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Author Topic: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!  (Read 3475 times)

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Desert Chin

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Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« on: August 24, 2009, 02:04:57 PM »

Hello Out there!
I just wanted to introduce myself and of course my two lovely little chins! My name is Ash but your welcome to call me Desert Chin ^_^, I'm not entirely to new to the wonderful world of chinchilla's. I used to have a chinchilla a few years back by the name of Havoc but unfortunetly due to the desert heat here in AZ one year while we were on vacation our air conditioning went out and my poor little girl got over heated and passed away the family friend who was watching her, and the other various animals in my folks house felt so terrible but it wasnt her fault, things happen. Since then I have grown away from my folks house, got married to my best friend and now expecting my frist child this Nov. (girl).
Well my husband and I were talking about Havoc one day (he never got to meet her, he wished he did) and it made me realize how much I missed my little girl and how much I wished I still had her around. So I was able to bug my mom for the picture she had in a photo alblum of me and Havoc and showed it to my husband. Well little to my knowlege he was already looking online for a chinchilla as a suprise present for me. On his day off he was searching through Craigslist and found a pair of chinchilla's seeing the beige one he pulled me aside and told me "look she looks just like havoc" I was suprised at the resemblance! He then handed me the phone with a smile and told me I should give them a call to see if they are still available, and if they were we should go take a look at them. I did what he said and suprisingly they were still available. I was excited now to go take a look at these chins at the same time knew that I shouldnt get to excited just encase they had any issues or were not what I would want in a chinchilla, especially an older one (not saying adopting an older chin is bad, but it takes longer for the bonding process especially if they have been mistreated).
So when I first got to see these little guys I was slightly disturbed by their living arrangements. They were in a fairly large parrot cage (not a standard bird cage) with a piece of wood to perch, steal food dish, and a plastic house which they have already started to chew to heck and back.Not to mension the condition of the cage, the poor chins were pee'ing in the corners and it looked like the cage had not been cleaned in weeks with fur and pee clumps stuck to the bars. It was truely gross. But I wasnt going to let that make up my mind on these guys yet. Their names were Smokey and Vanillia and they were actually classroom pets (which made me feel great since I was expecting my first child and it was good to hear that they had been around kids..either way I would of introduced them slowly to my daughter. This just made it easier) and were roughly a year to a year and a half in age. Vanilla is a female while Smokey is a male and the two were obviously bonded to one another, but I had to ask since it is a male and female pair if they had been known to breed and the previous owner said no (strange). Anyways I opened their cage and set my hand down on the bottom letting them come up to it as they pleased and investigate me. Smokey took to me quickly as he jumped onto my arm and looked at me. Vanillia took some encouragement with a rasin but soon became a good friend. They looked great and healthy (besides the cage condition) and I was in love with their friendly personalities. So my husband purchased them from the woman and we took them home.
Since then I have made several trips to petsmart making sure that they had all the essentials. They are still in the same cage (which I intend on replacing here shortly) but since then it has been cleaned completely! But they now have another wood perch in the cage (a chin approved perch) some new lava chews, a wood house in place the plastic one and they are working on becoming litter box trained which seems to be working great!  Also it seems that they have never had hay or havent had it in soooo long so I have been working with each of them slowly by offering them hay and encouraging them to eat it (I am working with the loose timothy hay and the blocks trying to see which one they will take to more). They are happy and healthy and are looking great! They also seem to be loving the extra attention they have been getting when my husband and I have been taking them into the bathroom letting them free roam and get to know us as we just sit still and let them explore us as they please.
They are good little chins, and we know that we have some work in getting them to bond with us but already we know we have some trust with them and thats all we can ask.  However we have changed Vanilllia's name to Cholula it seems more fitting to her little spicy personality and my husband thinks Smokey is just a perfect name for him so it has remained the same. So anyways thats a little about me and a lot about my two new chins. I joined the community to brush up on my knowlege of chins not to mension to start communicating with other chin parents ^_^ So hello from the valley of the sun! I hope to learn a lot from this site!

Cholula is the biege and Smokey is the standard Grey :) This pic was taken the first night we brought them home
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Jo Ann

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2009, 08:28:07 AM »

 ::silly::   Welcome back to the Wonderful World of Chinchillas and to the Chinchilla Club Forum!   ::silly::

We're pretty easy going here.   We do have lots of newbies and oldies. 

Sooner or later most questions get ask and we try to answer each one as best we can.  So don't be afraid to ask.

You have two beautiful chins and I am sure they are grateful they have found their guardian angles that will take good care of them.

