New chinnie!

[nikkik0720]

So today my mom and I went down to the local pet store (who doesn't have a good rep for how they treat their animals, it's all about the money). It was a last resort look for a decent priced water bottle for my girl, Willow. She currently has a Lixit plastic bottle and it leaks really bad no matter what I do. So I had to get her a new one. Everywhere else is so expensive, so I figured I might as well look there. Well I know they have some chinchillas (usually one or two standards) and it always breaks my heart to look, but I always do. Today, they had a two standard boys, and a really pretty beige girl. One standard was housed alone in a tiny little cage, and the other standard was housed with the beige in the same size cage right below. The cage size was too small for one small chin, let alone two. I was instantly in love. When I asked to see the chins on the bottom, I was told they were beige and ebony. The "ebony" was clearly a standard, any one who knew even the slightest about chins could tell that. They pulled the "ebony" out and the lady insisted it was a girl until I pulled up pictures on my phone showing it was a boy. Then she pulled out the beige for me and I looked, and it was a girl... So they've had an "ebony girl" housed with the beige girl for who knows how long.
(Sorry I digress from the points...)

Any way, they were housed in a tiny cage, no ledges to climb or anything, just a plastic igloo that was chewed beyond belief. They had a little pan on wood pellet bedding on one side of the cage, and were being fed "garbage" food, the kind with all the treats in it, and were given orange slices to eat...

I could not leave the beige girl in that cage. I wanted to take all 3, but 1) I didnt have the money, 2)I dont have the extra cages, and 3) it was hard enough to convince my mom to let me get this girl.

So now I have her at home, in a cage (that's still probably too small to be permanent, but it'll work for her quarantine and pregnancy watch), and it's still about twice the size they were in at the store).

Anyway, my question is about her color. I'm thinking she's a Hetero Beige. But I want to be sure.
Also is there any way to guesstimate her age?
And is there anything specific I should give her in case she really is pregnant? I plan on weighing her, but it'll be hard to know if it's pregnancy weight, or just from getting the proper nutrition.

I also need name ideas. Maybe something ending in 'o' or 'ow' since that's what my others end in (Mazlow, Gizmo, Willow)

 

[*Amber*]

Call her Free!! She is now free from living in those conditions. My aunt adopted a dog from the humane society and that's what she named her. Though it fit so well

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Could the pet store tell you how long they had been housed together?

Congrats on the new addition. She is adorable and doesn't look bad.

Remember to quarantine her away from your other 3.

Names ending in o or ow... that's hard.
Milo?
Shiloh (maybe drop the h)

Edit: (I googled, though most seem more boy name-ish)
Rico
Nemo
Nico
Miko (pronounced meeko)
Cleo
Meadow
Rainbow
Shadow
Marlow

 

[nikkik0720]

They have no idea as the chins were brought in by someone (they dont even go through any specific person, just random people). They have no clue how old the chins are, or how long they've been together. It may have been a few days, it could've been months. Even if it was just a few days, I am keeping her on pregnancy watch until Feb.

She will defintely be quarentined from them. My other 3 are in their own room in the basement (finished basement, coolest area in the house) She will be kept either in our living room (our household is pretty quiet, and our dog and cat couldn't care less about the chins (my cat's actually kinda scared since he got bit by my boys once), or she will be kept in my room with my window cracked open so it stays cool. (I don't mind freezing if it means the best for my babies)

So far as names go, I have:
Juno (Spelled like the movie, but named after juneau alaska),
Echo
Lilo
Ro (Like Row, just without the w)
Alo (like the Aloe plant, just without the e)
Beo
Mellow
Cameo
Fallow
Halo
Meadow

As much as I'd really want to keep the "o" or "ow", I'm thinking it's going to be super difficult

 

[Godofgods]

she looks just like three of my five chins! Maybe shorter ears tho'

No one i rly have known has ever had chins; its nice to know someone in the same state loves em too'

Ive always let there personality or circumstances determine there names. Thats how i ended up with Houdini and Ameena. (Very long story)

 

[nikkik0720]

I'm just trying to find a name that fits. My other 3, Malow, Gizmo, and Willow were names that just came to me, I didn't even plan the endings to go together. I'd really like to keep it like that, but it's not really working... All the names I like aren't "chinchilla" type names, and I just can't see myself calling my new girl the different names for 15+ years. Ugh why must naming be so hard?!? I feel bad calling her 'the chinchilla' right now, but until I can think of a name, what else do you call them? haha.

 

[Narcissus]

Reminder: as I already posted on facebook. That cage isn't baby safe.

As for names,
Leelo
Cairo
or creelo

 

[nikkik0720]

Narcissus, yes it it. The bar spacing is 1/2 in.

 

[Narcissus]

No it is not baby safe. Safe bar spacing is no bigger than 1" by 1/2". Your spacing is more like 1/2" by 4". Besides the ledges, which also make it un safe for babies.

