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1

General Chat / Re: My Online Store is GONE! :(

« on: July 03, 2013, 12:57:38 AM »

Where are you located? There are a lot of chinchilla supply vendors all over. Some vendors are mentioned here: http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/board,40.0.html

2

Q & A / Re: Reintroducing male to female after weaning babies

« on: June 25, 2013, 12:12:03 PM »

What I do for introductions and it works fairly well, is I take the dominant one of the two and trim their whiskers down to an inch in length (they grow back, so no worries.).

First thing in the early morning hours, when they are all tired out from their long night of playing, I will put both of them in a neutral (and chin proofed) room in my home, lay out a dust bath, and maybe some tunnels or objects to keep them distracted from wanting to hurt one another, and I will just sit and watch.

I stay for a good 2 hours, and if all is well, I will put them in the male's cage (much like Jamie mentioned). I will supervise for another two hours, to ensure there is no fighting. If there is fighting, then I separate and try another introduction method on another day, but usually this way of introducing works well. There is the odd chinchilla who is just not interested in having a buddy, but that's only ever happened once before and I've introduced numerous chinchillas for other pet owners, my own, and for friends.

If it does not work out, you could try the same introduction method with the dad and babies (if all babies are male). There is no harm in doing that either.

3

Health / Re: can i ask a huge favor?

« on: June 25, 2013, 12:03:56 PM »

She could just have a spur that is causing a bit of issue. Not necessarily a malocclusion problem. Sometimes the chins can be lazy chewers or a tooth could have broken off from something hard they chewed on, causing the teeth to not grind properly and a spur to develop. Usually if it is malo, you can feel little bumps along the bottom of their jawbone (not always, but sometimes). They feel like tiny little pellets on the jawbone. I hope things work out, and it's nothing more serious than a spur needing a trim.

4

Guestbook / Re: Long winded hello from Canadaland! I love to type... lol!

« on: June 18, 2013, 10:55:59 AM »

Hi Faken. Glad to see someone from Canada. I don't really suggest the oxbow, as I've heard of issues with chins going off feed while on it from other pet owners who used it, or having tummy troubles/weight loss since they changed to a new formula in 2011. I do sell supplies in Canada, and the feed I sell is locally milled in BC. I don't know where you are located, but I do ship, as well as offer delivery in the area and I welcome customers to pick up locally too. 

The diet I sell is Alderpark pellets, it is only $0.54 a lb, milled right here on the island, and always fresh. The diet is one that has been used privately by breeders and ranchers in BC, since the 1960's, when it was first formulated by a nutritionist named Dr Koch.

Dr Koch had studied both chinchillas in the wild and as well on fur ranches, back in the 60's, to determine what chinchillas need for a complete diet. While it is complete, you still need to feed hay for roughage, if you did decide to use it. I personally love the diet. I had used mazuri back in the late 90's and found while it is an okay diet for pet chinchillas; for breeding chinchillas, it left a lot to be desired. I've been using these pellets for a number of years now, and haven't had any issues. The chins tend to be rounder and have more muscle mass on their bodies with this diet.
My store link is: http://chinchillaparkplace.ca/chinstuffstore//

I don't know if Purina Rabbit show is available in Canada, and have never heard of it being used in Canada, but it is used often in the US and I have heard good things about it from the pet owners and breeders in the States.

5

General Breeder Chat / Re: Just sharing 3 kits way different in size

« on: June 05, 2013, 08:31:51 PM »

Awww, they do appear to be preemies. I had preemies born once, and at least for me, I found their fur was like peach fuzz and they were very tiny compared to what I am used to seeing with babies. They were 22 and 24 grams at birth. Luckily they did survive and mom did an excellent job of nursing them. They turned out okay when full grown, but were incredibly tiny the first month of life.

6

Guestbook / Re: Hello from Newfoundland

« on: June 01, 2013, 11:44:28 AM »

Welcome to the forum! Debbie.nl.ca on here is from Newfoundland. She might be able to help you out when it comes to local food and supplies for him.

7

Health / Re: Advice?

« on: May 12, 2013, 12:52:13 PM »

If it is over 75 degrees, you should get an air conditioner, to keep it cool. If it is too hot and they can die of heat stroke. Sometimes genetics has to do with size. There could be many reasons why he isn't as big as the younger one. It could be that he hasn't had another growth spurt yet, it could be that the genes he was passed on, his body structure will be different than the younger one. Maybe he will be leaner and longer bodied than the younger one? Just like people, chinchillas do come in different sizes and shapes.

It could be that he might be a runt in a litter or that he is a dwarf. There is lots of reasons why an older chin may end up smaller than a younger one.

With your two, it could also be that if one is a mutation, some mutations seem to grow slower than say, standards. Standards tend to be full grown in a year, some mutations tend to take up to two years to fully grow.

8

General Chat / Re: Chinchilla acting too aggressive towards people

« on: May 08, 2013, 12:51:41 AM »

Is it at all possible someone could have hurt him in a particular way, and he is reacting whenever someone is doing the same sort of mannerism which might have hurt him? It might not be the same person but could be mannerisms and scents?

