Couple of questions

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NikkiMarie29

New member
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Messages
2
Location
Long Island, New York
Hi, I have a couple of questions since I am a first time owner of a Chinchilla. He is relatively young. Approximately 2-3 months. He is very tiny. I just want some questions answered.

1. We are thinking about converting a dresser/armoire or into a habitat for him, or building a custom habitat for him. (right now he is in a very large bi-level "rabbit" cage. any advice?
2. I noticed scrolling through pages upon pages of Chinchilla sites, people seem to have more than one. Should he have a friend? If so, when and how should I introduce another.
3. Food options. Right now he is on a commercial Chinchilla feed. When to give fresh food (fruits veggies etc) and what is good and not so good?
4. "Toys" do's and don'ts. Wood chews? Hay treats? There's so many things out there labeled great for Chinchillas, but what are the best toys?
5. Is there anything specific I should look out for considering we only have him at home for 4 days?
Thank you!!
 
1. I can't give you any real advice on building a cage other then make sure it's well ventilated and that chins chew everything, so make sure any accessible surface is safe to chew/eat. Personally I like the double ferret nation and critter nation cages, they can be customized to be an ideal habitat, you do need to either remove and replace or cover the plastic though, since plastic is not digestible and as I said, chins chew everything. The shelves and middle level can be removed though giving you a hollow cage to fill however you want. You can find ideas on the Ferret Nation club thread.

2. It depends on the chin, chins in general are social creatures (like humans), however not all chins like all other chins, just like humans it comes down to personality. If you get a second you have to be prepared to house them separately if things don't work out. New chins should be quarantined from your current one for 30 days to allow it to settle and make sure it's not carrying any illness, then slow intros can take place. Intros can take anywhere from hours to months to years, it can't be rushed, and if personalities don't mix may never happen. If you do a search on the forum here there are several different bonding methods, but no one fool proof way, so you may need to try a few. Even if chins don't get along, having another chin in the same room can still be beneficial as someone to "chat chinchilla" with. So long as you spend at least an hour a day with your chin it won't likely be lonely though. People do keep single chins without issue, but keep in mind that you are it's only company. I think for some people it comes down to the fact that they are addictive, you get one and you want another, lol, and each are so unique.

3. The best options for food are a high quality pellet only chinchilla food like, oxbow essentials, Mazuri, or Tradition. Also unlimited hay, a kit should have primarily alfalfa hay since the extra calcium is good for growing, but most people switch to timothy hay and other grass hays once the chin is an adult. Chins should not have any fruits or veggies, fresh or otherwise, they can't properly digest the sugars and it will make them sick. Short term it can upset their stomach, long term it can cause diabetes as well as liver and kidney failure. On that same note, no seeds, nuts, or animal products (milk, hide, meat, bone, etc) either. At under 6 months the chin should not be getting any treats anyway, they need to focus on good food for growing. You can use pieces of hay or pellets and chew sticks to work on bonding. Once it's 6 months or older, safe treats include things like, rose hips, rose buds, a cheerio, a tiny pinch of slow cook oats, or certain herbs. Even then treats should be limited to a max of one a day, a chins stomach is tiny, about the size of the tip of your pinky, so a small treat to us can be a belly full for them.

4. Toys are a must, and a variety is good, you want toss toys, hanging toys, as well as different types like shredding toys, chew toys, and many chins enjoy bells (though not advised if the chin is in your room, lol). My guys enjoy a variety of different materials too, hay toys, sisal and grass rope toys, various wood toys, vine toys, bamboo toys, lava rock and loofah, you will need to find out what your chin's preferences are. In addition to toys chew sticks should also always be available, and once again variety is good, but also each chin has it's own preferences. Unfortunately though most pet store toys that are labeled for chins aren't really safe, you are better off safety and money wise going with vendors you find on the forum here. A chin is about as intelligent as a small parrot, so they do get bored, so rotating the toys is a good idea too.

5. Seeing as I don't know how much research you've done, one of the most important things is unless you live in a cold dry place (which I see you don't), AC is a must. A chin can die if the temp is above 75F (so it needs to be below that), and the humidity needs to stay below 50%, ideally below about 40%, or the chin will have issues as well. Also being so young you also don't want to do out of cage playtime, a kit can easily over do it and end up overheating, having seizures, and/or dying.
You also didn't mention dust baths, chins should have a dust bath a couple times a week. Don't leave the bath in the cage for more then it takes for the chin to bath (about 10 minutes) though since they end up using it as a bathroom and too much bathing can dry out their skin, as well as constantly breathing dust can make them sick.

If you want when you get a cage set up post it, so we can help with suggestions. Pics don't generally work on the forum here, so it's best to post them to a photo share site and link them.
 
If the kit if only 8-12 weeks old you may want to limit his access in the cage. Kits are often very clumsy and can misjudge distances on top of that. This can lead to some nasty falls an injuries. So sometimes smaller is better while young so they do not injure themselves.
 
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