 

[LYChinchillas]

Super cute! So happy you got her I'm sure she'll be very happy with ya. Did you end up with a water bottle? I opt always for the glass options, they're impossible to bite through and have been quite sturdy in my opinion.

I'd name her Mellow, depending on her personality.

 

[Godofgods]

Ugh why must naming be so hard?!? I feel bad calling her 'the chinchilla' right now, but until I can think of a name, what else do you call them? haha.

Took me a while to break the habit of calling my kits 'little one'.
I still call them Boy, Girl and Chinnie some times.

 

[nikkik0720]

Yeah, I got the water bottle haha. It's a Super Pet/Kaytee glass one. It works pretty good, only leaking for a few seconds until it forms a seal.

Narcissus, I'm doing the best I can with what I got. If she is pregnant, the cage will be okay temporarily. The ledges will be removed if/when she delievers. For now, they are helping her feel more secure. I've talked to several people and they have aid as long as the bars are no more than 1/2 in apart, that'll it'll be okay temporarily.

For anyone who decides to say that I didn't rescue her, Yes I did. I saved her from a life being fed garbage food and being stuck in a tiny cage. Even though, yes, I did buy her, and I know the pet store will just replace her with another chin, I at least saved her from that fate. I am ONLY looking for POSITIVE comments and advice. Please DO NOT continue to lecture me. I am doing the best I can with what I got.

 

[lilchilla21]

Hi
Congratz on your new chinnie
I'd say youre right she is an hetero beige. This is not an absolute truth but the freckles in the nose and ears can give you an idea about her age.
Usually beige chinchilla are born without any freckles. And sometimes they are born with one or two. Some will develop freckles earlier than others and at different rates.
After two years of age they tend to develop faster. Maybe because they are well into adulthood.
Again: this is not an absolut truth just some results of my observation has a chinchilla owner and breeder.
Hope it helped
(please pardon my english, not my first language)

 

[mercynursie]

Cocoa goes great with marshMellos!!

 

[Godofgods]

I'd say youre right she is an hetero beige. This is not an absolute truth but the freckles in the nose and ears can give you an idea about her age.
Usually beige chinchilla are born without any freckles. And sometimes they are born with one or two. Some will develop freckles earlier than others and at different rates.
After two years of age they tend to develop faster. Maybe because they are well into adulthood.
Again: this is not an absolut truth just some results of my observation has a chinchilla owner and breeder.
Hope it helped
(please pardon my english, not my first language)

I most certainly couldn't use that on my chins. Two of my babies were beige. The first one was born without freckles, and was a good year or two before he developed his first freckle. Where as the daughter of the second litter, was born with a ton of freckles. - Even now, the younger daughter at the day she wa born, still out freckled the son today.

 

[Godofgods]

Yeah, I got the water bottle haha. It's a Super Pet/Kaytee glass one. It works pretty good, only leaking for a few seconds until it forms a seal.

Narcissus, I'm doing the best I can with what I got. If she is pregnant, the cage will be okay temporarily. The ledges will be removed if/when she delivers. For now, they are helping her feel more secure. I've talked to several people and they have aid as long as the bars are no more than 1/2 in apart, that'll it'll be okay temporarily.

I am ONLY looking for POSITIVE comments and advice. Please DO NOT continue to lecture me. I am doing the best I can with what I got.

Some times those lectures can be quite useful. Don't take any anger to heart. Just look at it as a way to learn. Never let ego get in the way of information that could help your pets life.

If she is pregnant, the cage will be okay temporarily.

Not commenting on your cage specifically, but for cages in general that are not safe for babies, there is no temporary. I learned that the hard way. Very very hard way.

Granted i had no idea my girl was pregnant, but she was housed in a two story Ferret Nation cage. Her hut, af safe zone, was at the very very top of the cage. And that is most likely where the kit was born.

Not knowing she was pregnant, meant i didn't no when she gave birth. Ergo i never new that kit was alive. The very first day he was born, he escaped his cage and hide under my old (but active) refrigerator.

Its pure luck that my ferret Zoey, found him when she was out to run that night. I was sitting in the living room while they wondered the apt, when all of a sudden i heard very loud squealing. Like they had just gotten severally hurt or something. So i ran out there, hit the breaker to the fridge, and knelt down to see what was going on. Just as i knelt down, i saw zoey walk out the other side of the fridge, looking perfectly fine. I was just about to get up when i figure 'im already down on my knees, mine as well look under the fridge'

It took a little while for my eyes to start to adjust to the darkness under there. But eventually i saw a little face. I though it might be a mouse or something. (wasn't the first there) But i noticed that my two chins a mere yard or two away were watching me with GREAT interest. Way more then usual. So i started to wonder. After watching the face for a while, i started to make out the whiskers, and little ears. Then the little creature did the classic chin move of taking his paw and swiping it across his nose.

