Meet Olaf and Sven!!!

[MNChinLover]

It feels like I have been waiting for an eternity for these two, but today I was finally able to make the 6 hour round trip to get my two baby boys!

Olaf (mosaic) is 3.5 months old
And
Sven (black velvet) is 2 months old.

I just got home at 6 and I have noticed Olaf is pretty vocal when he is scared/nervous.

From my understanding at the breeders house Olaf is the one that typically is very curious and seeks human attention. Where Sven tends to be a little more shy/reserved at first.

So far that is not the case here, within a minute Sven was adventuring around the cage and tasting everything and Olaf sits still in a corner and if I move he starts crying.

Currently the cage is in my bedroom and so I am just sitting on my bed watching.

 

[MNChinLover]

Well.. It's not letting me upload pictures on my phone or iPad at the moment so I will hopefully get my laptop working tomorrow.

I am happy to say Sven has tried out the hammocks several times already and has gone on top of my fleece cube house instead of in it lol! The only thing hr hasn't tried out yet is the tube.

Olaf is still just sitting still and hasn't ate or drank or explored yet. I picked them up at 3pm, didn't get home until about 6:30pm. Should I be concerned? He keeps crying occasionally.

 

[becky12883]

Congrats! I wouldn't be concerned yet, it might take him a while to feel comfortable enough to explore and stuff. I can't wait for pictures

 

[cindyv3737]

Congratulations! I love their names. Give Olaf some time. Some chins take longer than others.

 

[MNChinLover]

I'm still very worried about Olaf. I don't think he has eaten or drank since at least 3pm yesterday when I picked them up.

I know for a fact that Sven has been eating and drinking.

Olaf appears to not really have moved all night as he was basically in the same spot when I woke up at 2am to his barking/crying sound he makes.

He was also in the same spot when I woke up at 7:30 this morning. I have tried putting alfalfa near him and taking one piece and putting it by his nose and mouth and he did not eat. I also put in a dust bath this morning for them to see if that would cheer him up, Olaf has not gone in it, but Sven has.

How long can a chin take to settle in and get comfortable enough to eat and drink? I'm worried about him going into stasis. I do have a chin emergency kit.

What should I do? I'm so worried for Olaf.

One good? Thing is he is barking a lot less since yesterday when he was placed in his cage at 6:30 when I got home. He was barking.. He makes like several barks/whining sound like every 6 seconds then it was an average of 0-4 times per minute when I was going to bed 9:30 or so. And now he is barely barking unless I move or Sven is heavily bouncing around.

He actually just moved as I'm trying to be as silent and still on my bed as possible.

 

[Smidgeyy]

Mine barked all night during the first night I got him. Then it slowly tapered off throughout the week.
My second one had a few here and there but he handled it better than my first did.

Maybe leave the room for a bit and see if he will eat/drink? Your presence could be stressing him out at the moment, so it may help.

 

[MNChinLover]

Yeah I figured leaving might help so I have been doing errands for about 2 hours and will be going home shortly. However, without me there I don't know of Olaf is eating or drinking because they are housed together.

I do think he looks a little better than last night looking a little more comfortable. I'll probably go home and read a book on my bed.

Another thing I was wondering is should I wait to clean the cage for a couple days? They already have poops everywhere but I don't want to stress them out too much going in with the shop vac. What do you guys do?

 

[MNChinLover]

Pics of Olaf and Sven in their new home =)

Here they are as of last night in their new home =)

Notice Olaf hiding in the corner, since the pics I put in another house there to help them feel more comfortable and able to jump up to the ledge and cube house, which Sven did many times already!

 

[MNChinLover]

Olaf as a baby and growing up

Here he is at the breeders as he was growing up!

 

[MNChinLover]

Sven as a baby and growing up

And here is Sven as he was growing up

 

[MNChinLover]

Not sure if you can see the pics?

Also, an update on Olaf, he is eating for sure, but I still have not seen him drinking.. But I also have been out of the room quite a bit.

Is there anyway I can tell if he is drinking or should I do something?

Olaf is also no longer barking/crying (or at least it's very rare now) and I officially cleaned the cage for the first time with the shop vac.. What a great investment!

