New Owner in Maine

[mainer51423]

Hey everyone,
My wife just got her first chinchilla - Dexter - a couple days ago. We adopted him from his loving owner as she could no longer have him. He definitely went from one loving home to another!

My wife loves this little guy. Since this is our first Chin, she has been scouring the internet for information and I have been as well. We have already found a ton of information on here that has been incredibly helpful.

I do still have some questions that I'm sure have been covered, but I haven't been able to find exactly what I'm looking for.

First off, I have a question about hay. I see some people use it, some don't, some put some in the cages only sometimes. What is the standard here or is there one? We keep a bowl of pellets stocked full time for him, but he really likes his hay!

Second question is that obviously being in a new home with new faces Dexter is a little shy. We have only had him for 2 days, but already he will come up to us and let us rub his chin through the cage. At times we can even open the cage and reach in to rub his chin...but that is only at certain times haha! My wife has had a hard time cleaning his cage he obviously doesn't want to be picked up. So my question is, what is the best way to try and help to calm him and help him realize that we are not here to hurt him? I work from home and we have put his cage in my home office. I work nights so we are up together all night...having him in the room with me I think helps him get used to seeing me. I like having him in here as it sure is fun to watch him go crazy around 11pm or midnight and bounce around on his wheel and such. Should we continue what we are doing in just trying to pet him through the cage and sometimes opening it up to try and have a little more direct contact? Would it be helpful to try and hold him a bit to show him that we don't mean him any harm?

This website has been very helpful. Prior to bringing Dexter home, my wife went out and got some supplies including one of those big ball things to put him. After finding this website we found out that they are terrible things, I'm glad we found the website and didn't put poor Dex into that stupid thing! After reading all the positive reviews on here about the Ferret Nation cages we have also decided to pick one of those up!

Sorry for this post being so long and all over the place lol, I'm kind of just rattling things off as I think of them!

 

[smhluvsmh]

Welcome! IMO, you should free feed pellets, hay and chew sticks. Hay is very important to help where down teeth and has the necessary fiber. Give him a few more days of just watching you guys and keep talking to him. One of my girls is still skittish and she's been with me for almost a year. My other 2, will jump in our arms. It's a great sign if he loves skritches! They all have their own personalities so just go with what he will allow. I have 2 FN cages. Love them! Very easy to clean and super fun to decorate!

 

[Idgie]

Sounds as if you are on the right track. I'm constantly learning new things on this site even though I've had chins for over 17 years.
I give Idgie as much hay as she wants and fresh hay daily. She tends to pick the pieces that she wants and won't eat others. Since she goes through so much, I found that for the price of one bag, I can get a bale of hay from a farmer that will more than last her a whole year. Don't know if that is an option for you, though.
And plenty of things to chew, like wood. It may take awhile to learn what is safe and what your chin likes. Many people on this site sell things and it is a good way to get stuff that is safe that you won't be able to find at a pet store.
It sounds like you are doing quite well bonding if it has only been 2 days. Chins are wary by nature. Be patient. And as an aside, how often are you cleaning the cage? I straighten up and freshen daily, but don't take Idgie out for that. I do it in the morning when she goes to sleep. Does your chin have a house or something to sleep in?
Good luck and enjoy!

 

[lauralynne]

Welcome to the forum.

Timothy hay is the basic standard hay. Most people put fresh hay in daily, about a handful or so.

It's good that he already allows scritches. He'll keep warming up to you. If she needs to pick him up and put him in a carrier to clean his cage, go ahead and do it. The vast majority of chins don't like to be picked up, (but most are fine once they're in your arms) and he'll get over it.

 

[mainer51423]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We are now keeping his cage stocked with enough hay that he always has some...he really likes the stuff! Buying a bale of hay is definitely an option..I think I may actually do that rather than buy it buy the bag...definitely cheaper!

My wife cleans Dex's cage nightly, there just isn't enough time in the mornings. My wife has found the best way to clean his cage is to remove him from that cage and put him in a smaller holding cage in a different room while she uses a shop vac to clean up the cage. We had thought about letting him run free in the room while she used the shopvac...but we are nervous it will be too loud and scare him.

We bought him a little wooden house to keep in his cage so that he would have a good place to get in and sleep and have it be plenty dark...He loves the house, he chews on it and sleeps in it...it's his dream come true haha. He also has a hammock in there which he sleeps in at times.