New chinnies are home!

[ReneeM]

I met someone today who just wanted to get rid of their chins. They charged no adoption fee. I know little, if anything, about their past. Their brother bought them off of craigslist about a week ago, I was told. Apparently he was allergic? I was told they are male and female. I Want to check to make sure, but don't want to stress them out anymore than they already are. I am their third home in less than two weeks. It makes me terribly sad. They couldn't tell me anything from before they had them except that they had been owned by a woman who sold them on craigslist. I have no way of knowing if the female was housed with other males before they adopted her. While she was with them she was with a 2-3 month old male. They are separated now. I was told the female was 2.5 years old.

This is the food they came to me with:

Is this stuff any good? I wasn't provided enough food to wean them over to oxbow, but Im not sure which brand to buy to help me wean then over? They both look like garbage to me.

This was the cage provided:

The plastic shelves are tiled, but the base and sides of the shelves have been chewed. For right now the female is in the big cage, and the male in the smaller cage behind it. I realize it is small, but he will be moving into the bigger cage once my baby safe quality cage comes. The chins are quarantined in my basement, away from my two boys.

And the chins!:

The baby boy:

He is a beige male? They called him Moshi. I'm afraid if I name him I will keep him. I was going to let him settle for a month or so (maybe longer?) and try and rehome him. I don't want to stress the little guy out anymore than he already is.

And the female:

Is she a mosaic? Her Fur is beige and white mixed. She is not a solid color. I'm fearful she may be pregnant. If she is I would have no idea when she was due. If she became pregnant before the second owner, I'm at a loss. They called her Snowball. I don't like the name. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[kerri101]

The Mazuri is a good well known brand....the other I saw has corn in it chins dont do well on corn from all the threads I have seen...That is a crazy story poor chinnys have been all over from home to home glad they are with you that can care for them did the last owner have them together? and congrats on ur new additions

 

[ReneeM]

They housed them together unfortunately. I wish I knew more about them. The female is HUGE. I have never seen a chinchilla that big before. She dwarfs my males!

 

[kerri101]

Oh wow if they are male and female there is a chance maybe a good chance of pregnancy if she is huge maybe some can help who have had kits and pregnant females .....and then to let them chew plastic arghhhh that must have been so frustrating to see!!!

 

[andreya]

Poor babies. =(

The Wild Harvest is crap. I would throw it away. It looks like enough Mazuri to switch them over to Oxbow. I've seen chins go straight from another food onto Oxbow without any issues.

I would replace the plastic shelves with wood ASAP, especially if they are chewing it. And maybe add an extra one; it may be the picture but they look very far apart. The cage otherwise looks to be a decent size.

The male looks beige and the female like a pink white? Someone can correct me... I'm still not great at colors. =)

If they have been housed together since the home before last she could be due at any time. Obviously you want her in the baby safe cage as soon as you can. Does her stomach seem distended? The few females that I've seen that were about to deliver and for which I could tell, seemed to kind of squat/lay at the bottom of the cage but I'm sure that's not always the case.

Good luck with the naming; it always takes me forever to name mine. They are very cute. =)

 

[ReneeM]

I'm pretty sure she is pregnant. I thought I felt a baby kicking and so did my mom. I wonder if they knew she was pregnant? ><. I'm calling my vet in the morning to make an appointment to confirm. If they are kicking already, how far along would she be? I've switched the cages. The small cage is a tight fit for the female, but Im afraid of her giving birth if she is pregnant in the big cage. The bars are 1 inch apart. Her cage should be coming in the mail within the next few days. Would the small cage be okay until then? I have a larger dog crate but it has big openings. I'm wondering if I was had by their previous owners? So frustrated.

 

[jacd061506]

I would keep her in the smaller cage if there is a possibility of her being pregnant. Are the spacings of the smaller cage more then 1/2inch? if they are babies can still escape....hope that baby safe one gets to you quickly! Don't put her in the dog crate the spacings would be even bigger!

 

[ReneeM]

The openings are 1/2 inch. I used it for a hospital cage when I had rats.

 

[jacd061506]

Then she will be fine in that cage if she has babies. The kits can't escape, there are no ledges and it's not very high for them to climb and fall!!

 

[ReneeM]

Good thing I switched cages last night. I woke up to three little surprises.

 

[dragsil]

Oh wow, just in time, how lucky! Good thing she had them while she was with you

 

[Airyn]

Congrats! I hope everything goes smoothly for you and your new little furry family! If you don't have a scale, you should probably pick one up so that you can monitor the kits' weights to ensure that everyone's gaining. Oh and most importantly, we need pics! )

 

[HeatherLouWho]

Congratulations! I am glad she is with you, where she will be well cared for. You ARE really lucky to have changed the cages last night!