Some New Owner Simple Questions

[AsGSnak]

Hello.
I recently adquired a chinchilla and he's doing great! Eating a LOT of hay, drinking a lot of water and also chewing on his pellets
I just got him a really great cage, I think. It's 79 x 52 x 140 cm
But it came with plastic shelves and ramps. I want to do my own wood shelves and shelters and toys, etc... I plan on using pine wood.
Do you recommend any specific thickness?

I will also eventually purchase a new friend for my chin. When should I do it? I know it's probably too soon, because I only have my chin for about 3 weeks. How much time must I wait until I get him a new friend? And should they be the same gender? And same age, or should I get him younger, to get used to us from the start? Also, for how long should I quarantine him/her before I attempt to join them together in the same room/cage?

I have another question about treats. I want Tacho to bond with us, and I'm teaching him a few cool things. How can I reward him? What should I give him when he does what I tell him to? I know about rosebuds. Can I just collect some from my garden? Or they can't be 'fresh' buds? Do they have to be dried out or something? Same thing with the apple/pear/willow sticks. Can I cut them from the trees I have here, or do they have to be dead and dried branches?


I'm sorry for all the questions. I want my chin to be really happy and healthy!
Thank you in advance.

 

[ninjaturtletayy]

I can't answer all of those questions, but I can answer a few.

Unless you plan on breeding, you most definitely should get another chinchilla of the same gender to avoid any accidental pregnancies. I'm not 100% sure how to prepare sticks, rosebuds, etc for treats, but chins also love cheerios or shredded wheat for treats as well!

 

[Amethyst]

The cage size sounds ok for one chin, assuming that the 140 cm is the height of it, it's a little narrow but should work, ideal minimum dimensions are roughly 60cm wide by 60cm long by 91cm high.
Shelves should be about an inch or around 2 cm thick, there is a how to thread on the forum (found under housing and supplies section) if you need an idea how to make them.
I would give your chin time to settle in and see if he even seems like he would need a friend, keep in mind too that not all chins like companions so if you get a second one there is a chance you will end up with two separate single chins. I've had some that enjoy playing with another chins out of the cage but don't like living with another. Also getting a second one can cause the current chin to be less social with humans since it now has a friend to socialize with. If you do get another go with the same gender, otherwise you'll be dealing with breeding and that is a lot of work and potentially heartbreaking. As to age I think it's best to go the same age or younger, that's just the way I've done it. The quarantine time is 30 days, in a separate room ideally, and wash between handling.
You need to have the rose buds dried before feeding them to the chin, and they have to be from a bush that has never been sprayed, so completely organic, no pesticides ever. Same thing with the tree branches and sticks, they need to be from a tree that has never been sprayed too, but they also need to be washed, boiled, and baked dry. The instructions for the wood is also on the DIY under housing and supplies. If your chin is young, under about 6 months, it's best to wait on actual treats and stick with giving sticks or a different type of hay as "treats" so the chin eats good stuff for growing instead of filling up on treats. Also real treats (not talking about sticks) should be given a max of one a day, so if you want to give it as multiple rewards break it into pieces. Chins like rose buds, rose peddles, rose hips, cheerios, sugarless shredded wheat, slow cook oats (not instant), there is other things but that is what I can think of off hand. Avoid fruits and vegetables though, some people think they are ok in very small amounts, but they can cause a lot of gut issues, so I figure why risk it.

 

[AsGSnak]

Thank you for your answers.
I have another question. I have my chinchilla in my appartment. But on weekends I go back to my house with my family. I left him alone these last weekends from Friday afternoon untill sunday afternoon. Do you think It's better if I do this, or should I bring him with me, in a transportation cage? My thought was that changing house/environment every weekend would be worse for him that staying alone for 2 nights. But I'm not sure. Maybe if I keep bringing him with me on weekends, he'll get used to both houses.
What do you think?

 

[AsGSnak]

My brother usually comes back home for weekends, and he has the chinchilla in his other house. So last weekend he just left him there because he thought always changing environments and areas would be bad for Tacho.
I don't know what's best, to be honest. Should he leave Tacho home in his cage for the weekends, from like Friday evening until Sunday evening to avoid constant environment change, and being around people he doesn't know? Or should he bring him along, in a small cage that he can carry around?

We only have tacho for almost a month, but I think that he shouldn't be left alone. I think it would be better if he came along with my brother for the weekends, because in time, he'd get to know both houses and the rest of my family very well, and would eventually get used to it. From what I've seen, he's already pretty attached to my brother (he even sneaks under his sheets and sleeps with him).

So what do you think? Should he stay alone in his cage, for 1 or 2 days or should he come along for the weekends?

 

[ninjaturtletayy]

I'm not sure how well chins do with regular travel, but I can only imagine that it's super stressful for them..I personally would not put my chin through any unneeded stress. I would not leave him alone though. See if someone can come by at least once a day to check that it's not too hot/cold, he has food/water, etc. I don't mean to offend at all, but if you usually go home on the weekends, that should have been a factor you considered when you got a new pet. Again, I don't mean to come off as rude, but I think constant travel is stress that is not fair to put your poor chin under. But I guess he could get used to travel and it would be fine to take him home on the weekends.

 

[AsGSnak]

When I say "travel", I mean a 5 minute drive. That's why I don't think It'd be such a big deal. I think he'll get used to it. Also, my brother doesn't come home every single weekend.

 

[tunes]

My chins sleep when they travel. Tickelchin takes hers to work and back home every day. Chins do fine with travel as long as you are traveling with them safely.

 

[AsGSnak]

The question is not so much about the travel. It's more about changing environment for a couple of days, every week or every other week. Would that be bad?

 

[ticklechin]

I have had chins for 14 years-chins that were damaged rescues, ranch chins, petco chins, chins dumped off at my shop, hobby breeder chins and ALL of them went to work every day and in the last 7 years ALL go to a weekend place for the weekends and within the last year they go on vacation in a toy hauler trailer on long trips, every single one did well so IMO its malarkey that chins do poorly and stress out with regular travel, they don't.

 

[tunes]

AsGSnak - Not as long as they traveled safely and had adequate and safe housing where they went.

 

[AsGSnak]

Thank you for your quick and helpful replies.