Quote
Vanilla is a female while Smokey is a male and the two were obviously bonded to one another, but I had to ask since it is a male and female pair if they had been known to breed and the previous owner said no (strange).
::think::  Not so strange when you consider they are "class room chinchillas" ... regardless of how much a teacher tries to keep the kids under control, some will get loud, or peck on the cage or make sudden noises ... this does stress a pair ... many times a pair under stress will not breed.

I have one pair that have been together for over 12 years, but have produced only one litter, this one was after being together for 7 years ... talk about a surprise!  It was a single kit, perfectly healthy and it is been paired with a female and has produced only single-kit litters.  It is believed this is sometimes in the genetics, just as those who have come from large litters tend to produce large litters.

Also, one of the two you have may be sterile.   ::shrug::


With you, they will have a better chance of having a kit, if possible.   :::grins::  Good Luck!

 ::wave::  Jo Ann
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Desert Chin

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2009, 04:57:31 PM »

  ::think::  Not so strange when you consider they are "class room chinchillas" ... regardless of how much a teacher tries to keep the kids under control, some will get loud, or peck on the cage or make sudden noises ... this does stress a pair ... many times a pair under stress will not breed.

I have one pair that have been together for over 12 years, but have produced only one litter, this one was after being together for 7 years ... talk about a surprise!  It was a single kit, perfectly healthy and it is been paired with a female and has produced only single-kit litters.  It is believed this is sometimes in the genetics, just as those who have come from large litters tend to produce large litters.

Also, one of the two you have may be sterile.   ::shrug::


Thanks for the welcome! And I never took that into consideration before and it does make a lot of sense! I asked the woman who owned them prior if either had been fixed and she said no. So maybe later down the line they will have a kit :) If not I'm just happy with them as well ^_^ I'm just glad that they are happy and are doing really well ^_^ Thanks again for the welcome and tip.
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Petco Chinchillas

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2009, 05:23:54 PM »

That was very kind of you to take them in.   They will probably enjoy a good long healthy life with you. 


   Who can resist a chinchillas`charm?   ::shrug::
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Desert Chin

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2009, 12:05:53 PM »

Thanks for the welcome Petco Chinchilla :)

Today I did have a scare however. My air conditioning went out last night and I had to wait until morning to get it repaired. I was up all night trying to tend to my chins by wraping them in a damp towel and offering them ice chips to keep them cool. They were able to get my air fixed and my chins seem to be doing a lot better...I'm still keeping a sharp eye on them however...Never fails out here in AZ that air conditioning is bond to break down at least once in the summer >.>'
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Jo Ann

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2009, 07:50:35 PM »

 ::silly::  Ice cubes in Mason (canning jars) with metal lids screwed on tight and placed inside the cage will help ... you will see them huddle around the jars to get the cooler air temperature around the jar and lick the cold water (condensation) off the sides.

Granite tiles (the thicker the better) kept in a refrigerator or the basement or coolest part of the house will also help when you loose electricity or air conditioning.  Do NOT put in freezer.

Chinchillas do not sweat, so air blown on them directly does not help, it can actually make them sick.
You can, however, place bags of ice in a pan ... direct the air from a fan directly at the bags of ice and help to cool a room.  Make sure the air flow (draft) is not blowing on the chins, but only in the same general direction.

Heavy curtains or blackout shades will also help keep the heat from the sun out of the room.

It is best to stay out of the room as much as possible ... you only add body heat to the room that is already to warm.

Just a few of the things I've learned from some of the old timers over the years.   ::nod::

 ::howdythere::  Jo Ann
« Last Edit: August 29, 2009, 06:52:02 AM by Jo Ann »
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Desert Chin

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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2009, 10:36:39 AM »

Thanks Jo Ann I will keep that in mind if I happen to have another issue like yesterday.

Smokey was the one that had me concerned however yesterday, he was the one laying down trying to cool off and was the one out of the two who didnt snap back as quickly as I hoped. So my husband and I were taking shifts watching him and taking care of him. (being pregnant myself and enduring the heat yesterday gave me a case of heat exhaustion so when my air was finally fixed I would try and lay down and drink lots of fluids to get back to normal, while my husband cared for Smokey).

Smokey has shown a great amount of improvement today however and is very active today and drinking tons of water! So this is a good sign! I also was able to get him to eat some hay this morning....as I type this I can say more confident now that they are both doing well because Smokey just barked at Cholula  :2funny:

I'm just happy its cool again in my home and that my chins are doing better ^_^
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Re: Hello from the Valley of the Sun!
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2009, 03:44:21 PM »

Congatulations!  With a baby on the way and you still had time to take care of your chins.   Your going to be a good mom! ;)
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