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Gabby88

Gabby88

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 6, 2011
Messages
478
Location
Sussex, WI
Ok, so I FINALLY think I decided which chinchillas I will be getting. They will be ready May 25th. I'm super excited!

I already have their cage, dust, bath house, glass water bottle, timothy hay, wood chew sticks, fleece hammock, and a food dish.

I'm going to be buying wood shelves to put in their cage sometime this week. I even bought a lava ledge since I heard people say those are great.

Am I missing something? Is there anything else I'll need? They will come with a large bag of food.

Also, I plan on lining the bottom of the cage with fleece. I will make a 3 layer liner. What's the best material to use for the second layer? I've heard some people just use quilting material?

What's the best wheel? I still need to get one of those, but all of the good ones I've seen cost $75. Haha! That's a LOT, but I am willing to pay that much if that's the minimum price of a good one.

Also, any advice for a new chin owner? I can't wait to have them! All of my pets are spoiled beyond belief and I would do anything and everything for them. After literally 2-5 hours PER DAY of research for almost a year, I finally think I know enough to get my very first pair. :) I'm sure I still don't know everything, but most of the stuff I don't know will I will need to learn by actually interacting with them.
 
:hi2:

I am new to the chin world myself. I know that there is a Chins FAQ on here that has tons of info. And the Chins Housing and Supplies section will answer a bunch of your questions.

More experienced chin people will be along shortly, :D
 
That's great that you've gotten prepared before getting your chins. I think you've got everything covered. The only item that I would suggest to get that I see missing is a hidey house, preferably made out of wood. Chins like a safe spot to get into. I would prefer the hidey house over a fleece tunnel if you could only choose one. Also as far as the material inside the liners some people make them with another layer of fleece inside. I would also suggest the chin spin or the saucer but NOT the kind that they sell in the pet stores as those are made out of plastic and will fall apart and not last long at all. Good luck and post pics of your new babies when they arrive. :)
 
Thanks, everyone!!

I'll definitely be getting a hidey house. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get one of those hanging fleece ones or a wood one. If wood is better, I'll go with that.

Is granite or marble better for chin chillers?
 
Great! I think I'll just order those from Ebay then. I still have a little over a month to get things set and ready.

Here's the babies I'll be getting. They're both mosaic females. And I can't WAIT!!!!

mosaicfemale.jpg


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Gorgeous babies! You sound like you are very prepared. As for the chinchiller i bought a ceramic tile that i put in my fridge to keep it cool, then place it in my chins cage
 
Aren't they beautiful?! It was a SUPER hard decision. There was another pair of males that I really loved, and it was just so hard to decide. But I talked it over with my husband and we decided that females would be a better fit for us. :)

I found some marble and granite tiles on Ebay for $5 with free shipping! They're 12"x12". I think those should work wonderfully (and a great price, too).

Now I just need a wheel.

I know they're still young, but do you guys think they'd do well in shows? I'd love to get into that as a hobby.
 
Welcome! I really love the 15 in. Chin Spin that I got from Quality Cage. Its very quite and have never had a problem with it! Another thing that I thought of if you don't have them are Alfalfa cubes. My chins love them! Have fun! They are such neat little fur balls. :dance3:
 
Yeah, those are the ones that are $70, right? I think I'll just quit being cheap and buy the darn thing. Haha!
 
Gabby88 said:
Yeah, those are the ones that are $70, right? I think I'll just quit being cheap and buy the darn thing. Haha!
Click to expand...

It took me a year to quit being cheap. It's the best investment I've made (other than my FN142). My chin loves hers.

I leave frozen water bottles covered in fleece for my chin. She lays on top of them all the time. Originally I had tried the chillers, but my little girl never took to them.

Congratulations on your new additions.
 
Frozen water bottles is a great idea. And cheap, too. Haha!

I'll probably try both granite tiles and frozen water bottles and see which they prefer.

I wish I could buy both pairs of chinchillas that I was interested in. But my husband would probably kill me. Haha!
 
Thanks, Jodi! It wasn't easy! But something about these girls just spoke to me and said "buy us, Mommy!" lol

And even if they grow up not to be show quality, I'll still love them. Although, I think the more silver girl has some show potential. She's pretty big and boxy for her age already.
 
Congrats! you must be so excited. It is really hard to tell quality at such a young age so it is hard to judge if they will be show quality only time will tell.
 
Thank you!

I think I'm just going to hibernate until the end of May. Wake me up when my babies are ready.

:)
 
Congrats on the new babies! :thumbsup: They both are super cute!

What type of food are they going to come with? As for the hidey house, either one, or both, will work. I know that one of my girls is a major chewer so the wooden one did not last too long with her. Where as my other girl, does not chew as much and hers lasted over a year. Its really a matter of which one the chin prefers. ;)
 
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