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1

Health / Re: Chin has lost weight. Help

« on: December 27, 2011, 03:59:39 PM »

ah, that's a good weight. i think the main thing is to keep monitoring his weight, it will fluctuate so don't panic if it's up or down 10g or so. sometimes they just lose weight and stay there. see if the vet can find anything wrong but hopefully he'll be all good

2

Health / Re: Pain or mating?

« on: December 26, 2011, 02:44:43 PM »

lifeline is all the probiotics you need (you can get stuff in sachets from the vets, it's for rabbits and from my experience they don't work that well and are not as palatable - lifeline tastes really good!). spock and ffynn were on baytril and septrin and their poo didn't change at all with lifeline. mae, the rescue girl who has to be on antibiotics every so often responds very well to this too. i would ask for post op course of antibiotics rather than just to have antibiotics on hand, this may stop any infection from developing, by the time you notice there's something wrong, it may take longer to get things right.

3

Q & A / Re: Some new owner questions

« on: December 25, 2011, 07:39:02 AM »

i'm sure you'll do a great job

4

Q & A / Re: Some new owner questions

« on: December 24, 2011, 04:44:02 PM »

it very much depends on the chin but you can usually have them out for a play at 7pm without them getting grumpy. some chins don't mind being disturbed during the day but all mine apart from mae wouldn't be too pleased with me.

chinchi lived in my bedroom and he didn't seem to mind noise during the day but i would only pester him if he was awake. he would put his chews in his wheel and run with them at night  an he would quite often call me at night.

chinchillas are incredibly sweet and when they accept you, it's the cutest thing ever.

5

Q & A / Re: Some new owner questions

« on: December 24, 2011, 08:48:44 AM »

it actually takes less effort to take care of two than of a single one (unless their in two separate cages in which case it obviously takes longer to clean up and have run around time) - you basically do the same thing as you would do for one chin with the added bonus of the chin having a mate who's there all the time, even when you're out of the house. my first chin was on his own and he absolutely loved me but when i introduced him to fluffy, it was a whole different story. a pair will sleep together, cuddle up together, chins generally handle stress better when in pairs. obviously the thing to consider is vet bills as there will be two instead of one if there is sickness and two will eat more and destroy more toys than one. but if that is not a concern, i would say that a pair is better than a single chin. i currently have a boy who's on his own as it's taking some time to introduce him to the girls and he really is the saddest chinchilla of my six. bless.

i have three dogs but they have no access to the chin room as one of them is an exracing greyhound and he'd kill them or at least try. but, they do bark and chins don't mind. they prick ears if i'm in the room and the dogs run up or down stairs but that's it. it's quite handy for going to the vets as they don't stress out when they hear a dog bark.

not sure if girls are more outgoing than boys. it very much depends on the chin but from my experience, girls are more awake than the boys.

you shouldn't really play with the chin a lot during the day, while some of them are quite happy to wake up and see you during the day, it's best to follow their natural rhythm. they are, supposedly, crepiscular, which means they're most active during dawn and dusk but they're also more active at night than during the day. if you disturb them when they need to sleep, you're going to have an unhappy and very grumpy chinchilla, probably ill one overtime.

i'm wondering, have you considered degus? i recently adopted four and they are awake during the day so may be more suitable for you, are very chinchilla like but a little smaller and are very friendly - they will climb over you and mine are very happy to be held and cuddled. you have to be very careful with their diet but you do with chinchillas as well. you do have to keep them in groups or pairs though.

6

Q & A / Re: Some new owner questions

« on: December 23, 2011, 05:58:14 AM »

hey darby, i'm going to answer these the best i can:

