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QuandoQuandoQuando

QuandoQuandoQuando

*meeps*
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Messages
57
Location
Indianapolis Area
Okay, I'm getting my little guy on sunday and I just want to make up a check list so then I know that I have everything before he gets here.
Cage
Fleece Liners
Fleece Tube (2)
Hammock (2)
3 pounds of Mazuri*
2 pounds of Blue Cloud dust*
5 pounds of alfalfa hay cubes*
Place for safe playtime
Dust house
Wood chews from PPBN
Ceramic Food Bowl
Glass water bottle
Cardboard boxes for playtime

*from breeder, so to be consistant with what he's using already. (I'm planning to switch to chinchilla deluxe pellets later on, and oxbow timothy hay)
I think I have everything, but let me know if I've forgotten ANYthing.

Also, how often do you change out your liners? And how much dust do you put in the dust house?
Thanks!
 
Do you have a hidey house? I'm always so surprised to see pics of others' cages and they don't have a single hidey house in any of their cages and I'm not sure why they don't b/c just a simple cardboard box will work fine. I personally would also provide plenty of loose hay along with/instead of those cubes but I know others that only use the cubes b/c they're very convenient and less messy.
 
I didn't have a wood hidey house, but I was unsure of having cardboard in the cage for chewing, but I'll add one. And I was worried about adding the loose hay in there right when he gets home rather then slowly transitioning to it.
 
Cardboard boxes are fine for hidey houses and they love to destroy them so you'll have to replace them often. All my guys have wooden houses but I still put cardboard boxes in b/c they have so much fun shredding them. I think loose hay would be fine for your new one; they all seem to love it.
 
Sounds good! I was just afraid of him chewing the cardboard too much and getting sick, so I wasn't going to put it into his cage, but I don't care about him distroying it if it wont hurt him!
Thanks so much!
 
You don't necessarily need a hidey house. It sounds like he will have plenty of other places to hide. I don't like putting too much cardboard in my chins cage because I have witnessed them actually eating it before.

You can go ahead and give loose hay. You don't need to transition chins to hay because it is all the same.
 
I don't fill the boys' cages with cardboard but I do often put a smaller cardboard box in for them to play with, shred and destroy. None of mine actually eat the cardboard but if they did then I suppose I wouldn't put anymore in; hasn't happened yet in over five years. I also use a lot of cardboard boxes at playtime and they have a blast bouncing around on them, hiding in them and shredding them.

A good way to train them to go back into their cage after playtime is to provide them with a healthy treat. I use organic rolled oats and rose hips; just a pinch and they come running when they hear the container shaking.
 
I've had hidey houses in my cages before but I've found that not many of my chins use them. They much prefer the fleece tubes.

But with it being a new chin, you could put one in there for the first couple weeks in case he's scared.

I'm personally not big on giving cardboard just because of knowing what goes into making paper, but if that's all you have, then it'd work for just the time being.

This is the tiny baby chin you're getting correct? With him being just weaned, I'd be inclined to give him a cuddle buddy as well, something soft for him to cuddle up next to in case he gets lonely. You can buy them from us sellers which I recommend since they're stuffed with fleece and not polyfil, but in a pinch some people do use human toys with no hard eyes or anything to chew off. I just don't like those because if they chew a hole in them they can eat the filling.
 
I have a fleece buddy in the making, from gella, but I may not get it in time for him because she said she'd start working on it after the holidays (understandably). So I may just get a cut of fleece and make one until the other gets here.
As to the cardoard, I just added a slice of it to his cage on the back shelf so of the six sides of the "box" one is cardboard, one is the shelf, one is the back of the cage, one is the top of the cage, and two are the wire sides of the cage covered on the outside with a piece of fleece. I'll watch for chewing/eating but there isn't much if he does start.
 
One thing you might not have thought of is what kind of water to give your new chin. The breeder we got ours from suggested filtered and not just plain tap water because of the risk of giardia.
 
I was planning on using distilled water, or bottled water. I was leaning more toward bottled. And there are shelves already in the cage, I forgot to mention that...
And I also just made a 'cuddle buddy' out of some left over fleece, and stuffed it with fleece!
:bliss:
 
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Some bottled water is actually just tap water...pretty cruddy of companies to do, but it's done.

I use a PUR 3 stage filter. You can buy one at Walmart for around $20 or so. You can either get one that attaches to your faucet or a pitcher that you can keep in the fridge. The 3 stage filters out microbial cysts so you don't have to worry about parasites, and it will actually save you some money in the long run since buying bottled water can add up pretty quick.
 
Many people change the liner every two days, as for the dust, 2 table spoons is enough every other day, for often they will urine in it and it's lost.
 
Sounds like you've got just about everything you need. The only thing I can think of is a wheel.....thats a nice to have but not an absolute necessity.
 
QuandoQuandoQuando said:
I was planning on using distilled water, or bottled water. I was leaning more toward bottled. And there are shelves already in the cage, I forgot to mention that...
And I also just made a 'cuddle buddy' out of some left over fleece, and stuffed it with fleece!
:bliss:
Click to expand...

You should not use distilled water. Just get a good filter, and you will be good :D
 
For water, you can also see if you can install or have a Reverse Osmosis unit in your house. That's what I use here.

That is a really awesome cage. I like how the shelves are kinda slanted to let to poo run off. Very clever.

Also, I thought Mazuri was Alfalfa based. Why are alfalfa cubes necessary then? I would definitely give him some timothy, unless there is some reason for young chins to be on alfalfa hay as well.
 
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