 

[Newt]

Wow they are both super cute lil guys!!

 

[Godofgods]

is that 8 bags of litter i see in that last pic? lol

 

[MNChinLover]

is that 8 bags of litter i see in that last pic? lol

If it's the pics of sven or Olaf growing up pictures, then possibly, those pics are some of the pics I received from the breeder.

Update on Olaf and Sven.

Sven is doing great since the day I got him!

Olaf- as of yesterday he finally started drinking and really exploring and bouncing around like a normal chin!

However, I now am worried that Olaf may have developed a URI from the stress of moving as I see mucus/discharge that looks brown on his nose and he began wiping it off. I can also hear him breathing through it if I accidentally frighten him, but 99% of the time can't hear him breathing.. I posted this in the chin emergency thread too so if you have any ideas/suggestions about this please see that thread.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Aww, so glad they are doing well, and that Olaf is doing better, anyway! It is odd, I see the images as "broken image icons" but am still able to click and see them. They are both adorable!

 

[MNChinLover]

thank you! and I know, I can't figure out why the images aren't showing up right away and instead, you have to click on them.. I take them with my phone and send them to my email where I go on my computer and resize them to 500X375..

but anyway, both Olaf and Sven are doing great! And last night I officially took off the wire mesh after I weighed them. Sven is 2.5 months old tomorrow and is at 280grams and Olaf will be 4 months tomorrow and is at 380 grams.

Since I couldn't change anything in the cage once the mesh was on, I re-arranged it all as well last night.. and my fingers were in pain! It is extremely frustrating and difficult to hang shelves in these cages by yourself as I can get them in place hanging on the bar I want to put them on, then walk around to the spot where the bolts and washers are and try to get them into place while holding the ledge where I want it.. oh and not to mention two chins wanting to "help" me out during the process by jumping on each shelf I was working on! :banghead:

But alas, it is all done, and I will keep it like this for a long time, unless I notice some sort of safety issue.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Chins are like toddlers - always wanting to "help" when it is least convenient! Looks good!

 

[CrazyForChinchillas]

OMG, they're so cute! Congrats!

 

[MNChinLover]

Received some orders and an update!

Well, the boys are doing great! I love them so much!

I ended up getting really bad allergy symptoms after a week of having them, and now I finally went to the doctor and got prescribed some medication. She didn't seem to think that it had to do with the chinchillas, but she said I had hay fever. So I will be on allergy meds until the ground freezes, then if allergy symptoms are still present then she said I may have to go to the immunologist to get tested again.

I am hopeful my symptoms will all go away. I am already starting to feel a little better after a week and I received my air purifier a couple days ago and I think that is really helping as far as keeping the air in my room cleaner/less dust/hair/dander. I really hope all my symptoms go away because come Monday I am starting school again.

Also, on Monday I am excited for Sven to officially be 3 months old, and Olaf being 4.5 months. I have a confession.. I have given them a few treats already.. only rosebuds/petals/or hips. Which from what I understand are pretty safe and any excess vitamin C is passed through the urine. But mostly they are just getting a variety of wood to chew.

Speaking of which, I probably should stop buying anything else for them as they have at least a year or two supply of wood chew sticks and many extra toys, which they already have a lot in their cage.

So far I have ordered from Rondas chins (the order I just received in the pics) and Whimsys Menagerie. I also ordered adorable wood house/hay holder, cube house, and a name tag from Twilight Chinchillas, and a couple toys from chinchilla city. I will probably order from a few other vendors in the future, but so far I have been very pleased with all of these vendors! So thank you!

I am also really proud of my wood storage from my order, so I included a pic of it.. if there is anything concerning, please let me know!

I was also wondering if the "treats" can go bad, for instance, one of the vendors gave me a free bag of miscellaneous treats/chews in it and in that bag there are some goji berries that feel more squishy than the others I have currently (I have not given my chins any of those types of treats, I will wait until they are older). If so, what are types of treats that do go bad and how can you tell?

Thanks!

 

[Amy555]

My goodness those are some spoiled chins! Love the twig storage you came up with.