Recent content by caballtaz

I bought a flying saucer at the end of August, but my chinchillas were not impressed. They'd already rejected a chin spin that I had left in their cage for months, so I was determined to have them learn to use the flying saucer so they could get some exercise. I started training them to use the...

This thread saved my sanity. My chins seem to scream nightly and when I turn on the light, they are just going about their business completely undisturbed. I was convinced one of them had a splinter or ulcer or something. Since it's an attention thing, will they eventually stop if I ignore it...

You guys are awesome, thanks! They do still tear up the hard woods pretty fast, just not in a matter of minutes like with applewood.

I think some people have trouble with kits escaping. The actual open space between two bars is just under an inch. My chins wouldn't even think of squeezing through.

I see lots of pictures of chinchillas with tons and tons of wood in their cages, and I worry that I am underfeeding wood. They have lots of safe pine perches in their cage, which they chew the edges of but do not destroy. Wood sticks, on the other hand, are destroyed immediately. They only care...

I made my own ledges too (well, I guess my dad did, because he has access to a big saw at work). Make sure to buy untreated wood. I cut mine to the size I wanted, then used a big saw (band saw maybe?? I dunno) to round the corners. I didn't sand down the edges and the chinchillas seem to have...

Yep, that's exactly what it means. Guinea pigs and primates can't make their own vitamin C because we lack that GLO enzyme. Pretty much every other mammal studied does have the enzyme and thus can make their own vitamin C from glucose. Wikipedia explains it here...

The first of the references I posted is no good, but the second one lists the experimental levels of GLO (the enzyme responsible for vitamin C production) in many placental mammals. While guinea pigs are a nice <0.05 (essentially zero), chinchillas are 8.0 umol/g/hr, which is 4 times that of the...

I'm curious as to why the 2007 publication did not cite their source on the part you referenced. After all, the study was about the use of radiography in dental disease, not on nutrition itself. It's possible (though certainly not definite) that they were referring to osseous tissue in general...

Older studies have studied the requirement (or lack thereof) of vitamin C in chinchillas. They don't need it. If a chinchilla is experimentally fed a diet without vitamin C, and it does not show signs of deficiency, it must be producing its own. "Although the chinchilla is closely related to the...

I used to have a big one in my chin's play area, but he completely ignored it. So I guess it depends on the chin.

Good to hear, I'm glad he's doing better!

My friend has a herd of guinea pigs, and when her roommate got a ferret, it stressed them out a LOT. They never even saw it, but I think they could smell a predator. Several of them got stress-induced lymphadenopathy (I think that's the right word--basically a normally benign bacteria infects...

I'd also like to point out that bottled water is regulated by the FDA, while tap water is regulated by the EPA. The EPA's standards for testing and contamination are MUCH stricter than the FDA, and it is possible for bottled water to be contaminated. It is also my personal belief that bottled...

Can you please specify what ppm for giardia filtering is required for chinchillas?