Chinchilla Community Forums

1

North East USA / Chinchilla

« on: December 11, 2007, 11:14:20 PM »

I need to find a male chinchilla in VA for my Chico. He is lonely and I dont want any breeding going on so I gotta find a male. I spend three horus with him daily but hes still a bit lonely because I cant do this time consistently.

2

Memorials / Not quite my chin but..

« on: October 14, 2007, 02:42:18 PM »

My lizard passed away. She accquired MBD (metabollic bone disease) and couldn't eat when I tried to feed her she choked. There was nothing I could do by the time I found an exotic vet she would have already passed.

I just have to bite my tongue and move on but she was the most joyful little baby crested I ever saw.

3

Q & A / One more question..........

« on: October 11, 2007, 12:40:07 PM »

I have a wire bottom tray..... I can remove the bottom wire, would that be okay to give him some aspen to run around in or should I just keep it there? Thanks!

4

Q & A / (I know I post a lot lol) Am I a good chinchilla mommy?

« on: October 10, 2007, 07:13:18 PM »

Does it seem I am taking care of my baby well?

Here's how Chico lives:

He has the two tier chinchilla starter cage from petsmart as that is where I bought him.

I give him alfalfa bay hales and a little bit of timothy hay.

I have a pet shop near my house, 2 mins, that special orders Zupreem and Kaytee Plain(no treats) that is tinier and he likes the smaller ones the most.

I have rolled oats from the organic section of kroger to put into his food(with flax).

I use spring water but Im not sure if it has minerals. I will check that soon.

I change the water every 4-5 days.

He has a pvc pipe(checked with JoAnn to see if it is okay) that he absolutely loves to hide in.

He has lava bites and wood sticks and the occasional toilet paper roll to play-chew on.

He has a lava ledge, a wood ledge, two hanging wood toys and the bowl that came with the cage to keep his food in. LUCKILYYYYYYYY he never chews on the plastic. He must not like it so I haven't changed to stainless steel just yet.

A marble tile in the bottom of his cage to keep him cool. Not quite granite but I did that because my house can get really cold (68 is the coldest ever) and I dont want it to get TOO cold as granite is usually 10 degrees cooler than the room.

Plastic Dust bath with the dust brand from petsmart until my shipment comes.

He comes out of the cage itself once a day, not to run around but to be held and checked for health. He comes out to run three times a week as he runs a lot around his cage as is. I don't want to over-exert him as his weight was down at first and now it's back to normal. (= He is talked to every night and scratched under the chin before I leave for work and when I go to bed. My computer is in his room so he gets plenty of baby talk!

What's on my list now:
Multivitamin Drops
Chinchilla Wheel
Grooming Brush $$$ Gotta find a good inexpensive one

Things I have ordered for him:
Hammock - Chinchilla John Deere Fabric Single Side with Matching Color
One Ounce Sticks (Mixed between mulberry grape etc)
20 Pumice Stones
One Round 3" Bitty Bagel
Sticks & Blocks - to make him toys
2 oz Rose Hips
Seagrass 6x6 Matt
Corner Ledge
4 pounds of Blue Sparkle Chinchilla Dust
Whole Oats
Timothy Cubes
Apple Pellets

I always seem to spoil my animals, even my snake lol.

I will NOT be offended if the comments are via the health of my animal.

5

Q & A / Paint...

« on: October 10, 2007, 12:00:50 PM »

Chinchilla-safe paint that I can repaint his cage bottom and shelves with? Anyone know of any?

6

General Breeder Chat / Can Someone Classify My Mutt? (=

« on: October 10, 2007, 11:46:08 AM »

My Chico is a pet store chin but I feel maybe if I classify him I wont have it hanging over my shoulders that the reason I bought from a pet store was to get the chin OUT of that crappy glass home.

. I love him, he's so full of personality! But, I feel maybe breeders will look at me like I was stupid for buying from a pet store

. He's a standard, below is his picture. My only question really is if he is light, medium, dark. I think, just guessing, that he is a light.

7

Q & A / ..........Dwarf Chinchilla?

