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1

General Chat / Re: Sounds - what do they mean?

« on: October 28, 2016, 04:38:48 PM »

My chins used to fur slip a lot whenever I touched them but they've stopped now. They never were very vocal except for calling each others out or the odd short disagreement. However one of them started making the most unusual sound today and repeatedly too, did not sound like the alarm or angry bark, same kind of frequency but less high pitch and sounds like a typical kazoo sound. He looked in some kind of upset and wouldn't even take a treat off me and refused to interact with me when I was trying to reassure him. The other one was perfectly fine, curious as always and coming to see and smell me and interacting as usual. I really don't know what was bugging him as it was in the middle of the day and seemed out of the blue.

2

General Chat / Re: Chinchilla rejects fresh fruit

« on: October 28, 2016, 04:27:42 PM »

It's strange though as I have read reports of wild chinchillas eating cacti fruits in their natural range, and even tunneling through the cacti to get to the higher fruits.

3

Cages / Re: What do you use to "nail" boards together?

« on: October 27, 2016, 11:41:55 AM »

You can use screws but be aware of them as they chew the wood down. Exposed screws can cause a lot of damage. Non toxic glue (like elmers glue) is great to use on smaller items
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thats why i only use screws or bolts to fix to the cage and only so they don't go to far into the wood that could be chewed. that's also why i use dowels to attach poop guards or other things that are exposed for the chins to chew, at least it's still just wood if they chew them, and it's easier to pull them apart too if you need to replace parts.

4

Cages / Re: Making My Own Chews and Accessories

« on: October 27, 2016, 11:27:50 AM »

huh yeah sorry it was a typo.

5

Cages / Re: Making My Own Chews and Accessories

« on: October 26, 2016, 09:56:12 PM »

Azel, willow and apple wood are their favorite woods to chew. if you can find thin azel or willow sticks, these are fairly flexible so you can bend it, and even weave it so you can get creative. not sure if you can find it in america though, they are fairly common here in europe. loofah and pumice volcanic rock is also good to use for them to grind their teeth.

6

Cages / Re: How do I stop one of my chin pulling the fleeces.

« on: October 26, 2016, 09:44:57 PM »

i just found out technology is the way! i've got an ap on android phone called chinchilla translator, which has got recordings of vocalizations and what they mean. i started playing the "this is annoying" sound and that made him stop.

7

Cages / Re: Mirror?

« on: October 24, 2016, 11:20:15 PM »

i have trained my chinchillas to respond to pointing though.

8

Cages / Re: Coloring KD Pine with Frosting Colors?

« on: October 24, 2016, 11:16:15 PM »

yeah i think gray rodent is right, i have some dangly chew toys with corn leaf paper coloured with vegetable dye. I sometimes find the fleeces got dyed too, probably because of urine on bits they chewed off.

9

Cages / Re: Bath container?

« on: October 24, 2016, 04:28:23 PM »

I use a superpet/kaytee bath house personally, I know it's plastic but they have their bath toward the end of playtime and always supervised. then they get their hay rack and pellet bowl refiled and they know its time to go back. They also got used to associate the word bath with it and the sound of us shaking it and get exited when hearing it and stand waiting for it every time now. but yes a ceramic container would be good as it would keep cool so would be great on a hot day. On that note I have heard of some people putting the sand in a ceramic container in the fridge for a little while to make it even cooler, but I have not tried that as my fridge is a bit small and always find it a bit humid so I imagine wouldn't be good for the sand.

10

Cages / Re: Towels vs. Fleece

« on: October 24, 2016, 04:23:15 PM »

Seems to work so far, fleece feels dry to the touch but terry cloth is badly soiled. We change them weekly and seems to do the trick so far.

11

Cages / Re: What do you use to "nail" boards together?

« on: October 24, 2016, 04:19:32 PM »

if it is to attach pieces to the cage, I use metal to wood screws. It's like a screw end with a bolt other end so perfect for screwing into wood and then put a washer and a wing nut. To attach wood to wood I drill both parts partly and join them with a wooden dowel so that if they chew through it they won't injure themselves by exposing a metal screw.

12

Cages / Re: Homemade ChinChiller?

« on: October 24, 2016, 10:18:11 AM »

I have 1 ceramic tile on each of the shelves and they seem to like resting on them after play time. You could frame the tiles with some untreated pine angle molding, that's what i've done. I also have a big ceramic pot saucer too. You could try putting them in the fridge before play time, 3o mins is enough, then wipe them dry and put it in after playtime as that's when they are more likely to overheat

13

Cages / Re: Pictures of your cage

« on: October 24, 2016, 10:03:41 AM »

They seemed to like it too, i mean it's like 4x the size of the breeder's cage they lived in. Not to mention the frequent pop-corning on the day they got home. We made some slight changes since then thou, mainly chinchilla proofing the underneath an side of the cage, and even blocking gaps with boxes did not faze them as they pulled them out (crafty lil devils lol). I will not invest in a metal wheel yet as I have not seem them using the wheel at all. I do have a wooden one though if needs be. I have seen a tutorial to make a wooden a wooden running disc from an ikea cake stand thing which looked interesting.

14

Cages / Re: Pictures of your cage

« on: October 24, 2016, 04:08:15 AM »

Meet Kuzco (beige) and Kronk (pink white) in their critter nation cage. Fleeces made by my wife with terry cloth underneath to absorb all that pee and all wood platforms made by myself. You can't see the water bottle on the pic but it's on the outside on the left. The wheel is the only plastic in there but they never chewed it, and also never used it to my knowledge...although there is evidence of poop in there every day. The dish in front of the hide is a big ceramic pot saucer, they never used the house as a house but rather as a source of hay and they love to pull it onto the dish and spread it out to pick out their preferred bits.

15

Cages / How do I stop one of my chin pulling the fleeces.

« on: October 24, 2016, 03:58:09 AM »

Hi, one of my chins who has got a rather naughtier disposition than the other one, always scratch and pull at the fleece on the bottom of the cage when he wants to come out. He does not chew them or damages it, he just pulls them when it's time or nearly time for cage clean/play time. The other does not do it often and will stop if told no. I have tried blowing on him, telling him no, pointing at him and even ignoring him and he then will stops for a minute, look at me with surprise like "what!!?? what's your problem?" but then carries on till we open the cage.

What else could I do to stop him as it really annoys me.