Recent content by Binki

Congratulations on becoming a chin parent. You have done a smart thing by joining the forum, (something I wish I had done when I got my first one) because no matter how many books one reads, chinchillas are idiosyncratic creatures and sometimes not even exotic vets know enough about them...

Ouch! Had not idea about the danger. Many thanks for this. Did a search and calcium oxalate is not only scary but also present in other greens. Good to know where the bad guys hide.

I have been wondering how members of this forum get their chins back to the cage after playtime. My first boy, who was difficult but very smart just needed to be told 'bed' and in he went. In contrast, my current boy, who is most of the time a total darling, can only be lured in if, at top...

To say that my boy favourite treat is nettles is an understatement: he craves them. He is lucky in that we have an 'on the premises' organic' supply. In the sunken garden, next to the stream. there is a patch with soil so stubbornly poor that only nettles grow, so in the end we decided to screen...

Lovely photos of Wicket, specially the top one: he shows what makes chins so unique and addictive: those big hobbit feet (one cannot possibly call them paws), the shiny eyes and that expression full of mischief. I woudl go as far as saying that they have a sense of humour and a wicked one at...

Your post is heartbreaking; reminded me when my first chin died and I was looking at the empty cage, unable to put it away because it has his things in it. In the end I decided that the best thing one could do in memory of a chin is giving an unwanted one (usually a boy) a new home. Hope helping...

Filtering improves the taste of water but the chin is not likely to taste the difference. If you live in an area with highly chlorinated water it may be enough to put the water in a jug for one day to allow the chlorine evaporate. I did that with my first chin but no longer do. My current boy...

Did you try a clicker? Like scratch/clicker/reward? Perhaps that way you can extend the time or frequency of contact with you. I started to use the clicker with Mr Wild after a year of not making much progress and used it only until he began learning things without the clicker (as all chins he...

I think this is very exciting because it means that you have been able to establish a two way communication with him and that, if he learned one thing, he can learn more. And, as I found with my boy, the more they learn the tamer they become. That does not mean one can pet or cuddle them as...

I only take on rescue chins from an animal shelter, which, for some reason, it is usually a male on its own. Wally reminds me a bit of my first boy: he was so wild it took two years for him to show any signs of bonding and an attempt to introduce him to a chin needing rehoming failed miserably...

Hope it is just temporary but just in case: one way to encourage (trick will be more exact) a chin to eat hay is to put a handful in a loop suspended from the cage bars and hide in the middle a thin apple stick or any other treat the chin is allowed to have. I used it with a dyed in the wool...

Congratulations. Wales is a lovely place to settle after a nomadic life. Given that you have been away I thought you may not be aware that now that they are less rare, there are many places in the UK from where you can rescue chins, including a private rescue group in Facebook which is is only...

Pets at Home has a new treat, Woodlands Wood Nibble sticks, with 5 pieces per bag, that you may like to try. I give my boy only one at a time because he demolishes them quite fast but never heard a more content gnawing, not even with apple sticks.

How is Stan doing? I have been wondering whether he got over his grieving as a singleton or whether he got a companion. I have a boy that was surrendered to rescue because he was attacked by the chin was was supposed to bond with, so I am interested in chins that may be living on their own.

Do your boys prefer the HayBox stuff to the 'timothy rich' sold in pet shops or do they waste it as much? My boy approach to hay is that of a memory challenged leaf cutter ant who after doing all the chopping goes 'wonder what I am doing here; I thought I was on my way to Fortnum and Mason to...