New to Chins!

[Morganpanda]

So, after a long debate of what new addition to our family we were going to get- we have decided that a chinchilla was a best bet for us.

We found a local breeder who has placed very, very high in many chinchilla shows and has an assortment of different chin-colors. We really loved all of them and decided on a beige boy! He's not ready to come home yet, since he's still just a kit but we're very excited.

We ordered the Chinchilla Skyscraper off of Martin's Cages Inc. website. It was the reconmended cage from the breeder and the breeder has been extremely helpful as far as information goes- but there are some things I'd like a second opinion on.

For one, I'm not entirely sure what to put into the cage. The cage that I ordered is all wired- and I really dislike the idea of anything running around on wires. What kind of cage liner is safe to place on the shevles so that my chinchilla doesn't have sore feet? I know plastics are bad, and I know that the stuff that I used to use to make C+C cages with (that sign-material stuff, can't think of the name now...) isn't safe either. So I'm kind of at a loss as to what a good shelf liner would be.

Also, I'm home all day long- most of the time I'm up at night due to my job. (I work from home), and I am attending a couple college courses during the day. Is it mandatory to have at least two chinchillas to have a happy chinchilla? I've heard mixed emotions about this. I know with guinea pigs (It's really the only animal I have true experience with), they needed a partner buddy. But I've heard mixed things about chinchillas. I do plan to allow the chinchilla out of the cage when I am in the bedroom (which is at least a few hours a day and a couple hours at night).

I do also plan to have a LOT of toys for the chin to play with and swith them out 3-4 day rotations.

OH and fresh foods- does this benefit the chin's health? The breeder sells a homemade blend of food for the chinchillas that I really have taken to- and probably seems like my best bet. It includes timothy hay, a mix, a pellet, and a small treat bit (like raisins, cherios, ect that are only given once a week and only one or two at a time?). Are there any fresh foods that I should serve the chinchilla as well? And how often?

So what I've heard is that they're really, REALLY fast. With this information in mind, I do not plan to chase the chinchilla around the house. XD Is there a way I could bribe the chinchilla with something healthy to head back to the cage?

Sorry for so many questions! I just want to make sure we're set.

Also, what kind of toys are safe for chinchillas? Fleece, I know is one. Woods I get as well. Anything else that are chin-safe?

Oh, and we decided on a name: Sigma <3

 

[lauralynne]

Hello & Welcome!

I would recommend starting here: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=857

 

[Shooper]

Fleece is great for liners. You can try putting a glass baking dish in the corner with pine shavings in it, all 6 of my chins are good about using it as a pee potty. It is not mandatory to have 2 chins, there is no guarantee that they would even get along. I feed only pellets and hay on a daily basis, I've never heard that they need fresh food ( I wouldnt feed fresh foods). Many people have luck catching their chin after playtime by putting down a bath house with dust in, then just pick up the house and set it in the cage. Wood toys are great and healthy for chins. There is a safe wood list on here (all wood must be prepared first). Sigma is a cute name!

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Hello and welcome. You have a lot of really valid questions here, so I will try to address each as best as possible.

1. What kind of cage liner is safe to place on the shevles so that my chinchilla doesn't have sore feet?

Fleece is a great liner, I highly recommend it. Some people on here are much more talented than me and have actually put down tile on their cage floor. This is an awesome idea because it cleans well and it keeps your chin cool. The only thing to watch for with that is pee puddles, so you may need to look into potty training.

2. Is it mandatory to have at least two chinchillas to have a happy chinchilla?

Absolutely not. They are very social creatures and have a lot of fun together, but if you give them lots of time and attention, they'll be fine on their own. If you get two, it's easiest if the two are already bonded. Introductions can go sour sometimes.

I wanted to add that chinchillas should NOT have playtime until they are 6 months old. They can actually play themselves into exhaustion, so make sure you don't let him roam free or play before he is 6 months old or give him a wheel or saucer.

3. Are there any fresh foods that I should serve the chinchilla as well? And how often?

Yet again, treats really shouldn't be given until 6 months of age. Healthy alternatives even for young chins include apple or pear wood. Afterwords, rose hips are a pretty good option as is plain shredded wheat. One a day MAX, once a week is better. Good pellets and hay should be all they need with filtered reverse osmosis water.

4. Is there a way I could bribe the chinchilla with something healthy to head back to the cage?

A dust bath is a good bribe, apple and pear sticks are good too if you don't give them too often. Others on here will probably have better options.

5. What kind of toys are safe for chinchillas?

Check out the vendor section on here. Everything they tend to sell is sae. Wood toys, lava blocks, throw toys, and things like that are great. I made my own (check out my blog) using scrap wood pieces from Ace Hardware. There are MANY different options, so search around on the forum's classified section.


