him out of his cage for baths twice a week while I am cleaning the cage, where he is in a small playpen with my daughter and the bath for 15 mins or so.

He is in a double critter nation cage, so lots of room to spread out. Currently in his cage is 2 wood houses, a fleece hammock, three small wood shelves he can stand on and climb around, one large wood shelf he can lay on, a seagrass rope with wood pieces on to chew, a finger trap, two chin chillers, a wood ball to throw around and chew, a litter box with wood shavings, a ceramic food dish with pellets, a wood hay feeder with hay and chin buddy. We switch out his toys every week when we do a full cage clean so he won't get bored.

Past week or so, every night he has been redecorating his cage. One of his houses will be flipped over, his pellet food dish will be flipped over (where it is covering his pellets), the litter box will be moved, his chin buddy will be covered in wood shavings and thrown around. Basically anything that is not attached will be moved because he spends all night throwing everything around the cage.

I know he is entering puberty, and I'm not sure if he is acting out because of that or if he is bored. Any thoughts?

Yet another surprised (and freaked out) chin grandparent!

Hi everyone,

I'm glad I found you all... especially right now. An hour ago, I discovered that our beloved mrs had given birth to a kit without warning. She had one kit and it's adorable! I'm freaked out though. I've been frantically researching what I should be doing to make sure everyone is safe and happy. Things I'm most freaked about:

1) I read on Chin Chronicles: "You should very gently feel the chin-mum's stomach 4 hours after birth to firstly check it is warm, as if not, there may not be enough milk being produced and you may need to hand feed the babies yourself for them to survive. Secondly, if you detect lumps and the contractions have stopped, there is an unfortunate chance of a trapped/dead kit still inside and you must call a veterinary surgeon immediately."

I wasn't present for the birth, but I did witness the placenta pop out. She ate it of course. Is that a decent sign that she only had one kit in there? I had a glancing tummy feel. My chins are rescues and we haven't quite developed a hands on relationship yet, so it's hard to get in there. I wouldn't call her tummy warm, but I don't have the experience to know better.

2) We haven't separated mr at this time. He seems contentedly and proudly standing watch over momma and baby. My wife is bringing home a separate borrowed cage... How critical is separating him if all seems calm?

Baby is dry and presumably warm, snuggled up to momma, chirping away. I think I even witnessed a brief baby popcorning! Seems like a good scene to me?

Thanks in advance for sharing all your wisdom and advice.

D

Fluff bedding or Fleece LIner

Hi, so I am hoping to get a pet Chinchilla soon, but I want to have the cage super prepared first. I've seen these wooden ledges and steps sold on Amazon and thought they looked like a great addition to the cage. I've also seen some people cover the wood with fleece liners. Also, I've noticed how some don't use any bedding at all and instead just use fleece liners (I assume that requires more frequent cleaning however). I was just wondering if fleece liners are recommended for the chinchilla's comfort. I also wondered if anyone knew of vendors who sold these liners? They seem easy enough to make but I (unfortunately) don't know how to sew.

Affordable wheel for chinchilla

Hi, so I am hoping to get a chinchilla soon and I know a wheel is a must. However, I’m having trouble finding one for an affordable price. Everyone raves about the Chin Spin but that retails for $120 and I just can’t afford that right now on top of buying everything else for the chinchilla. I’d like to get one eventually but in the meantime I’m looking for an affordable wheel for my
Chin. I don’t want one made of plastic and I know they need to be about 14” in diameter. I’d appreciate any help!

Do Chinchilla's smell bad?

Hi, I am interested in owning a chinchilla but I am worried about how much the cage would smell. I know if I keep it clean it shouldn't be too bad but I'm more worried about how much the hay will smell that I feed it. Does anyone know if the hay smell is extremely strong for a chinchilla?

Home needed for 1 1/2 year old male Chinchilla in Rochester, NY or surrounding areas

Hi,

We are looking for a forever home for Dash. We would really like him to go to someone who already is knowledgeable on Chinchillas and maybe already has one or two, so he has companions.

