blondeangel
Well-known member
i got my first chin 5ish years ago, mr chinny. got him from a small exotic pet store as a replacement for the first one i purchased their who died from a bacteria infection. after a couple years, i felt he was lonely, so I special ordered another chin, bear, to where i work. he was young, roughly 2.5 months old, super sweet but super super timid. i kept them caged separate, and introduced them on neutral play grounds. mr chinny was super vicious towards bear, so after two or so playtimes together, i settled that they would forever be kept separate. a couple years went by, and i started to feel horrible for bear. he was always shy, super timid (one time one of my rats was running across the top of bears cage, dropped a piece of kale into his cage by mistake, bear took off running and almost screaming -if they could scream), never played, never used his wheel.
i felt horrible, but was very hesitant on purchasing another chin if they didn't get along that would just add to my huge cage collection in my bedroom (theres currently now 10 as the chins were moved from 2 separate 62 inch cages, into a split ferret nation). i mistakenly ran across a local breeders website (chinsgalore), fell in love with some of the babies on her page. and was there a couple days later, praying i was doing right.
2 weeks later - i was bad yes, i didn't quarantine, a probably bad habitat, but something i have never done with my animals *knocks on wood* which never caused a problem. bear, and his new cage mate kola, are fantastic together. *hopes it lasts forever* hes active, he plays, he chews, he even is using his hammock - something that he used to run away from in his cage as well. he is using his wheel here and there as well. and for the first time in over 2 years, i caught him passed out -laying on his side- with kola sleeping over his tummy (adorable). i have read here and there, that when chins sleep on their side, they are truly comfortable with their environment - not sure if there is any truth to that, but i am just super happy bear is finally happy.
i felt horrible, but was very hesitant on purchasing another chin if they didn't get along that would just add to my huge cage collection in my bedroom (theres currently now 10 as the chins were moved from 2 separate 62 inch cages, into a split ferret nation). i mistakenly ran across a local breeders website (chinsgalore), fell in love with some of the babies on her page. and was there a couple days later, praying i was doing right.
2 weeks later - i was bad yes, i didn't quarantine, a probably bad habitat, but something i have never done with my animals *knocks on wood* which never caused a problem. bear, and his new cage mate kola, are fantastic together. *hopes it lasts forever* hes active, he plays, he chews, he even is using his hammock - something that he used to run away from in his cage as well. he is using his wheel here and there as well. and for the first time in over 2 years, i caught him passed out -laying on his side- with kola sleeping over his tummy (adorable). i have read here and there, that when chins sleep on their side, they are truly comfortable with their environment - not sure if there is any truth to that, but i am just super happy bear is finally happy.
