I shouldn't have looked...

[Lillybabe]

So I was browsing craigslist... I look occasionally to see if there are any cheap deals on FNs or any other supplies I could make use of. Once I saw one going for $80.. should have snatched it up. However, today I did not find any cage deals instead I found the saddest looking chinchillas. I want to rescue them. I emailed the poster (couldn't help myself) to ask about rehoming fee, ages, etc. They have a male and female together, the cage isn't horrible, but the food they are being given is. More than likely the female could be pregnant. I am just so afraid they will go to a horrible home. I know the risks... but still part of me cries out to snatch them up. Is this horrible? Should I put it out of my mind?

I currently have the means to care for two more, I have my two girls. I have another room downstairs I could house these two in. But I know I can't save them all. My goal would be to keep them for maybe 3-6 months and then try to find them a good home. I am not sure if I want four chinchillas permanently, possibly more if the female is pregnant, but I worry about these ones. They are a beautiful pink white and what looks like an ebony. Not sure which one is male/female. Opinions folks?

As I've posted before, I recently lost a little guy to malo so I do understand that there is a high risk behind unknown chins. I just think maybe I was selfish in getting the girls. Don't these two deserve the same kind of care Raisin got? Trixie and Pixie are now getting? Would you all snatch them up under my conditions? Anyone in Central, IL area want two chins? We use to have a rescue close by but it shut down several years ago.

 

[tcraighenry]

I'd go for it, poor babies. I'm a sucker for sad little chinchillas. There was one on ebay classifieds I wanted to adopt. Lovely little pink and white that looked smaller than ours but was 3. But in between school/work I don't have time.

 

[Megan]

I can be a sucker too. I have been browsing and just recently saw a post by someone looking to rehome a chin because they are in the military and cannot keep her. I have offered to keep her here so they can be reunited again. One of my first rescues was a military rehome, and I still have him here.

We shall see if they will take me up on my offer! If you have the time and means...why not?

 

[Shooper]

Be sure to post pics of your new babies!!.....I mean, if you get them! Sounds to me like you may have already decided. If you have the funds and the time, I say go for it!

 

[Lillybabe]

Well, I am talking with the lady 'rehoming' them now. She wants $400.00 for them. She argues this is because it is *two* chinchillas and all their stuff. However, the cage is filled with plastic, I will need a second cage since they are male and female, their food is bunny food filled with dried fruit. About the only decent item I saw in the picture was a container of Blue Cloud dust. I believe there are two dustbaths in their cage... so who knows what sort of dry skin/breathing issues that may have caused. I know for a fact though that the petstore she named that she got them for doesn't sell any chinchillas, even pink whites or ebonys, for over $150. When rehoming you can't expect to get all your money back. I would love to give them a good home but I honestly can't afford $400 just for the rehoming fee. More than likely the female at least needs to see a vet to determine if she's pregnant which is easily $150 and I have a very reasonably priced exotics vet. Plus then there's the second cage, gear for both cages, etc. If I can't talk her down I will have to pray someone decent is willing to give her $400. Thing is what she's asking is technically against craigslists terms and conditions as they say a "small" rehoming fee is allowed.

 

[tcraighenry]

That's ridiculous! Good on you for trying.

 

[andreya]

I don't blame you for trying. If I didn't already have a million chinchillas, I would definitely 'rescue' them from Craigslist. I wouldn't pay $400 either though. Just because she paid a lot for all that garbage isn't your fault.

 

[Jenn]

Is this lady sure about their sexes? It seems like chinchillas are constantly mis-sexed and maybe, hopefully, a bad situation really isn't as bad as it could be.

I would tell the lady what you are willing to pay for them, and if she doesn't get them rehomed, then to contact you if she is willing to sell them to you for the price you have stated. My guess is that nobody is going to pay $400 for them...

 

[Godofgods]

That is the reason i cant go on the pets section of craiglist any more. A while back i had two chins, and two ferrets. And i decided then, that that was enough. No more. Not to long later i had 10 pets. Five chins, five ferrets lol.

If your thinking about taking them in, i would suggest trying to verify the genders of them. Its not always as easy as some would think. And it will drastically affect their futures. (as shown by my surprise kits one evening)

 

[PetoftheDay]

If nothing else, I'd wait a week and contact her again. If no one else wants them, she may be willing to let them go cheaper, you never know.

 

[Lillybabe]

This is what I am hoping. I know I can't save them all. But I looked at them and the little male was chewing on the cage bars and absolutely adorable. It is somewhat possible they were sexed incorrectly. The first thing I would plan to do when I got them would be to double check gender, look at teeth, hair ring check, etc. to make sure they are in good shape. I would not want to stress them with a vet visit but with the obvious bad care I can see in the picture and from her replies... I'd worry that they might need a vet visit. She said and I quote "I originally purchased Bubba just because I fell in love with the Chinchilla and was a stay at home mother. After awhile you could tell he was lonely and upon further reading I found out they love to be with other chins. So I purchased Princess as a play mate and thought if they had babies that would be great." This woman obviously just knows very little about chinchillas. As I mentioned before the food she appears to be feeding them is about the worst I have ever seen. It looks like it's *all* dried fruits and veggies, perhaps nuts... but there appear to be no pellets in the mix. I should look up the brand... I am praying there is pellet at least in the background I can not see. She hasn't replied to my last email so we will see. I don't think I can afford to pay more than $200 for them. If I need to I will see if she'll give me just the chinchillas and therefore cut down the price. Then she can attempt to sell the cage separately. I have no interest in the cage as I looked it up on PetsMart and it has a plastic bottom and shelves. I would make it work for a little while by covering the plastic... but I can buy another cage that would be nicer and newer for less than $200. The other thing is I will not take them in if I feel that caring for them will negatively impact the girls. I think I have the time to devote to all of them but if I decide I don't I think it is best to focus on the pets you have.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

i would flag it on craigslist for selling - no way that is a rehoming fee. sometimes you just have to do what you can and then let go of them. i highly doubt she's going to back down on the price and good luck to her getting someone to pay that much for them.

 

[andreya]

If anyone wants cats, my co-workers are always trying to give me their cats. I'm not sure what part of "I have enough pets" they aren't understanding. lol I have been offered 3 cats since October of last year and one asks me every day to take her cat. I already have two, who after 7 years together, still don't particularly like one another.

 

[Katie_2013]

Anything new with the Craigslist chins?

 

[Lillybabe]

I spoke to her a few days ago. She still hadn't managed to sell them apparently. However she's still hanging onto the $400 price. Up until the last email I'd been very careful to only say nice things. In the last email I was blunt with her. I explained to her that her cage was filled with plastic and not worth much, the chinchillas had been together so would have to be separated, and a number of other things that made them not worth $400. I tried to be as nice as I could be but I am not sure I'll hear anything back at this point. If I do it'll mean she couldn't find anyone else. I know my area though and I don't think anyone will pay $400 for two chinchillas. There's a petstore that sells 12 week old babies for between 99.99 and 149.99 in various colors. Someone's going to spend $400 on young chins before chins off of CL. She said she had other interested people and maybe she does but I have a feeling she's bluffing. I hope if someone else does buy them off of her that they take good care of them. The female is a year and the male is 2 years and as far as I can tell from her emails they have been together since she purchased the female. This means it's very likely that her female could be pregnant.

 

[Katie_2013]

Irresponsible people these days...I may only be 16, but I know better than to put a female and Male together, you will get kits! whether you want them or not!