Dash is from a pet store and was sold to us a standard grey but he is unique - as while he has grey in him, he has a lot of white as well and is the lightest standard grey I have ever seen. Happy to share pictures.

He is healthy and very personable. While like most Chins, he doesn't like to be picked up, he loves scratches allover his head and neck area and when he trusts you, he will climb on hands, arms and even up on shoulders. He even allows my 4-year-old son to give him scratches. And when he's in a calm mood will sit in my lap for scratches. He is semi-litter box trained in that he does pee in a litter box but tends to also pee at least once or twice on the fleece that lines the bottom of his cage.

He really is a wonderful little chinchilla, but we are concerned that he is lonely, and with our busy lifestyle doesn't get nearly the amount of play time or socialization that he deserves. We are very sad to let him go and it was a hard decision to make, but want him to get the best quality of life possible and fear we are not giving him that. We also have plans to bring a dog and a cat into this house and don't have a big enough space to ensure those animals are never in his space. After a lot of long talks and soul searching, we came to the conclusion that the best thing we could do for Dash would be to find him a good home where he could be loved and have companions, and get a lot more socialization and personal attention than he does now.

We are not asking for any money, but thought we would post here, since this is an area where people are looking for Chinchillas. We are out a bunch of money but finding a new home wasn't about the cost - its just he deserves more time than we can and are giving him. We just want him to get a loving new home. We will provide all of the current toys and fleece items, and any extra food or hay. We will also provide wood shelving we had custom made. The shelving was extra shelves that didn't fit into his current cage. We were going to put it into a Ferret Nation cage, once we bought one, which was on the agenda before we started talking about the possibility of finding him another home. We also have some other wood shelves, lava shelf and cold stones we bought retail that we will provide to whomever gives him a home.

Dash has:
- Wood sticks, various chew items,
- 1 wood hidey house, his food bowl, hay rack and water bottle
- 1 Fleece liners and a handmade fleece hammock and a fleece pillow
-Small Travel carrier cage
-Travel cage that we have used for dust baths and his dust bath, as well as what's left of our dust for the baths.
- never used custom wood shelves and three wood shelves in the current cage that are worn, but still usable, as well as a huge wood hay rack. All hook onto the cage and have poop guards. Also a wood hidey tunnel with a winnie the pooh design on it.

There may be more I'm forgetting. He'd love a wheel but the one we had broke, and had not had a chance to replace.

Please let me know if you are interested in considering having Dash join your family. Again, we would prefer someone who is serious about Chinchilla ownership and can provide the kind of home, where he has lots of play space and play time and companions, something we were not able to give him. We need to know he's going to a home where he will be as loved as he has been here.

We are located in Fairport, in the Rochester, NY area.

Home needed for 1 1/2 year old male Chinchilla in Rochester, NY or surrounding areas

Hi,

We are looking for a forever home for Dash. We would really like him to go to someone who already is knowledgeable on Chinchillas and maybe already has one or two, so he has companions.

Dash is from a pet store and was sold to us a standard grey but he is unique - as while he has grey in him, he has a lot of white as well and is the lightest standard grey I have ever seen. Happy to share pictures.

He is healthy and very personable. While like most Chins, he doesn't like to be picked up, he loves scratches allover his head and neck area and when he trusts you, he will climb on hands, arms and even up on shoulders. He even allows my 4-year-old son to give him scratches. And when he's in a calm mood will sit in my lap for scratches. He is semi-litter box trained in that he does pee in a litter box but tends to also pee at least once or twice on the fleece that lines the bottom of his cage.

He really is a wonderful little chinchilla, but we are concerned that he is lonely, and with our busy lifestyle doesn't get nearly the amount of play time or socialization that he deserves. We are very sad to let him go and it was a hard decision to make, but want him to get the best quality of life possible and fear we are not giving him that. We also have plans to bring a dog and a cat into this house and don't have a big enough space to ensure those animals are never in his space. After a lot of long talks and soul searching, we came to the conclusion that the best thing we could do for Dash would be to find him a good home where he could be loved and have companions, and get a lot more socialization and personal attention than he does now.

