91
General Chat / Re: Pairing up males.
« on: September 23, 2017, 05:58:31 PM »
Both accounted for! That's cool.
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92
General Chat / Re: Pairing up males.
« on: September 21, 2017, 07:15:16 PM »
That's great. Sounds like it's coming along nicely.
93
Q & A / Re: 2 males in one cage 2 females in the other. Same room?
« on: September 17, 2017, 09:37:22 PM »
Some breeders say it's best to keep them in different rooms because chins can and do escape from cages and females can easily become impregnated through the bars. It's a judgment call. Certainly keep cages a minimum of 2" apart if you cannot use separate rooms. Males have a long reach.
94
General Chat / Re: Pairing up males.
« on: September 17, 2017, 09:35:00 PM »
It is possible for chins to turn on each other but it is rare and usually there are signs before a serious fight occurs if you're paying attention to their behaviors. I've heard of this happen on occasion. It does happen though. I've never heard of it happen to breeding pairs though.
Fur pulling is usually a danger sign so it's good to keep those separate. As far as the males fighting over females I've heard conflicting anecdotes from breeders. Some say it's possible and others say it's unusual. I think a lot of this depends on the individual animals and comes down to be observant.
Fur pulling is usually a danger sign so it's good to keep those separate. As far as the males fighting over females I've heard conflicting anecdotes from breeders. Some say it's possible and others say it's unusual. I think a lot of this depends on the individual animals and comes down to be observant.
95
Q & A / Re: One year old Chinchilla doesn't know how to bathe properly
« on: September 17, 2017, 09:27:57 PM »
You should use a decent chinchilla dust. The only two that I think are acceptable are Blue Cloud dust and Chilldust (available online). You should dust 2-3 times a week no more than 15 minutes at a time. If you do it too often the chin will lose interest (and it can cause skin problems). This kind of problem is going to take weeks to straighten out so please be patient. Eventually your chinchilla will acquire a habit of dusting. In the meantime you can manually apply dust and rub it in a bit.
The bowl I use with my chins is a parrot dish that bolts onto the bars of the cage. A metal ring suspends the bowl so it's not on the floor. Make sure it's low enough that your chin doesn't have to jump onto it to eat but high enough that it's inconvenient to jump onto it.
To help with the urine problem I recommend collecting soiled items including soiled pellets and putting it into a pile on one corner of the cage. Don't let it get too nasty but there needs to be just enough to establish that is the corner for urinating on and you should see some improvement there. Chinchillas are habitual. They also do not like to urinate on hard surfaces. If you are fleece lining make sure there is an area with sufficient padding underneath to absorb urine or use pine bedding. The pellets are an attractive media if there is no bedding or appropriate areas in the cage to urinate on.
The bowl I use with my chins is a parrot dish that bolts onto the bars of the cage. A metal ring suspends the bowl so it's not on the floor. Make sure it's low enough that your chin doesn't have to jump onto it to eat but high enough that it's inconvenient to jump onto it.
To help with the urine problem I recommend collecting soiled items including soiled pellets and putting it into a pile on one corner of the cage. Don't let it get too nasty but there needs to be just enough to establish that is the corner for urinating on and you should see some improvement there. Chinchillas are habitual. They also do not like to urinate on hard surfaces. If you are fleece lining make sure there is an area with sufficient padding underneath to absorb urine or use pine bedding. The pellets are an attractive media if there is no bedding or appropriate areas in the cage to urinate on.
96
Q & A / Re: How to stop a chinchilla from peeing in a certain spot
« on: September 13, 2017, 03:24:10 PM »
The key to eliminating noise is using the fasteners to their fullest potential. If the fasteners are not gripping flat on the bars there is going to be noise. You may be able to drill some holes and add some hardware if you can isolate the problematic points.
97
Q & A / Re: How to stop a chinchilla from peeing in a certain spot
« on: September 10, 2017, 03:26:21 PM »
It's probably because the hay feeder is where loose hay is piling on the floor. The urine gets into the hay and it compounds th e smell. The smell of urine attracts the chinchilla to go there. You may just need to take the soiled hay and put it where you want the animal to urinate.
In the meantime you can take some boards and fasten them to the cage with stud bolts, fender washers, and wingnuts. Set up the boards right where the problem area is (just bolt them to the inside of the cage along the edge of the shelf) and it should prevent urine from splashing off the shelf. Clean the shelf each day.
Some pet owners have had success with taking a small metal pan (such as a cake pan) and putting wood chips in it. (Kiln-dried white pine or aspen is recommended). Chinchillas prefer to urinate on a medium that is not solid and flat. You can transfer a part of the soiled chips back in when it needs cleaning.
In the meantime you can take some boards and fasten them to the cage with stud bolts, fender washers, and wingnuts. Set up the boards right where the problem area is (just bolt them to the inside of the cage along the edge of the shelf) and it should prevent urine from splashing off the shelf. Clean the shelf each day.
Some pet owners have had success with taking a small metal pan (such as a cake pan) and putting wood chips in it. (Kiln-dried white pine or aspen is recommended). Chinchillas prefer to urinate on a medium that is not solid and flat. You can transfer a part of the soiled chips back in when it needs cleaning.
98
Q & A / Re: Playpen choice for my little guy
« on: August 24, 2017, 04:12:31 PM »
A lot of people use these kinds of playpens. Just be aware to never leave your pet unsupervised and consider the possibility that a chinchilla can jump over it if it's determined enough. A chinchilla can jump 5-6 feet. Having playtime and out of cage exercise time is nice to watch but be very careful of overheating. I recommend 15 minutes or less per session.
