Help me, fix me (long)

[Ratchilla]

If you have time and don’t mind answering some questions I’m sure you’ve answered thousands of times, I’d appreciate it if you could help me out. I completely read through New Chin Owner Mistakes and researched what threads I could. The lists below is what I have fixed and what I fixed it with, what I need fixed and I am thinking of fixing it with, and what I’m unsure of. I figured instead of responding to multiple and sometimes old threads, I'd do a personal fixxer upper.

Fixed/good/in process

• Glass water bottle (yay, one thing I did right)
• Super pet wheel 12” plastic – bought 15” chin spin
• Had blue cloud (from petsmart) and couldn’t find it second time and purchased kaytee dust bath – bought 14lbs of blue sparkle dust online (will cont this practice)
• Carefresh ultra bedding – bought all fleece liners
• Plastic shelves (never chewed) – made all KD pine wood shelves
• Super pet comf-e-cube – created KD pine hut and fleece hammocks

Current mistakes and looking to switch to what I put down

• Kaytee timothy hay plus blend with marigolds (bought online) – I’d like a mix of oxbow oat hay, oxbow western timothy hay and oxbow orchard grass (are those three good and are they okay to mix together?)
• Sunseed Sunaturals Chinchilla Diet (bought online, got great reviews ) – Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Deluxe pellets. Also, can I get a 50lb bag or will it go bad too fast?
• Treats (ALL bad) raisins, Vitakraft Dandelion Chinchilla drop (what they claim is a healthy treat for everyday, first ingredient = sugar), Fiesta dried mini fruit mix and cereals (not the good ones) – I’m having difficulty on easy, healthy, yet tasty treats. I have found uncooked pasta and plain cheerios/shredded wheat.

Things I’m unsure of:

• I use Zephyr Hills spring water (what I named Zeph after, haha) for them. Is this safe? It’s what I buy and drink so was using for them.
• Chew blox (pumice stone) – I’ve seen people mention pumice but I just wanted to make sure.
• 8 in 1 Ecotrition Snak Shak couch
• Should I weigh my chins?
• Want to use a superpet ceramic bath for a hay holder, by sitting it on a board and attaching it to a cage with bolt/washer/wing nut. Safe?

Things I've seen and haven't completely found more info on:

Read someone said 5 month old chins shouldn’t be having playtime (I don’t know how old they are, I’ve had them since January from Petsmart). I did try to find a breeder and the only one in my area that I did find closed down. I never thought of checking a forum.

Questions:

If I purchase hay, how long will it stay fresh for me? Should I only buy 40 ounces at a time so that I go through it faster? Or can I do the lbs? What about when purchasing 3 types of hay at one time?

I’m going to move the chins to a separate room. They are out in my living room with TV, dogs, and near a front door that my dog will bark at if someone is there. Plan is too move to office and hang thermostat next to cage. It’s fine if I’m not always in there right? The only reason I kept them out in the living room was because I was told that they should be around where you are at most of the time so that they can see you and the living room stays cooler. The other rooms can get a little warmer. I have central air and it fluctuates in the house from 70-75. I don’t know if it gets warmer because we can get crazy summers (I live in Alabama). My AC works decently but I want to make sure.

I’m surprised at the sureness I get from people advising bad products for chins. Like they are positive that is the best for them and you find out later that it's absolute crap. I should know better. Just because they may work in a pet store doesn’t mean they know jack about pets (e.g. girl told me pine shavings were best for my rat) and pointed out the worst kind on the shelf.

I hope you guys don’t get mad from reading all the above. A lot of it is/was bad. I know it was my ignorance and although not an excuse, I’m trying to fix it. Thanks!

 

[Stackie]

• Kaytee timothy hay plus blend with marigolds (bought online) – I’d like a mix of oxbow oat hay, oxbow western timothy hay and oxbow orchard grass (are those three good and are they okay to mix together?)

Yes, all three of the Oxbow hays are good and all can be mixed together. Any grass hay is fine to give. Alfalfa and any other legume hay is what you need to moderate.

• Sunseed Sunaturals Chinchilla Diet (bought online, got great reviews ) – Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Deluxe pellets. Also, can I get a 50lb bag or will it go bad too fast?

With only a few chins, yes, 50 lbs will go bad. You don't want to keep feed past 3 months of it's mill date. That's when it starts to lose nutrional value and palatibilty. A member on here, Sandi, sells Oxbow for the cheapest price you can get buying online. You can also get 5 and 10 lbs bags in some pet stores but they need to be severely overpriced.

• Treats (ALL bad) raisins, Vitakraft Dandelion Chinchilla drop (what they claim is a healthy treat for everyday, first ingredient = sugar), Fiesta dried mini fruit mix and cereals (not the good ones) – I’m having difficulty on easy, healthy, yet tasty treats. I have found uncooked pasta and plain cheerios/shredded wheat.

Remember that treats should only be given in moderation and they do not need extravangant things as treats. My chins don't know the difference between shreddies and oats, if I give it to them, they inhale it no matter what it is. Unfrosted shredded wheat, crushed rose hips, old fashioned oats are good treats. I personally usually replace an actual edible treat with an apple twig- good for their teeth and can be given unlimited.

• I use Zephyr Hills spring water (what I named Zeph after, haha) for them. Is this safe? It’s what I buy and drink so was using for them.

Unfortunately many bottled waters, spring waters, etc. are just plain ol' tap water bottled. I personally will only stick to filtered water for my chins. Some water may contain trace amounts of parasitic cysts that are not deemed as a danger to us, but could effect chins. If you're looking for a filter, look on the box to be sure it filters out all microbial cysts. The PUR 2 stage filter does.

• Chew blox (pumice stone) – I’ve seen people mention pumice but I just wanted to make sure.

