OK, so we went to the pet store yesterday to buy a guinea pig. We saw a lone Chinchilla and we were intrigued. I went over to the book section and did a cursory pass thru of the book and two things stuck ... less odor and chins keep clean cages. Considering that I have been pushing back on a rodent purchase for some time now I felt like the chin purchase was a no brainer.
Unfortunately, I did not read enough within the book. I managed to have the pet store attendant sell me a ferret cage that is as much plastic as it is metal. He proceeded to sell me a plastic bath and a plastic litter box.
Needless to say, I will be making two trips to the pet store today. The first trip will be to find a temporary home that will not hurt him. Then I can move him into the temporary home, take apart and return the cage I bought yesterday, and order a suitable cage online. Does anyone have a suggestion for a temporary cage that could be purchased in a pet store? I assume it will take at least a week to get one ordered and delivered.
Finally, we woke up this morning and found approximately 200 poop pellets throughout his cage. This cage has 4 levels and there was poop everywhere including 5-10 pellets outside of the cage. Is this normal or is he nervous being in a new home?
We have had him for approximately 20 hours and there is 200 poops - do chins poop 10 poops per hour?
? If so, I am going to sue the person who authored the "Animal Planet Chinchillas" book and made the following quote "Chinchillas are not messy pets, so it's relatively easy to keep their quarters clean."
Thanks for any advice that you can provide - the family has already grown attached to Paco and returning him, along with the inappropriate cage, is not an option (although one I have considered).
