Lettuce for Chinchillas?

Hi! I am from Colorado. I have a 14 year old chinchilla who I got about 3 years ago from a rescue organization. I am really worried about her right now because she has pneumonia. We have her on antibiotics once a day, pain meds once a day, and critical care feeding four times a day. Our vet has also recommended the spring mix organic lettuce because her back teeth are too sharp and causing pain. At the moment she is too sick for her teeth to be filed down. The main thing I am wondering is if I should give her the lettuce. Everything that I have read says no to greens and I was surprised when the vet told me to give her the lettuce. My chinchilla has another appointment at the vet tonight. They talked about hospitalizing her but said it would be too much stress for her.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Chipped tooth

Last night at play time, Tiquita and Talia got in a fight. While running, Tiquita ran into a shelf I had leaning against a wall (I was cleaning their cage). She immediately began pawing at her mouth. Upon inspection, I found she chipped one of her bottom front teeth. I can bring her in tomorrow night to see the vet, but I was wondering what would be done there? She is eating and acting fine. Ive read that mouth injuries can cause teeth to grow crookedly. Will she be able to tell if that will occur so shortly after it happened? Should I bring Tiquita to the vet tomorrow or would the stress of the visit do more harm than good?

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Excited New Chin Mama

Hi folks,

I jumped the gun a bit and started posting in forums questions without actually introducing myself. I apologize. Between finishing the holidays, going back to work and being so incredibly scattered - I'm acting a bit ADD these days.

To be frank up until a few months ago, I knew nothing about Chinchillas. Last year I lost my 14 year old cat, Luna. It made me very sad and though she'd been sick for some time, when she was gone, the house felt empty (despite having a very active 3 year old). A few months ago while a pet supply, exotic pet store that my son likes to go to, to see the rabbits, but also the snakes, lizards and spiders (not my favorite), they had a Chinchilla. We asked about him and caring for him and what it entailed and got a pamphlet and read it but that was about as far as we went, figuring we may get a dog next Fall. Then in early December we were in the store and they had a new Chinchilla and I fell in love. They let me hold him (which I have since learned is not the best thing for them unless they trust you) and he was so good about it. He didn't scramble or get upset. He was very "chill" as they put it for a Chinchilla. We visited him again later that week and my husband essentially formulated a plan and that Chinchilla came home on Christmas. He is a little past 2 months old and we named him Dash.

We live in Rochester, NY area and its a great climate for Chins. We regularly keep our house below 70 in winter and summer as I don't like the heat. My son is now three and so he has acclimated to my chillier house ways :). And he has learned gentle with animals early on because my cat was sick in the first few years of his life, so he was always taught, touch gently. Right now he only gets to look at Dash because we know how delicate a creature Dash is.

Right now, the wonderful little guy is sitting up in my office now, curled on his side and asleep and not minding my typing at all. We did everything wrong the first few days, as we read a lot, but didn't realize much of the advice we were reading was for 6 months or older Chinchillas. But, then I did real research and learned what to do right and think he is well on his way to good adjustment. He walked on my arm yesterday and think if I'd let him he'd have come out of the cage onto my shoulder, but we are keeping him in the cage because I read at 2 months it is best not to give him much out of the cage playtime due to him not being able to properly regulate his own body temperature.

I thank this forum for some of that learning, which is why I joined it to share my stories, ask questions and just become part of a community of fellow Chinchilla owners, a world much different than dog or cat owners. I still have much to learn and I'm not enough of a DIY person to do what a lot of folks have done - and will need to rely on store bought materials (and spend more) to keep Dash comfortable, but that's okay. I know now from reading that the pet store is the last place you want to get a Chin and a breeder is much better, but Dash is different - he really is "chill" adapting so quickly to his new home- maybe because he was in a pet store, I don't know but admittedly, I was shocked that he walked on me yesterday. It has only been a week and a half since I brought him home. His play is so fun - he takes all his toys in his mouth and runs around and ultimately drops them all down to the floor, then picks them back up again. Watching him gives me joy. And I hope being in this house and loved will give him the same.

Anyways - that's my story. I'll have lots of questions, as I learn about being a good Chinchilla owner but maybe I can pay it back by answering questions as I become more experienced. Thank you all for taking the time to read and looking forward to communications with you all in days, months to come.

Chinchilla scratching/biting

Hi all,

I recently posted how I'm a new Chin owner and our whole story - but not sure the post has even gone live yet, but realized I forgot to ask one important question. I've noticed that our little Dash is doing a fair amount of scratching (at least more than I believe normal Chins do - seen videos where no scratching for over 10 min) and biting in areas where scratching. Dash came from a pet store - but one that only houses exotics, bunnies, gerbils, lizards, etc...not cats or dogs. I've read that it is very hard for Chins to get fleas or mites but not impossible.

