Recent content by Amethyst

No cherry is not safe or commonly used in chinchilla habitats (at least not anywhere that actually cares about their health and safety). Cherry trees contain cyanide compounds in the seeds, leaves, bark, and shoots. Toxicity is highest in both new growth and wilted leaves and branches. In case...

Welcome. One big thing to think about when doing research is, "does this information make sense" when thinking about where chins come from (semi-arid climate). There is a lot of outdated/misinformation out there, and a lot of people (many vets included), assume they are like rabbits and guinea...

Ok, just so you know goji berries are best kept to one per month (it looks like they do mention that on the package (y)), they are lower in sugar then raisins but still pretty high in sugar. Also pumpkin can be useful for gut issues (constipation and diarrhea) and some people add a little bit...

You could always message them and ask. I would assume it's harvested early though, that company seems to know what they are doing when harvesting products. If they don't grow it themselves and instead get it from a supplier that grows the nettle for human it's also most likely going to be...

If it was food grade plastic, as in a bag that had food in it or is intended for food like a food storage bag, it's very unlikely to be toxic, but you still need to worry about it causing a blockage. It takes roughly 12 hours for something to go through a chinchilla's system, so it's a good idea...

I don't really have any info on the sugar content, but I know the best time to harvest is late spring to summer, once it is grown a bit, at least 6-8 inches or so high, but less then a foot and before it goes to flower. If you wait until after the nettle goes to flower it puts all it's energy...

I thought I'd add the last couple photos I have of Wicket. 💔

I had actually decided Wicket was going to be what I named my next one a long time ago. Between my mom and sisters we had around a dozen chins growing up, most from people getting chins then decided they didn't want them, so they came with names already or my mom or sisters picked the names. So...

No not safe at all. Chins should not have any veggies, fresh or dried, they can cause digestive upset (gas, bloat, diarrhea, etc). As well as vegetables are high in natural sugars which can lead to other health issues, dehydrating things just removes the water not the sugar.

I knew my time was getting close, purely do to his age (like within the coming years), but it was still a bit of a shock for him to suddenly be gone. I hadn't really given too much thought to where I would get another in years, and the pandemic caused a lot of breeders and suppliers to shut...

I would say very likely a scam, not only does the page look like a lot of just "cut and paste" type info, links don't give proper info. Also as tunes pointed out they don't even say were they are, aside from claiming to be USDA licensed, which is very suspicious. Also running the site through...

Seeds are also unfortunately not good for chins, they (along with nuts) are too fatty and can lead to obesity as well as fatty liver disease. They do eat seeds in the wild but it's more like grass seeds and other plant seeds that a low in the fatty oils, not the kinds of seeds commonly sold as...

Yeah giving raisins is kind of confusing, they use to be the go to treat when chins first really became popular as pets about 30-40 years ago since most chins love them. However over time we found out the side effects of giving high sugar treats have on chins, short term things like digestive...

Chins can handle pretty cold temps, so long as it wasn't below about 5C in the room it's unlikely it was too cold for a chin over a year old. It's generally heat that is more of an issue for them, you ideally want to keep it below about 20-25C. I know you say it was chin proofed, but it's not...

I think my best bet may be to keep an eye out for someone rehoming chins again when I am ready. It really does seem odd not having them, I still have the cage sitting there because I can't physically dismantle it on my own so I'm taking it apart bit by bit. Taking the cage accessories apart it...