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1

Health / Re: "Rescued" Chin's Heatlh...

« on: December 29, 2010, 01:03:32 AM »

Thanks for all the advice guys   I went out and got him some Chinchilla food, Wood chews for chinchillas, Alfalfa hay and the lady at the pets store who takes care of the chins there recommended bird millet since they give it as a treat to the chins there.  I have a vet date set for this friday (trying to find a vet familiar with chins was a task in its own).  He already devoured the 1st wood chew and I have mixed some of the Chin food with some raisin bran (took out the raisins) so that i can ween him off of it.  He isnt that fond of they but loves the millet.  He also got his 1st dust bath today and I gotta say I was laughing at the lil guy rolling around. How often should he get a dust bath?  I left him there till he hopped out of the lil house i got to put the dust in which was 15 mins or so.
 I am also looking into finding some space so that I can get him this huge cage with 4 levels. 
The thing that still concerns me are the hair mats on his back, I tried tugging at them but I didnt want to hurt him and they didnt budge, so I will let the vet look at them. 

I have to say even tho he hasnt let me pick him up yet i find myself standing at his cage all the time just to pet him, when i scratch under his chin he will lean to one side and lift his one foot up.  Im hoping the vet can tell me how old he is, I hoping to have him around for along time

2

Health / "Rescued" Chin's Heatlh...

« on: December 26, 2010, 04:02:02 PM »

Hi everyone, As of xmas I am a new Chinchilla owner...

I "rescued" a Chin from my sisters bf, I went over their place on xmas and saw he had a chin living in a large cat carrier.  Poor thing had no water in its water bowl and his food bowl was filled with Raisin Bran :/  I was drawn to the lil guy, it was the 1st time I have seen a Chin in real life.  He like to be pet on his head and under his chin, but as of yet I have not been able to pick him up. I brought him home and he is currently living in my old rabbit's hutch (its wooden with a grate at the bottom wire front door and i "private" area to the side)  Is this okie for him to be living in or should I get a cage meant for Chinchillas?  My neighbor has a Guinea Pig and gave me alil food to get me thru the weekend until I can get to the pet store to get Chinchilla food, lil guy seems to love the variety in this food.
My questions are since he has been living on Raisin Bran is there any sort of vitamins  or anything I should get him to make sure he is now getting the right nutrients? He also has clumps of hair on his back that look like "mats" you would see on a cat or dog, they are very hard, Will a dust bath help remove these mats or would it be okie if i were to cut them off or shave them off?  I am worried about them pulling on his skin.  I plan on taking him to a vet as soon as possible to have his heatlh checked out and make sure he is 100% okie.  I've had this lil guy for not even 24hrs yet and he has snuck into my heart, he seems to be happy hopping around his cage he has even learned to grab the wire door and shake it when he wants my attention lol
Any tips you guys could give me would be helpful. Thank you so much and I look forward to having "Chilla" around for a long time