1
Q & A / Re: Is it worth it?
« on: April 17, 2011, 09:25:49 PM »
I have a three foot tall playpen I got from petsmart that works pretty well. I've had it for over a year and the boys haven't tried jumping it once.
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3
South East USA / Re: FREE Chinchilla to a good home. Memphis TN area.
« on: January 24, 2011, 06:28:58 PM »
I kind of feel like two chins are less work than one chin. They keep each other entertained and I never feel like they're lonely. But if you really just don't have the time anymore you should look into advertising on those pet finder sites.
4
Parent Chat / Re: Internet Cheating...
« on: January 24, 2011, 04:18:20 PM »
I know this thread is super old, but generally "interviews" are considered to be a reliable and valued source for reports. It's a first person account. The only other ways to get first person accounts are through diaries or journals. Typically, first person accounts are considered to be significantly better than secondary sources. It's not cheating. While I understand the argument to direct them to websites you're actually providing a less reliable source. Wikipedia, for instance, is rarely considered to be a source worthy of being cited. Whereas, getting a personal account from someone on their experiences working with chinchillas and the knowledge they've obtained over the years is significantly better. Even this forum would be a terrible source to cite. Most teachers would probably throw it out. All professional journals in academia would definitely through it out, but an interview could be valid depending on the content. Personal websites would be marginally more acceptable than this forum, but the same arguments would apply to those sites that apply to wikipedia.
5
Q & A / Re: Signs of Aggression
« on: January 10, 2011, 04:36:17 PM »
When they fight it's really obvious. One will be pulling fur out of the other and they'll be making all sorts of not happy sounds. I had some mild fighting when I introduced my boys. You can read it here: http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,2584.msg20415.html#msg20415
6
Cages / Re: another cage question
« on: December 27, 2010, 06:50:24 PM »
I used a combination of poplar and untreated pine. You can screw in the shelves with fender washers and screws. As for the bottom, you should get a metal tray so they can't get their feet stuck in the wires. Look at Bass Equipment. They make custom sizes for the metal trays. http://www.bassequipment.com/Cages/Metal+Pans/default.aspx
7
Q & A / Re: xmas tree
« on: December 15, 2010, 10:24:05 PM »
As for real vs fake I don't think the real would give off any harmful gases/smells, but you definitely shouldn't have the tree accessible to the chins. Lots of sharp objects from the ornaments, lights, cords, pine needles (real or fake), and a falling hazard. A fake tree is definitely fine as long as they don't have access to it. I don't know about real.
8
Q & A / Re: Now it's acorns!
« on: November 13, 2010, 07:51:03 PM »
Nuts are high in fat so they're probably not good if eaten, but yeah no clue.
9
Q & A / Re: Sand as Bedding
« on: November 13, 2010, 11:22:42 AM »
I personally use fleece bedding. It works really nicely and the boys love to snuggle in it. There are several guides on how to make the fleece diaper thing.
Now as for carefresh, I agree that it has its issues, however, some chins don't eat it. So, if you're one of the lucky few then it very well could be an option. It is more expensive though and the risks are severe if your chins do want to eat it.
As for the argument, I understand that this is none of my business, but please keep in mind this forum is for obtaining safe and accurate information on chinchillas and caring for them. I know it sucks when someone disagrees with you on here. It feels like they're questioning your ability to care for your pet. The fact of the matter is that chinchillas are not your average ordinary house pet and sometimes even though you've read something somewhere that says something you've been doing it very well could be wrong and sometimes it's better to differ to the "experts." On the other hand, no one knows your chinchillas better than you. For instance, if your chinchillas don't eat carefresh and seem to like it then don't fix something that isn't broken.
The overall point of this forum is to obtain knowledge, if you feel like someone is attacking you on here then I suggest messaging them and asking if it is something personal or just a coincidence. Perhaps you can work it out. Best of luck.
Now as for carefresh, I agree that it has its issues, however, some chins don't eat it. So, if you're one of the lucky few then it very well could be an option. It is more expensive though and the risks are severe if your chins do want to eat it.
