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1

Q & A / Re: Feeding ice to chins

« on: May 01, 2009, 01:58:08 PM »

Thanks for the help.  Sometimes he wants ice, while other times he wants nothing to do with it, but its good to get confirmation.  The pieces I give him are too small to get him wet.  I figure if I can give him water as a treat its a good thing.

2

Q & A / Feeding ice to chins

« on: April 30, 2009, 09:00:55 PM »

I was chewing on ice the other night and a small piece (slightly larger than a raisin) fell out of my mouth.  My chin came over so I gave it to him.  Now he seems to enjoy running off with it and chewing on pieces that I give him.  Is this unsafe.  Being water, I figure it's not a big deal, but i wanted to check if anyone else knew more about it.  Thanks

3

Health / Re: a bit squished chinchilla

« on: September 19, 2008, 09:10:38 PM »

Sorry for not responding for so long.  Tai never really seemed to have any problems extending from the chair incident.  He is doing well for the most part.  My wife is frustrated because she wants him to be more cuddly, but he doesnt like being held.  He has acted strange lately in that he has started sitting quietly most the time on a shelf in my room when i let him out of the cage instead of running around and exploring.  I assume its because he has gotten used to the layout of the room and has become somehwat bored with it.  He does make a whining sound occasionally.  Any advice onn how to make him more friendly would be appreciated

4

Health / Re: a bit squished chinchilla

« on: August 30, 2008, 08:54:12 AM »

yes you should look out for internal injuries or shock. You could have done a lot of dammage with the reclyner

is there anything that i can check for visually by myself

5

Health / a bit squished chinchilla

« on: August 30, 2008, 06:33:05 AM »

I let my chin run around my room with the doors closed.  Sometimes he hides under my recliner for a few minutes.  I hadnt seen him after several minutes so I went to investigate and saw his tail hanging down.  Apparently when reclining a hole forms in the lower back of the recliner.  When I sat back straight it would close up.  He had gotten pinched in there for a few minutes, maybe as many as 5-10 minutes at most.  He was acting strange when I put him back in the cage and seemed reluctant to move.  He is now moving some and having a snack.  Is he just scared from getting stuck or should I be on the lookout for some sort of internal injury or broken limb?  Thanks

6

Q & A / chin in toilet

« on: August 17, 2008, 10:34:56 PM »

I saw a similar post, but I wanted to make sure I was taking the right steps.  My chin Tai was running around my room and adjoining bathroom and hopped in and out of the toilet quickly, and didnt get completely soaked, mostly underneath, but did get wet.  He rolled around on the carpet to get a lil dry while i grabbed a towel.  Due to only knowing me for 2.5 weeks there is relatively low trust and he doesn't like to be held. I trapped him in a towel and gently rubbed him.  It is now way past my bedtime and I will be going to sleep soon.  I dried him the best I could and let him get a dust bath.  Right now Tai is eating, running around and chewing his belly where it was most difficult to dry him. Is there anything else I should do or anything I should check in the morning?  Thanks for all your advice from my first post as well.

7

Q & A / Re: Confused new chin owner

« on: August 06, 2008, 03:15:15 PM »

thanks for all your responses, we have beenn getting along with Tai better.  Regarding the question about the treats, he gets a raisen occasionally, usually one a day, has gotten 2 a few times.

8

Q & A / Re: Confused new chin owner

« on: August 05, 2008, 02:51:10 PM »

thanks for the advice.  Regarding the ball, is using the bathroom after a few seconds normal or are we doing something wrong?

9

Q & A / Confused new chin owner

« on: August 04, 2008, 08:31:53 PM »

My wife and I bought a chinchilla four days ago from a Petsmart.  We were told he was 4-6 months old.  My wife wants to be able to hold him (Tai), but is having a hard time being patient.  We left him in the cage the first day we had him, but let him smell us when we put our fingers near the cage.  The second day, we put our hands in the cage and let him climb on our hands (he did some nibbling, but nothing that hurt). We put him in a 13 inch ball and let him roll around for a few minutes, but by the end there were at least 10 droppings in the ball.  He took a raisin as a reward when we put our hands in the cage.  The third day my wife and I sat in a V outside of his cage and let him explore the area between us but blocked him from going more than a few feet outside of his cage. When we put him in the ball again he peed and made several more droppings within the first 30 seconds of being in there so we immediately put him back in the cage.    After having been outside the cage, he frantically chewed on the door in an attempt to get back out.  Today we tried the ball again and he peed quickly again.  We also took the whole cage to a different room with less hiding spaces and let him roam around freely for about 15 minutes.  He produced about 20 droppings while he was out and when we put him back in the cage he did more frantic (almost angry seeming) biting of the door frame and laid on his side which was worrisome, but has since gone back to his stomach.  If someone could provide advice on any of the following questions, we would appreciate it.

1)   Based on what I have said from the first 4 days, are we moving too fast?  Should we not give Tai so much freedom too quickly?  Should we stick more towards letting him walk on our hands within the cage?  On average how long does it take for a chinchilla to get used to people?

2)   On the same note, is it too early for us to use the ball

3)   He doesn’t seem to enjoy the dust bath as much as I thought he would.  He usually just goes in for about 2 minutes, does maybe one flip and then sits or digs the rest of the time.  We have been giving him one every day.  Is he just getting used to it, and is every day too often?

4)   His cage is currently sitting in the family room where the TV is.  Is the TV being near his cage too much of a distraction for him?

5)   Tai gobbles up the Thomas hay as fast as we put it in there, which is usually just 2 pinches a day.  Should we limit his intake?

6)          If I let him out for a minute and then put him back in the cage, he gnaws the door at a furious even more angry pace or pouts and acts like he wants nothing to do with me.  Is this normal?

7)   Any other advice for new chin owners would be thankful, thanks.