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Messages - lilchinchilla

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16
Ebony white. Really dark though. You can call them white ebonies, ebony whites, ebony mosaics, etc... they are all the same mutation (ebony crossed with white). :)
You can breed to whom you choose to, but if it was me, I'd breed either to a standard, standard/ebony carrier or ebony, to try to keep up quality (if they also are comparable and both would help improve each others weaknesses.).

17
Q & A / Re: Pairing Chinchillas
« on: April 18, 2013, 09:19:57 AM »
There are different introduction methods you could do with the current two you have, to get them along. I've had chins fight, but sometimes it just takes a specific introduction method to work for them. I agree it can be a little difficult, but the reason females can be like that, is they get territorial of their space when they get area.

My favorite introduction method, and it works majority of the time, is to do the neutral territory one. Find a room in the house that the aggressive chinchilla is not used to being in. Snip their whiskers down to an inch in length (they grow back! What this does, is make them not feel as confident/aggressive as usual.), place a dust bath in the room, and then monitor them for about two hours as you introduce. Ensure it is not a room that the female is used to. If you don't have such a room in the home, try a friend or family's home that the aggressive female chinchilla is not used to being in. The key is to make her feel vulnerable so she is more likely to not feel territorial over the other chinchilla. I personally prefer these introductions done in the morning hours, when most of my chins are sleepy. You do need to be able to stay with them to supervise them, for a couple hours.

If there is fur biting, or chasing or attacking, then separate them. If there is none after 2 hours, then proceed to place them in the passive chinchilla's cage (not the aggressor's cage.) and you need to monitor for another two hours. Again - any fur pulling or chasing or biting, and please separate.

Another method that works quite well is to take them on a car ride. If you can snip whiskers for the aggressive chinchilla again, it works best to downplay a possibility of her fighting. Go for a car ride that takes at least an hour. Put the passive chinchilla in the carrier first, and then the aggressive chinchilla in, just before you take off on your trip.

This is another neutral situation for the aggressive chinchilla. Most chins don't fight because they are out of their comfort zone and do not feel as confident as they would be in their own cage. Drive around for a while(about an hour), and they should not fight. If you do see signs of fighting, fur pulling, etc... then separate them.

 In most cases, if done properly, the chins do not fight.  Morning hours are best, and always snip the whiskers on the aggressive chinchilla only (not the passive chinchilla.). If they do get along just fine, please put them in the passive chinchilla's cage, not the aggressive chinchilla's cage. If you wish to put them in the aggressive chins cage, only do so after a few days of them being happy together in the passive chinchilla's cage.

I personally have had good luck with either introduction. As long as it is done in the morning hours, the aggressive chinchilla's whiskers are snipped, and in a neutral situation - I truly haven't had a chinchilla continue to be aggressive. You need to monitor them though, to be on the safe side. It can be done though. I have three girls together, one who is 10 years old, one who is 6 years old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old is really aggressive, but we took a car ride with her and the other two girls, for an hour and forty five minutes, brought them home - and they are the best of buddies and have been the last 5 months. No fighting, no problems. They pile on one another when sleeping and groom one another now.

18
Health / Re: mites
« on: April 17, 2013, 12:43:14 PM »
Chinchillas can get ear mites... but if they are kept in clean conditions and good care, the ear mites do not last long on them. I once rescued a chinchilla with ear mites, and it took about a week to get rid of them from his ears. My vet told me, the ear mites tend to come from another animal that hosts them or unclean conditions (Which the previous home had been pretty neglectful in care.).

19
Health / Re: Abscessed tooth...
« on: April 17, 2013, 12:41:04 PM »
Did your vet ever do a culture on the saliva in the chinchilla's mouth to ensure he didn't have possibly a mouth infection of sorts(there are various strains of bacteria that cause mouth infections.)? The abscessed tooth, the other tooth being dead, all sound like familiar signs of a mouth infection. From past experience, baytril worked well with a chin I had who had a mouth infection many years ago.

 The only issue is, that I was not successful in treating it quick enough, and the mouth infection got into the bone, which caused a bone infection. Unfortunately for my boy, although the baytril would get rid of the problem for the short term, once off the baytril, the mouth infection returned. It was a constant fight for about 6 months. While on baytril, he could eat fine, his teeth grew in fine, etc... once off baytril, he had dead teeth, like you mentioned, abscesses, and teeth growing out of sorts (which mimicked genetic malo.), and was needing handfed around the clock.
It was a continuous cycle, but the first way we found out it was a mouth infection was culturing the saliva in his mouth.

A mouth infection can come from something as simple as a chinchilla cutting the inside of their mouth with a water bottle tip, or poking their mouth with hay, etc... and the bacteria being on that piece of hay can lead to that.

