Trying to be a better chinchilla owner?/

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

CaseyHoz

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
1
Hi!
I am new to this site and this is my first time posting so I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong thread but I need advice on caring for my chinchilla.

I am 16 so I live at home with my parents, the chinchilla is mine though, so everything I want to do has to get passed them. That is the first problem because a little while ago I had a concussion which worried my parents on how I slept, anyways long story short my chinchilla can no longer stay with me in my room overnight. The problem was that he was in my room all the time and now my mom makes me move him before I go to bed in a totally different cage downstairs so I can get good sleep. I feel like this is bad for him though because I constantly have to move him which I feel like must cause him a lot of stress? We keep him in my room during the day though because we want him to be around people as much as possible throughout the day so he doesn't get lonely. Is there a better way to do this? I can't leave him in the common rooms so I have been leaving him in a "storage room" at night. It is a good temperature and carpeted and stuff like that, it just doesn't get a lot of attention.

Secondly, I used to let my chinchilla out in my room to play because it was the most convenient at the time. After him chewing on my wood bed and me being worried that he would get to something that could possibly hurt him, I decided to take him to the bathroom or playroom to play. I always have issues getting him there though, since he doesn't have a cage there and I have to pick him up. Sometimes he doesn't mind me picking him up, I think he bonded to me, but other times he doesn't really like being picked up too much and I don't want to stress him out too much. Is there a better way to do this because I hate deciding whether to make him angry or skip play time so I keep him less stressed but then he doesn't get to play? I use the dust bath to get him in after he is done playing but I don't think using it twice is good but I'm not really going on anything so I am not too sure?

Third (I know this is long, yikes) I want to get my chinchilla a critter nation so he can have a proper cage. The whole two cage thing is really throwing me off so I have a smaller one in my room during the day and a big one downstairs at night because I assumed that he would want to play more and have more room downstairs. I am guessing the ultimate goal for me would be to somehow come up with a way to get him in one cage all day and all night in one location and then invest in a critter nation cage. If the two cage thing is okay and you guys think it wouldn't stress him out too much, is there any cages you would recommend because the ones I have now aren't good and I know that but they were kind of temporary cages that ended up lasting way too long.

Also, am I supposed to take my chinchilla to the vet once a year like a dog? I just thought of it the other day and now I am freaking out because I never took him and I'm scared that he might be sick and I just never knew. He hasn't shown any symptoms I think I am just being paranoid but is it something that I should do anyway?

Those are my four main questions but if you have any advice based on this or any random advise you think may apply please let me know. I am so stressed about this but I am so cluless and it's hard because unless i know for sure it's hard to fight my parents on it if that makes any sense.
Thanks so much if you made it through all of this I know it has been long!
 
Chins are adaptable, they may cop a attitude at something new but for the most part get over it. I have had the two cage (actually 3 cage) thing for over 15 years, that is with at the most 14 chins, they all would go to work with me during the day, then in the car to go home at night. Weekends they spent at a vacation house, so don't worry about the two cage thing. I find cat carriers work best for transport to and from play, not dust baths because they will avoid it if they think they are going back, with a carrier you can just put it in their line if flight and they go in. One vet visit for a "wellness" check is the most you need, just to get the chin in a vets system and you get to meet the vet, that is optional not needed. Bigger cage at night, small day is fine. You will be fine Mom!
 
I agree the two cages is fine, that's how I did it when I first got my current two. I had them in a slightly smaller cage in the computer room with me during the day and in the cage they came with in the bedroom at night. They ended up being too loud in the bedroom at night for me and my husband so we upgraded them to a double Ferret Nation and they are now just in the computer room. They get use to the routine and it stops causing stress pretty quickly since they learn that at around this time everyday this is what happens.

If you want to try doing playtime back in your room you could try using fencing or even cardboard boxes to make a play area around the cage. That way the chin can jump in and out of the cage without worrying about it chewing stuff up. This is an old pic but should give you an idea of what I am talking about https://www.flickr.com/photos/129796144@N04/25334559148/in/dateposted-public/. As said you can use a carrier, or a box to basically herd him into when done playtime in another room too. Chins are smart, about as smart as a two year old human, so if you think of it that way the whole, lets you pick him up sometimes but not others, makes sense. Think of playtime like going to the park, you picking him up signals it's time to go home. Chins don't need playtime everyday though, especially if you invest in a chin safe wheel (metal flying saucer, chin spin, silver surfer, etc) they can get enough exercise on that.

The Critter Nation and the Ferret Nation cages are both good (I have the FN), after a little bit of modifying. They come with plastic pans (chins should not have access to anything plastic) so they need to either be covered or replaced with metal pans and wood shelves. If you want a cage that is good to go right out of the box though, Quality Cage makes some nice cages, but they are expensive. They also sell the Chin Spin wheel.

Chins don't need a yearly checkup or shots or anything like that. A wellness check is not a bad idea, but not required. However at the very least you should find out what vets (ideally more then one) in your area even treat chins, they are an exotic so you need an exotic vet to treat them. Also find out where the emergency vets are, once again ideally that know how to treat chins. I'm pretty sure chins plan issues to happen in the middle of the night or on holidays, and that is not when you want to be looking up vets in the area that can treat a chin. Also although they don't need yearly check ups, you shouldn't take that as they are cheap vet wise, even minor things can easily get into the hundreds of dollars, serious emergencies can get into the thousands. So it's best to set aside the money you would be spending on yearly vet visits, if it was a cat or dog, and have it in case of an emergency instead.
 
Back
Top