Getting numbers of chins in a short period of time?

[Stackie]

Let me just start off this debate by first saying this is not about ANYONE in particular, so please don't come here with your fighting gear on because I am not trying to single anyone out.

In my years of chin ownership and being around CnH (albeit not near as long as some of you breeders/rescuers), I have seen this pop up quite a few times. A new owner joins, sees all the pretty colors of chins. They get their first chin, and then about 6 months later they have multiplied it by 6, 8, 10, etc.

Anytime I see this happen, I get worried. I'm worried that maybe the thrill will wear off after awhile, they get tired of said chins. Or maybe they realize what they have gotten into and can't take care of so many. They can live for 15-20 years after all...

Maybe I am paranoid. I know some people have had their chin families grow quickly and still have them years later and take great care of them. But I have also seen people buy up numbers of chins and then several months later, give them away or try to sell them after the excitement has worn off.

So..what is your take on this? Do you think some people get in over their heads buying up many chins too quickly? Do you think some time should be taken between adding chins? Do you see this particular scenario as troubling like I do, or does it not worry you? As a breeder, does this send up a red flag or no? As a rescue, have you had much experience with pet owners turning over chins because they just got too many?

Would just like thoughts and opinions please ) Sorry if these seems a bit jumbled..my head is just full of thoughts today and the voices make it hard to organize them.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

i got alot of chins fast, some we bought from pet stores, some we bought because of horrible situations they were in and we just couldnt stand to see it, and some we bought from breeders...

yes sometimes "I WISH" i didnt have as many as i did, but i love each and every one of them. they are my babies! i take good care of them and give them all lots of lovins..recently i lost my job, and all i can think about is my animals. luckily if i needed it my boyfriend said he would help me , no problem and my mother has been helping also. i do have 1000 in savings but i dont want to just blow it all away im trying to preserve it as long as i can lol.

most of my issue with getting as many as i did was colors..i love having all the different colors of chinchillas. but like i said, if i could go backkk in time and just not have bought one here or one there, i would. but never would i sell all or some of my chinchillas. i love them entirely way to much.

 

[cindyv3737]

I've had Shelly for six months and two weeks. I would LOVE to have a chin in every color. I even have names already picked out for said colors. However, I will NOT be getting another chin for at least another 6 months. My general rule is to take care of one pet first for a minimum of a year. I need to make sure I am able to give my pets 110% of the best care I can provide.
I have noticed there are people that fall in love with one chin and then go chin crazy. I fully understand that it is easy to do. Granted I don't think it is the best thing to do. What if people find that they are in over their heads? What will happen to the chins? Are they getting the proper care? Can the owner afford vet bills if their chins need to go? What happens if they fight? I can go on and on.
Sorry for the long answer. To make it short...Take time with the one or two you have. Learn all you need to learn before adding on. Perhaps one or two is all a person can have. That is ok. Understand limits before going pet crazy.

 

[mishellyshel]

I had 1 chin for 4 years and now there are 10 in my home. 1 is a rescue that will b rehomed & 2 are fosters that will go back to original owner. Once I am down to 7 that is where it will stay. My hopes are to jave them all in one area to consolidate my night time ritual.
The reason I got so many in a fairly short amount of time was strictly rescue. I don't care bout colors only about taking chins out of bad situations. And I made that decision knowing I had the time & money to do it. I love all my boys very much but when I get down to my original 7 I will be able to spend a little mote time with them.
But I will always keep an open cage for a chin in need.

 

[RDZCRanch]

To me...when I see someone buying up chins as fast as they can it sends up a red flag to me. This doesn't include the people I see taking in chins that are in bad situations, but for people that actively look for this and that color and seem to have no stopping point to buying chins. I've rebuffed a few people I've seen doing that and they almost always get rid of their chinchillas within a year. It happens more often than not.

