Elm Chinchillas website

[ElmChinchillas]

Hi,
Today I uploaded my new-look website.
There is a small amount of content I must finish off (Sexing a chinchilla, showing chinchillas in the UK, a couple of photos...), but it is mostly there.

You can find my site here:
Elm Chinchillas

I was wondering if you could give me some feedback. 

Thanks,
~Emma~

[Jo Ann]

Just doing a quick glance over for now ... I'll go over it good later in the week.

#1 Your site is pleasing to the eye and easy to maneuver ... so many are not!

On the page with explanation of colors at:  http://www.mewn.co.uk/elm/colours.html

Brown Velvet ... this is a common name for what is technically known as a TOV or TOV Beige ... a cross between a beige and a Gunning Black  (also know as Black and/or Black Velvet)

You are giving many color names that are often accepted in general, some I have never heard of, but am glad to get the information on them.     According to the two main organizations in the US, there are actually only 7 "accepted colors" ... you can check that out at: http://www.mutationchinchillas.com/genetic_information.htm

The "other colors" are more referring to certain "markings or shades" within these 7 colors and/or crossing two of the 7 colors.   

   Thank-you for mentioning the black/white as being a cross between a Gunning Black (black velvet) and a white.  A white, be it a Wilson White or a pink white [technically a - white/beige cross].

  So many use black/white or white/ black when referring to an ebony/white or a white/ebony which is a cross, as the name implies, between a white and an ebony.

I had not heard the terms Ultra-Violet  or Royal Blue or Starlight before ... the names get fancier and fancier ... but can be very confusing for those who do not know what two of the main seven, have been crossed.   

http://www.mewn.co.uk/elm/cages.html  Re: Dust Bath ... Dust bath dust is best for chinchillas ... a dust bath sand is often harsh on the fur and does not clean as well as the volcanic dust bath dust.

http://www.mewn.co.uk/elm/toys.html  Re: Wood to be avoided ... you might want to add peach and/or any fruit grown with a pit in it.

Same page ... toys to avoid ... you might want to add Parrot toys or any toys using aluminum ... aluminum is a soft metal and is often eaten by a chinchilla ... very bad on the digestive tract.

 
Jo Ann

[ElmChinchillas]

Parrot toys - good point.  I always avoid the ones with aluminum and pigskin.  I'll amend that later today or tomorrow.
I'll also read through the cages and toys pages again and see where I can amend bits.

Dust bath dust is known as sepiolite here, and comes in 2 consistencies - the usual dust bath dust which is like very fine sand (very small grains and not really course) and the finer dust which has a consistency a bit like flour.

On the colours page, in the NCS shows they have in the UK they do break the groups up a bit more, e.g. there could be a class of wilson whites and a seperate class of pink whites.  All of the colours I have named have been recognised and named in the shows I have been to, except a tan would be known as a "self brown" (there, I've spotted something else to add to!).  I could add a point about what the MCBA say too.

Thanks for your comments so far. 

[forchins]

The site looks very nice and simple. The colors fit together well. The pictures are well placed in the different articles. A couple of suggestions. In the front page, you could add a little more introductory information about chinchillas to whet people's appetites. Also, rather than have one big chinchilla picture on the front page, you could consider a few smaller pics. Overall, it's a very good site.

If you like, you could look our site to see a front page with some intro information. (And if you want to review forchins too, that would be great)

[Jenova]

I really like your site. I can't review it that much because I'm no expert but I want to give you support from a fellow UK person.
I just wanted to ask: you have no mention of white chinchillas on your website. Why? I'm curious. 
It would also be cool to have the chins' pictures next to their descriptions in 'Our Standard Males' etc.