Recent content by lilchinchilla

Do you mean NBW? They are the Wells from out of California to my understanding; and they retired from breeding a few years back.

I have an agreement upon purchase, with chin owners to notify me if they can no longer look after their chinchilla(s), and give opportunity so that I can at least take the chinchilla back to provide them with a good home. My concern is the amount of stress on the chinchilla, to go from one...

I have been breeding sapphires since 1998 and have never had one case of diabetes associated with any of them. I've never heard of it being an issue with sapphires before from other breeders I have spoken with over the years who raised them also.

It wasn't the customs who gave me a hard time, but the Fisheries and Wildlife. The man I spoke with earlier this year, who worked at the Peach Arch border crossing, explained to me it was importing or exporting of chinchillas to or from the US. Previous crossings (till this last one earlier...

I would suggest calling the customs agents and asking what you will need prior to crossing the border. I know when I last crossed, the US side of the border is now requesting for import and export licenses to the US citizens. I never had to get one before, but suddenly I had to pay for a US...

It is possible to find harder wood ledges than just the kiln dried pine. I know a local carpenter who has his own electric sawmill he built, that makes planks out of paper birch trees, arbutus, poplar and dogwood trees. He has his own kiln as well. It was by sheer luck and through a customer of...

Not necessarily will it be mentioned if there is dwarf in the background on the pedigree or not. Since it is recessive, it can go unnoticed for generations until you happen to breed two dwarf carriers together. I've had it happen in the past, and it was several generations back on only one of...

As mentioned, going to a show is best. A field day is the best show to go to for those who want to learn what to look for in quality. You have a more hands on experience at field days and the judges will explain why they chose which chinchilla for which placing and compare for you the...

I agree with Melbur. The birch I have seen doesn't really have cones and what they do have is catkins. It's more like what she suggested, where they explode on impact. I wouldn't give them to my chins either. What I use is paper birch, and the bark and leaves are used by the wild animals here...

All these websites say maple is safe for ledges, as long as there is no bark and it is not red maple varieties. I would imagine if it is safe for sugar gliders and birds, it would be safe for chins as long as it is not red maple varieties or has bark on it...

It would be a good diet for chinchillas if a few things were changed. Have you ever thought of asking the mill if they would make a diet specifically for chinchillas? This would be a good base to start out with, for a chinchilla diet, but if they take the soya oil out for the binder (it seems...

The few issues I see with it is the vitamin content. The ingredients are great for a rabbit food, and look well put together and not cheap. The only issue for a chinchilla diet, is that the vitamin E content is too low and the vitamin A content needs to be double what it appears to be. The...

I agree with Susan. Get a second opinion. :) If there is no infection, you do not need to treat at all. I have seen chinchillas who have head tilt with no infection or bacterial issue present. One chin in particular, always had a head tilt at his owner's home, but had no health issues...

Without knowing the history of the chin, aside from all, already mentioned, it could be listeria too, which can cause head tilt. Is there any other symptoms aside from head tilt? I would look at neurological issues or an infection that has gone to the brain or an ear infection/damage to the ear...

http://www.rentonvet.com/ Dr. Kimber Brawley is also another really good vet in Washington state. Very affordable, and he will keep his office open well past office hours for you, without charging you for an after hours visit. We liked him so much, we donated to his pet rescue charity since...