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1

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 04:35:27 PM »

It's very tough dealing with the death of an animal.  I still think about my cats that have passed, and oddly enough, I see and hear them sometimes.  I honestly believe their kitty spirits are haunting my house!  But I don't mind.

You should only have as many pets as you can handle.  If rats don't live very long and you'll get very emotionally attached, I wouldn't get one.  I mean, you always could get one and shower it with love every day of its life, so that when it passes you'll have tons of happy memories to remember.  That's how I try and think of things.  I try and remember all the good times I had with my pets, rather than when they were sick or hurting.

2

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 01:27:46 PM »

I will keep an eye on her, thanks again!

I know how you feel.  I lost one of my cats and both my chinchillas in the same year and spiraled into a terrible depression.  Then just last year I lost my dog and another cat.  I've had so many animals and lost so many of them...I'm deeply attached to each one.  I'm happy with just my three cats and Kilala and Luna now though!

3

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 12:17:31 PM »

I've always been able to locate Kilala's nipples pretty easily.  I used to check Chichi over to make sure she wasn't pregnant after we discovered her son was indeed a boy.  I guess Kilala must just have long nipples or something!  I really can't explain it.

I'm so relieved it wasn't anything bad though.  And Kilala's foot seems alright because she was hopping around just fine on it yesterday.  Now that I think about it, Luna might have scratched her by accident.  She was really long, sharp nails and she cuts me every so often.  She's a little brat!

Awww!  Chinchi sounds like he was a sweet heart!  I'm glad that your other chinchilla has started acting like him.  I usually find that that happens with animals...When I lose one, the next animal I get somehow takes on a little bit of the personality of the one I just lost.  For instance, Luna is very wild, crazy, and bratty.  She acts a lot like my cat, Rukia, who I lost last year.

Thank you for all your help!  I'm no longer worried about my chinchillas, and I'm glad I was able to stay calm throughout this.  My dad and I really wouldn't be able to deal with losing another chinchilla this soon.  Kilala still has a long life to live, even though she's a couple of years old already!

4

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 11:50:23 AM »

I had a feeling she was a girl.  I'm happy she is  

No, Kilala hasn't been around any other chinchillas besides Luna for years.  She DID have a playmate for a day last summer, but it was a baby girl so she couldn't have gotten pregnant from her.  So I'm ruling out pregnancy.  I really don't know where the blood could have come from, but when I just checked her it seemed all cleaned up.  She and Luna have been cuddling all morning, just like they normally do.

I realized that the vet isn't opened today since it's Sunday, so I'll have to try and make an appointment for tomorrow or Tuesday.  The problem is that I'm leaving on vacation soon, and I'm leaving my brother to watch the chins, so I want to make sure everything is alright before then.  My dad is also going on vacation, and he's leaving earlier than I am, and I don't drive (I have severe anxiety issues).  So we need to get her in as soon as possible.

My dad just brought up that he thinks it could have been from a slight cut we found on her back leg.  It was nothing deep, but there was a tiny red line horizontally aligned with Kilala's foot.  I don't know how she could have cut herself though, but maybe that's where the blood came from and she sat on her house all of yesterday, so the blood seeped into her fur.  I'm thinking that's what happened.

I'm really sorry to hear about your daddy chinchilla.  But he seems to have been a very good daddy if he gave his life for his mate and her babies.  I'm sure he's watching over his family in chinchilla heaven, just as Chichi and Zel are up there watching over me <3

5

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 11:29:08 AM »

I wish I had read this sooner.  I just got done checking Kilala over and feeling for her nipples.  I was able to find them really easily, and they appear longer than usual.  I'm starting to think she's pregnant...


Here's Luna's naughty bits!

I agree that the blood is a cause for concern, and I'll call the vet, though I doubt they're open today since it's Sunday.  I'm not one of those people who neglects their animals.  I've worked in a veterinary office before and I studied for a little while to become an animal cop (though I changed my major to foreign language).  I care very deeply about my animals.  I don't want Kilala to be in any danger, like my other chins were.  They were a mother and son who died because we hadn't been feeding them the proper diet.  We had an outdated chinchilla book that the store manager had given us.  They had told us to feed them a mixture of parrot food and hamster food.  Luckily it wasn't too late to save Kilala, since she was still young when the other two passed...but I really miss Chichi and Zel a lot.  They were young when they passed.

So, do you think Luna is a boy?  I'm still pretty sure she's a female...but I could be wrong!

6

Health / Re: I found blood...

« on: June 12, 2011, 10:44:01 AM »

That's the thing with Luna, I've been wondering about her since I got her.  I adopted her from my brother's friend who is a chinchilla breeder (her parents are, not her really.  She's only 20).  I asked her what sex the chin was, and she said she's almost positive it's a girl.  I found Luna trying to mount Kilala a few times in the past, but Kilala seems to do it right back (she gets behind her and almost hugs her).  I've tried sexing her, and every time I'm pretty sure she's a girl.  She's rather small though for a female.  Kilala is almost twice her size.  I was wondering, are black chins normally smaller than standard grey ones?  Luna looks a great deal like my male chin Zel, who passed away some years ago.