20
Q & A / Re: sources for treats and toys?
« on: April 11, 2013, 06:22:54 PM »
There is also Susan with www.azchins.com in the US for toys and supplies. Very reasonably priced. :) She always sends extras to fill the box too.
I sell supplies too but I am in Canada - www.chinchillaparkplace.ca/chinstuffstore//

21
Q & A / Re: Aggressive Chins
« on: March 10, 2013, 10:34:17 PM »
I have to agree with Jamie. Usually males only fight, if there is a female in the room that is in heat, or if one of them is a female (and the owner doesn't know it or was misinformed.).

22
General Chat / Re: What is your chin's favorite toy
« on: March 09, 2013, 10:23:43 PM »
I hear a number one favorite toy is the scones that Susan makes. Her website is: http://chinstore.azchins.com/

My chins like a lot of different things. I guess the favorite for my chins is my hanging pinata toys that I make. They are just one big toy with lots of little toys inside. They have to chew through the willow to get to the toys, and it kind of doubles as a hanging toy as well once all the toy pieces are pulled out of the pinata. : http://chinchillaparkplace.ca/chinstuffstore//

23
Health / Re: Shedding
« on: February 20, 2013, 12:52:23 AM »
Fur chewing looks like someone went at a chinchilla with scissors. If it is fungus, which causes fur loss, you will find bald spots. If it is normal shedding, it will be wisps of dead fur, which you may find are easy to swipe off with your hand or by gently grooming the chinchilla with a comb. Fur chewing can also cause skin to  be exposed. If it is that bad, you will see still the tips of the fur coming through the skin, still. Fungus is when it is as bald as bald can be. No tips of fur at all and smooth. Sometimes there can be discoloration of the skin, flaking of the skin or in some fungus cases, even cracked and bleeding skin.

If you are not seeing any patches, it is just likely his normal shedding. As chins get older, and bigger, they shed more too. :)

24
Health / Re: Chinchilla doesn't like yogurt
« on: November 22, 2012, 02:35:18 AM »
Sounds like he is getting used to you and his new home, which would explain the sudden change in behavior. Sometimes it only takes chinchillas a week, sometimes it is a few weeks for them to feel settled and relaxed enough to show their true selves.

Have you tried sprinkling just a dash of dried dandelion leaf(like a pinch of it) on the yogurt? I have had chins who were not well, years ago, quite enjoy the yogurt with some dried dandelion leaf sprinkled on top. :)

25
Cages / Re: Cages - Good or bad?
« on: November 22, 2012, 02:31:42 AM »
I would also suggest AZ Chins cages (if you are in the US or Canada). http://chinstore.azchins.com/Cages.htm
Those cages are long lasting and well made cages. I have quite a few friends in Canada here who have her cages and they love them more than the ferret nations (although I am partial to those cages too and do own one!). She will ship a cage anywhere in Canada or the US.

26
Q & A / Re: Store or Breeder?
« on: November 22, 2012, 02:28:23 AM »
I would recommend a reputable breeder, as they have more knowledge about your soon to be chinchilla's family history, health history and they usually are always there for you if you need help (pet stores aren't.). They also know a lot more about good quality care of chinchillas, as well as everything glafond mentioned too. :)


27
General Chat / Re: quick question about toys
« on: September 22, 2012, 01:30:25 AM »
You can always ask what kind of dye is used on toys.  ;) I do "somewhat" know of the owner of the shop though... and I do not believe they would use unsafe dyes on the toys or use anything unsafe for chinchillas.  ::nod::

28
Q & A / Re: Chewing toys
« on: September 22, 2012, 01:26:41 AM »
There are some stores mentioned here: http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/board,40.0.html

Not knowing where you are located, I usually recommend AZChins in Arizona for toys (very reasonably priced and she will custom dye and custom make toys for you too. All you have to do is ask!).  AZChins also gets their orders out super fast, so you never are waiting around wondering when it will be coming in the mail. Very fast shipping and excellent customer service. :)

I sell supplies in Canada (I do ship to the US too, but usually it is for bulk orders.) and my store link is on there as well.

29
Q & A / Re: Oldest chin is missing hair on 2 sides of his tail
« on: September 22, 2012, 01:23:36 AM »
Is it possible someone may have pulled the fur out (if by accident) from the tail? The other thing and only thing I can think of - if it is bald with no fur, is that it is fungus. It takes a much longer time for tail fur to grow back than fur on the rest of the body. The first notice of fur growing back will be when the skin darkens slightly from the new fur growth coming in.

30
Q & A / Re: is there any way to tell when pellets go stale?
« on: September 02, 2012, 03:43:53 AM »
Gray rodent is correct. You can check the mill date on the package. Quality feed will have a mill date...some feed brands only have expiration dates, which is somewhat dodgy, since it could mean the feed has been on a store shelf for up to 2 years before you bought it. Pellets start losing the nutritional content within about 3 months of being milled, by 6 months, they are completely stale. You may even notice a change in the color of the pellet, the older it is (some turn a light brown or off white color when they are older.).

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