As for the argument, I understand that this is none of my business, but please keep in mind this forum is for obtaining safe and accurate information on chinchillas and caring for them. I know it sucks when someone disagrees with you on here. It feels like they're questioning your ability to care for your pet. The fact of the matter is that chinchillas are not your average ordinary house pet and sometimes even though you've read something somewhere that says something you've been doing it very well could be wrong and sometimes it's better to differ to the "experts." On the other hand, no one knows your chinchillas better than you. For instance, if your chinchillas don't eat carefresh and seem to like it then don't fix something that isn't broken.
The overall point of this forum is to obtain knowledge, if you feel like someone is attacking you on here then I suggest messaging them and asking if it is something personal or just a coincidence. Perhaps you can work it out. Best of luck.
10
Q & A / Re: Fleece Pillows
« on: September 15, 2010, 04:50:35 PM »
I have a fleece pee blanket instead of wood chips. It's a layer of fleece with two quilted layers inside and another layer of fleece on the other side. The stitching is on the inside.
11
Q & A / Re: figuring temperature
« on: September 15, 2010, 04:48:21 PM »
I saw an equation once that went like this:
Temperature + Humidity = Heat
If Heat is greater than 100 then you need to adjust the temperature. Also if it's less than 75 you need to adjust the temperature.
Temperature + Humidity = Heat
If Heat is greater than 100 then you need to adjust the temperature. Also if it's less than 75 you need to adjust the temperature.
12
Q & A / Re: Soon to be Chinchilla owner for the first time!
« on: September 06, 2010, 11:59:34 AM »
I don't have any plastic in their cages. From reading, I've found that most chins chew on plastic and I'm pretty certain mine would if given a chance. I have several places in their cage for them to sleep. The wooden box house (inspired by Simply Chintastic), a hammock, and then the fleece bedding is one of their favorite places to snooze.
13
Q & A / Re: Soon to be Chinchilla owner for the first time!
« on: September 05, 2010, 07:15:42 PM »
There are a few cages I would definitely endorse.
http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/chinchilla/ (if you get one of these you really should replace all of the wire floors with wood)
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=612
I actually made my own cage. It took forever, but I was able to make a 36" x 36" x 18" cage and a 12" x 12" x 24" cage (for a smaller just in case cage) with metal trays from Bass Equipment for about $150 including the wire, trays, and wood. It's a lot less exhausting to buy a pre-fab one though.
I have two chins and they fit just fine in my cage. I also heard something about how a really big cage can be intimidating for the little guys at first.
For general care, this is what I do. (Keep in mind this is for two little chin boys)
-Two glass water bottles in the cage and two back up bottles. When one empties I fill a clean one and replace the empty bottle. I run the bottles under hot water on most days and then dishwasher two at a time every week. (So two will be washed this week and the others the next).
-I have two food dishes. I put three spoonfuls of Mazuri pellets in each dish every day. On Fridays I put a spoonful of grain supplement in addition to their food.
-I have two hay containers. I fill them up every 2-3 days. I clean up any hay they've scattered on those days as well. I use Oxbow Western Timothy. I read somewhere that if you use an alfalfa based pellet you should use a timothy based hay. And vice versa. I haven't really seen too many good timothy based pellets though.
-I have three wood hanging toys with bells on them. They like them.
-My dad built them a pretty epic wooden house. It's connected with dowel rods and consumable/non-toxic wood glue.
-I don't use wood shavings or anything like that. I've made two fleece/quilt beddings. They're basically fleece/3 layers of quilt/fleece. It's great. I switch out the blankets (pee pads) every two weeks and wash them in my washer machine. It works really well.
-I give them dust bathes twice a week. Usually Tuesday and Saturday.
-I give them an hour every night of play time. I use a white fence thing I bought at petsmart. It's about two feet high. Works really well I just connect it to my walls with plastic hooks and then let them out of their cage. (I also have wooden boards around the base boards on my walls so they can't chew on the base boards and ruin my apartment deposit). During their play time I switch out their food, water, hay, give them a bath, clean, ect.