My dad doesn't want to take Kilala to the vet.  We don't have much money.  But we'll look after her, and she's been fine ever since the incident.  There's no more blood, but she's been sitting on the top of her wooden hide-a-way pretty much the whole night.  She's usually always inside of it until night time...

I'm thinking maybe I should check her over to try and see if she's pregnant, since Luna is a mystery.  Or perhaps I could take a picture of Luna for you guys to look at?  Then you can hopefully give me your input!

7

Health / I found blood...

« on: June 11, 2011, 04:20:00 PM »

Hi.  I don't post on here very often, but something curious happened with my chinchillas this afternoon and I figured I might get some advice from some experts.

I own two chinchillas; a grey female (Kilala), and a black female (Luna).  About an hour or so ago I looked into their cage and found blood on top of their hide-a-way.  It seemed dry, but I was very concerned, so I quickly checked both chins over.  Luna was completely clean, but when I checked Kilala I found blood between her tail and privates.  Upon closer inspection, I found that she didn't seem to have any cuts or wounds on her, just blood in her fur.  I used rubbing alcohol to get most of it out, and then soapy water, and I held her for a while to let her dry before letting her go about her business.  I watched her hop around and take a dust bath, and she seems to be acting completely fine.

I really can't for the life of me figure out where the blood came from.  It was a pretty significant amount too, enough to worry over.  I thought maybe the chinchillas had gotten into a fight and someone got hurt, but I can't find any injuries on either of them.

I have 3 cats, and I'm going to check them over to see if maybe the chinchillas bit them or something, though it's unlikely...

Has something like this ever happened to anyone else?  Chinchillas don't menstruate, do they?  They don't bleed, right?  I've owned chinchillas for 9 or so years now, and this has never happened before.  If someone could reply, I would greatly appreciate it!  I just don't know if this is something to be worried about or not...

Thanks!

8

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 16, 2010, 12:27:34 PM »

I would consider finding a friend for her that is young.  They tend to accept young chins quicker than older ones.  Good luck
Steven

I told my dad that, but I haven't been able to have a proper discussion with him about it since we have other issues going on right now.  I really hope we can find Kilala a friend around here.  Maybe I'll start doing research.  We've kept the other chinchilla cages we used for my old chins, so that won't be a problem.

Oh!  I just remembered I had a video of Kilala running in the hallway if anyone wants to see it.  http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v504/bbnrae2gthr4evr/?action=view&current=Video5-1.flv  Don't mind the talking, I was on skype with some friends.

9

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 15, 2010, 08:24:07 PM »

I used to buy her alfalfa cubes!  But I haven't seen them around the pet store lately...I'll have to look for those as a treat for her!  Thanks for reminding me!

We give her raisins periodically.

10

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 15, 2010, 04:54:55 PM »

I would imagine it would be well worth it.  I know how tough it is, since I had to get my cats to bond with one another...I wound up getting my cat Aura two baby brothers after we lost her twin brother at the early age of 2.  She hated her new brothers for months before she finally accepted them.

Right now we're feeding her timothy hay pellets (meant for chinchillas) along with some timothy hay.  The staff at the medical emergency office told us that's the proper food for chins.

11

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 15, 2010, 01:54:06 PM »

Kilala's name actually comes from an Americanized version of a Japanese name.  I'm planning on majoring in Japanese, and I'm very much into anime (Japanese animation), and that's where the name came from.  Her original name was going to be Kirara, but we felt it was too rough sounding for her.  The r's in her name change to l's when switching languages (the Japanese language doesn't have l's, so their l's are changed to r's).  I simply reversed the process to come up with her name!

I've never really thought about letting her hop around in the bathroom.  All of ours are smaller than even the hallway I let her hop in right now, plus there's more for her to chew on.

I've always wanted another chin ever since I lost the other two, and I am kind of lonely now that my dog is gone.  But I honestly live for my cats and Kilala, and I don't like upsetting the balance in our family.  I've had every kind of pet imaginable, so I've gone through this many times before.  It's just different now because my father is still recovering from a recent heart attack and I don't want to stress him out by asking him for a new pet.  I'll have to discuss it with him, but the new chin would mostly be for Lala.  I'd really love to see her with a friend since she was shunned by my other two chins.

12

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 15, 2010, 12:19:15 PM »

Kilala's cage is in our den where I spend the majority of my day on my laptop.  My dad is in here whenever he has free time watching television.  Lala is usually awake at night watching TV with us, but some nights she isn't as active as others.  I sit by her cage a lot and talk to her, and people like to scratch her tummy for her and watch her smile (she really likes that).