I don't think two to four within six months is a bad number. But when you go from 0 to 8 or more it's worrisome. When people do that they do it because they got excited about the colors and they end up becoming unsatisfied with their chinchillas because they didn't take the time to bond with them as they brought them home. When you first get chins I think it's essential to bond to that first one before getting more. You need to know what you are getting into and what can be expected with the animal you take in.

I had my first chinchilla for four months before getting her a cagemate. Then I had just the two of them for around six to eight months more. Then I jumped to 10 the next year because I wanted to breed. I haven't had less than 20 since then and I don't regret my decision. Whenever someone asks me if I'd prefer to not have animals so that I could have traveled and lived out my "college" days I say no. My chinchillas define a large part of my life and I would not be complete without them, I would not even be who I am today if I did not have my chinchillas.

 

[Laurie]

My opinion is this--they are so cute they are irresistable. I started out with one chin--Bobo. I got her because I had seen a chinchilla at a petstore birthday party. All I knew was how cute they were--and nothing else. If I would have purchased a chin from that pet store it would have cost me well over $500 for chin, cage, food and other items. I lucked into Bobo by getting her, her cage, dust bath, death ball, death wheel, crappy food and treats for only $65. Many of you know Bobo ate a hole in the screen window and escaped into the night. That's why I got Abigail--an ex boyfriend bought her for me because she looked exactly like Bobo. Then Bobo was found and returned! So instead of one I now have two. I attended my first show and for the first time saw "quality" chinchillas and how gorgeous they were not to mention the wonderful colors and then went and totally fell in love with violets.

This is how it starts.

I have 9 chinchillas now but they have been acquired over a 5 year period. Only 3 of my chinchillas came to be BF--aka before forum, I have as many chins as I do now because I know how to care for them, what to feed them, and how to enrich their lives all because of the forum. I hadn't planned on 9 but I have that many because I know it's not too many for me, I know I am not beyond my limit, but I also know this only becasue of the forum.

I would love to have that elusive red chin someday, and a dark chocolate tan--or even Mish's fox chin, but I honestly think if I were to lose one my chins now that I would not replace them. With 2 three story ferret nation cages in my room there is room for no more--hence no more room at the inn means no more chins (unless of course the red one shows up!)

I think people don't realize how much care you should really put into a chin--or they should have a large cage and lots of room, or they should be spoiled with silly fleece things and tons of things to chew and expensive wheels. Often they get them off of Craigslist because they say they are "saving" them when in fact they are just a way to get something really cute for a fairly cheap price. Let's face it the really beautiful chins aren't usually dirt cheap (except for baby Lisa who was free!)

And honestly as long as we have Craigslist people who get rid of their chins for a low cost or people who surrender chins there will always be a way for many people to amass a small army of chins at a low cost.

To me chins are kind of like facebook games--all of a sudden you have too many and not enough time or money for them because in the beginning it was all fun and games and you never realized you were in over your head!

 

[3CsMommy]

When I lived with my ex, "his" chin didn't get a buddy for the first year, mostly to make sure the budget adjusted after an addition to the family (and the family adjusted to the new addition). Then came Crash. Two years later, we split the pair. Come this fall, I think, I'll be able to find Crash a new roommate.

My rule for adding animals is a little morbid and a lot practical: If I don't have the money to take him/her to the vet to get patched up instead of 'that last trip', it can't live with us. Of course, now that my savings are <i>UP</i> to $50, that won't be happening for a while. I have bills to pay off first, then a vet fund to rebuild and a larger cage to buy. Then, hopefully, a chin like Oasis (a rescue at Humble Acres) can move in. But as the saying goes, "if you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet", and chin vets, like chins, are *expensive* and rare creatures when you get a good one. What happens if there's a house fire and both chins have smoke-related URIs? What if the cat is hurt too? If I don't have +/-$5,000 for that emergency, I don't want to have to choose who gets medical treatment and who doesn't.

I think people who "chip" about pets (Can't ever have just one) sometimes forget that love isn't always enough to keep a whole family happy, and making Sophie's Choice for my fur butts would make me come unhinged.

