Hello there! My name is Melissa.
I joined this site last night, because I am hoping to learn from and help others who care for chinchillas.
I don't support the "pet" trade, so all the animals in our home are adopted/rescued. We are currently caring for one cat and three chinchillas.
Two chinchillas live together, and one lives alone. The lonely chin I've tried repeatedly to introduce to the others, with no success. One of the pair is just two territorial and protective of her friend and wouldn't stop harassing the "intruder".
The pair are two girls, Tifa and Neneko. I adopted them from the Edmonton Humane Society as an inseparable pair. (I don't separate groups of bonded animals anyways) Tifa is the one who is aggressive toward the lone chin but isn't aggressive to humans. She doesn't like being held but loves being hand-fed healthy treats. Neneko is more trusting of me than Tifa. She will often allow me to pick her up.
The lone chinchilla is also female. Her name is Mouse. Lol, I know, funny name for a chinchilla. And indeed I have confused people by posting photos online of her only to have them "inform" me that she is a chinchilla
We didn't actually give her this name. Back when my partner and I worked as assistant managers at Petcetera, a couple had asked my partner for help. They said they were walking below an apartment building one day when a chinchilla either fell or was thrown off a balcony and landed on one of their shoulders! They said they weren't suitable to take care of her and needed to find her a good home. My partner told them we'd go visit them and see her. We went there that night and took our first look at her. She was overweight (I've never seen a chinchilla with so much flab!), and they told us that could only feed her this cheap brand of chinchilla food full of seeds, sugary treats, and raisins because she wouldn't eat pellets, no matter how hard they tried. They also said they couldn't get her to use a water bottle and would only use a dish of water. They named her Mouse. We agreed to take her in.
I tend to keep the names of the animals I rescue unless I really dislike the names or the animal came from an abuser (kind of like a new life with a new name given by someone who respects the animal). I decided to keep her name. It took a little bit but it wasn't that hard to convince Mouse to use a water bottle, and I quickly got her switched over to a healthier kind of chinchilla food. It wasn't that hard actually. I don't know why they had such trouble. Soon she lost the excess weight and reached a more healthy weight.
Nowadays, she loves human contact, but not being held. But she LOVES scratches on the chin, cheeks, chest, and behind her ears.
So that's our chin family. I'm glad to be here and can't wait to get more involved in this community! Cheers!
Neneko
Neneko Watches by
Vegan Butterfly, on Flickr
Tifa
Holding Hands? by
Vegan Butterfly, on Flickr
Mouse
Mouse in a Tub by
Vegan Butterfly, on Flickr
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Topic: Hello! (Read 2045 times)