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[cupid4thgrade]

Hello, I am a first year 4th grade teacher who just inherited a chin.  It seems to be full grown.  I do not know a lot about the animal, but I plan to find out soon from the previous owners.  The only concern that I have right now is that it has clumps of hair that seem to be falling out, but are matted.  I just want to make sure that this is not a serious issue.  I'm still not sure what I have gotten myself into.  It is really sweet, and I just love animals so I couldn't see anything bad happening to it.

[chinclub]

Do you have him at home or at school?  Chinchillas are very nervous around strangers and do not do well as classroom pets.  When they are afraid they will throw fur (meaning the fur will become loose and fall out) and when they are nervous they will chew their fur off.  Be sure he is in a quiet room without a lot of traffic.  Give him a box that he can hide in to be safe. 
Chinchillas also do not do well with sudden changes in food so be sure you are feeding him whatever the previous owner was.  If you want to change his food do it slowly over a week or two.

The biggest things to remember about chinchillas are:
1. They can not eat fresh fruits or veggies (especially no lettuce) and no nuts. Only chinchilla pellets and hay with an occasional raisin for a treat.
2. They over heat in a matter of minutes so keep him out of direct sunlight and in a room 75 degrees or cooler.

[cupid4thgrade]

The Chin is at school.  It seems pretty calm.  The fur is not coming out as much now that I bought him a new bath house and have been giving him a chance to take a bath.  I am feeding it the food that they gave me.  Thanks so much for the advice.  I feel so terrible that I do not know a lot about the animal.  I just did not want to see the animal in a really bad situation.  My students know that we must be quiet, and that they are only allowed to see the chin when I give them permission.  I read that they are not the best classroom pets, but so far he seems to be doing ok.  Thanks

[Abby W.]

I think it really depends on the chin as to whether they can deal with people/noise or not.  I have been asked to visit some of the local schools lately to show chinchillas to the kids (the county has introduced a small animal care teaching program).  I have a few that I have no problem taking along, they can be handled and passed around and it doesn't faze them (as long as they get a treat for their troubles and tolerance).    But I also have a few that I wouldn't dare take out of the house except for a vet visit.

[Jenova]

I'm very lucky in that Cheech is very open to pretty much anything. He will sleep through most music we play in our room, computer games and isn't bothered by guests. We just have to make sure we keep an eye on him and find out what bothers him. There is one piece of music he hates for no apparent reason and also for no reason we can tell he hates my boyfriend's little brother even though he's fine with other kids. The best piece of information I have been given from people on this site is just watch your chinchilla, they will tell you when they are happy and when they're not.

I don't know if you have a book on chinchillas but here are few things I think are important:
Make sure the floors of the cage are replaced with pine shelves as soon as possible
Make sure you have a good food for your chin without too many treats
Make sure you have fresh hay and water available at all times
Make sure your chin has some toys to keep himself amused - wooden parrot toys and cardboard tubes are great
If you want to let him out eventually make sure you tame him first by letting him get used to your hands and if you do, make sure the room is 'chin proofed'. If you need any help making a room chinchilla proofed just as one of us here.
If you let him out only do it for a short amount of time because he may not be used to life outside the cage and may wear himself.
Make sure you have a wooden box/house in the cage for you chin to sleep in
Keep as regular a routine as possible because chinchillas like routine. Feed him at the same time each day etc.
Ask an experienced member here how to pick a chinchilla up, if you do it wrongly you can actually break their ribs because they have floating rib cages.
A healthy chinchilla will do a LOT of poos.

If I've missed anything then I'm sure someone here will be able to let you know. I am also a fairly new chinchilla owner and you won't be disappointed they are very loving animals and so much fun to watch playing outside of the cage, especially when they jump from place to place, even running up to and jumping off walls. You just have to remember that they are prey animals and are quite fragile.

[QTPie61282]

There could be many reasons the chin doesnt take to certain music, or your boyfriends little brother.  Im sure high pitched or really loud music would bother them.  They dont like noise at all.  Even if they seem calm, they could be sitting in their house, hiding, not sleeping.  When they get scared, they hide.  And it will just look like hes being "calm" but hes really scared out of his mind.
The little brother could have done something to it to make it hate him.  Maybe sticks his fingers in the cage, could be hitting the cage, who knows?   But it has to be something the chin was exposed to, they dont just randomly hate people. 
How old is the little brother, because I have seen young kids yell at chins to get their attention, as if it was a dog.  They just dont understand how sensitive they really are.