She doesn't get out much, to be quite honest.  It's a hassle with my house, seeing as there's so much furniture in here for her to squeeze her way under.  We have an L shaped couch that she likes to get underneath, and once she's under we can't get her back out without taking the ENTIRE couch apart.  She can also get behind the television cart...To add to that, my cats are constantly coming downstairs (3 of them live upstairs because the cat we have down here has leukemia and they have to be separated).  The room that her cage is in isn't fully closed off, there's an open window dividing our den (where Kilala lives) from our living room, which the cats can freely jump right through.  I would worry if I didn't lock all of the cats up, which can be a hassle sometimes seeing as it's hard to catch them.

For the past few times that I've let her hop, I've brought Lala upstairs into the hallway and shut all of the doors, locking the cats out.  Lala likes to run up and down the hall as fast as she can, but there isn't much for her to play with there except for the cat toys.  Seeing her interact with that toy mouse really got to me.  I wish she could have another chin to play with, but I have no idea if my dad would want another one (our dog of 15 years recently had to be put to sleep).

13

General Chat / Re: I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 14, 2010, 09:29:39 PM »

I realized my guy was lonely when he started acting depressed. He wouldn't play with his toys...he didn't care if I re-arranged his cage. He would just SIT on his hay tunnel/bed and "pout" all the time. He stopped running in his wheel, and when I'd let him out to free run, he'd go under my bed and stay there (until I tapped the bath house...he loves to dust!) He basically lost interest in everything he once loved (except his dust bath). He was eating, drinking, and pooping fine. Looked very healthy...  just bummed.

Does your chin get excited over new toys, or re-arranging her cage set-up? Does she stay active and seem curious? If so, she's probably fine. But if she's losing interest in things and spending a lot of time just sitting doing nothing...she might be lonely. Chinchillas ARE very social creatures. Unless you WANT to breed, it'd be better to get another female. I had tried getting a male for my lonely male...but they never learned to get along. I have a female friend for him now...but they are in separate cages next to each other until female is mature enough to have kits. In the meantime, my guy has perked up just having her around. He watches her and makes little sounds like he's talking to her. They kiss through the bars and he has been running  in his wheel again. When I let him out, he bounces around the whole room (showing off for her). So I think it's working out well for us.

Hope that helps!

Aww, your boy sounds very cute!!  I could just see him hopping around trying to impress his new mate.  That's adorable!

Kilala sleeps most of the time.  The only time she's out of her wooden hut is to eat or when I take her out to have a run.  She watched television with my dad and I, and she talks to us.  She doesn't really seem depressed, she still has spunk in her when she bounces and stuff.  I just wonder if she'd be more happy with someone to play with, or if she's fine like she is.

14

General Chat / I'm wondering if she's lonely...

« on: February 14, 2010, 07:56:18 PM »

Hi!  I'm new to the board and I signed up mostly because this question has been bothering me for a long time and I wanted to talk to other chinchilla owners about it to see if they'd have a solution.  I know it's most likely been discussed before, but I wanted to explain my entire story first so that you would understand where I'm coming from.

In 2002 I adopted a female chinchilla whom I named Chichi.  I was thrilled to finally have a chin of my own to play with.  My science teacher that year had a few of them, and I would stay after school to play with them until I finally convinced my parents to buy me a chin of my own.  Just a few months later and Chi gave a birth to a little boy whom we named Zel.  We had no idea she was pregnant when we got her, and I think the reason she only had one baby was probably due to the fact that she was moved from the pet store to a new environment while she was pregnant.  We also handled her a lot and had no idea she was expecting, so I do believe her other babies may have died or never developed properly.

Either way, when Zel grew older we decided we wanted to try and breed him.  We adopted a little girl named Kilala, who sadly didn't get along with our boy.  She did, however, want to become friends with Chichi, but Chi had other ideas.  She would try and nip at Kilala whenever they came in contact.  After Kilala almost got bitten we decided to keep them separated as much as possible.

In 2006, both Chichi and Zel died, one month after the other.  The vets told us that the chinchilla book and pet store had been telling us to give our chins the wrong food.  It had said to give them a mixture of hamster and parrot food.  The vets told us it caused blockages in their systems which killed them...

Currently, we only have Kilala.  We do have other pets (4 cats), but no other chinchillas for her to play with.  She's a very sweet little girl, and she's always trying to communicate with my dad and me.  A few weeks ago when I let her out for a run, she found one of my cat toys, and I think she might have thought it was another chin, because she was making noises at it and sniffing it.  It broke my heart a little bit. 

My question is; do you think she's lonely?  Sometimes I get the feeling that she is.  I wonder if getting another chinchilla would make her happier, or if it's just better for her to be alone.  If I got another one, would I get a male or a female?  What do you guys think I should do?

Thanks in advance!