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Topics - AnnieHank

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1
Cages / Cage for 2 sets of chinchilla, shipping to Ireland
« on: October 25, 2015, 05:04:09 PM »
I'm looking to buy a new cage for my chinchillas as one of the cages is getting a bit shabby after many years of use. I have 2 girls and a boy (family) so they are currently in 2 separate cages. I would like to get a really nice, really big cage with a separator to save on floor space.
Would any of you who breed be able to suggest a good cage and where to get one? I would need it to ship to Ireland which has been a problem in the past.
Thanks

2
Health / Water deprivation
« on: October 05, 2015, 04:27:54 PM »
Realised today that my chinchilla's water bottle wasn't working. I guess it's been blocked since I refilled it about 36 hours ago.
He's now trying to drink loads, I'm wondering should I let him self regulate how much he drinks or give him little bits?  Is just be worried about the guzzling hurting his little tummy.
He seems active and his usual self apart from desperately trying to drink all the water. It's not that warm or humid.
Appreciate advice, thanks :-)

3
Q & A / Chinchilla acting odd
« on: September 23, 2012, 03:25:52 PM »
Pixie has started doing this really weird thing, she crawls under her food bowl which is attached to the cage and wiggles along under it on her back with her paws in the air. She has only started doing this in the last few days. She has also started looking up and arching her back and neck for a few seconds. Anyone else's chin do something like this?
I'm hoping it's nothing to do with her getting her head caught in her hay ball a few weeks ago. She is still eating loads and pooing normally and very active and everything else normal.

4
Health / Hay balls not safe, chinchilla soiled, not sure what to do
« on: August 13, 2012, 01:39:54 PM »
I came home from work to find Pixie with her head stuck in the hay ball. The poor thing, I was gone all day. It makes me sick to think how long she could have been stuck like that. I really thought she was dead the way she was hanging.
My boyfriend took her out of it carefully and she immediately went for a really big wee then ran over to her hay and started eating. It took about five minutes for her ears to come back up and her tail to curl up. I immediately let her out into the hall where she plays to have a look at her. I gave her a pile of hay and she was eating loads and making her quacking noise. She still looks a bit shell shocked and her poo isn't great, it's a bit softer than nomal and it's big round pooh balls. I'm going to give her a little dyne (chinchilla probiotic) to ensure her stomach stays working properly but I'm unsure whether I should wash her or not? She soiled herself very badly. She is grooming herself so maybe she has that sorted? She also doesn't like being handled so I don't want to cause her more stress than I need to.
I'm going to monitor her for the night and if I need to, I'll bring her to the vet when it opens tomorrow. Hopefully this is just me over-reacting again, I'm looking at her now and she's bopping around her cage as usual.
If any of you reading this have hay balls, throw them out!

5
Q & A / Chinchillas and hamsters
« on: July 22, 2012, 01:48:02 PM »
My friend has asked me to adopt a hamster from her local pet rescue. I don't know a lot about hamsters but a quick google check and they seem like good pets, similar in care to chinchillas. I was wondering if this is true and if I could accommodate this little guy without much trouble to my 3 chinchillas. I believe they have slightly different dietary requirements so he would have his own cage of course. I would quarantine him carefully, washing hands between contact of him and my chinchillas.
If I agree to take him, how long should I quarantine him? Would he be allowed to play with my chinchillas? Is there anything else I should know before I agree to take him on?

6
Health / Buddy's not himself
« on: April 23, 2012, 03:20:36 PM »
He seems to have minimal interest in food or play which isn't like him at all. I let him out a small while ago and he just sat there for 20 minutes, no poos and no play. I even gave him a dried applewood stick, which normally doesn't last any time at all and he didn't seem interested. He seemed to be shivering too.
I've given him a small bit of lifeline powder and a couple of rolled oats in the hopes that will pep him up. He ate it anyway which is a good sign, right? He only weighs 3g less than when I weighed him 2 weeks ago. I'm going to bring him to the vet first thing in the morning but in the meantime, is there anything I could be giving him tonight to make him feel more comfortable?