I've also heard of chins being jealous of other people sometimes around their owners. I admit, my husband had one chinchilla years ago, that he basically raised from when she was only 2 days old... She didn't like me or anyone else. Wouldn't come to us, didn't like us (my mother and myself) holding her (she'd make grunts and kick with her feet.).

Yet she'd run to him if he tapped his fingers on the floor, or held his hand out for her to hop on. She would sit on his shoulders for hours at a time, watching whatever he was doing. But if I came over, she was not particularly friendly to me or to anyone else. I got the feeling she was jealous of any interaction anyone else had with him.
I love chinchillas more than anything and never laid one finger on her in any sort of mean way, but just seemed to be some sort of weird jealousy or something going on/possessiveness maybe?

I've heard very rarely, but a few times with other pet owners, of chins attacking their spouses legs when their spouse would sit with them, or attacking/spraying others (females generally) that weren't their owners. It's not common but I've heard of it a few times.

9

General Chat / Re: Got sick

« on: May 08, 2013, 12:41:16 AM »

Hope you feel better. I haven't had a stomach virus since that super bug back in 2006... that was quite the knock down deadly one and it came out of nowhere. One minute, you're fine, next minute you're so sick, you have to do like am army crawl to the toilet, because you can barely stand up...

You are making me wonder if my son doesn't have this stomach flu though. He's been really not well today, and stayed home from school. He basically lived in his bedroom or the washroom for the most part of today... He's the only one in our family that is sick right now. We thought it might be some sort of food poisoning from a restaurant we went to the other night, but you are making me wonder now. 

10

Memorials / Re: R.I.P Hopper!

« on: May 03, 2013, 09:11:20 AM »

Sorry you lost your baby. It is possible like GrayRodent mentioned, about birth defects. I had a very cute baby born about seven years ago, who made it to two months of age. Everything outwardly looked fine... but he suddenly went down and was gasping for air out of the blue, during playtime with his brother. He passed away, and I had a necropsy done to find out what was the cause. He had a leaky heart valve, which in turn the fluid built up in his lungs and caused secondary pneumonia.

Outwardly he looked fine, but inside he wasn't. The vet said it was a common birth defect, but was surprised the boy made it to two months of age. He said most babies with a defect with their heart, usually pass on within the first month.

Either way, the best way to find out what happened, is through a necropsy. It is also possible, she could have hurt herself, if she fell or injured herself in the cage too. Babies like to do silly things and don't grasp that they could hurt themselves if they fall or land just the wrong way. It definitely never gets easier when you lose a baby, no matter how long you've raised chinchillas.   

11

General Chat / Re: Baby chins fighting

« on: May 02, 2013, 08:59:09 AM »

You may want to also check that the mother has enough milk for them. Check to see if their bellies are full, and ensure they are getting milk. Sometimes when babies fight, it is also because their mother is not producing enough milk for both. Females can have enough milk when the kits are younger, and for a variety of reasons, they can also stop producing milk or not produce enough, even after a month of nursing.

12

New Births / Re: mam just gave birth help

« on: April 24, 2013, 11:04:59 AM »

Just be careful with neutering as sometimes they can get infections in their sutures after the surgery. It is easier to neuter than to spay though. I had one male who came out of neutering like nothing ever happened. He healed up fast and he did extremely well. His neuter was only performed because he had a hernia in his testicles and we were concerned he was in pain from it. On the other side of it, I've read of pet owners having to deal with infections with the sutures, or their chinchillas not eating after surgery. Requiring hand feeding, which sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. Depending on the problem, some chins did survive because their owners acted quickly, some didn't.

If the baby is nursing and the baby's tummy is full, then the mother has milk. If she doesn't have milk, babies can become a little volatile, attacking mom or chasing her around the cage and nipping at her.
Their tails will curl up at the end if they are nursing fine as well, and when they are not receiving milk, their tails tend to lie down flat, bellies do not feel full. If you see the baby lying under the mother for long lengths of time, more than likely she does have milk though.

13

General Chat / Re: Pics of our new babies :)

« on: April 23, 2013, 12:31:55 AM »

Tradition changed their formula lately and some breeders are complaining of the seaweed in it, and of issues with their herds. Some people are complaining of stillborn kits being born(half their kits being born are stillborn which is unusual for them.) . With mazuri, whether available in pet stores or not, there is no one complaining of digestive issues or stillborn kits or other problems arising from the mazuri, as Mazuri has kept the same formula for years. 

14

Conformation and Quality / Re: What color would you call this little female?

« on: April 21, 2013, 12:11:00 AM »

I agree with Jamie, the baby should lighten up a bit more as he/she ages. They always do. Sometimes you get some really neat markings.

15

General Chat / Re: Pics of our new babies :)

« on: April 20, 2013, 01:33:01 AM »

Mazuri is a better quality diet, imo.