We are not asking for any fees and will provide all of the current toys and fleece items, and any extra food or hay. We will also provide wood shelving we had custom made. The shelving was extra shelves that didn't fit into his current cage. We were going to put it into a Ferret Nation cage, once we bought one, which was on the agenda before we started talking about the possibility of finding him another home. We also have some other wood shelves, lava shelf and cold stones we bought retail that we will provide to whomever gives him a home.

Dash has:
- Wood sticks, various chew items,
- 1 wood hidey house, his food bowl, hay rack and water bottle
- 1 Fleece liners and a handmade fleece hammock and a fleece pillow
-Small Travel carrier cage
-Travel cage that we have used for dust baths and his dust bath, as well as what's left of our dust for the baths.
- never used custom wood shelves and three wood shelves in the current cage that are worn, but still usable, as well as a huge wood hay rack. All hook onto the cage and have poop guards. Also a wood hidey tunnel with a winnie the pooh design on it.

There may be more I'm forgetting. He'd love a wheel but the one we had broke, and had not had a chance to replace.

Please let me know if you are interested in considering having Dash join your family. Again, we would prefer someone who is serious about Chinchilla ownership and can provide the kind of home, where he has lots of play space and play time and companions, something we were not able to give him. We need to know he's going to a home where he will be as loved as he has been here.

We are located in Fairport, in the Rochester, NY area.

Weaning kits?

Hello,
I apologise if this is a duplicate question! I tried going through several posts, but am having trouble finding an exact fit.

Chinny had 4 kits! I've been supplementing (2 entirely from birth) them with KMR since day 1, every 2 hours, then stretching out to every 4. One of them has always eaten much less than the other 3, so I know he's getting the most of Chinnys milk. Her kits are now 6wks 2days old. All are all between 223 and 243g, but both parents are also considerably large (800g+). They pounce on their hay every time I add more, and have seen them nibbling on their pellets. I have yet to see one drink from the water bottle though. They will often go eat hay after a feeding as well. All of them are consuming anywhere from 2-8 eye droppers full of milk at each feeding.
My questions are: Will they naturally start to take less and less milk in a couple more weeks, or do I need to quit supplying it to get them to wean? If I need to quit supplying it, I'm thinking I should gradually stretch out the time of feedings rather than make them go cold turkey? Also, is age or weight more important when weaning? Overall, I have no issue with continuing to feed them, just want to make sure they are getting the very best that they can!:) Also, just to note, they are all still with Chinny and doing well, but I'm a bit concerned for her nipples if I cut back on feedings. I have no idea if she even has any milk left at this point and is pretty exhausted.

Hello!

Hello everyone!

I recently joined the forum and would like to introduce myself and my chinchilla :-)

I'm Nalyn from the Los Angeles area and I adopted my chin, Momo, in December 2018. He's 6 months old and the best little companion. Although we've only known each other a mere few months, we have bonded incredibly and he is a huge cuddlebug. I also made him an instagram if anyone would like to follow him lol

I'm excited to join the community and get some good advice from fellow chinchilla owners!

Just got a chin and have a few questions..

Hi, so glad that this board is here. I just got Sunshine from a rescue. She is a 1 yr grey. I have a couple of questions (lady at rescue was very knowledgeable).

I bought several wood ledges, a sleeping(safe) house, a couple of those chewing ledges that comes in various colors, a wheel, and of course the feeding dishes.

My questions are:

1) I know that cardboard isn't good for them but the lady gave me one of the cardboard wines boxes with a cut out. Sunshine enjoys sleeping there and I often here her chewing on the box. Today, when I looked, I didn't see any shavings. Should I take it out?

2) I have ordered some wood chew toys and waiting on a tube for her to arrive.

3) Her hay bin and pellet bin are both made of plastic? Should I dispose of those?

4) I looked at the various cages (I am quite jealous of some) and was wondering what kind of toys would you recommend?

Thx in advance.