Although I have not used these it appears the Ware is the better of the two, since it's 29" inches tall vs 15" tall. So the Midwest pen I think is going to be inadequate. Also there is a review there from a chinchilla owner who seems to be happy with it.
Although I have not used these it appears the Ware is the better of the two, since it's 29" inches tall vs 15" tall. So the Midwest pen I think is going to be inadequate. Also there is a review there from a chinchilla owner who seems to be happy with it.
99
General Chat / Re: Where can I get a nice wooden shelter house?
« on: August 21, 2017, 08:25:27 AM »
Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
100
General Chat / Re: Where can I get a nice wooden shelter house?
« on: August 13, 2017, 09:02:01 PM »
Definitely call. I think it will give you some peace of mind. I think you'll find it is safer than nails or staples.
101
General Chat / Re: Adopt
« on: August 05, 2017, 09:50:09 PM »
I highly recommend this one, at the very least contacting them first. They may not have chinchillas available but I strongly suspect they'll know exactly where to point you. If not please let us know.
http://www.sydchilla.com/
http://www.sydchilla.com/
102
Health / Re: Atypical presentation of pyometra or...?
« on: August 05, 2017, 09:48:01 PM »
That's an interesting presentation there. I'm very sorry to hear that you're going through this. It is not uncommon for chinchillas to be active until the very end and when depression shows up it's usually too late to save them which is why an early diagnosis of disease is always preferred.
I hate to be the harbinger of doom and gloom yet again but I don't think your best option is a hysterectomy. Most pet chinchillas live around 10 years although it is your pet and you should do what you think is best. Recovery from this kind of surgery is usually very involved, requires syringe feeding, sometimes overnight care, and usually repeat vet visits and sometimes emergency visits. There are numerous possible and common complications, especially respiratory and digestive and you will need to be prepared to handle them.
If you wish to move ahead with that consider it very carefully. Even with surgery from what I've seen it's about a 50-50 chance for a younger chin. I'm not saying not do it but the risk is very high and age does not help it any. I do think a hysterectomy is required to save this one since antibiotics cannot cure the infection.
I hate to be the harbinger of doom and gloom yet again but I don't think your best option is a hysterectomy. Most pet chinchillas live around 10 years although it is your pet and you should do what you think is best. Recovery from this kind of surgery is usually very involved, requires syringe feeding, sometimes overnight care, and usually repeat vet visits and sometimes emergency visits. There are numerous possible and common complications, especially respiratory and digestive and you will need to be prepared to handle them.
If you wish to move ahead with that consider it very carefully. Even with surgery from what I've seen it's about a 50-50 chance for a younger chin. I'm not saying not do it but the risk is very high and age does not help it any. I do think a hysterectomy is required to save this one since antibiotics cannot cure the infection.
103
General Chat / Re: Where can I get a nice wooden shelter house?
« on: August 04, 2017, 08:33:10 PM »
I have one like this. It worked pretty well. Because my chinchillas are so territorial about their cage I stopped using them and they act calmer.
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Woodland-Large-Guinea-House/dp/B0009WH8Z4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1501900244&sr=1-3&keywords=chinchilla+hut
https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Woodland-Large-Guinea-House/dp/B0009WH8Z4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1501900244&sr=1-3&keywords=chinchilla+hut
104
Q & A / Re: Is my chinchilla lonely?
« on: July 31, 2017, 03:05:22 PM »
I think your chinchilla will do fine. Most actually prefer to be alone. All chinchillas take time to settle down and learn their new surroundings. For two weeks I recommend being very careful to not stress him out. You may want to run a fan in the room at night (but do not blow it towards the cage) to give him some background noise that will drain out all of the new and unusual noises and vibration that will take some time to get used to. The noises are probably related to that.
If a chinchilla fights with another it's not worth trying to pair him with another. The general rule is if there is fighting that results in fur pulling or bloodshed it is too risky to keep the chins together. They are capable of killing each other in a very short time.
Take to handling your new pet slowly, especially the first month you have him. Interact mostly through the cage until your pet will come to you. A 3 year old breeder is probably not going to be very tame or pet-like. He is going to require a lot of work and care. I've done this with a two year old chin that wasn't handled much. It was difficult the first 6 months but it was a great learning experience.
If a chinchilla fights with another it's not worth trying to pair him with another. The general rule is if there is fighting that results in fur pulling or bloodshed it is too risky to keep the chins together. They are capable of killing each other in a very short time.
Take to handling your new pet slowly, especially the first month you have him. Interact mostly through the cage until your pet will come to you. A 3 year old breeder is probably not going to be very tame or pet-like. He is going to require a lot of work and care. I've done this with a two year old chin that wasn't handled much. It was difficult the first 6 months but it was a great learning experience.
105
General Chat / Re: Attn: Grayrodent
« on: July 29, 2017, 02:41:16 PM »
I just did a search on the forum and found it. The highest count recorded was 5700. I calculated around 4mi on a 15" wheel. Normally counts were around 2,000 by morning after the counter was reset at night.
The data was a single magnet that closed a reed switch every one rotation. Considering the wheel can spin a few times after the animal jumps off the number is probably a bit higher than if it were to detect whether or not the animal was actually running.
I have plans to build a more sophisticated system but I don't know when I'll actually do it. That one will measure quarter rotations and will log RPMs to help weed out false positives.
The data was a single magnet that closed a reed switch every one rotation. Considering the wheel can spin a few times after the animal jumps off the number is probably a bit higher than if it were to detect whether or not the animal was actually running.
I have plans to build a more sophisticated system but I don't know when I'll actually do it. That one will measure quarter rotations and will log RPMs to help weed out false positives.