 

[Riven]

When I got into breeding quality animals, I picked up 18 chins at my first show... that was 6 years ago. Before that I had 8, I sold most of them out to pet homes and only have the offspring of one of the original eight, the mother died of malo.

It all depends on the person. I do think that the majority of "chin bingers" do end up selling out, often within a year. It's said when you trust your animals to someone who seems to care, then ends up selling them off to who knows where because they're overwhelmed.

 

[ticklechin]

I have had chins for 10 years now, the fewest was 2, the most 11-11 was just too many for me to give the quality of care they deserved. 8 is a perfect amount.

Being a member of the forums since 2000 I have seen it again and again the 0-60 in 5 seconds then the ad comes in the classifieds with some OMG excuse why they need to get rid of them. Then the buy back of more chins later, then the dump. It goes for breeders and pet owners, both have been guilty.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

i could never sell my babies, i just simply dont want anymore. thats all

 

[mrweaw]

I think it depends on the person and their situation.

I got back into chins this year after having a pair many years ago that I lost in a really nasty separation. I have a house and yard full of animals but I am very well educated on all of them and have the means to support them. When we decided to get chins earlier this year I bought 2 trios, one from Rhonda in Hermiston, OR and one from Sarah in Hillsboro, OR. This may seem like a lot to some people but we are very happy with our group and they are spoiled rotten. With the exception of the chickens whom we raise to sell off each spring, animals that come to live here, stay here. We have rescues, fosters, and bottle babies too and those lines are also drawn otherwise the kids would talk me into keeping every bottle kitten that we took in and I'd be the crazy cat lady.

My views on animals are a bit odd though. I also rescue Shar pei and love the breed dearly. I just don't think that 99% of people should have them.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I got my first chin, not by choice, when my sister asked my then 10 year old if he wanted a pet. I had never heard of chinchillas, let alone had one for a pet. When she asked Bryce if he wanted one as a pet, he naturally said yes. This is a child who had just lost his pet and was still very distraught about it, and I was going to get him another pet eventually. Although not such a big one!
The first thing I did was go home and go to the library and online to learn as much as I could about them. About a year went by before I found this forum and learned that I was doing somethings wrong and other things right. But it was 3 years to the date of getting Herby that I started looking into getting another chin. I was prepared to find a good reputable breeder and start from there. But fate had another plan for me and that is when Zoe showed up on my door step. ( literally ) I got home one day from running errands and she and all the supplies were in my front foyer. Her previous owners knew I was looking for another one, and they could not take her to where they were moving, so they dropped her off with me. I then got Ansem, a rescue from the Arlington raid. But not before sitting down with my budget and seeing if I could afford another chinchilla. After coming to realize I could, and was ready for another one, I went and got him. He quickly became my 15 year olds favorite, and he helps me take care of him. As much as I would love to have more chins, I know that 3 is my personal limit right now, and do not plan on getting more.

It kills me though when I read on CL and PetFinder's about these people who get loads of chinchillas because of their colors or just to say they have one, then are forced to give them up. And all because they did not realize they are time consuming, long living creatures.

 

[Siylvat]

I also think this depends on the person, and the situation. Some people should not have more than one or two chins, other can handle having a lot at one time.

My fiance is the one that started with the chins. He had Arc and Pika for 5 years before I met him. After I met him, I did a ton of research on them because I loved them so much. Together we fixed the things that were wrong, because he just didn't know they were.

After maybe two years we got two more chins. Dash and Peach. We had them for another year or two, when we decided that we wanted to rescue one. So we got picked up Mog. We did not plan on getting any more so soon, but my fiance's brother told us their neighbors were getting rid of a Chin. It was supposedly a girl chin in a bad situation, so we were going to pick her up, and then see if we could re-home her because we did not want any girl chins. "She" ended up being Bok Choy...NOT a girl lol. We fell in love with his cute face. We briefly thought about re-homing him, but I am glad we didn't. I love that little chin.