Then i new for sure it was a chin and kinda started freaking out. In the end, my friend came over and moved the fridge and coaxed the little guy out.

It was amazing he survived. The fall from the hut to the tray. The fall out of a two story FN cage to the ground. Being under the fridge so long away from his mother. Surviving a ferret encounter. (ferrets are predators by nature). The split second decision to look under the fridge after i new my ferret was safe. - All in all its amazing he is alive.

Point being - that one little thing (in my case, bar spacing) nearly got him killed to many times in one event. So its not something to take lightly.

^Houdini 4 years old.

^Houdini around a week or so~ old.



Its also good to note that chins are very squishy. Sophie's second litter consisted of two daughters. Ameena proved to be a adventurous and dangerous chin very quickly. Slipping through bars all the time. Everything i tried she would find a way around. The trouble with that is as the grow bigger, they will still try to fit through. Many times i looked at her size and thought there was no way she could fit through any more. And then as if she were telepathic, she would escape just to prove me wrong. - As she got even bigger, it became a whole new danger. She would try to get through the bars but would get her head through and then get stuck. Then she would panic and trash about. Needless to say, extremely dangerous, and probable that she was going to hurt herself. Luckily i saw it and was able to get over there to help her.

Never ever underestimate a chin.

 

[Godofgods]

And since your looking at names, i mine as well finish the story.

I had taken in Chico and Sophie, who became the parents of three. First litter one male (houdini), and second litter of two females (sophia and ameena)

Initially i was thinking about naming Houdini Amana. The fridge he hid under was a 20 year+ old Amana fridge. But when i hit that breaker, it was the beginning of the end for it. I always said that the fridge gave its last ounce of life saving the baby chinchilla. So it seemed fitting that if this kit was a girl, i would name her Amana. - But the kit turned out to be male. And after reading about his introduction to this world, you can see how Houdini seemed to fit him just perfectly.

When the second litter came there was to kits this time. A beige (ameena) just like her daddy, and a standard grey (Sophia) just like her mother.

When i found out they were both females, I figured id name the one that looks just like Houdini, Amana. But i hadnt come up with a fitting name for the other kit. So i mentioned it to a formor breeder i had been in contact with for a year or so, learning what i can, and she suggested Sophia since she looked (exactly) like her momma Sophie.

I immidietly fell in love with that idea for a different reason. And i was a bit disappointed that i hadn't thought of that myself. - A game i had been playing a lot at that time (Star Ocean: Till the end of time) One of the main female characters (even tho the game has many endings, she would be considered the main love interest i guess) her name was Sophia. Well the two main characters get separated. You follow the male to a distant planet that he is stranded on for a while. After a long time he mets a girl that he thinks is sophia. (They look exactly alike.) But it turns out to be a girl named Ameena.

It seemed fitting to me. Each daughter looked exactly like one of there parents, twins nearly. I was already leaning towards Amana. And the idea of Sophia just fit perfectly for multiple reasons. So i twiked Aman to Ameena, and went with Sophie for the other girl.

Interesting how things work out'

^Father Chico

^Son Houdini

^Daughter Ameena

 

[Godofgods]

^Momma Sophie

^Daughter Sophia

^Two sisters growing up together

--

Interestingly, That little tuff of messed up hair near the leg of momma Sophie has already been there. For years; never gone away. Its also become the easiest way to tell the two of them apart.
Houdini has much much less freckles on the ears then his dad, so that is easy. Ameena is in the girls cage, not with the boys, so thats simple. But momma and daughter can be a pain. If there not facing the right way, it can be impossible to tell some times (by sight).

 

[lilchilla21]

Has i said is not an absolute truth
Most of my chins, and friends chins tend to follow that pattern with few exceptions.
Perhaps it varies with the climate?

 

[nikkik0720]

I still have no clue on what to name her. I'm actually thinking Jethro (after Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, my sister suggested it and it's kinda cute) Since she is definitely over 6 months old (after doing some research and getting other opinions, she's most likely at least a year, if not a little more) I gave her a single oat. She took it, and ate it. She's slowly getting used to me going into the room, and opening the cage door. She's not pacing as much. She's been really hanging close to the bottom of the cage, not sure if it's just because she feels more secure or what, but my dad and I are going to put her in the other chins' carrier and try to weld/sauter some wire to make the spacing closer to 1/2" x 1". No guarantees it'll work, but it's our only other option.

Anyway, are there any for sure signs of labor I should be looking for? I want to know just in case she is pregnant.
I have done extensive research (even before getting her) about breeding and all that because I do want to breed my other girl, Willow (yes she is pedigreed and show-quality. I have talked it over with the breeder I got her from, and she supports my decisions as long as I attend a show this spring BEFORE breeding - which I planned to do anyway)
It doesn't matter how much research you do, it's always nice (and better in my opinion) to get people's personal experiences/opinions/knowledge.