Hi everyone! Apologies in advance for the long post.
Me and my boyfriend have just adopted a 9 year old chin 2 days ago. So far, so good - I wasn't expecting her to be so affectionate so soon, but she's been nuzzling our hands through the cage, and been quite playful, and even let me brush her after her dust bath this afternoon.
She's not pooping much - not noticed many (maybe 50 in 48 hours?) in her cage and haven't seen her poop. I know it's normal for stress to affect chins' digestive systems but I wasn't expecting her to be constipated for so long. She's also not eating much - she's nibbled a few twigs we've given her and I've seen her eating hay and her pellets but the food bowl doesn't seem to be going down much (her old owner also gave her tiny amounts of apple, which I know isn't ideal because of the high sugar, but I gave her a tiny bit this morning since it's her favourite and I want her to eat more). I want to phase out her food to put her on to Oxbow but I'm worried this change might put her off her food altogether. I'm hoping it will have the opposite effect, though!
We didn't want to change her cage too much in the first week of having her, since she's in a completely new environment, but when she arrived her cage only had a wooden box for her to sleep in and two wooden ledges! So we couldn't resist giving her this large edible log that she can run through, play on, and chew on. She absolutely loves it, and I can't wait for her to get more settled so we can give her the rest of the toys we've bought her.
A few more questions before we put them in her cage - we live in England, so it doesn't get incredibly warm, but sometimes in the afternoon it feels around 24 degrees (75 degrees to Americans!). We put an ceramic plate in the freezer as we thought that might be a good alternative to a cooling plate? Has anyone done anything similar?
Also, in the pet shop we were recommended a "lava ledge" for our chin to chew. We haven't put it in yet - I wanted to check it was safe on here, as I don't completely trust the pet shop - I feel like they generalise all small animals rather than considering their individual needs!
More questions: our chin has very dry ears. They look like they need some oil rubbed on them :( Is there anything we can do to immediately soothe them? Her last owner said she only had a dust bath around once a week, so I think it's something missing from her diet. Once we change her food hopefully it will clear up, but I wanted to apply something topically in the meantime. And also wanted to give her some vitamin supplements in her water, since she's been through so much the past few days. Can anyone recommend some good chin supplements?
One last question: after her dust bath this afternoon, we noticed she's been sneezing a lot! Once every 20 mins or so for the entire evening. It's so cute, but is this normal? I think it's just the dust, but I worry her immune system is down because she's stressed (another reason for wanting supplements). Is there anything to watch out for? Other than the sneezing and constipation she seems very lively and happy.
Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance!
Me and my boyfriend have just adopted a 9 year old chin 2 days ago. So far, so good - I wasn't expecting her to be so affectionate so soon, but she's been nuzzling our hands through the cage, and been quite playful, and even let me brush her after her dust bath this afternoon.
She's not pooping much - not noticed many (maybe 50 in 48 hours?) in her cage and haven't seen her poop. I know it's normal for stress to affect chins' digestive systems but I wasn't expecting her to be constipated for so long. She's also not eating much - she's nibbled a few twigs we've given her and I've seen her eating hay and her pellets but the food bowl doesn't seem to be going down much (her old owner also gave her tiny amounts of apple, which I know isn't ideal because of the high sugar, but I gave her a tiny bit this morning since it's her favourite and I want her to eat more). I want to phase out her food to put her on to Oxbow but I'm worried this change might put her off her food altogether. I'm hoping it will have the opposite effect, though!
We didn't want to change her cage too much in the first week of having her, since she's in a completely new environment, but when she arrived her cage only had a wooden box for her to sleep in and two wooden ledges! So we couldn't resist giving her this large edible log that she can run through, play on, and chew on. She absolutely loves it, and I can't wait for her to get more settled so we can give her the rest of the toys we've bought her.
A few more questions before we put them in her cage - we live in England, so it doesn't get incredibly warm, but sometimes in the afternoon it feels around 24 degrees (75 degrees to Americans!). We put an ceramic plate in the freezer as we thought that might be a good alternative to a cooling plate? Has anyone done anything similar?
Also, in the pet shop we were recommended a "lava ledge" for our chin to chew. We haven't put it in yet - I wanted to check it was safe on here, as I don't completely trust the pet shop - I feel like they generalise all small animals rather than considering their individual needs!
More questions: our chin has very dry ears. They look like they need some oil rubbed on them :( Is there anything we can do to immediately soothe them? Her last owner said she only had a dust bath around once a week, so I think it's something missing from her diet. Once we change her food hopefully it will clear up, but I wanted to apply something topically in the meantime. And also wanted to give her some vitamin supplements in her water, since she's been through so much the past few days. Can anyone recommend some good chin supplements?
One last question: after her dust bath this afternoon, we noticed she's been sneezing a lot! Once every 20 mins or so for the entire evening. It's so cute, but is this normal? I think it's just the dust, but I worry her immune system is down because she's stressed (another reason for wanting supplements). Is there anything to watch out for? Other than the sneezing and constipation she seems very lively and happy.
Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance!
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