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[Esleyoga]

Hi everyone   We just got a new chin on Sunday - she's our first ever!  She is so adorable and sweet.  From the second day in our home, she was curious about me, sniffing me through the bars, nibbling my fingers, taking food (hay) from my hand.  Today is the second time I've taken her out of her cage to play on the floor.  She's on a tile floor, but she just sits there, staring at me.  At first, she hopped around and sniffed everything, but now she just sits.  I bought her some blocks (small wood ones) and some chew toys (plain wood again) and a large box to jump on, a bath house (with dust), and a small box to jump on.  She doesn't seem interested in the toys at all - and wouldn't go into the bathhouse.  I think I'm going to try putting the dust into the smaller box to see if she likes the open air better (she doesn't go into her hide box in the cage either - she prefers to "hide" on top of it - it's in the back corner of her cage) but I don't know how to get her to play.  She'll jump around the cage a bit, but she's more curious and into sniffing everything than running around.  Is there something else I could be doing or could she just be a laid back kind of chin?

[Jo Ann]

Hi Esleyoga,
    You are very lucky, not all chins are this comfortable after just 24 hours in a new home.   
   

sniffing me through the bars, nibbling my fingers, taking food (hay) from my hand

 
    Make sure you always wash your hands after handling human food, she may think your finger is a treat. 
    Be careful about feeding her through the bars ... someone else may stick their finger in to give her a little scratch and receive a nibble or a bite, because she was expecting a treat.
    Make sure the chew blocks and toys are made of pine (or any of the other "acceptable woods") Cedar, red wood, cherry wood and most "hard woods" are a 'No-No' for chinchillas.  Some can make them sick or even kill them.
    Chinchillas also chew/eat soft metals, such as aluminum, so be careful of any toys made of, or held togeather with aluminum.
    Sniffing of everything is her way of learning what is/will be a familiar odor to her.  She is learning about her surroundings and wanting to become comfortable in them.  Once she is really comfortable, she will probably play much more. 

   

She's on a tile floor, but she just sits there, staring at me.  At first, she hopped around and sniffed everything, but now she just sits.

    It may be nothing, but this statement caught my attention. 
Was she playful and moving around allot when you first got her and just now becoming where she "just sits there" ?
Has she started being playful again, or still just sitting there and not seeming to want to play?
Is she eating and drinking plenty of food, water and hay?
Is she having normal poops?  Oval/elongated moist, but not 'wet' or squishy?  Not dry?
Are her eyes bright and shiny?

 
Jo Ann

[Esleyoga]

She's always been pretty calm.  She's curious about what's around her, but mostly she chills out.  She "seems" content to just let me pet her (in the cage - out of the cage she likes me to keep my distance).  She eats about half a small handfull of hay and about 1 tblspoon of pellets and I can't tell if she drinks - it doesn't seem to be that much.  She has a water bottle hanging in her cage and she goes up to it, but it seems like the water level doesn't go down much every day.  She pees on her shavings (which I put near her food because that's where she was peeing, but I think I might have to move her food cause to me that's kinda gross!) and I change those every day.  She poops all over the cage   They are oval/cylindrical - but I'm not sure what you mean by too dry or too soft, LOL - should I be able to squish them between my fingers?  I haven't tried to, but I will to test to see about dryness.  As a "person" I would like her to drink more - but I am trained for the 8 -8 oz glasses a day and am really unsure about her water needs.  From reading the other posts on the board (which I wish I would have done BEFORE buying her!!) I am seeing that she's really young.  They told me that she was 8 weeks when I bought her.  Her eyes do not seem dull or glazed over.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Aww she's just a baby.
Congrats.
I carry my babies around in my shirt/fleece, they love to cuddle in the warmth.
Some will ball up in my hands and go to sleep.

I like my chin dropping just barely soft enough to squat with my fingers but the chins won't squat it by wallking on it.
If it I can't squat it I give them extra dried fruit or a raisin.

[Jo Ann]

   A chin that does not play allot keeps my attention ... it is in their nature to play (but mostly at night).  There are some that seem to like to be calm, but that's rare.   

   By "...doesn't seem to be that much.", in reference to her water ... about how much is she drinking each day? (ounces)

   Always make sure you fill the bottle with fresh water every day (after you wash it), never just add water to what is already there.  By filling it at the same time each day, you should be able to figure out how much she is drinking.

   What kind/brand of pellets are you giving her?

Not to dry? ... when you pick it up, immediately after she drops it, you can fill it is slightly moist ... like a wash rag or sponge that had been rung out real good by someone, then handed to you ... not dry and very firm/hard, as if it has been there awhile and dried up, or starting to dry-up.

To moist? ... you can see the moisture in the poop, it is or almost is to moist to pick-up and/or will stick to things, or is easily squashed under the chin's feet, sticking to solid objects. 

Moist and a foul odor? ... this almost always means the chin is sick and in trouble, especially if you examine a piece of poop, freshly dropped on a solid surface (such as a tile floor) and, by using a magnifying glass ... or looking real close, if your eyes are good ... and if you see what looks like mucous (similar to egg white) covering part or all of the piece of poop.  To see this, it has to be left on the hard surface it was dropped on  ... if you pick it up, what you use to pick it up with will often absorb the mucous covering.  Should this ever happen you need to get your chin to a vet a.s.a.p. and have it checked for Guardia.  To be able to see the Guardia parasite, the poop must be examined under the microscope within two minutes of the chin dropping it.  The parasite dies as soon as the poop cools and there is no trace left for a vet to see. 

   Did you get her from a pet store?      8 weeks is young, but acceptable, any younger and it would be illegal for a pet store to sell her, in most states.  Of course, that just keeps honest stores honest.

   A kit should never leave it's mom under six weeks old ... I usually move them at 7 or 8 weeks old and keep them separated and watch them for at least a week to make sure they are going to be OK eating solids and being away from mom.

   Can you take a picture of her and post the picture?   

    How much does she weigh (in grams)?

 
Jo Ann