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1

Health / chemicals/fumes?

« on: May 22, 2015, 07:43:55 AM »

Hi,
Sorry I've been posting a lot lately! I want to be sure I'm ready when I get my 2 chinchillas next month. I think I am all set now except one question that I thought of today.
I'm putting my chinchillas in the basement, as it's the only sufficiently cold place and there's also room for me to make their play area right near their cage. I know chemicals from cleaners and such can be really bad for chinchillas, so I'm not going to use any cleaners down there. The only thing is, sometimes (usually in the winter) my family paints stuff, like furniture, in the basement. Are the paint fumes going to be harmful to my chinchillas? If they are, should I take the chinchillas out during the painting, and how long should I wait till I can put them back? Thanks so much!

2

Health / are these treats safe?

« on: May 21, 2015, 10:47:19 AM »

Hi,
I'm getting 2 chinchillas in about a month! I'm very excited. I've done a lot of researching on all their needs, and I think (I hope!) I'm ready to take care of them. (:
The only thing I wanted to be sure of was treats. There are a lot of conflicting opinions on treats. I know you should only feed them 1 or 2 small treats a day. Here's a list of what I'm planning on feeding my chinchilla for treats. Are they all safe?
Raisins (only occasionally, maybe once a week. I know they're high sugar.)
Oats (old-fashioned, not quick oats)
Rose hips
Cheerios? (I know some people say not to feed these, but other people do. Are they okay?)
Alfalfa hay (given small amounts like a treat with their regular timothy hay) or alfafa hay cubes
salt licks
Sunflower seeds (only about once a month since they are high fat)
Dried papaya
Craisins (instead of a raisin, not in addition to)
Dried pineapple

I've also heard they like toast, and cuttle bone (like for birds). Are these okay?
Thanks so much for your time! Do you know of any safe treats that I'm missing, too? (I know you can feed them dried herbs, but there's so many kinds you can give them and a bunch you can't so I find it a bit confusing!)

3

Q & A / Chinchilla Newbie! A few questions about care

« on: May 18, 2015, 08:16:22 AM »

Hi, I'm going to be getting 2 chinchillas in about a month from somebody who can't take care of hers anymore. I have taken care of classroom chinchillas at my school, but I'm sure I don't know everything about taking care of them! I just had a few questions.
I know they're nocturnal. Now, I have a hedgehog, and they're nocturnal. For hedgehogs, you must have light 12-14 hours a day to make sure you don't throw off their schedule. Do chinchillas need a light schedule? I'm probably going to get them some sort of lamp since they're going in the basement where it's dark all the time, but do I need a specific time schedule?
Also, I know they need to run free outside of their cage every day/every couple days. I wanted to make them a corner in the basement near their cage, but I'm not sure how to block it off. I know they can jump really high! Does anyone have suggestions for kind of blocking a chinchilla corner in, or do I need to find a small room they can run around? (I'm not sure I can...)

Thanks for your time!
p.s. I know putting them in the basement sounds like I'm shoving them down there because I don't want them, but it's really just the only place that's cool enough in the summer without me running an A/C for them constantly (: