Recent content by Moolelo

I've built a couple cages like those. My current one cost me only a bit over $100, and is bigger than a ferret nation. Here is the thread with pictures. http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36342 I could try to give you a few directions, but mostly just look at the material and...

Aloha, wondering if anyone had any info on whether or not guava wood that has been dried is chinchilla safe? It is very closely related and similar to manzanita. I have read from a few UK sites and here http://www.ontariochinchillas.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1951 that is might be okay. Any...

Last night checked on Pikachu and he was messing with his penis and it seemed to have a fluff tip of its own. Sure enough when I held him and used some moisture to loosen it, I was able to pull of a clump of hair from the tip of his penis. Has anyone had this happen before? It wasn't wrapped...

Yeah the litter box has been a constant source of mess and hopefully could be a metal tray someday. For now I keep the wood from getting too much urine with an interior liner under the shavings and cleaning it with vinegar whenever I change shavings. Pikachu lives in that half and even in his...

I had posted quite awhile back the pictures of my homemade cage. Since that time the chin boys have grown and are demanding more space. So better accommodations were arranged and once again DIY was chosen. Total bill for 3' x 2' x 6' cage came to $95, with 3hrs just tonight for assembly. Decided...

If you and your chin are up to it, try out the no-drip valve bottles, has a little stick that chin can flick with tongue to get a stream of water (small learning curve, all my chins have picked it up, but I have heard of others struggling). I believe mine are made by Lixit, with a flip top, so...

They are all beautiful. But wow, talk about comfy chinchilla retirement.

Aloha kakou, fellow tropical chin wrangler!

Your chins are some of the cutest sleepers and their house is spectacular. I will have to live vicariously through them. I try to build my boys things that are nice and then they go off and sleep like dead opossums in the cardboard boxes they love. X|

Is there any word on what untreated twine is safe? I feel as though jute or sisal is too fibrous. Though many toys and such are made with it.

Updating cage, got to keep the non Ferret Nation crowd going. Due to the compromises of fleece, I decided to not compromise and am first adding Shaving trays on a portion of the cage floor. Attached is a picture of where the shavings meet the fleece. I used thin poplar for the walls so they...

IF you read some of the other threads about switching to fleece you will see that often people place a litter box of sorts with shavings to help potty train them. I had switched to fleece from shavings and noticed that my potty trained boys (always shishi in one corner) had begun to pee...

Depending on what your chin experiences throughout the day, she might just need to take time to get use to people moving about her. My first chin took about 8-10 months to get use to me and this was with controlled playtime every night in a small room and some treats. Also talking to him as I...

Actually PVC is very toxic for humans or chinchillas if ingested in quantity. This tube is a pure plastic and very low toxicity level. It is also soft enough to be chewed by the chinchillas rear molars, they have used them for lab animals for years and PVC is actually one of those we leave out...

Yes, but it was independent research at an off site location, not part of a grant. Mostly you see usage of chinchillas for audiology or development research.