« on: October 08, 2007, 02:11:05 PM »

http://www.spoiledchins.net/My_Chins/mychins.htm

Can a dwarf chinchilla live with a regular one if they are the same sex? I mean how tiny are these guys compared to a regular chin! I've never heard of them.

8

General Chat / The Family

« on: October 08, 2007, 12:29:25 PM »

The Chin - Chico

The Liz - Ally

The Snake - CornChip

The Big Babies

Critter

Simba

Oh and me xD

9

Q & A / Chinchilla Wheel?

« on: September 13, 2007, 09:14:35 AM »

I can't afford a new chinchilla wheel for the inside of the cage and I am really going to need one for him because he loves to run around a lot. Does anyone have a chin-safe wheel I can buy from them for a lower cost than a new one?

10

Q & A / interaction?

« on: September 07, 2007, 09:13:10 AM »

Does anyone know any ways I can get my chin to interact with me when he's out of his cage?

11

Q & A / Slowly Switching Food

« on: September 06, 2007, 09:35:19 AM »

When I got my chin from the petstore, they didnt tell me what kind of hay or pellets they used. I know they probably used timothy hay but it wasn't green at all. They used big pellets too but still, never mentioned to me "don't get the stuff with all the treats in it." So he's been recieving the treaty stuff but he only eats like a big oat out of it and the pellet, and some sort of seed they put in it. Tonight I am going to the pet store to get regular pellets, no matter what brand of chin food, it's better than this fiesta junk. But I will try to get alfalfa based because I feed him timothy hay.

I also feed him orchad hay, a small bit, which I believe is high in fiber. Oats I believe are used for fiber, correct? I am trying to find an oat/herb I can feed him that I can find in the pet store as an alternative to ordering online because I simply can't afford that s/h.

The question I had was "since he was originally on pellets should I just swap to the regular pellets"?

And, just for fun, here's my shopping list for my baby.

PVC Pipe
Pellets
Timothy OR Alfalfa Cubes (for a treat)
Lava Bites
Bottle Water
Taller Play Pen (I have a small one)
Possible Play Pen Bottom
Rose Hips (Don't know where to get them)
Oats/Herb Food Source
Storage Bin For Hay
Storage Bin For Pellets
Tiles to create a cooling spot on the bottom of the cage. I will get the ones with the glue, to glue to the bottom of the cage, unless I can find ones that are very heavy.

12

Q & A / chew blox?

« on: September 05, 2007, 08:20:47 PM »

are those chew blox (mineral) equal to a pumice stone?

13

Q & A / This really bites

« on: September 05, 2007, 06:15:16 PM »

I want to purcahse rosehips, oats, pumice stones, stuff like that for Chico BUT, I just can't find anywhere that doesnt charge you 20+ for shipping. =/

14

Q & A / Okay.... the raisin is his new best friend.

« on: September 05, 2007, 05:47:16 PM »

I scratched my chin behind the ear and then gave him a raisin last night since he's never had one. So, today, I let him sniff it, and then I beckoned him on with it, then placed it in my hand while he was still a walking distance away, and he came and got it out of my hand. And then later on when I was trying to get him out of the cage to go in his ball for nightly exercise, he chased my hand to the door, because he thought he was getting another raisin. xD Yay! Finally getting somewhere with the baby.

Add On:

He must really want another raisin because everytime I open the cage he runs to the door and sniffs, and nibbles my fingers. He doesn't want me to leave until he gets one. But, I am no sucker for cuteness. I wait until it's the proper time.

15

General Chat / Chins That Are From pet Stores

« on: September 04, 2007, 09:30:46 PM »

My chin, Chico, is a standard grey male. He came from petsmart and has had two homes as mentioned by them. Apparently people claim to be allergic to them and return them. I think its just the responsibility of owning one.

Anyways, the first day he was ....very lethargic. After a while I realized what it was. New environment, AGAIN. More people, again. But now he's pretty playful but he doesn't really like to come to the humans too much. Do you think holding a raisin out for him to get him to come is a good idea? Or should I just get him to let me pet him and then give him a raisin?

Also it never appears as if he sleeps...ever. Can they sleep with their eyes open and why does he prefer the corner without any shade as opposed to his box? He's 6-7 months old.