-I clean the shelves and the surface of the pee pad with a little hand held dirt devil. The boys don't like that much, but it's not too loud and gets the job done quickly.
-I have several cardboard tubes for them to run through and chew on.
-At the end of the play session every now and then I give them new toys like wooden blocks to chew on and other little things to chew on. I also occasionally give them treats like rose hips, raisins, and apple sticks. I give them each one treat every few days. Depends on how cute they've been
I think that's the majority of the info about what I do.
Just don't sit on them and you should be fine lol. Hope this helps.
http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/chinchilla/ (if you get one of these you really should replace all of the wire floors with wood)
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=612
I actually made my own cage. It took forever, but I was able to make a 36" x 36" x 18" cage and a 12" x 12" x 24" cage (for a smaller just in case cage) with metal trays from Bass Equipment for about $150 including the wire, trays, and wood. It's a lot less exhausting to buy a pre-fab one though.
I have two chins and they fit just fine in my cage. I also heard something about how a really big cage can be intimidating for the little guys at first.
For general care, this is what I do. (Keep in mind this is for two little chin boys)
-Two glass water bottles in the cage and two back up bottles. When one empties I fill a clean one and replace the empty bottle. I run the bottles under hot water on most days and then dishwasher two at a time every week. (So two will be washed this week and the others the next).
-I have two food dishes. I put three spoonfuls of Mazuri pellets in each dish every day. On Fridays I put a spoonful of grain supplement in addition to their food.
-I have two hay containers. I fill them up every 2-3 days. I clean up any hay they've scattered on those days as well. I use Oxbow Western Timothy. I read somewhere that if you use an alfalfa based pellet you should use a timothy based hay. And vice versa. I haven't really seen too many good timothy based pellets though.
-I have three wood hanging toys with bells on them. They like them.
-My dad built them a pretty epic wooden house. It's connected with dowel rods and consumable/non-toxic wood glue.
-I don't use wood shavings or anything like that. I've made two fleece/quilt beddings. They're basically fleece/3 layers of quilt/fleece. It's great. I switch out the blankets (pee pads) every two weeks and wash them in my washer machine. It works really well.
-I give them dust bathes twice a week. Usually Tuesday and Saturday.
-I give them an hour every night of play time. I use a white fence thing I bought at petsmart. It's about two feet high. Works really well I just connect it to my walls with plastic hooks and then let them out of their cage. (I also have wooden boards around the base boards on my walls so they can't chew on the base boards and ruin my apartment deposit). During their play time I switch out their food, water, hay, give them a bath, clean, ect.
-I clean the shelves and the surface of the pee pad with a little hand held dirt devil. The boys don't like that much, but it's not too loud and gets the job done quickly.
-I have several cardboard tubes for them to run through and chew on.
-At the end of the play session every now and then I give them new toys like wooden blocks to chew on and other little things to chew on. I also occasionally give them treats like rose hips, raisins, and apple sticks. I give them each one treat every few days. Depends on how cute they've been
I think that's the majority of the info about what I do.
Just don't sit on them and you should be fine lol. Hope this helps.
14
Q & A / Re: Travel questions
« on: July 08, 2010, 11:46:34 AM »
I have not found an airline that allows chinchillas on board yet. It's pretty lame. If I were you, I wouldn't get one. I <3 my boys a lot, but if I were traveling all the time there's no way I'd be able to take care of them. I mean, I spend a good hour a night with my boys with just play time and then you need to clean their cage, change their water, give them food, and they need adequate space in a cage to live in. I mean, my cage for my two boys is 3 feet long, 3 feet tall, and a foot and a half deep. No way you could take it on a plane. As for cars, chinchillas overheat really easily and if you put the AC on full blast you may give them a chill. I, personally, don't think traveling plus chins is a good idea. If you're only gone a little bit each week, you could get a chin-sitter.