Escaped Chinchilla

Hi all, my neighbour has just said his Chinchilla has escaped & there's a possibility it could have got outside. Another neighbour reckons he saw him last night in some bushes outside my front door (But we can't really totally believe the guy). Obviously it's bl00dy freezing at nights & i'm not hopeful it could survive. Also there's three cats here, mine is one & shouldn't harm him, but I just found a dead pigeon & so maybe the uncastrated tom would go for a Chinchilla if their paths crossed?

Any ideas where he might be? Whether in or outside? I suggested the hamster trick (You all know, bucket/ramp/food/bingo) but he says Chins can jump quite a height. Thought i'd post here in case of any ideas at all that might help, i'm concerned if he's out in this weather the cold/foxes or cats might kill him. Though if he has got out I suspect he's long gone?

Does he need to go to the vet??

Do I need to take Rupert to the vet? Earlier today his eye was closed all the way and he wouldn’t open it all, now it’s open a bit, but it’s very red around the skin, and irritated looking, and weeping a bit too. His brother Roodey has been trying to groom it (I assume? Or maybe he caused it) he sorta nibbles at the fur around it almost? Rupert himself has also been rubbing his cheek, right under his eye. I can’t take him to the vet until tomorrow morning, and I don’t want to if I don’t have to obviously. I’ll attach pictures, one of when it was closed, and 2 from now.


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Do I need to take him to the vet?

His eye was completely shut, and now (a few hours later) it’s open a tiny bit and looks like it’s weeping. If I have to take him it will be in like 18 hours (tomorrow morning) as every place is closed tonight. I also noticed my other boy (whom they have grown up with together) almost nibbling at it? I don’t know, he wasn’t biting and he never pulled away or made a noise, but the other one was doing something to it, I’m guessing trying to groom it? He, also keeps grooming and rubbing the area right under his eye (cheek area)
I have pictures attached of when it was closed shut, and when it was partly open afterwards.


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Ceramics?

I know wire and plastic hay feeders are a no, but the only solution I can find to that is ceramic feeders. In my mind, I'm thinking the chins could chew on this and it will shatter. Is this a safe alternative or no? If it's not safe what kind of hay feeder should I use? Also would a ceramic hideout be okay? I'm thinking it will keep the chins especially chill if they want, but again I'm afraid they can shatter these and injure themselves. But maybe I'm being a loon, cause ceramic is pretty tough, but so is a chins bite I'd assume :hmm:

gotten a new cage but doesnt have a hard cover

for the bottom and middle part.
i ended up getting this cage for my chin

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and i have fleece and a towel in it but still want a hard part the bottom and middle panels. i was wondering what i could use for it or what you use if you replaced it. i tried looking for a panel cover but didnt have any from that company and other company didnt have the right size for it.

also sorry if i dont make sense i not sure what im trying to explain is called

Which Scale and Dust?

Hello,

I was wondering what scale you all used to keep track of your chins weight.

ALSO, a major concern for me is that the blue cloud mine has closed and I can no longer get blue cloud dust, I have no clue what an alternative to this would be as all of the others I have read about cause irritation to the chinchillas eyes and/or have "sparkles" in the which doesn't work as well from what I've heard. Please respond because I am freaking out as the date my chinchillas are arriving draws near, and I want everything to be perfect for them.

Thank you!
Maggie

Hi there!

Hi y'all! We adopted our chin from a friend's friend when she was 3 months old. She is now a year old. I'm so excited to find this forum since we are looking at ideas to build her a new home.

Florida Treasure Coast Vet Rec?

Hello,

If you've seen my previous posts, you know I'm getting ready to receive my first chinchillas! I can only find one exotic animal vet online in my area, but I do not even know if they are trustworthy. Has any one used the VCA Florida Veterinary League for their chins? If not, or if the care wasn't adequate, who do you recommend?

Thank you,
Maggz

chinchilla breathing

im new to owning a chinchilla and are chinchillas breathing the same as us with a steady in and out? I just want to make sure shes breathing ok and im just overthinking it. She has not a steady breathing and its more like a faster not steady breathing she comes out and runs around and jumps about fine sorry for the dumb question.

New-coming Chin Owner

Hello! (and sorry if this is a lot of questions!)