1. Do they smell? no. but there are associated smells - hay, bedding if you use it, sand bath
2. Would my bedroom with limited noise  be a suitable place for my chinchilla cage? - yes but you need to remember that they are awake at night a lot and they can make quite a racket on the wheel also, the room needs to be kept at quite a low temperature so you may need an aircon running if it's warm out.
2a. Would it be best to close the bedroom door or leave it open? i keep the door of the room where the chins are closed simply because they should not be exposed to drafts, they also react to noises so with the door shut they may feel safer. however, if your house is draft free and there are no new noises occurring every day, i don't see why you couldn't leave it open, they would get used to whatever's happening on a daily basis
3. If supervised, could I let my chinchilla run around my room for play time? yes, if you're not particularly bothered about having your wallpaper and furniture nibbled. some people have chinchilla proofed rooms (some use bathrooms), in my old house they were in the library and they did eat the wallpaper and some books although thankfully never attempted cables. you'll have to keep a close eye on them when they're out.
4. Do chinchillas like to hide when they are let out to explore like rabbits? yes. it's a good idea to prevent them from doing that as they could start eating something unsuitable while hiding and if you can't get them out then it's not great. but they do enjoy running around and explore the room, using you as furniture if you sit on the floor, they will climb onto you, it's very cute
5. Do chinchillas like to be held and cuddled during play time? from my experience, no. i have one boy that actively asks to be picked up but hates being held (go figure) so you pick him up, he wrestles with you, you put him down, he asks to b picked up again.  mae, my rescue girl will happily be held but if you gave her a choice, she'd prefer you didn't cuddle her. the rest tolerate being held but certainly don't enjoy it. what they do like, however, is tickling and scratching around their head, some like stroking down the back - it varies for each. i think if they're on the floor, it doesn't feel as much as them being carried away by a predator.
6. Would the wood toys, even the colored wood, be a suitable toy for my chinchilla? yes and they love them. you need to be careful - and this goes for food, treats and everything else - there is no legal requirement for manufacturers to make sure a pet product is suitable for the pet it's labeled for and often they are not so you have to check yourself. there also is a lot of contradicting info out there. i find that my chins don't particularly like the wooden blocks but they like sticks and balls etc. quite often, i order stuff for them and they go absolutely crazy for a new thing so i order lots and lots next time and they go 'er.. mother.. not too keen on these anymore'
7. Where is a good place for buying quality toys? there are some good internet shops - i'm in the uk but i'm sure our us members will give you some info!
8. When I first bring my chinchilla home, how should I go about introducing it to myself and getting it used to it's new home? generally you would leave him/her alone for the first couple of days just so he/she can get used to the environment without a person nosing around. then, it very much depends on the chin how quickly you get friendly with one another. best thing is to put your hand in the cage and let the chin come to you. giving a bit of food (if it's younger than 6 months treats are not a good idea) and hand feed builds confidence. they will nibble on your hand and you have to make sure you keep moving it slightly, otherwise they bite down too hard - quite painful!
9. What is the best chinchilla food to feed them from petco or petsmart? i feed a mix of beaphar care+ as some of my chins have teeth problems and science selective chinchilla food, i don't think these are available in the us but i think lots of people feed mazuri or oxbow over there. and timothy hay. the important thing to remember is to feed high quality pellets and not chinchilla mix.
10. If the chinchilla is bonded with me, would it be friendly toward other family members that live in the house? probably but it will depend on the effort other family members make! my first chin absolutely loved me and disliked everybody else!
11. How much time is recommended to spend with my chinchilla each day to keep it happy and healthy? it varies. if they're in your bedroom, you'll probably spend enough time. i find that my chins are awake at different times of the day. the boys you don't even see during the day, they're in their snugs/tunnels and would get really grumpy if i tried to wake them up. girls are always alert. they sleep but they also wake up as soon as you walk into the room.
12. Would my chinchilla be okay if its cage is somewhat close to a window? yes but it needs to be draft free and they cannot be in direct sunlight.
13. With my cage, I will need bedding at the bottom and in the nesting box, correct? bedding - if you choose to do bedding, it shouldn't come in contact with the chinchilla as they would get soiled bits onto the fur. i don't use bedding as i use fleece pads instead - this is not suitable to all the chins as some may chew it. nesting box is good, any housing is good as they enjoy hiding
14. When I clean the cage, will I need to take every toy and shelf out and clean it or do they pick on corner to go to the bathroom in? I will obviously change the bedding anyways and in the nesting box but just don't know what to expect. you will need to clean the shelves but you won't need to take them out for it. they tend to go in a corner but sometimes they decide to pee on a shelf.

oh, one more thing - have you considered getting a pair of chinchillas? they do much better in pairs and they will love you just the same. but you will have to make sure that they are the same sex (triple check! lots of people who sell them don't sex them correctly!)

7

News / Re: what kind of animal is this?

