Chinchilla Community Forums

1

Q & A / "Barking"

« on: November 08, 2016, 09:11:58 PM »

Do chins "bark" while they're sleeping?

2

Hi,

Recently my chins have been fighting with each other, so I have since separated them for a couple nights and let them out together for play time last night, they were fine for a bit then got into it again. Before I separated them when they first started fighting they would always cuddle when they were sleeping during the day. They have a huge cage but never stay out of each others way. I put them back in separate cages last night after playtime, however, they freak out that they are not together and sit by each other in the different cages. Does anyone know what this means? They fight but they can't stand being away from each other is that normal? Will they ever get along, no blood has been drawn from either, just noises, mounting and lots of fur tuffs being pulled out. They are both male ages 2 and a half and 2.

What age do chins hit puberty?

3

Q & A / What room to house chins in

« on: February 22, 2016, 06:38:10 AM »

Hi,

I just have a general question as to where people house their chins within their homes.

Right now I have mine in the room across from my bedroom but I have been thinking a lot about moving them into my room as I don't spend as much time as I would like to with them I do spend an hour a day with them but I want to be with them more. Id like to be able to spend more time with them by having them in my room, rather than just sitting on the floor in front of their cage in the room they're in now, anyone have them in their room?

4

Health / Stones

« on: January 19, 2016, 04:17:00 PM »

A little bit ago I thought that one of my chins may have a UTI he went through a round of meds and is still having some blood in his urine. Finally got a decent size sample and brought it to my vet she tested it and didn't find any bacteria, white or red blood cells so she suggested that I bring him in for an x-ray and he may have stones and if he does he's going to need surgery. Has anyone dealt with this before?

5

Health / Possible UTI

« on: January 03, 2016, 12:10:21 AM »

I think one of my chins may have a UTI there's been alot of urine around the cage and I just thought one was marking his territory but tonight I noticed something I should have saw last night it looks to be blood in the urine. I am wondering if anyone knows about the types of samples vets will accept. I am not sure how I can get a sample so do you know if they will accept the dry urine off his tile, although if I do that I don't exactly know which one it was I have a pretty good idea who it is its mostly pee in the wheel Isaac uses and he's been making alot of chatter lately squeeking, alot hes never made mu h noise before so it may be him? Also vets around here are not open tomorrow, Sunday, only emergency is. Is this a matter I should wait on until Monday or try and address tomorrow?

6

Q & A / Swollen Eye Lid

« on: November 03, 2015, 10:17:00 AM »

Hi,

First off I will say I made a vet apt for tomorrow.

One of my chins, Frank has been having some eye issues with his right eye. I noticed 4 days ago that it looks like he maybe had a scratch in the corner of his eye about 1/2 a cm from the eyeball as his fur looks like some was missing when I compared it to his left eye. I did not let him have any dust baths since and thought maybe it would go away, it looked as tho it was getting better but then this morning before work I noticed that his upper lid is swollen and now covering half his eye. Has anyone ever dealt with anything like this before, I am an easy worrier and kind of freaking out a bit.

Thanks

7

Q & A / Rose Hips

« on: September 25, 2015, 04:56:25 AM »

Hi,

What's your opinion on feeding chins rose hips that I picked out at my cottage but they are not dried yet. Should they only be fed dried rose hips?

8

Health / Giving liquid medication

« on: September 15, 2015, 05:06:22 PM »

One of my chinhillas has a parasite and the medication finally came in. I was wondering if anyone had any good tips on how to give it to him. I wrapped him up in a towel and then put the surynge type thing in behind his front teeth the best I could and put in a tiny bit at a time but alot came out the side. Anyone know a way I can open his mouth more..should I just force it open? Are their tounges long enough to get what is left off the side of his mouth because I wiped off as much as I could with the towel and then I found him wiping his face on a piece of wood.

9

Q & A / Burnt Toast to help soft poops?

« on: August 27, 2015, 05:01:05 AM »

Hi,

One of my chins is having soft poops and I read somewhere that if you give them burnt toast it will help, does anyone know if that is a true fact, or what can I do to help him?

Thanks!

10

Q & A / Shedding fur

« on: July 03, 2015, 11:38:23 AM »

Is it normal for chins to shed some of their fur moving from winter to summer, kind of like a cat or dog? I have noticed that lately it kind of looks like that with fur around certain parts of their cage.

11

Q & A / Chins peeing on hay

« on: June 12, 2015, 05:14:47 AM »

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if they can fix it somehow. My two chins are peeing all over their hay, the container it's kept in and all over the wooden shelf that it is kept on.

Thanks!

12

Q & A / Unhealthy Weight

« on: April 22, 2015, 06:05:46 AM »

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what an unhealthy weight of a chinchilla is? Like how much roughly should they weigh?

Thanks muchly!

13

Q & A / Male chin mounting another male chin

« on: April 08, 2015, 05:13:56 AM »

I have two male chinchillas that I am slowly trying to get together in one big cage, I am putting them in a play pen together for about an hour a night. I have been doing this for a few weeks now, well after the 3 week period before I even put them together outside of their cages. I am wondering if the mounting will ever stop? Frank always mounts Isaac, they are both male but I am wondering if maybe Frank does not know that Isaac is also a male? Does anyone have any advice? Should I stop Frank each time he does it? They also bite each other, does that ever stop, any advice on how to stop it?

14

Q & A / Bonding question

« on: February 10, 2015, 07:28:30 AM »

I am in the process of bonding two make chins. I have put the cages about 2 inches apart I am at the beginning of week two and I am wondering if anyone knows if it is normal for the chins to pull on the cages with their teeth trying to either open the door or get out, it's kind of aggressive and am not sure if that is a bad sign or something that is normal. They both have done it at different times.

Also does anyone know if chins can get jealous?

Thanks!

15

Q & A / Introducing two males

« on: January 22, 2015, 10:04:49 AM »

Hi,

I have a one year old male chin and am planning on getting a new one tomorrow, they say he is about 6 months old. Does their colour matter or can they be different colours and still have the potential to get along? Has anyone here introduced two males? Do you have any tips on how I should do it and what exactly I need to do. I just built a 4ft x 4ft x 2ft cage for the year old chin and still have the old cage I had him in and I planned on using that one for the new chin then putting them together in the big cage once they are used to each other. Does anyone know what I need to do in order to bring them together?

Thank you!