Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[mb30]

I think that if you sat or laid on the ground while the chin was running around and maybe had some toys or small catdboard boxes around then the chin might be more interested in you then your skirting boards. If the fireplace is stone i wouldnt worry much about it being ruined but possibly put cardboard around that as well during playtime.
I dont drive over here either so i order most things too.
I switched to the charnwood pellets and dust so i dont have to give anymore money to the petshop my chin came from. Im not a big fan of how the animals are kept in there.

We only have one chinchilla. I would love to get two but i really cant risk that they wont get along. Youre best bet is to get two together...it is possible to introduce one later on but there is no guarentee it would work out and then you would have two chins in two seperate cages. Also, since i gave a female chin i hear they are more territorial and shes been on her own for 9 months or so plus however long she was alone in the petshop for.

Im not sure where Macc area is...i'm from america so in not very familiar with all of the uk.

You can try preloved.co.uk maybe...there are always chins from all over on there being sold by people. I dont think people realize how much time a chinchilla demands until they get one.

But after the initial period it takes for the chin to trust you you will see how great they are. Just be patient.

[Starina]

Thanks again for your reply. I was planning on getting two together.

I've just got the cage up, wow that took a while. I've realised it's an all wire cage, I know some people have just put some kind of blanket down so they don't hurt their feet. Would this just be a normal blanket?

I've also ordered so that I'm not funding the pet shops tbh, Alot of my stuff is brought online. I just need to wait for all the rest of the things to come first to put in the cage and then I can go and get my new little babies!.

[AnnieHank]

Fleece seems to be the safest material for blankets and soft furnishings in a chinchilla cage. You will need to check regularly that they are not chewing it.
I find the easiest things to use are the bimble pads from www.hammockyhammocks.co.uk but these should be easy enough to make yourself if you have the time.

[mb30]

I started with a wire cage and had it for a good 6 or 7 months and didnt have any problems so im not sure if the bedding is a must...althogh if you feel better using it then from what ive read fleece is the best material to use

[Starina]

I've just got my Chinchilla.

She's a little girl, and the pet shop said they've had her for two weeks, she comes straight from the breeder when they're ready to leave. She's a cutie, but they only had one available so I feel a little sorry for her. I have her cage all nice but she's not really looking around or anything. She's been home now for around two hours and is just hiding in the bottom shelf, if I go near the cage she makes noises at me.

I'm a little worried because the food and water is on the top shelf, if she doesn't move soon should I move everything down for her? I don't want to scare her.

[Starina]

Maybe I spoke too soon, she's now running around the cage. And is on the top shelf trying out her food, and now running around quite happily. She gets a little scared when I stand up or anything and move but hopefully she will get used to this soon.

She has been named 'Princess Peach' by my son, but hopefully I can get this shortened to Peach.

[mb30]

Excellent! Leave her in the cage for a couple days before you start bringing her out. It gives her time to settle. Making noises at you is normal...she doesnt know you yet. It will probably take a while. Just give her lots of attention and she will be fine on her own. After spending alot of time with her youll start to notice all her personality quirks and things of that nature. I never thought id feel any attatchment to this type of animal since im a dog petson but the chinchilla has won me over. Enjoy her company!

[Starina]

I've spoken to her alot she's still slightly jumpy when I move but I've found when I speak to her she does look at me and paw on the cage.

I'm not sure if she's drank any water, I'll have to felt the water bottles and check later. I put another water bottle at the bottom of the cage just in case. She's very happy jumping around and stuff and looks alot happier than she did in the shop which is great. She made a lil noise at me earlier when I was attaching the other water bottle but when I started talking to her she stopped.

I'm not sure if they've ever given her a sand bath or not. To be honest I'm a little surprised at the lack of help really in the pet shop. When I got my sons hamster from there it was all questions about if I've owned one before what stuff I use ect. They didn't give me any do's or dont's of her at all!. I asked how old she was and they were like um well I think she's 10 weeks since they leave breeder at 8 weeks. I thought they left breeder at 12 weeks? I may be wrong and they've had her two weeks.

I didn't like the way they picked her up in the shop to check her sex it seemed kind of rough for my liking.

But now she's hope and seems very settled into her new house.

[GrayRodent]

I wouldn't put it passed a pet store to take them at 8 weeks. Hopefully they got their wires crossed and hopefully they know how to properly take care of their chins.

It sounds like your pet is going to be a handful. Be very careful not to corner or chase it around until it accustomed to its new location and most importantly you. Otherwise taming her is going to be a prolonged exercise. Chances are your chin will be a lot more active after it gets dark and eat and drink more then. Remember that chinchillas are naturally active at dawn and dusk and sleep the rest of the time. You might want to facilitate this for the next few days to minimize stress.

[Starina]

I hope they got their wires crossed too, she did say that they take them from the woman breeder when they're ready to leave, which is around 8 weeks. So maybe she just got the times wrong, and that they've had her for two weeks since she's left the breeder.

She's been running around and having a little look, and she comes to the side of the cage and puts her paws on the side of it, I'm at the opposite end of the room on the sofa. So I just talk to her from here. I've come down this morning and she was under her food bowl what looked like she was asleep but she looked at me when I walked in the living room. I hope she slept in her bed and not on the wire that would have been uncomfortable.