« on: December 23, 2011, 05:29:20 AM »

ah. not a degu. the tail is different!

8

Health / Re: Chin has lost weight. Help

« on: December 23, 2011, 05:28:13 AM »

how old is he? that is quite a low weight for a chin to start with, he must be tiny! is he in a cage by himself or is he in with others? sometimes it's very difficult to see if they're eating as much as they normally would because there are others in the cage - you may see him eat but if he's eating slower than usual, he will not take in as much food.

given you're taking him to the vet in january, i would be very tempted to try and get his weight up - i have a rescue chin that suffers from health problems and is small to start with so she needs 'fattening up' a little every so often. you could introduce more rolled oats, i would even be tempted to feed him critical care. it's possible he may have a tooth problem - he would need to go under anaesthetic for that and obviously he needs to be a good weight for that. similarly, if it's something else that needs to be treated with medication, a lot of meds act as appetite suppressants so then you get into a vicious circle of him needing to be heavier but not wanting to eat.

keep an eye on his weight, that's important. good job spotting it!

9

News / Re: what kind of animal is this?

« on: December 22, 2011, 01:38:03 PM »

i think it may be a blue degu? i have degus and they look similar but are brown/ginger, i know there are blue ones but have never seen one so not entirely sure what they look like. would you have a picture that shows the end of the tail?

10

General Chat / Re: New Baby Chinchilla advice

« on: December 20, 2011, 01:31:39 PM »

what supplement do you mean?

11

Health / Re: :( my chinchillas eye.....

« on: December 19, 2011, 11:45:58 AM »

there also are a lot more antibiotics out there that are safe to cats but not to chinchillas. the dosage differs although quite often with the eye ointments it tends to be a drop. you definitely want to make sure that a/ the medication is safe for chinchillas and you know the correct dosage b/ you are confident in the diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

the salt water ratio, i don't particularly mix it accurately, but i'd say that half a teaspoon (flat) in a cupful of water should be ok. let us know what the vet says.

12

Health / Re: :( my chinchillas eye.....

« on: December 18, 2011, 06:14:26 AM »

i would take her to the vet without giving her anything. while generally the stuff they prescribe for eyes is not specifically for chinchillas, you don't know what is wrong with her eye, it could be something completely different to what your cat had and so you could make it worse.

it's possible she damaged it with hay (my guinea pig did that, several times!) in which case the vet will be able to tell if there's any damage to the eye using a special dye. it's possible it's an eye infection, respiratory infection or a tooth problem. if it is a respiratory infection, you would want to get her seen fairly swiftly.

if you want to do something for her eye while waiting to see a vet, you could gently wipe her eye with cotton wool pad or ball moistened with salt solution (boil water, mix with salt, let it cool down - i usually use it when it's still a little warm rather than cold) - this will clean off the discharge and if there is eye infection present, it could help a little.

in any case, you want to see a vet before putting any goo in, especially as it had been prescribed for a different animal, of a different species.

13

Health / Re: Chinchilla tail cut and swollen! What should I do?

« on: December 15, 2011, 12:18:18 PM »

i agree with jo ann. i find that baytril especially (septrin not so much) causes problems with the gut if probiotics are not used. 14 days is quite a long course and it will certainly have an effect. i also like to use lactulose at the same time as it seems to help the poo along. you can get probiotics from your vet, i find that feeding critical care at the same time works well too but you don't need to hand feed him so there's no need for that. some people use plain probiotic yogurt.

do not give any sugary treats (raisins etc) while on antibiotics.

baytril is also very bitter so your chin may not be too keen on having it, just be careful that you don't accidentally get it into pikachu's lungs (put the syringe in the side of the mouth and dispense the liquid into his mouth so he just swallows it)

14

Cages / Re: My chin likes to escape. Need help!

« on: December 14, 2011, 01:14:38 PM »

hahaha that is brilliant!

15

Cages / Re: My chin likes to escape. Need help!

« on: December 12, 2011, 12:37:22 PM »

hahaha the great dane story is hilarious! yours must be clever to show you where the chin was hiding! i have a great dane and he's not the brightest bless him. he'd be absolutely petrified of a chinchilla (i have an ex racing greyhound as well and he would kill the chins so the dogs are not allowed anywhere near them) as well!