Hope this helped. Congratulations on your decision!

 

[Cuddlebug]

The information in the prior posts is good. I would just like to ad the following: No fresh foods at all. Also, you do not want to feed them a mix that contains pellets and treats. They will throw out the pellets and eat only the treats. Chinchillas should not be given any fruits, vegetables, nuts, seed or dairy of any kind. Drying just removes the water and nothing else, so dried versions are out of the question.

 

[Morganpanda]

Okay- I thought Pine was bad for chinchillas? Now I'm confused. Maybe it's Cedar that I'm thinking of? Is there a way to tell me what kind of pine bedding you get? The main chains stores around my house are Petsmart and Petco.

My hubby read the insert about the tile flooring and he just rolled his eyes. Haha. He's already my personal Chinchilla contractor- and he's not a fan of the tile idea. But maybe we could cut out cardboard and then wrap that with fleece, and just change it out... once a week? I'll probably be cleaning up the cage everyday- but how often should I strip down the fleece and wash it?

Whoa- I didn't know that they could exhaust themselves! Geez. So... no play time? At all? :[ Not even in the bathroom on the cold tile? That's sad. But worth it. I wonder how I could bond with the chinchilla without the playtime?

Note: I will be reading the link! Just haven't read it all yet.

How often do you all give dust baths? The breeder said twice a week. Is that about right? And how messy are we talking with these dust baths. I bought that house thing that they sell at petsmart for them- is there a specific amount of dust that I use at a time? They're super cute in them, but I also don't want dust everywhere. XD

So much information! Thank you guys! I'll be sure to post pictures when little Sigma is home. <3 Wont be 'til I think the end of April/early May. :] But I'm excited!

 

[Morganpanda]

The treat "mix" and the pellet "mix" is separate. Most of the treat mix is made of cherrios and oats with the occational raisin. I'm just one of those that don't believe that having absolutely no sugar in their diet (natural sugars) is a good thing. Their bodies are able to digest it, their bodies need to be able to hold that in case of some emergency where the chinchilla eats something they shouldn't have or whatnot.

I appreciate all of the advice!! So there is absolutely no playtime until he's six months??? That's crazy... :/ And kind of depressing. How do I bond with him? I feel bad just keeping him in the cage for four months. What if I took him in the bathroom where there is cool tile? Bummer. But at least I know now.

What kind of pine is okay to use? I've heard that pine was bad for chinchillas?? Glass trays!! That's a perfect solution for the littler box! I was wondering about that- and I'm so happy that there is actually a solution to that. XD Phew.

So I can just take a dust pan and a hand duster to the cage everyday and sweep up all of the poos, right? Is there a bad thing about the cage sitting on the floor? I see a lot of people with their cages up higher, but I don't have a cage stand.

Tile seems a bit much- and pretty cold in the winter. :/ I do have a couple of those marble slab things to cool down the chinchilla. I do have to pick up some lava ledges, though. Hmm... I should make a list. XD

The wheel is just so iffy for me. If we can't have plastic, and we can't have wire wheels, and I personally think it's pretty steep to order $135 chin-safe wheel... what are the other options for exersize in the cage?

 

[Morganpanda]

Oh- Thank you for clairifying that. The breeder said no fresh foods- but I guess the mentality that I've been stuck in with guinea pigs is hard to kick. XD Makes it easier, anyways!

I've heard a lot of mixed things about raisins. I don't plan to have handfuls and handfuls of raisins. I'm talking about ONE raisin MAYBE every two weeks. The treat "batch" is separate from the food "batch", so they are not mixed together and most of the treat batch is oats, some wood chips, cherios.... those kind of things. There are raisins in there- but there really aren't a lot. And definitely not going to hype up a chinchilla that is still, really, a baby.

Fleece works! Maybe I'll wrap the fleece around some tiles and that way the tiles will hold the fleece edges down up on the shelves while also serving as a small cooling system. :] I like that idea.

Can I ask about cleaning the cage? Honestly?

Should I be changing out the fleece every week, or more like every 3-4 days? The number one thing I do NOT want is a smell or a foul odor coming off from the cage. I've heard chinchillas are pretty much odorless, but I know that with anything that poops and pees there is going to be some kind of smell. I just don't want it to be potent. Like with the guinea pigs- they reaked if I didn't vacuum their cage out twice a day. Are chinchillas that high maintance, too? I don't mind, I'd just like a forewarning. Lol.

We also have a hand vacuum that we'd use for stray poos and hay- will this freak out my chinchilla? The breeder uses a vacuum around the chinchillas so that they're used to the sound when they go to their new home- but I don't know how soon I'd be able to use it.

Thank you all for your input and advice! Definitely clairified things for me!

