Hi all

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ratchilla

Be very, very afraid
Joined
May 3, 2011
Messages
206
Location
Alabama
Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I was recommended to visit a chin site since the 'multi-pet' site I frequent doesn't really have a lot of chin people on it and they can't always answer my questions. This one seemed to have a lot of knowledgable people.

Please understand, I will never be a perfect pet owner. I can admit that. There are times I'm doing something that I thought was perfectly okay or saw someone else do, only later to find out it might not be the best thing for that particular pet. I've now turned into a person that trusts no one, lol, and researches everything I'm told or seeks help. I still make mistakes but strive to correct them and only do right by my animals.

I've had my 2 chin girls since January, Zephyr and Imp.

ZephyrandImp.jpg


Glad to be here.
 
Hi and welcome! You have come to a wonderful forum, where there are an incredible amount of people who have vast knowledge of chins and their care. You can read through some of the threads, and we are always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Your girls are adorable. Be careful, though, if they are chewers. Chins will chew through cloth and can get an impaction. A lot of chin owners here have wood (chin safe) hidey houses, or fleece items in their chin's cages.

And don't we all make mistakes, lol. When I first joined the forum, I learned I was unintentionally making a lot of mistakes. But that is why the forum is here, to help people like me become more knowledgeable about the correct care of our furbabies so they are around for a long time. :)
 
Welcome to the forum! :)) And don't worry, no body's perfect! The best part of being a part of a community like this is to learn your mistakes and how to make things the best you can for your animals. :)) This is def. a great place to learn!

And if I may offer a little advice? That ferret hide-away isn't chinchilla safe. The only really safe fabric for chins is fleece, anything else is hazardous as they are much more likely to shred it/ingest it. There are a few members on here that sell really great fleece products! :))

Welcome to the forum! :D And your chins are precious! :)) You should definitely post more pics!

Edit: Haha, sorry about the repeated advice! Jenn beat me to it, lol.
 
Last edited:
Welcome!!!

You will find lots of good info here. And I have found that the people here are more, ahem... considerate of people, than on some other animal focused boards I have been on. Everybody understands that we all come here because we care a lot about our chinnies.

Your girls are adorable, by the way!
 
Hi Jenn and thanks!

I've researched so much these past few days that I have been getting headaches and I'm still not finding all the answers I've wanted/needed.

Lol, oh gosh, I feel like such an idiot! I have those beds for my ratties and thought, well it says to use fleece for chins. This has fleece (yeah, at the bottom only!) and didn't even think about the rest of the fabric. I guess it's been one of those weeks/months/years, oh who am I kidding, my life. /facepalm

Fortunately for me, they haven't chewed it at all. I'll replace it with something suitable ASAP. I'm currently starting on a new cage for them that I posted in the Chin housing section. It hasn't shown up yet as I'm on lockdown (slipping into my lovely black and white striped jumpsuit). But I really wanted to do right by them, so wanted to run it past a few of you guys first on suggestions.

P.S. To anyone who reads this, I'm extremely open to suggestions and will always comply. Meaning, I won't come on here for advice and then completely disregard anything you guys tell me! I hate when people do that.
 
P.S. To anyone who reads this, I'm extremely open to suggestions and will always comply. Meaning, I won't come on here for advice and then completely disregard anything you guys tell me! I hate when people do that.

And no matter how many unintentional mistakes you make, THAT makes you a great pet owner!

They're adorable! Welcome to the forum!
 
Welcome! I'm sure you have learned by now that Imp is the perfect name for any chinchilla lol!
 
Thanks everybody for the warm welcome!

All your guys avatars are so adorable and unique, it's so cool just scrolling down and seeing all the difference pictures.
 
P.S. To anyone who reads this, I'm extremely open to suggestions and will always comply. Meaning, I won't come on here for advice and then completely disregard anything you guys tell me! I hate when people do that.

That's awesome! I'm so glad you're eager to learn and correct mistakes. So many times we have gotten new members that completely reject lots of good advice. If you have any questions at all do not hesitate to ask for a second!

Believe me, if you came here looking for the absolute best advice for your chin, you are in the right place. I don't even bother looking on the rest of the web for chin information anymore. All kinds of experts are here: breeders, vets, rescuers, and just regular pet owners.

Your chinnies are adorable and I can't wait to see more pictures of them :)) Welcome!
 
Welcome! I too am a ratty and chin mom!! I'm glad you're here and look forward to seeing more of your babies (they're too CUTE)! :clap1:
 
Thanks guys. What makes me feel even worse is I thought I was doing decent with some at least some of the stuff. You know, I came on here saying that I'm not perfect and I'm going to make mistakes... but it seems like almost everything I'm doing is wrong and I feel terrible. I did so much research in the past months and I feel like it got me nowhere or completely gave me wrong answers. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy I found this site now so that I can fix it, but everything was wrong! Food, treats, wheel, bedding, hut. Everything. :( I'm currently compiling a list of everything and what I'm going to move to or should move to and what I have changed to and create a fix me thread.

It's so disheartening.

To Shooper: Ratties were my first love (and between me and you, still are, lol ;))). I'm probably going to go find a rat site soon just to make sure I'm doing right by them.
 
Most of the members have mentioned how wonderful of a forum this is already so I guess I will just give you a warm welcome! :)) Enjoy the great info and people here on Chins and Hedgies!!!

p.s. you have adorable chinchillas!
 
Back
Top