I've spoken to her and been sure to leave her alone as in not go in the cage, and have spoke to her from the distance I'm at. And she looks at me, She's not made any noises at me since last night, and I went next to the cage to put a small lamp on for her before I went to bed at around 1:30am. I was concerned about her not drinking because I brought her back from the petshop at 2pm and she's was awake the whole time until I went to bed, but I witnessed her drink something before I went to bed so I was happy about that.

Should I just leave her for a few days now and talk to her like I am? Or try and get closer to the cage; I don't want to scare her but I want her to trust me. I'm not sure if she's ever had a bath at the store, but I have one for her here I didn't realise that it's as big as it is, so it won't fit in the cage hatch's only on the top shelf.

It's 11am now and she's running around again and coming to the side of the cage to look at me.

I tried to upload a picture but it wouldn't let me said it was too big, but here is my new baby.

http://i.imgur.com/WY0Ee.jpg

[GrayRodent]

That's a really good picture. I think doing what you're doing is awesome. You should try to feed treats through the door and see if she'll come to you. (No more than 2 raisins a day but you can cut the raisins into smaller pieces). If she spooks when you get close then back off but try again later. If you've ever worked with animals before you know this is a balancing act. You can't be too passive either but for chins it can take a couple of weeks to get over the shock of relocation and take a couple of months to fully trust their handlers. Until she starts coming to you consistently in the cage I would hold off on the dust bath. (These are usually given for 20min every other day) She can go a few days without one. Letting her out too soon may require chasing and trapping her to get her back in which can result in aggressive behavior.

In the picture I noticed there are wire ramps and shelves in the cage. I have read several reports of chins that have been seriously injured on these. Their feet go through the bars and this can result in foot fractures. I know of one report where a chin got caught on the edge of a wire shelf hung there and died. Chins don't need ramps or ladders to get around they prefer jumping and can jump up to 6 feet high. At times they can get very rambunctious in their cage. You should consider replacing the wire shelf with a solid piece of unfinished pine. You have probably seen some examples of this in online stores and it's not hard to build one.

At night there should be a dim light just enough so they can see. They have good night vision so a regular night light should work fine.

[Starina]

Thanks  . I think it's a good picture too, she came over to me when I was putting the other water bottle on and was smelling my hand from outside the bar, so I thought I'd take the picture whilst she was interested in what I was doing.

Oh no that's awful why would they have these kind of cages then, I'll look into changes the steps and see if I can for now put the felt on there as that's what I've done with the middle floor. She doesn't seem to jump around much she's constantly up and down the stairs.

She's still asleep now just next to the grey marble thing that she was sitting on in the picture, She's moved into the hammock and sat there for a minute but moved back to that spot. It's strange she won't sleep in her bed, it's the same one she was sleeping in inside the store.
I got some raisins today to give to her I know you can only give 1-2 a day so when she wakes up later I'll see if I can put my hand in there and if she'll come to me for it. (Hopefully she'll smell it) and pop over. I had some other treats I got, and offered her one she came and sniffed it but she obviously didn't like the smell lol and stuck her nose up at me. She is very curious and inquisitive.
I was going to see about letting her out but as you said I don't want to be chasing her around or anything so I'll leave her for a while. I was hoping to be able to put the dust bath in the cage to lure her back into it after her playtime, so I may have to get a smaller bath for her.

This is my first Chinchilla, I'm used to hamsters and dogs! The occasional fish. I wish I would have been able to get a friend for her, and was actually considering going to a different store so I could get two. But she looked so sad in the store and I had to bring her home!.

[mb30]

The chinchilla is much different than a hamster. I sort of likened them to hamsters before i knew about them. They have really good memories so if they were mistreating her at the pet shop it might be months before she can trust you. I dont think many pet shops have any idea of the needs of chinchillas. Everywhere ive seen them they havent had the right food and theres always platic in the cages. Its sad.

[Starina]

Well she had the raisins off my hand, at first she was a little weary. I gave her one a few hours ago and another just now, I think she really likes them lol.

I put my hand in the first time and she hid and then came out grabbed it off my hand and ran away. When I just did it now she came over to my hand right away and took the raisin and ate it next to my hand once it had gone she sniffed around me then pawed at me, I think she wanted another. She keeps coming up to the side of the cage now as if she's talking to me at pawing at it near where I'm sat.

I've decided to get rid of the ramps and will get the wooden blocks so she can just jump on them. She seems so happy atm running around her cage up and down and playing with things. Much more lively then she was yesterday and looks alot happier than she did in the store if that makes sense. When I go near the cage for any reason I talk to her and she comes up near where my face is and has a smell around but she is still very jumpy if I make any sudden moves. Though I think she's come on great from yesterday.

She is still sleeping around the cage in different spots and not in her bed, is this normal?

[mb30]

When you say bed do you mean the little wooden house? Im not sure if thats normal...hopefully someone else can answer that. It does sound like she is getting used to you if shes staying near your arm. My female is still jumpy at times. I think females are a bit like that from what ive read. Shes been extra feisty the last couple day...always smacking my hands away trying to play tug of war with the cable that runs into the next room. I had to cover the corner with a blanket and shes trying to move the blanket but isnt big enough haha.