And we will definitely look into getting wood-safe items for our little Sigma to chew. <3

 

[Amethyst]

Considering the fact that there are several healthier choices for treats I just don't even bother with dried fruit period, including raisins. My boys get cheerios, crushed rose hips, and dried rosebuds. I have a separate bowl for treats too so I don't mix the pellets with treats. 1-2 cheerios each or a pinch of rose hips or buds every week or two. They get sticks every night.
A chinchilla's poop should not have really any smell to it at all, and should be dry. Smelly and/or wet poop means something is wrong. They do poop a lot (like once every 30 seconds, lol) though, so vacuuming the cage frequently, once a day is good, is a must to avoid poop everywhere. It's also a good way to monitor their poop too, you'll know right away if something is wrong. I vacuum with the chins in the cage, they don't really care they just hop to another shelf or level. The only issue is some chins learn to escape the cage when the door is open. Oh and vacuum from day one, the chin will be getting use to a new place anyway so do what you plan to do regularly so it just gets use to things as it gets use to everything else that is new. The only thing that really smells when using fleece is the pee, but only if you don't wash the fleece a least once a week, many people change it every few days. If you are lucky and are able to pee potty train (they can't control pooping) you just put a litter pan (metal or glass baking pans work well) in with wood shavings and change that everyday or so.
I also saw you ask about how messy the dust bath is... well depends on how you do it. One way I found is to put the dust bath house in a small cage I have and drape a sheet over top, the dust is very fine and gets everywhere but the sheet keeps it pretty contained.
You can bond with a young chin by sitting by the cage, letting it crawl on you, and by talking to it. Most enjoy scratches on their sides and chins, one of mine also likes between his front legs rubbed. If you sing or read to them they seem to enjoy that too.

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Ok. So, no playtime until 6 months of age does not mean you can't hold your chin. What we are currently doing is holding our chins and walking around the house, watching a show, or just having them near us for extended periods of time. You being close and showing them you are there to protect them, not hurt them, is a huge part of bonding.

If you do not potty train your chin, you will probably want to change the fleece every 2-3 days depending on smell. If they potty train, it drops to once a week!

I 100% agree with Amethyst. Vacuum from day one. Our chins think nothing of it at all because that's what we did.

As for cage accessories, remember NO WHEELS OR CHIN SPINS until they are 6 months old. They will exhaust themselves. Many people on here as well as breeders will sell used chin spins or flying saucers. Our amazing breeder (Cuddle Bug) sold us ours for $45, but it won't be in the cage until July. We have a hammock, a hidey house, a tube, and a ton of KILN-DRIED pine (it is important the pine be kiln-dried or it is NOT safe) in the cage and our chins love every square inch of it.

I just remembered, if your bar spacing is more than half an inch you will need to kit-proof your cage. I didn't think it would be a huge thing, but it is! My boys fit straight through the half inch holes I made in one of their houses that I had intended only to be a peep hole!!! Remember, if their head fits, so does their big fluffy body! Ha ha.

As for the treats, here's the thing, Chinchillas do not break down glucose, lactose, etc like the human body does and turn it into ATP stores, instead they use the fats from the pellets and hay as well as the protein for energy. They can't break sugar down very well at all and most of the time struggle with the amount of sugar even from a single raisin. Think of someone who is lactose intolerant (like myself). I cannot breakdown lactose and I get pretty sick when I try; however, chocolate and cheese taste amazing and I will happily indulge, but it makes me sick after. That is how your chinchilla will feel. Even if you don't see wet poop or see signs of GI issues, I guarantee they have somewhat of a stomach ache. Why chance it?

I highly suggest going with apple or pear sticks which the chins like to strip. We give our chins an apple stick after we handle them to reinforce that good things come from us and they strip those things in 1 minute flat. Just because we don't think it's much of a treat does not mean the chins won't.

Every person will make their own decision in the end, however, so I respect whatever decision you make. Every chin and every owner is different, that's what makes this forum so cool.

Lastly, Petsmart and Petco should have labels on their bedding. It should say pine or aspen or what have you. I use Pine shavings because they're softer and my chins seem to like it in their litter bowl.

You are asking so many good questions, I just know you are going to be a great parent!

 

[Morganpanda]

You guys are awesome. :]

I'm so glad that I am doing this!

I will have to make more cage liners- then. XD

All of the information is great, and the more and more I'm learning the more and more I feel better about this choice. :]

We ordered a HUGE package of apple wood and pear sticks since the price was right for them. And we have bunch of other wooden toys coming in that the chinchilla will love! We'll also be seeing if our local lumber supply shop has any scraps that we can have to make into chew toys (that are safe, of course). I saw a really cute carved bark toy that looked like a dog bone. XD Very adorable.

Thank you so much for all of the advice and answers!