I am constantly joking that we should get another chin. My fiance will be going to the store and ask "can I get you anything?" I say "Yeah a couple more chins would be good" lol. I'm half-joking anyway. I certainly wouldn't be mad if he showed up with some.

But seriously, we know what we can and cannot handle. At the moment we are not looking to get anymore chins, but in the future, I would certainly like a few more.

 

[starleomach]

I have seen it a lot as well. Someone has one wants to breed and goes to 50. then a year later they are overwhelmed and selling out. I am at 90ish and happy. I did grow slowly I add breeders and retire breeders. I do want to grow more but for now that will wait. I will stay around this number for the next year or so.

My first chinchilla was my only chinchilla for over a year, then I rescued one and bought one. that for a year then I started attending shows and wanted to breed so I bought 4 top animals then also took in a rescue that year

I stayed around 10 for 2 years then bought more and kept kits,,then stayed at 20/30 until about 2 years ago when I bought out a sapphire herd that put me at 40 and needing standards and other improvement animals so I have grown. Now I will keep some kits to show but stop growing for a bit.

But to many people get one...get a second...decide to breed..have 20 all in a year. by year 2 they sell out

 

[Luci]

personally, i think its situational.

when a person is a NEW chin owner, i think its too much to get so many of them at once. i think having one pet for a whole year before adding more (someone else mentioned this? i think it was sandi) is a good idea. that way you get a feel for how much care they require.

i think another thing is age and where a person is financially. as a college student, im perfectly happy with just my little Gizmo. he himself is a handful and i cant think of adding any more for a good while. if someone is in a position where they have no idea where they will be in a few months or a year, i think getting numerous chinchillas isnt a smart idea. financially it'll cost and the animals may get the "short end of the stick".

as a pet owner, i cant even think of acquiring so many animals within a short period of time, i think it could lead down the road of hoarding. i would be worried if i saw a friend get a chinchilla and then want more right away. to be honest, i even get nervous when i read posts where new owners get a cagemate within a month.

regardless, people need to think of the chins' well-being before personal wants.

 

[Jazicat]

I have lots of pets and while we are planning on getting Edgar a buddy I think two is our limit unless something changes in our future. I firmly believe that you should know your limits when it comes to animals and as long as we have the birds we do anymore would be too much. We are also waiting until Edgar is at least a year before we get another so it won't even be until this fall before we do. I may consider breeding in the future but I plan on going very slow and take years to learn.

 

[AZChins]

I see it all the time. I won't sell to people that I suspect are like that. My opinion is that most people should be happy with a few and be done with it.

I've taken in so many chins from "breeders" that end up getting in over their heads with too many chinchillas. Either they are forced to get rid of them (i.e. animal control, landlord, etc says they must go) or they get sick of taking care of them. I've seen some pretty horrendous conditions because people get too many and can't or won't care for them properly. We're not talking the cages are a little dirty - it's full on maggots in the cage, shavings and wastes turn to mud in the pans and the chins have ammonia burns on their feet.

Having many chins is a choice. Making that choice means that you are giving up other things in your life to care for those animals. It means giving up a whole lot of time, money and maybe doing things like cleaning and feeding when you'd rather do other things. It's not for everyone. Getting up in the morning and being jazzed about soaking pans in vinegar isn't all that common.

I've seen probably dozens of people, many hundreds get a bunch of chins and dump them. There's a predictable cycle to it...depending on the type of person that is doing it, it will be anywhere from 6 months to three years before the chins are dumped or sold off. It's sad and really only the animals (and me, and other rescuers and people that take in sick, neglected animals) suffer.