7
Q & A / Need quiet?
« on: April 16, 2012, 03:20:08 AM »
My little guy, Buddy was losing a little weight and I suspected it was to do with the girls being in heat so I've moved his cage into my living room away from them. Problem with that is I work from home and I'm wondering would the noise of me taking phone calls and typing and printing be much of a nuisance for him? Do Chinchillas need complete quiet to rest?
His weight has stabilised since I've moved him about a week ago. I could move his cage back into the chinchilla room during the day as they're all asleep then anyway then move his cage back into the living room in the evening when he wakes up?

8
Health / Pain or mating?
« on: November 29, 2011, 02:10:42 AM »
My male has been making some horrid squealing noises on and off for a few hours and I don't know if he's hurt or if it's a mating thing. He had been in the girls cage (minus the girls of course) so he could play in the wheel but I caught him running on top of the wheel at one point so I don't know if he might have fallen off and hurt himself when I was out of the room or if he got a smell of them and just really wants to be with them now. I put him back in his own cage and he seems completely fine now apart from the odd squeal. He's eating and drinking, still curious and very active and pooing normally. He was wagging his tail and making mating noises at the girls so maybe the squealing is a mating thing? Perhaps one of them is in heat??

Vet opens in an hour so I'm considering cancelling my appointments for the day and bringing him in just in case. I can't really afford it but if he needs it I'd find the money. The only other times I've heard this squealing is when he fell off a shelf in the bathroom and landed on his back a few months ago (he was completely fine afterwards) and also, from a kit that got his head caught in the cage wires last year (he was also completely fine after I freed him).

9
General Chat / Cuddle progress
« on: October 09, 2011, 03:46:24 PM »
I've been treating my little critters to some rolled oats about once a week and some small applewood twigs every few days. Result! The girls let me pet them to my hearts content, even Annie who hates being touched (although she only lets me pet her while she's chewing. Once the bark is gone from the twig, I can sod off again!)
The biggest success has been with Buddy. He really seems to enjoy a good scratch behind the ear, just like his daddy did (although Hank would only let me pet him in the cage, Buddy has come up to me during playtime and stood beside my hand till I scratched him). He tilts his head and closes his eyes and stands up on his back legs. It really looks like "yeah, that's the spot"! He's also letting me groom him, as in pull the loose tufts of hair out of his hind quarters and in turn, he nibbles and fusses about my hand. I wonder does he think it's another chinchilla? Very cute!  :::grins:: It's so funny once he decides he's had enough cuddles though, after a minute or two, he starts hitting my fingers with his paw and pushing them away before running off to investigate something!  ;D

10
Q & A / Two questions
« on: September 14, 2011, 04:23:37 AM »
First question: I remember hearing that chinchillas should not be allowed treats until they are 6 months. Well, my kits are a little over that now and I'm looking to bond with them a bit more. They jump all over us during playtime but do not like being petted much and they are still a bit nervous around us. They go through phases where they downright seem terrified of the big scary giant people!
The other night, I put one hand into the cage with a pinch of rolled oats in my palm and while Buddy was investigating them and nibbling, I gently scratched him behind the ear with the other hand. He twisted his head to see what was going on but then went back to ther oats and let me pet him. Later, during playtime, he sat still and let me scratch him behind the ear some more. I'd call that progress! Question is, how often can I give them rolled oats? I know raisins are pretty much once a week, right?

Second matter of business: I know it's considered a big no no to allow males and females playtime together but every few nights, I let all three out together in the small hall. I reckon it'll be easier to reintroduce them once Buddy has had his operation if they've been playing together. There have been a few attempts at, ahem, "cuddles", but I have always been able to deflect Buddy before he gets anywhere near to mounting either of the girls. The hall is so small that I can see everything and they are always within arms reach. Anyway, it's all been going very well, they've stop and sniff each others faces and carry on, jumping on our shoulders or whatever... until recently. Pixie has started jumping at Buddy and snapping at him. Other times, when they are sniffing each others face, one will let a little bark and run away. This mostly occurs between Pixie and Buddy but occasionally with Buddy and Annie. This isn't play right? I'm wondering if I continue to let them out together, maybe they might get over it in time? It might just be in my head but I think Buddy might be lonely because on the nights I let him out without the girls, he scratches at the door to the chilla bedroom and goes around squeaking. I've heard the girls making that same noise when they've been looking for each other in the bathroom. It's different from excited playtime squeaks.