[Jo Ann]

In general, chinchillas do not make good pets for school classes, especially for children that are not use to having a very fragile animal. 

Please do make sure that the children do not give the chin any food.  Chinchillas are very cute, hard to refuse little beggars.  Many foods children might bring to school and offer a chin could kill it.  (Especially any kind of meat or meat by-product ... their systems can not digest it.)

They are VERY fragile, if grabbed or held wrong, they can suffer a very slow, painful death, caused by a broken rib puncturing it's lung.  It only takes a second to break a bone that is smaller than a toothpick.  It takes about 24 to 36 hours filled with pain before the chinchilla dies.

When holding a chinchilla, never hold it at arm's length. Always hold close to your heart or allow it to bury it's face in your hair or arm.
Always support BOTH hind feet at ALL times, or he will feel like he is falling, become scared, he may try to jump and run or be frightened enough to bite.

Chinchillas are nocturnal animals and should be allowed to be sleeping during the daylight hours.
Chinchillas will bite, but not without reason, usually, only if they are hurt or scared. 
They can and will bite to the bone, hope you have good insurance.
Abby, I hope you are not taking my Jamie to these school visits, she has a bad heart, remember?

Jenova, I agree with QTPie about the many reasons a chin would not like a particular song ... it usually has to do with the pitch or tone of the instrument or singer.   Sharp or sudden noises from a drum or symbol within the song could be a reason.
If someone frightens or hurts a chin, they are long in memory and short in forgiveness. 
Caution: They rarely dislike someone for no reason.

Chinchilla pellets with no treats or no extras added is best for the chin.  They are like little children and will eat the goodies and leave the healthy pellets.  Mazuri, Traditions and or Oxbow are excellent brands of chinchilla food.

If you use parrot toys, please remove any metal that might be aluminum, it is a soft metal and a chinchilla can and will eat it ... it, like plastic, does not dissolve and can be very dangerous in a digestive system.

Chinchillas should be in a cage with 1/2" X 1" wire or smaller and have nothing plastic inside of it.
Shelves and ramps should be 1/2" x 1/2 " wire or smaller. Or made of wood.  No plastics, please.

Chinchillas are very smart and often learn how to open conventional cage latches. 
Extra locks are always a good thing.    
They keep in what should be in, and out what should be out.   

 
Jo Ann

[Abby W.]

Jo Ann,

No, I don't take Jamie to the school.  She is just one of my pampered house chins   I only take the most laid back chins with me, Focus in particular is really good about it.  He is VERY outgoing.  The kids love him because he always gets up and sniffs their faces, and he always gets treats from the kids (I break up pieces of shredded wheat for them to give him), and he gets to take a bath, to show the kids how chins keep clean.  It seems to be a good experience all the way around. 

And, I feel like it does something to educate the kids about the care exotic pets need.  I talk to them a great deal about the time, effort, and money needed to properly care for a chin.  Lately, we have seen a tremendous increase in pet store chins, and it frustrates the heck out of me.  I have been getting at least one phone call each month from a chin owner who doesn't know anything about chins and the animal gets sick because they did something wrong with it.  I don't have the room to rescue chins like a lot of breeders do.  So I figure trying to educate people about them is the best way I can contribute to the solution.

[Jo Ann]

Thank-you.

Lately, we have seen a tremendous increase in pet store chins, and it frustrates the heck out of me.  I have been getting at least one phone call each month from a chin owner who doesn't know anything about chins and the animal gets sick because they did something wrong with it.  I don't have the room to rescue chins like a lot of breeders do.  So I figure trying to educate people about them is the best way I can contribute to the solution.

Unfortunately I, too, am seeing an increase in pet store chinchillas, as is with many others.  We have to remember, if we buy pet store chins, they will just get more to replace them and continue to increase their profit.  For years, we have been working hard trying to get care booklets into the stores that sell chinchillas, but the nationally own chains will not allow it.  Some of the Mom & Pop pet stores, will allow it, when we are lucky.  But that is few and far in-between.  We have to educate the public in any way we can.

Cupid4thGrade,  How is it going with the students and the chin? 

 
Jo Ann