So for approximately 2 months I have been researching chinchillas and their care. Recently I contacted a very reputable breeder and they are sending me three females in about to weeks. All of them are listed as "show quality" and I would really like to get into showing them if I could.

My first question is quite broad, how do I go about showing them. I know how to register with a breeders association, but how would I prepare and register for a show? What features do they look for in the chinchillas when judging? And honestly I am not going to waste your time asking thousands of questions, so if you guys don't mind me asking could you tell me all the basics I would need to know about showing and starting my own ranch? I'm aware of their temperature and humidity requirements, and their nutritional requirements, and pretty much the "pet care" part of taking care of them. However, I am having a great deal of trouble finding information on showing and, in the future, breeding chinchillas. Any info will help, thank you so much!

P.S. I am also having trouble finding a list of the 2019 shows, either that or there are only about three in the US in 2019. So if anyone could show me a updated 2019 show list it would be much appreciated, thank you.

Etsy Grooming Comb

Hello,

I am looking for grooming combs for my chinchillas, but the only one I can find is on etsy. And this comb doesn't look like the ones I have seen on youtube. Has anyone actually used this comb? Does it work? If not does anyone know where I could buy a couple of actual chinchilla combs? Thank you in advance for the help, I appreciate it! ;)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/5708359...QaAsPHEALw_wcB

Rough ears and missing fur

My chinchilla has just gotten over ringworm: she grew back all the fur she lost on her nose due to me giving her dust baths everyday with sulphur. Now that her ringworm is gone, I noticed her ears look really rough and on the back of her right ear she’s missing a patch of fur. A few weeks ago I thought this was ringworm but it didn’t go away with the dust baths. Is it possible that she just has really dry skin from dust baths everyday? I don’t know if I should use bag balm or keep treating her for ringworm?

Bag balm got on fur

Hello,
Today I rubbed a bit of bag balm on his ears since they where pretty dry. This was the first time that I applied bag balm to him, he wasn't really a fan lol but if it helps him I will continue. But after I finished he immediately scratched his ear with his foot and in the process he got some balm on his fur. It is not much but you can see that something is on that part of his fur. I thought of giving a dust bath but decided not to since I thought that the dust would stick to his ears. Is this a problem that it got a little bit on his fur? What can I do if it is a problem?

Pyometra

Hi everyone

It’s been a long an emotional week!! My chin has been diagnosed with open Pyometra! She’s almost 10 years old and I’m very worried about her getting spayed. She currently is not a good candidate for surgery because she lost weight due to not feeling well.
I have been instructed to give antibiotics (enrofloxacin) pain meds (gabapentin) has drops (infant gas drops/Simethicone) fluids and assist feed for 2 weeks so she can gain weight.
Has anyone had experience with a Pyometra clearing up with antibiotics? Or has anyone had to spay their older chinchilla. My Chip is a fighter and isn’t one to give up easily, but it worries me to do surgery.
I’m also worried about waiting 2 weeks with this infection and the vet told me if the discharge stops then it’s a closed Pyometra and it’ll be time to worry. But could there be a chance if it stops that the infection goes away?
I trust my vet but I feel like if I don’t do all the research I can then I’m not being a good momma. My vet has her experiences but they deal with multiple exotics. At least on here everyone is a chin expert or have had plenty of experience with chinchillas.
Any advice or questions I should be asking my vet would be so appreciated!!
Thanks!

i sprayed for bugs

i sprayed for bugs a while ago to kill roaches and such and i just got a chinchilla about 10 months old and im new to owning one but i know they need to run around is it safe for her to run around in the bath room where i sprayed at the only place i didnt spray was in my room.

Chinchilla Mother hair loss

My grey mother Chinchilla, Nebula, gave birth to two babies a little over a month ago. Everything was fine up to today. I noticed the mother had lost a good amount of hair towards her lower back above her tail. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe the babies chewed it, or she did, or even the father. I do put the mother and babies with the dad for a few minutes to an hour depending on if the male can control himself. I don't want to take her to the vet unless necessary. It feels like a buzz cut on a dog if that makes sense. Anyone help please? She is about 4-5 years old and there is no blood at all, just hair loss.