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1

General Chat / Re: Top 10 Chinchilla Facts

« on: March 07, 2016, 08:43:33 AM »

"8.  Chinchillas Digest Their Food Twice!

Their food passes through their digestive system and is excreted to be re-ingested.  This is the same as both rabbits and guinea pigs, and is a process known as caecotrophy."

ooo... his current cage set up has his droppings fall out the bottom of the cage where he can't get at them. Does this mean that I should make it so that his droppings are collected in his cage where he can eat them?

I don't think Popsicle has been eating his droppings... is this bad for his health? Should I try to incorporate his droppings into his diet?

2

General Chat / SQUEEK!!! My daddy is so silly!!! SQUEEEEK!!!

« on: March 07, 2016, 08:36:39 AM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HylOnqxdjnk

Popsicle is unhappy that his daddy is soooooo silly!!!

3

General Chat / Misadventures trying to kiss my chinchilla.

« on: October 22, 2015, 01:03:20 PM »

Ok, I had just taken Popsicle out of his cage for playtime. I leaned in for a kiss... He dodged to the left! Re-aim, kiss... Dodged to the right! ... 10 more of my kiss attempts were dodged! ... Sigh. Heartbroken, I resumed playtime.

Later, I put him on my shoulder and gave him his treat. He happily ate it... Then he reached over in front of me, and gave me a peck on the lips! (As a thank you?)

So cute...

4

General Chat / Re: Something is wrong...

« on: October 02, 2015, 04:08:24 AM »

... broken weighing scale.

He's 637g. Come to think of it, I think 800 was a wrong weighing too. what an anticlimax.

5

General Chat / Re: Something is wrong...

« on: September 30, 2015, 09:21:58 PM »

I think he wasn't fully grown when I last weighed him. In that picture, his wheel looks really too small for him. I should really have measured his body length as he was growing up...

6

General Chat / Re: Something is wrong...

« on: September 30, 2015, 04:28:23 AM »

https://flic.kr/p/yjvLvz

Hmm... A bit roundish in shape. Especially his bum.

7

General Chat / Re: Something is wrong...

« on: September 29, 2015, 08:57:48 AM »

Is it battery operated?

Pellet and hay powered.

... ok, admittedly, also daily treats. Which are now OUT of the equation.

over 2kg is obese for a chinchilla right? So, should I also start reducing his daily pellet ration?

8

General Chat / Re: Back and not so good news

« on: September 28, 2015, 10:09:31 AM »

Does Onyx attack outside of the cage? Like if you put them both in the bathroom, does Onyx attack? Maybe he got territorial over the cage or something.

9

General Chat / Something is wrong...

« on: September 28, 2015, 10:07:11 AM »

uh oh. There are 2 possibilities:

1) My electronic weighing scale is broken. Or at least, inaccurate.

2) Popsicle is now a fatty chinchilla, and weights 2230g. ... For reference, he was only like 800 a few months back.

10

General Chat / Re: Alternative to syringe feeding -> Hand feeding.

« on: September 13, 2015, 05:55:39 AM »

Absolutely true GrayRodent. One more thing about syringe feeding is that the portion is much more dilute, needing a total feeding portion at least 2x more volume than feeding a paste. ... I don't think chinchillas have very large digestive systems, so forcefeeding 1 large dose per day sounds very likely to result in a bloated stomach and discomfort for your chin.
Overall, syringe feeding probably is sometimes necessary, but I would recommend keeping it as the last resort, since voluntary eating is so superior.

11

General Chat / Curious about chinchilla psychology-> RE: Eating off finger.

« on: September 11, 2015, 09:29:15 AM »

OK, I've heard others supporting that it does work... now I'd like to discuss WHY it works. BTW, I have no idea.

What I'm talking about is the chinchillas' instinct to eat food off the tip of my finger. This has been very useful when administering critical care to my chinchilla, and I'm sure that it would be useful for many other chin owners too. (Having said that, I suspect this doesn't work on ALL chins, and there will be cases that still need to be forcefed via syringe).

To contrast, I often get tired of placing food on my fingertip over and over again and try to simplify the process by offering the bowl of critical care paste directly to Popsicle, but he will usually take a nibble or two at most before losing interest. The fingerfood technique makes a HUGE difference, to him.

My question though is... how in the world does this sort of instinct develop in an animal? Does Popsicle think my hand is another chinchilla, and he is being offered food mouth to mouth? Does he think he's grooming me? What makes food off the tip of my finger so much more attractive than food I place in a bowl in front of him? Does he think that eating off my finger is a game? A mating ritual? Parent and child feeding?

12

General Chat / Alternative to syringe feeding -> Hand feeding.

« on: September 10, 2015, 03:27:44 AM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BiPCtlam8


Very good results with this method up to now, and I read online some other people having success when offering CC on their finger... it might have something to do with rodent instincts.

13

General Chat / Are chinchilla pellets, hay and treats healthy? ... for humans?

« on: April 12, 2015, 06:42:41 AM »

Well, I had this crazy idea that popsicle might bond better with me if we eat the same food, so I have tried sampling some of his food. The results so far... not that encouraging. Popsicle was actually quite confused when I started stripping an applestick of it's bark. It actually does have an aroma of apples, so not too unpalatable, actually...

14

General Chat / Re: Popsicle has been chewing on his own tail.

« on: April 02, 2015, 07:40:48 AM »

it's much improved since I stopped using the cream. lolz zzz.

His tail now ends in a stump though. I'm... *fairly* certain that's just the normal tip of his tail, but without hair. It would be an open wound not a rounded tip if he had chewed the end off I'm sure? Right? RIGHT??? ... nah, it couldn't have gone from chewed the tip off to smooth uninjured tip in just 1-2 days, so it must be just the normal bald tip. ... sigh... silly rodent...

15

General Chat / Re: Popsicle has been chewing on his own tail.

« on: March 28, 2015, 07:50:11 AM »

I think initially it was my fault for stepping on his tail when he snuck up behind me. I THINK it was his tail, I know I stepped on his something, and then when I checked on him his tail had a big bald patch on it. I think fur slip occured.
Anyhow, brought him to vet, vet gave anti inflamatory cream cause it looked like popsicle was nibbling on the bald spot.
Ho well... stopped using the cream, hoping the fur grows back eventually...