1 day old kit whos eyes are still sealed shut..help

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FrisqueKat said:
Thanks for all the info wow....the pet store I got her from was way off on all this.
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For chinchillas the pet stores usually are not the smartest people to turn to :p your chinchilla's will be alot healthier and happier based upon info you find here and other chinchilla websites. also your new arrival is adorable.
 
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x3ndless said:
For chinchillas the pet stores usually are not the smartest people to turn to :p your chinchilla's will be alot healthier and happier based upon info you find here and other chinchilla websites. also your new arrival is adorable.
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there are many websites out there that are incorrect. it is much better to come here to the forum, where many breeders and knowledgeable chin owners are.
 
Where to find a cage? The cage is 3/4 inches in between bars...and he got out 2x tonight..with 2 cats and 1 kitten in the house....so glad i found him and kept checking on him. Right now I have him and a mom in a bird cage(hasnt been used and its clean) until tomorrow til I can go get him a cage. I don't know where to go or what to look for now. Hes very active...he can jump already and how he got up to the part with the bars I don't know other then climb up there somehow. Cause nothing was in there but the food bowl and water bottle hanging on the side and some timothy hay Help please.
 
Shoot I can't go back to the pet stores they are the ones who sold me these 3 cages and all of them have the same spacing. Might be fine for the mom and dad but not for the kit. Where's a good website to go to and find the right cage and will they rush it to me?
 
You can get hardware cloth and wrap it around the outside of your existing cage. The spacing needs to be no larger than 1/2" x 1/2".
 
FrisqueKat said:
Where to find a cage? The cage is 3/4 inches in between bars...and he got out 2x tonight..with 2 cats and 1 kitten in the house....so glad i found him and kept checking on him. Right now I have him and a mom in a bird cage(hasnt been used and its clean) until tomorrow til I can go get him a cage. I don't know where to go or what to look for now. Hes very active...he can jump already and how he got up to the part with the bars I don't know other then climb up there somehow. Cause nothing was in there but the food bowl and water bottle hanging on the side and some timothy hay Help please.
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You said earlier in the thread that you knew she was pregnant this time. Why did you not make sure you had everything set and ready for the kit BEFORE it was born? I'm so happy to see that his eyes are open and that you're trying to do the right things now, but I have serious issues with many things that you've posted that seem like common sense to me.
 
I thought 3/4 inches in betweeen the bars was good remember I just found yalls web site and relied on the pet store's advice n what to get for past 2 yrs and they all made it look and souind so simple. I guess I was clueless and came to yalls website out of desperation for help about the kits eyes which i found in google search.
And why am I getting knocked? I am trying my best and can't help I was "led astrayed" by the pet stores and the so called speciality stores here. The chins are in great health...I take very good care of them. A few things I am not the best but that is why I came here for help and advice....cause I always went to the speciality pet stores here and pet stores and obviously they have no clue what they are talking about on the cages...all the stuff i bought.
Don't get me wrong I am very thankful to have found this site and for all the advice. Just to bad I did not find this site earlier or I would have been more prepared. So please quit knocking me. I am tryiing my best to fix everything that I was told..taught and sold from the pet store and speciality store.
 
I can see that and I applaud your efforts. I'm just confused, that's all. No disrespect meant. I had a rush of adrenaline when you said the kit escaped twice and you have cats in the house.

Cats + kits could = disaster, and my heart jumped a little. Overnight, perhaps if you have a room you could put the cage in that has a closed door that the cats can't get into, that would be a good solution for now?
 
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Oh I was freaking out myself...I thought she ate it and thought no way she could have she was being a good mommy so i went on a major search and found him safe..Thank goodness. Then I put him back in the cage and seen him go right to the escape. So where can I find a proper cage? I went to these site but when I look up a chin cage says no results found.
 
You can try searching your local Craigslist ads for chinchilla safe cages. Search these forums and look for advice on kit safe cage requirements. There's some wonderful advice there.
 
momenteller said:
You can get hardware cloth and wrap it around the outside of your existing cage. The spacing needs to be no larger than 1/2" x 1/2".
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The hardware cloth goes on the INSIDE of the existing cage. If it's placed on the outside, the kits can squeeze between the bars and the hardware cloth. ;)

It's all good and well to do your research before having kits appear in a cage, but that is not how it happens 99% of the time. What matters is that she cared enough to research when things didn't seem right and found us. Now we can point out any obvious problems and get them on the right path.
 
I have no clue what hardware cloth is lol and will they not chew thru it or on it? Is there different kinds and where do ya find it?
 
You get hardware cloth at a hardware store like Lowe's or Home Depot, or Ace or True Value. Even Tractor Supply has some. It is wire mesh, so they cannot chew through it. You can get it as small as 1/4" x 1/4", but you will need space to attach it to the cage with zip ties or j-clips (you would need a j-clip plier as well), so 1/2" x 1/2" is better.
 
I use 'craft wire'. I actually do it on the outside but then again I use a LOT of craft wire up thru the middle and so forth. I then pull it tight so there is no space for a kit to squeeze in. I just find it easier to cut to size and attach to the outside
 
Oh my, I've tried to avoid this thread as I do not know anything about breeding or babies, but I figured any info would help. First, everyone here has been giving great advice, and I'm sure we are all so very glad you found the forum to give your little family a more healthy environment. Read everything here you can think of.

Hardware cloth example.

And as was mentioned, Quality Cages, Martin's Cages, Critter Nation, and Ferret Nation are all good cages. (I actually have this one with the ramps and shelves replaced with wooden shelves, it has big enough doors for good cleaning accessibility, a pull out tray for shavings, and the whole thing can collapse to fit under my couch if I wanted it to.) The important thing is: safe surfaces and no plastic.

And I know it's a separate thread, but you should call around to your local vets to see what experience they have with chinchillas before you even start considering neutering the father.

http://www.townandcountryanimalhospital.com/aboutus.aspx

http://www.animalcareassociates.com/index.htm


http://www.morgantownamc.com/site/view/142912_FAQs.pml

http://www.drminger.com/Services.htm
 
Thank yall so much and ty amy for the direct links.. I am searching now for a cage and I decided i am not gonna get any of them fixed. Just let them live in seperate cages when he is weaned.
How long before the father calms down? He won't even let me get him out of the cage right now. He barks n bites n runs. I know I need to let him come to me but I need to clean his cage.
 
I understand Tab's point of you're here looking for advice, but I know that I personally told you three days ago that wasn't a baby safe cage, but you didn't consider that advice until the kit risked injury and death at least what three times?

The male might act like that every time she comes into heat for the rest of his life. You have several threads and I can't keep them all straight, but in one somewhere a person said that you said the male had killed another male before. This chin should be by itself anyway, if they'll kill a male, they'll kill a female, or a kit. Putting another animal in the cage with no way to escape is just asking for problems.

I understand you want the chin to be your friend, but first and foremost you are the owner. Grab the chin by the tail, wear gloves if needed, and remove him to where ever he needs to be for you to clean the cage. By not doing it you are only reinforcing that what he is doing to keep you away is working, and he will just continue to do it. Unfortunately no matter how much someone dislikes it, we don't live in Disney Land, and unlike Snow White we can't just whistle and have the critters hop into our pockets and do what we want. If you wait for him to like you, you may never get the cage cleaned. He'll get over it. I personally would cut his whiskers as well which is known to help reduce aggressiveness. If he's being aggressive towards you and it's not fear aggression, he has some major aggression issues.
 
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