It took me over two years to go from one chin to six. Then I started rescue and more breeding and had 70 or 80 once I had my own house. After that I moved to a place that is zoned to let me have just about as many as I wanted...it sort of snowballed at that point from the 35 that I brought with me to about 100. Then in 2003 I got a bunch more ranch animals and had 270 or so. It's held pretty steady since then. I've been taking care of chinchillas full time (as my job, if you want to call it that) for eight years now. But, with what I do, it's a lifestyle...it's all I do. No matter what I am doing something with chinchillas all the time. Having this many isn't something that anyone could do casually. And, honestly, I can't imagine life without them. I take care of chinchillas, that's about it.


Just wanted to add... The people that dump their animals are forgettable. I've known so many chinchilla people for 10 years or more...they are so rare. So many of the older ranchers have passed away or just can't do it anymore, a lot of people that I thought would have chins forever just aren't there anymore.

It's really wonderful that there are people that have stuck around with their chins. They deserve a lot of credit for not dumping their animals when times got tough and bad things happened. (You all know who you are!!)

 

[Brittany]

I feel that a pet owner acquiring a large amount of chins in a short amount of time is hoarding. With all the beautiful colors out there pet owners need to remember that chins are living creatures NOT collectibles. When I think about getting a new chin I consider the worst case scenario: that it wont get along with any of my current chins. I then decide if I can provide it with it's own cage/accessories, money for vet care, and if I can give up another 30-60min a night to provide the chin with it's own adequate play time. At this point in time my boyfriend and I share the responsibility for 3 little ones (none of them get along or share playtime/cages). Do I want a few more chins in the future? Probably! But I will only add on slowly when I am positive that I can provide each animal with the best life possible for as long as they live.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

I feel that a pet owner acquiring a large amount of chins in a short amount of time is hoarding. With all the beautiful colors out there pet owners need to remember that chins are living creatures NOT collectibles. When I think about getting a new chin I consider the worst case scenario: that it wont get along with any of my current chins. I then decide if I can provide it with it's own cage/accessories, money for vet care, and if I can give up another 30-60min a night to provide the chin with it's own adequate play time. At this point in time my boyfriend and I share the responsibility for 3 little ones (none of them get along or share playtime/cages). Do I want a few more chins in the future? Probably! But I will only add on slowly when I am positive that I can provide each animal with the best life possible for as long as they live.

i dont agree on the hoarding issue.. i have 12 chinchillas that i acquired pretty fast. but i stopped when i knew i was at my max...if your hoarding you would just keep going, and i didnt do that.. im content with my 12 and dont want anymore.. the only way id even accept another one is if it was thrown on my front door step by someone who didnt want it anymore. and honestly i would adopt it out. i do not care to have anymore chins. and sure there are some more colors i want, but i have no interest in getting them because i dont want anymore chins. i feel that if i got more than what i have i wouldnt be able to give them the proper love they deserve. i am far from a hoarder i promise but i got all my chins within 6 months or so..and i take care of my animals, 2 big ferret nation houses and loadddddddds of lovins lol

 

[Claire D]

I think that sometimes people take on chinchillas without understanding that they are a complex exotic animal. It takes time to understand their behaviour patterns, physical needs, diet etc - veterinary care is not the same as for other animals (as we see time & again on the forum).
One of the main problems with going from 0-60 is that herd dynamics, individual chinchilla needs, signs & symptoms of problems etc can be misunderstood or missed completely. Add to that the cost of vets bills, finding a chinchilla competent vet, having a "mentor" etc ........

What disturbs me most are the people who refuse to listen & quickly get out of their depth - it's the chinchillas which suffer in the end & I don't give a carrot what people think, taking on too many chins without understanding their requirements, having the proper funds, cage set-ups, air-con, vet care is completely irresponsible. The chinchillas deserve better & it's the rescues (or breeders who take in rescues) who end up picking up the pieces. It's emotionally, physically, & financially draining on them.

The other thing which gets my goat are the people who go from 0-60 & claim they are a "rescue"....... Don't get me started on that, though!


*gets off soap box & scurries off to lie down before blood pressure goes up even more*