We have been doing dust baths every couple of days - but only had him a little over a week and bc he was a Christmas present probably went his first week out of the store with no dust bath. I'd say its safe to say he's only had two in the past two weeks, but the store said one a week is fine. I've since read you should do anything from every day to every two days - so there seems to be a wide range of opinion.

My question is: Since he is from a pet store not a breeder, should we bring him into our vet (already found one that treats exotics that we know and trust) and have him checked for mites, fleas and/or any other infections, even though I know that will be stressful to him (we only have the cardboard carrier at this point) OR increase the dust baths to every day for a week and see what happens? Because it is winter here and crazy cold the heat is running a lot. Keeping him in a cooler room with the heat vent closed, but don't know if the scratching is bc of not enough baths or the reverse, dry skin. Or the less common fleas/mites.

Would love any advice or thoughts people can offer?

Also, we bought one of those Kaytee woodland getaway houses for his hidey house and he loves it - sleeps on top of it but seems to be chewing it to pieces. Is this normal? I'm worried if he keeps chewing the top it will become less stable. Is there a better hidey house to get?

I truly appreciate any and all advice - I'm super new at this (always just had cats) but even though we've only had him a short while we consider little Dash a member of the family and want to be sure he's happy and healthy. Thank you.

Cage 'guard'?

I've asked this question before but I haven't really had luck finding something yet.
My younger cat is always bothering my chinchilla, to the point where I am unable to give him access to the lower half of his CN(I kept him on one level when he was sick but haven't been able to open it up again). The cat jumps on the cage a lot, and he's just overall annoying. Nothing I do will stop his behavior, I just have to make it work. He's only in that room at night because he can't be trusted elsewhere, so it's not an all day thing.
His claws are dull and trimmed very short so I'm not really concerned about injuries at this point.

The chinchilla actually enjoys it I think, he doesn't appear stressed and will even taunt him into jumping up there.

I thought about getting a play pen and looping that around the bottom half as an extra barrier but I wasn't sure how to attach it or if that would even help. Enclosing it completely is not an option, fleece won't work because he just moves it... So I'm just looking for other ideas/suggestions. It doesn't have to be pretty.

Best Cages and set-up

Hi all - I apologize if this has been asked and if my questions seem simple - I'm a brand new Chinchilla owner and starting out at a deficit. My husband got me a Chin from our local pet store (I know not recommended) for Christmas and while he did research - he didn't quite grasp the many nuances of Chin ownership. But he's ours now and we love him - we saw him many times in the pet store and fell in love then. He's just a baby - only about 2 months old according to the store and sweet but feisty. Whether we knew what we were getting into or not I'm committed now to giving him a great home. So I bought a critter nation double cage that will be here in two days - that I want to use to replace the starter cage - so our little guy has some height. But I've read mixed reviews on the bottom pan, and ramps. So I'm wondering if anyone has recommends if I should keep the ramps with the covers or get rid of all together? And of where I can get replacement pans that will fit the cage that aren't plastic -and then any kind of guard I can buy as I'd prefer to stick with the loose bedding -maybe try to litter train - that he's used to. I just know I'm busy and won't be as good about constantly washing fleece bedding - so loose bedding will be better - but need a better guard if I'm to do that or it will be everywhere.

I also looked at quality cages but those are so expensive -anyone know where I might find a used one? Trying to give at least 48-50 height - as even at two months, showing himself to be quite the jumper.

I'm not much of a DIY person - so looking to fit out the cage with shelves and accessories that are simple to put in and install - as anything that I have to jerry-rig myself could be tough. My husband will of course help but custom building is not his forte either.

I appreciate the advice and help. Thank you in advance!

HELP i think my chin is in shock!!

I let my little brothers (11 and 12) play with my chinchilla for a bit to give him some exercise for the day, which I have done many times before with no problems Which I will never do again And one of my brothers brought my chin back with really bad fur slip and smelled like pee, so from that point I just assumed he was spooked and needed time to chill out while I made sure he was ok. Then I put him in his cage and he was laying very flat and he made an attempt to crawl to his hut to get away from everyone but he couldn't stand up. I did move the hut so he could get to it but for about 30 minutes he crawled into his hut and layed there. He tried to walk but he had a limp. For about 20 minutes he sat in the corner of his cage or limped to another corner (also during this time he wouldn't accept any treats). But now he's walking around fine and even jumping on his ledges. I even tested to see if he would take a bath like my breeder suggested to a friend and he took the bath. I think he may be in shock and I'm going to take him to a vet tomorrow morning.

Any help will be appreciated. I know it was dumb to let my little brothers play with him, please don't remind me. I'm extremely worried.