11
Q & A / 2 days no water
« on: August 28, 2011, 04:00:47 PM »
So I just got back from a weekend away to find Buddy's water bottle on the floor beside his cage. I had filled his water bottle before I left so I told my Dad he'd only need to give hay and pellets. I should have told him to double check the water anyway  :doh:

He was possibly 2 days without water. When I put his water bottle back in, he started glugging like crazy. I let him run there and he seems fine, his poohs seem normal and he's really active and curious and he's eating. He was grinding his teeth a little very briefly but I've been watching him for about an hour now and he hasn't done it since.
How long can they go without water? Because he's active and eating and all that, I'm not so worried about dehydration but I am a little worried about the glugging, overhydration or bloated tummy or whatever. Am I worrying for nothing? (I know I have a tendency to do that!)

12
General Chat / Can chinchillas see in the dark?
« on: August 12, 2011, 02:52:02 AM »
Just curious.

13
General Chat / Silly chinchilla escape!
« on: August 03, 2011, 03:11:37 AM »
I got the fright of my life last night when I went to take my little friends out for playtime, there was no one in Buddy's cage. First thing I did was to put the toilet seat down and close over the bin while my boyfriend searched under all the beds and presses. We finally found him cowering under one of the beds about 20 minutes later, he was alright. There were a lot of poohs there and we didn't find any in the rest of the apartment so I reckon he scarpered there and set up camp. He had chewed through a bit of electrical cable but thankfully not all the way.
I saw him in his cage about an hour earlier so he hadn't been out that long. Weird thing, Annie was making her alarm call and I ran in to see what was wrong but didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I thought it must have been some noise outside. I never thought to check him but that's obviously what was disturbing her. They've been apart a few months now and have very little interaction, don't even seem to acknowledge each other even though their cages are very close. I wonder was she being maternal though?
I'd also like to know how the hell he got out, I checked the cage over a few times and there doesn't seem to be any way out apart from the door. I'm going to be paranoid about this for awhile.

14
General Chat / Wheel
« on: July 18, 2011, 03:00:17 PM »
I have just ordered the chin spin 15". I am so excited! Hopefully they catch on pretty quick. My experience with the flying saucer wasn't great. Hopefully a more traditional wheel will catch on quicker. I can't believe I've put it off so long. It is expensive enough when you take shipping into consideration but it'll be worth it if they get a little bit of fun out of it!

15
General Chat / Playtime
« on: June 22, 2011, 05:19:03 AM »
I was just wondering about other people's playtimes. How long do you let your chinchillas out for? Where do you find is the best place to let them play? Do they do anything particularly funny during playtime? Do they drive you bonkers chewing everything?!

I generally let mine out for about 20 mins a night, sometimes more if they're enjoying it but usually 20 minutes seems to be enough for them as they get a bit quiet after that and don't seem too interested in running or jumping anymore. There's so much for them to jump on, they get very busy for those 20 minutes!
I let them out in the bathroom and my hall. There are wooden presses and skirting boards that they sometimes start to chew but a gentle push encourages them to move along and my woodwork is left largely intact. I do wish there was something like aluminium foil tape or some non chewable adhesive covering I could use to cover the wood but I've looked in all my local hardware shops and there doesn't seem to be anything like that.
They all love doing laps of the bath and also skidding along the slippery tiles on the floor. We have a mirror over out sink and Annie loves to look at herself in it. She probably thinks it's another chinchilla! Pixie tries to chew our clothes and hair and fingers and she loves chasing my socks in circles trying to chew them! She's also mad for doing fast laps of the bathroom squeaking really loud! Buddy is the best at jumping. He can cover some unbelievable distances and loves bouncing off the doors.

Looking forward to hearing about others playtimes.  :)

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