Pumice is fine. Not the kind you find in the bath/beauty aisle, however. Some people on here sell pumice.

• 8 in 1 Ecotrition Snak Shak couch

No on this. All Snak Shak items contain honey and other sugars that are bad for chins.

• Should I weigh my chins?

It is a good idea to do so. Keeping a weight log can clue you in should your chin start acting off or become sick. I weigh my chins once a month with a gram scale that I bought at Wal-mart in the food section.

• Want to use a superpet ceramic bath for a hay holder, by sitting it on a board and attaching it to a cage with bolt/washer/wing nut. Safe?

Should be safe as long as it is attached, like you said.

Read someone said 5 month old chins shouldn’t be having playtime (I don’t know how old they are, I’ve had them since January from Petsmart). I did try to find a breeder and the only one in my area that I did find closed down. I never thought of checking a forum.

The idea that young chins shouldn't have playtime is they exert too much energy playing that they should be using for growing. As long as they are not left out too long for a strenous playtime, they should be fine. I'm sure they were older than a month old when they were at Petsmart, so you should be past that mark.

If I purchase hay, how long will it stay fresh for me? Should I only buy 40 ounces at a time so that I go through it faster? Or can I do the lbs? What about when purchasing 3 types of hay at one time?

Hay keeps very well as long as it's stored right. I personally by 20 lbs at a time for my 8 chins. If you store hay in a cool, dry place and allow it to breath, it will keep for a long time. I store mine in a mesh laundry bag.

I’m going to move the chins to a separate room. They are out in my living room with TV, dogs, and near a front door that my dog will bark at if someone is there. Plan is too move to office and hang thermostat next to cage. It’s fine if I’m not always in there right? The only reason I kept them out in the living room was because I was told that they should be around where you are at most of the time so that they can see you and the living room stays cooler. The other rooms can get a little warmer. I have central air and it fluctuates in the house from 70-75. I don’t know if it gets warmer because we can get crazy summers (I live in Alabama). My AC works decently but I want to make sure.

They will be fine if you aren't constantly around them. Heck, mine sleep all day and couldn't care less if I'm in the room with them or not. Many people have 'chin rooms' solely for their chinchillas and nothing else. As long as the office doesn't get too warm, they should be fine. Just be sure it stays below 75 degrees (I prefer to keep the area my chins are in 70 and below. They start to get uncomfortable in anything warmer than that.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Just wanted to say this is a great idea, Ratchilla! When I'd first joined here and debated on getting a chinchilla (wanted to make sure before I invested in one), I looked and looked at threads. By posting this you're helping other new chin owners--like me--get clarity all in one page of do's an don'ts.

And I doubt anyone on here thinks badly of you for some of the things you had to correct. If you haven't seen it yet, there's a thread titled something like, "Mistakes I used to make as a chin owner." I think you'll be reassured, :yes:


And as an aside.... I'm an Alabamian as well. May I ask where you're located?

 

[Brittany]

I'll throw a sample of crushed rosehips in with your fleece order. Rosehips are a healthy treat. They are full of vitamin C, which among many health benefits, promotes healthy connective tissue between the teeth. :thumbsup:

 

[Ratchilla]

Thank you so much, Stackie! Answered all my questions in one swoop. Seriously, thank you for taking the time out to do that for me. I will look into it and hopefully be 100% compliant in less than 2 weeks.

Just wanted to say this is a great idea, Ratchilla! When I'd first joined here and debated on getting a chinchilla (wanted to make sure before I invested in one), I looked and looked at threads. By posting this you're helping other new chin owners--like me--get clarity all in one page of do's an don'ts.

And I doubt anyone on here thinks badly of you for some of the things you had to correct. If you haven't seen it yet, there's a thread titled something like, "Mistakes I used to make as a chin owner." I think you'll be reassured, :yes:

Hi Lovin,

Thanks! I read what I could on a lot of different threads and yes, I went through the new chin owner mistakes (how I got a lot of my corrections, lol). Plus, a crapton of other threads. I actually felt bad making this thread since I know repeated answers are given a lot to newbies and I didn't want to be one of those. I did what research I could for me by browsing and using the search functions and then decided to mostly ask those that were specific to me or if I had decided on my own whether they were okay or not and then needed confirmed.

I also printed out basics of chins by Steph and bad/good woods for chewing or using (and added Stackie's treat lists of okays). Answered your PM!

I'll throw a sample of crushed rosehips in with your fleece order. Rosehips are a healthy treat. They are full of vitamin C, which among many health benefits, promotes healthy connective tissue between the teeth. :thumbsup:

Really? Awww, thanks! :hug2:

 

[Stackie]

No problem! I'm always happy to take time to answer questions for new chin parents that are willing to learn and fix their mistakes. )

 

[cindyv3737]

Stackie said it best. Welcome to the forum.

 

[3CsMommy]

Welcome aboard.

It can be hard to drill through glazed porcelain like those dust baths. I'd expect it to shatter if you tried to put a hole through it with normal means. What I'd try is one of these: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/402483663/Galvanized_steel_pipe_clamp/showimage.html and wrap it around the outside of the dust house. Make sure you get galvanized, not zinc plated.

And in a "worst case scenario" on water (say you run out of bottled and can't get to the store), boil regular tap water to a heavy rolling boil for 20 minutes. Let it cool, and then run it through a Brita or regular Pur pitcher. Brita etc. can't kill the microbes present in all tap water, but a long boil will, which is why the health department issues a boil warning after floods or broken water lines. The carbon filtered pitcher will remove heavy metals, chlorine, etc. that aren't affected by temperature changes.

 

[Ratchilla]

Thanks for the info 3Cs, I'll definitely look into trying to get one of those clamps to work.